The DeLightFull Life

Tranquility beachside

Calm
Peaceful
Gentle
Crisp
Bright
Clear

Have a very merry Christmas Eve.

The Gift of Nature

Surviving my Christmas Chaos by daily visits lakeside.

Yesterday I snapped a few photos.

Even on the most gray day, I stumbled upon color.  Seeing the bright green moss this time of the year surprised me, normally it would have been frozen underneath a blanket of snow or ice.  

Nature filters and clarifies my stream of consciousness just as these stones on the shore are washed up one by one, distinct and refined.

A daily practice I whole heartedly recommend is to carve out time for a nature visit regardless of the weather forecast.   It won't disappoint.  

My apologies because my heart to blog daily was much bigger than the daily reality of my Christmas Chaos.

Big hearted blessings!
Dana

 

 

 

Countdown to Christmas in Corpse Pose

Flat on back

Weight of my body fully supported by the earth

Arms resting alongside my body

Face relaxed

Eyes gently closed

Stillness

Surrender my expanding "to do" list  

For a few  moments

Silence

No movement

No grip  

I'm in Savasana or "Corpse pose,"  

Savasana is the gift that keeps on giving.  

The counter balance for my Christmas Chaos.  

It's the doing nothing that makes my crazy doing enJOYable.   

My friend and colleague, Nona Jordan, The Business Yogini, wrote a beautiful post about the benefits of Savasana.   

Click here to read The Business Yogini's post.  

 Surrender, Stillness and Silence are the gentle giant tools that powerfully move us through chaos regardless of the situation.

Holiday chaos

Relationship chaos

Career chaos

Health chaos

Practicing Surrender, Stillness and Silence we discover the peace that surpasses understanding,

Our voice

Our way forward

I'll be entering Savasana everyday until Christmas.

Will you join me?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Chaos

Seven days until Christmas.  

I have more shopping to do

More baking

Wrapping

and

Moments to celebrate with family and friends.  

Every year I slide into Christmas with my hair on fire.  

I've tried to be more organized about the whole affair

until I realized

I like the chaos I create around Christmas.

I am simply not motivated to do anything for Christmas before December.  

I marvel at friends who complete their shopping, wrapping and decorating in November.  

That doesn't feel like Christmas to me.  

My desire is to move through my Christmas chaos with a healthy body, mind and spirit.  

The truth is I do have a defined method of taking care of myself during my Christmas chaos.  

I have five daily practices:

1. Reflective, prayerful and meditative time in the wee hours of the morning.   

2. Daily writing to declutter my brain and make space for creativity.  If you're familiar with Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way, the practice is called "Morning Pages."

3. Water, water and more water...all day long.  Water hydrates every function of your physical body.   If you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated which means your body is functioning in deprevation.  Never underestimate the power of fresh water to awaken your senses, enliven your body and shift your energy.  

4. I do at least one thing to support my physical body.  My practices of choice for this season include yoga, Dailey Method or  Jin Shin Jyutsu.  This morning I only spent five minutes on #4.   

5. I intentionally return to my breath regularly and ask myself, "Is my breath deep, regular, quiet and rhythmic?"  I make adjustments to my breath as needed.  These four adjectives are the atributes of a healthy daily breath.  

These simple practices are easily implemented in as few or as many moments available. 

They center

ground 

and balance 

me 

in the midst of

my Christmas chaos.

This morning while holding my safety energy lock #1,  I was nudged to share with the readers of my blog (who are possibly parched from my lack of posts)  daily suggestions for coping with Christmas chaos starting today until December 25.

Today's tip is to hold Safety Energy Lock #1 (SEL 1), Jin Shin Jyutsu practice.

SEL #1 is called The Prime Mover.   SEL 1 is located on the inside of each knee, right at the bulge, where the thigh and shinbone connect.  It unifies the descending energy (which travels down the front of the body) with the ascending energy (which flows up the back) and harmonizes us from head to toe.  The Prime Mover connects extreme heights with extreme lows.  Sounds a bit like the holidays, eh?  SEL helps abdominal stress (hoilday eating and drinking?) and headaches.  It also promotes deeper and easier breathing.   Simply place your palms on  your respective knees in the area indicated above.  Breath deeply and relax into the gentle hold of SEL #1 for as many minutes until you feel completely relaxed.  You may feel a shift in your breathing pattern.  This morning holding SEL #1 I felt a sweeping calm move through my body.  

 

What do the days leading up to Christmas feel and look like in your life?

Please do share your tips for coping with Christmas chaos.  

 

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I inhale the peace you offer in the midst of chaos.  Penetrate my heart, body and thoughts with the light of your love and tenderness.   

Jesus: lover of people, pursuer of justice, caretaker of the underdog.