Prioritizing Well-Being During Festive Times

Embrace a stress-free holiday season and stay true to your authentic self with essential self-care strategies. Discover how to maintain your well-being as Dana Jones, your host and certified personal trainer, navigates through the stressors of the festive period, from the mad rush of Black Friday to the serene moments of New Year. Whether it's the pressure of finding the perfect gift or managing your to-do list during time off, Dana promises to equip you with practical tips to prevent stress from turning into physical pain or tension. This episode offers a guide to acknowledging emotions and creating moments of calm amidst the holiday hustle, enabling you to fully enjoy the magic of the season without sacrificing your peace of mind. Join Dana as she sheds light on the importance of self-care and offers pain-free athlete reminders to help you tackle holiday challenges head-on.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Welcome to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast. I'm your host, dana Jones. I am a certified personal trainer and I'm here to help you achieve your fitness goals without pain. In each episode, I'll share tips and strategies that will help you stay safe and pain-free while you're working out. I'll also interview experts in the field of fitness and pain management. So if you're ready to learn how to stay active and pain-free, then subscribe to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast today. Hi everyone and welcome to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast. I'm your host, dana Jones.

Speaker 1: 0:39

Today I decided that we probably need a little diving into the topic of the holiday season and probably remembering the number one priority, which is you. So it's that time again, time of year again, and this episode is going to be released on Black Friday, which is a crazy ass day here in the United States. On Black Friday, which is a crazy ass day here in the United States, we go nuts and spend tremendous amount of money because we get deals for things that were marked up and then marked down All kinds of nuts. Anyway, I look at Thanksgiving as the official start of the holiday season. It's like the starting line, right as soon as we run through the gates, thanksgiving is the beginning of it. And then comes the next. You know, 30-ish days of holidays, celebrating between Christmas, new Year's and all the things that are in between Kwanzaa, hanukkah this year, hanukkah and Christmas are right on top of each other, so that should be fun, but anyway, you know the holidays can be a good time, right it's? You know you get all this joy especially if you're a parent and you have kids that you know, seeing the wonder through their eyes. It gives you a chance to connect with family members that you haven't seen in a while.

Speaker 1: 2:00

There's also a good amount of stress that is associated with the holidays, whether it is purchasing the perfect gift, whether it is making sure meals are perfect or you're recreating a recipe, whatever it may be, I know for me, a lot of it is because I have time off, is because I have time off, and so, on top of the normal holiday pressure, there's this pressure of knocking things off my to-do list, whether it's filing all the papers that are stacking up on my desk, cleaning up certain areas, putting things away to their original spots, whatever. It's all there. But the truth is, during this time, the best gift that I can give myself and hopefully you can give yourself too, is that idea of taking care and doing the things that we would designate as self-care, and I think that when you do that, it allows you to show up and be your authentic self. Right, because if you're a stress ball mess, then you're not showing up, you're just like I'm here, I'm making an appearance. So, anyway, of course, I'm sure a lot of you are thinking like how the hell do I make time for myself If I have kids? I have so much going on and you know we have to do what we have to do and it could come in little moments. So, um, you know, I came up with a little list and I just these little reminders, pain-free athlete reminders for you, because if you don't do the things you need to do to take care of yourself, where does that stress show up? Always in your bodies right Through pain, tension. You get burned out, you get exhausted, you get sick, all the things. So here's some tips that I've come up with that I think will be great for you during this time or any time that you're feeling some overwhelm or stress during your holiday season. So Number one right, we've talked about this before. It's not going to be a shocker for you but feel those feelings right. I'm giving you permission, like you need it from me, but I'm giving you permission to slow down and acknowledge whatever may be coming up for you at this time.

Speaker 1: 4:18

The holidays are funky, they stir up a lot of emotions. We've had a very challenging fall, shall we say, and so you know some people are feeling happy, Some people are feeling some nostalgia, some people are feeling some grief. Of course, there's a lot of frustration, and it's okay that we feel overwhelmed. This is when you take the time to go back to your practices, right. So you journal journal about how you hate going so-and-so place, but you know like there's things. Right so you journal journal about how you hate going so and so place, but you know like there's things. Right, you're conflicted, and that's usually where tension is in our body, when we have obligations that we're not necessarily happy with. So it could be like, oh, I get to go to my aunt's house because this is really exciting, but on the other end, like I don't want to go to my aunt's house because there's going to be 30 people there, and then there's going to be a lot of emotions and maybe there's alcohol involved or people's strong opinions, or whatever it may be for you.

Speaker 1: 5:14

So sometimes writing out those expectations on journal paper gives you the opportunity to play out everything and how you're going to respond, and then you obviously just throw that out. Remember, motions are like waves, right, you need to give them space to allow them the flow, and blocking them only causes I want to say distrust, but it's not. Blocking them really creates tension in the body. That is not good for anybody or anything. Number two boundaries, boundaries, boundaries, right. So don't forget to set the boundaries for yourself and for others. It is self-care to have boundaries, whether it's saying no right, which is a nice little powerful word, saying no right, which is a nice little powerful word.

