Release Yourself from Holiday Stress

This time of year brings so much fun and excitement with holidays and winter performances and it's easy for our calendars to fill up quickly with holiday activities.  I encourage all dance teachers and Studio owners to also schedule time for themselves where they can recharge and focus on what's most important.  While family gatherings and nutcrackers can lift our spirits and bring out holiday cheer they can also crowd our minds and drain on our emotional health if we don't have down time to take care of ourselves and get what we need.

Here are three  things you can do to be sure that you care for your mental health and well-being during the holiday season.

First, set a budget for Holiday spending; whether it's potlucks or gift giving it's easy to get carried away with spending and wind up with debt or reduced savings. Always remember that having an emergency fund and spending time with people is more valuable than fleeting gifts or things that are quickly consumed and thrown out. Spending should be done out of freedom and joy and not come with a hefty bill the following month.

Second, be sure to book white space in your weekly schedule. White space simply means that you block out time and have no meetings or obligations to anyone or anything. Once you block out time for white space be sure to guard it and do not permit new items to fill that time.  By taking time for yourself,  you can reset and regulate yourself without the pressure of having to be somewhere or serve someone. Fill that time with what fills your cup, rest and renew your spirit. White space can be really effective if you start it off with a brain dump of everything on your mind or meditation.

Lastly, embrace the power of saying no to things that you really don't want to do. So often we feel obligated to go to events or volunteer for projects that we really do not want to do and then we find ourselves riddled with stress and complaining. Particularly if you are a Studio Owner, you have the ability to reduce the workload and demands on your own schedule as well as that of your employees. In practical terms, we combined our ambassador and dance company holiday parties into one big party saving on precious weekends and staff time. We also do our staff holiday party as a New Year party later in January to remove an additional obligation in December.

This winter holiday season, think of ways to have more meaningful relationships and traditions and let go of the tendency to be overbooked, restless and stressed.