Planning to feel rested for the holidays

My blogs every Friday are normally about exercise tips and programming for people over 50th.  After spending the week seeing tired clients and talking to the Vintage Fitness personal training team here in Toronto we decided that this weeks blog should be about rest as opposed to exercise which is very unlike us!

A this time of the year the countdowns to holidays and the new year start, the days in Toronto are short and our social calendars are busy.  This often leads to feeling tired, agitated and overwhelmed instead of rested and peaceful.

What can you do to plan to feel rested this year so that you can truly enjoy visits with family and friends?

1. Listen to your body: If we take the time to listen to our bodies they will tell us if we are taking on too much, need a bit more movement or our worries are starting to affect our health.  As you read this blog sit quietly and notice your body, where is it stiff, achy or tired? What can you do to make it feel better? Stretch? Go for a walk? Ice a joint?
2. Don’t say YES too quickly: A good friend of mine who has a tendency to over commit has a great rule—she waits for 24 hours before deciding to take on a new event or responsibility.  This 24 hour rule will give you the time to control your time and only say yes to things that you want to do.
3. Leave gaps: If you fill every moment with activity then the day becomes stressful quickly as every unexpected delay puts your schedule more and more out of whack.  Leave “margins” in your day to acknowledge that there will be traffic, lines and snow…
4. Feel what you feel: Be gentle with yourself and the people around you.  The holidays are a conflicted time for many of our clients filled with both joy and grief for a loved one who has died.  Give yourself permission and space to feel what you feel during the holidays.
5. Write a list of 5 things that fuel you and plan them into your life over the next 2 weeks.  My 5 things are:
   • doing yoga most days of the week
   •  taking 15 minutes every morning before the house wakes up with a hot cup of tea and sit quietly
   • turning my phone off at 8:30pm most nights
   • giving myself permission to say NO to social events
   • getting some sunshine everyday

What is on your "fueling" list?

Good Luck,

Erin 

Vintage Fitness & Spirit50

Phone: 416-951-7978

Vintage Fitness is an in home personal training company in Toronto, Canada.  We specialize in energizing the lives of people over 50 with exercise. 

Spirit50 is an On-line personal training with an expert in 50+ fitness.  Inspiring movement for life.