What do you think will happen this holiday season? Will you:

Eat too much?

Drink too much?

Go out too often?

Stay out too late?

Sleep too little?

Get caught under the mistletoe?

Not get caught under the mistletoe?

So much about this time of year takes us off our natural rhythms, and the result can be decidedly un-fun. Kids’ meltdowns become a holiday routine, and adults struggle to hold it together.

The best gift is one you give everyone

Even if you’re not susceptible to holiday depression, the combination of too much sugar (alcohol is sugar) and too many nights out, with too little routine and too little sleep, might leave you feeling a bit edgy and drained.

The best gift you can give everyone in your life — all at the same time — is to take care of yourself.

This year, why not do something radical?

Celebrate your wellness — and maintain it — by staying with your daily spiritual self-care practice, whether it’s meditation, yoga, qigong, Reiki self-treatment. (I can propose that because I just finished mine, and now I’m on to my green tea and chocolate.)

Don’t yet have a daily self-care practice? You could change that in a New York Minute. Close your eyes and notice your breath.

You’re breathing anyway, aren’t you? How hard is it to take a minute to notice?

Staying on your own rhythm

Protect your well-being by keeping a rhythm of self-care — even adding to it. A bit of meditation or Reiki practice at night draws you into a deeper, more restful sleep, and a bit more in the morning brightens your transition into the day. You’re in bed already — how hard can it be to observe your breath and/or get your hands to your body… and melt…

This is a time when more is less: more practice means less stress.