Speaker 1: 6:05

Right, it could be stepping back from a conversation If you hear somebody talking about something that you know is going to piss you off or irritate you, or you just don't understand why they think the way they do. It's always a nice thing to say, ooh, look, I have to go refill my drink, or, oh, I heard Grandma's calling me, or whatever it may be. You people are, are pretty convinced about how they feel about things, and you're not going to convince them to think differently, especially at a holiday gathering. Maybe some other time you have some coffee, you sit down and you discuss your differences or why somebody said what they said, or whatever, if that's something that you're truly invested in. But other than that, it's always nice to say, wow, okay, all right, I got to go, and that's a good way of setting a boundary. And then, of course, always saying no is a good boundary. If somebody's like, oh, I want to go to lunch, oh well, I can only go between two and three because I have to do X, y, z and all these other things, it's okay for you to say you know, not today, or maybe next week, or you know, or I'll catch you next time.

Speaker 1: 7:10

Remember your mental and physical health always come first and that people's reactions are their own and that's okay, right, and you don't want to rob them of the ability of feeling their own feelings right by making everybody feel good. Do not sacrifice yourself for other people. Do not sacrifice yourself for other people. Number three do something for yourself, right. Whatever it's going to be, every day during this time, try to do one thing, whether it's listening to music that really makes you happy, whether it's going for a run, whether it's journaling for five minutes, it could be a walk, it could be, you know, dancing around your kitchen, it could be going hiking with a friend or whatever you know those kinds of things. But try to find at least one thing a day that you can do that makes that fills your cup right, because these little moments allow you to be grounded and they allow you to connect to yourselves.

Speaker 1: 8:11

And you're going to have to, you know you're going to have energy vampires, and not necessarily in a. Well, it is sounds like a bad way, doesn't it? Um, but there's going to be energy um, suckage, I guess, is the easiest way to say it and so you need to refill your energy. So do the things that bring you joy. Um, and again, it doesn't have to be like an entire day commitment. It could be a few minutes. I know that I've been walking and trying to get out there and walk the dog and trying to get at least 10,000 steps a day because I'm a part of some work challenge. So I'm trying to get out there and get those steps and it's really allowed me to kind of chill out in the mornings and I appreciate the time.

Speaker 1: 8:56

All right, number four let go of being perfect. Right? Perfection is ridiculous, right, it's really hard to be perfect, and that quest for perfection adds a tremendous amount of stress on people, and so remember that these times, hopefully, are about creating memories and not necessarily about like how perfect things were. So, just, you know, just let go of that idea, the myth of perfection, because it never really truly works. Excuse me.

Speaker 1: 9:34

Number five reconnect with gratitude, right? So what does that mean? It doesn't mean that weird like oh, I should be grateful for this kind of thing, like when you don't want to be so. It's just like actually taking a moment, taking a breath, looking at something and feeling that gratitude in your body, like like deep where you can't touch it, kind of deal.

Speaker 1: 9:59

You know, the other day I was out for a walk and you know there was just a moment where I was rounding this corner and the sun was like on my face and I just just felt like this um, overwhelm of like happiness. You know where you kind of get tingly in your body, and I was just like, damn, this is nice, this feels good, and part of it was because of the fact that we have had rain for I don't even know how many days, and it was flooding, and you know cause. We're California, so everything has to come on an Epic scale. Right, it was a what the hell are they called? It was a, I almost said a monsoon, but it wasn't a monsoon. It was like some. You know, whatever atmospheric river, there we go. It was atmospheric river. That was or a bomb or some kind of crap.

Speaker 1: 10:45

You know, every time they come up with something more dramatic to scare you into. You know, fearing weather, but it was rainy and it was crappy, and I'm not a huge fan of the rain, I know it's necessary, but it's like, eh, and when I had this moment where the sun was beating on my face and I felt the warmth, no-transcript, and I just took that moment to really take a deep breath and go. You know, I like this feeling in my body, I like the warmth of the sun on my face, I enjoy being outside and really just experiencing this, and I was very grateful to live in a place where it doesn't rain the whole time, and so that was something that I just really thought like, dang, that's really good. You know, this is the moments right. So think about it.

Speaker 1: 11:38

Is it the time that you know you're sitting around and you're enjoying your meal with your family and you know somebody's laugh, right, little kids laughter, or something that you can really just go, you know like I am so grateful to hear those little giggles, you know, or the smiles or hugging somebody, or you know just being around the people that you love and you know, enjoy that right, take that moment. That's that's what I'm talking about, about gratitude, not the, not the normal, you know, possibly false stuff, right when it's like, oh, I'm grateful for my family. You know it's like yes, you're grateful for your family, but like, are you truly, you know, are you just saying that because we are supposed to, and I'm not saying that necessarily calling out in you, but sometimes I feel like I have to say that because other other people are saying that as well. So it's kind of funny sometimes. But I'm talking about like visceral gratitude. You know that you feel in your body, you know, from your head to your toes that gives you the little warmth in your chest or whatever it may be, that type of gratitude.

Speaker 1: 12:42

So anyway, those are my little five tips for hopefully navigating the holiday season. We'll talk a little bit more about that at another time, but you know, just right now what I want you to do is, you know? Just take a deep breath, right, let yourself know you're enough just as you are. Make a commitment to prioritize yourself, whatever it may be. Feel those feelings, set boundaries, do something for yourself, let go of perfection and be grateful for the things that make you smile or warm your heart. And remember that when you take care of yourself, you're not just benefiting yourself. You're giving the people around you the gift of you, right? Because you're healthy and you're a more present version of yourself. Anyway, thank you so much for joining me today. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with somebody who could use a little pick me up and a little tips on holiday self-care. And don't forget to like and subscribe, and I will catch you next time.