It’s a beautiful time of year, but Christmas can also mean that you feel your stress levels rise. So if extra responsibilities and commitments are already filling the weeks ahead, then grab a hot drink and wander through these tips to help you create a calmer Christmas with some built in self-care and rest for you. Lets call is ‘Restmas’!

Lots of people, women and mothers especially, put self-care and rest to the bottom of the list. I’ve done it plenty of times myself! But, I’ve learnt that caring for myself and taking time to pause and reset, helps me to better care for others in a way that I can’t if I’m depleted and feeling low. As I've said so many times (because it is true!) self-care is not selfish. The power of rest enables you to be able to do more when need to do more. Rest is productive!

I hope that some of my suggestions and practices below inspire you to rest more, to take more exquisite care of you. I hope they can bring more harmony and balance into your days - not add to your already busy load - so go for the easiest ones and ones that speak to you first!

These self-care tips and rest ideas work all year round of course too - they are not just for Restmas!

With love

Susan xxx

Restmas Bingo

Use this Restmas Bingo Card to inspire moments of rest. When you complete a line or even a full house celebrate with a Christmas chocolate or favourite tipple!

You are can also download as a .pdf to print out here and put it up on your fridge so you see it all the time as a reminder.

Cocoon Breathing

Cocoon Breathing can help you connect more to yourself, feel relaxed, calmer and more at ease. It’s a way of creating a kind of protective ‘force field’ around you, simply using your breath, to feel safe and protected. It’s great to do if you feel you need to cocoon yourself from attitudes, comments or behavior of others around you or if you find yourself in a tricky or uncomfortable environment that you want to mentally move away from. So it can be perfect for the festive time of year, and maybe some members of your family or situations you have to endure!

It’s a practice that anyone can do, including pregnant women and you can do it hold or feeding a baby too - cocooning you both. You can do this breath practice anywhere. It could be sitting (in a chair or on the floor), in a cafe, on the bus. You can also do it lying down - this could be on your bed, or lying comfortably on the floor (on a soft rug, carpet or a yoga mat). The most important thing is to find a comfortable position for you.    

So here below is your free ‘cocoon breathing’ audio download I've recorded for you. You should be able to download it as an MP3 file - any problems please just let me know.

A simple practice to start the day

You can do this whilst still in bed! With your eyes closed, take a moment to gently consider these three questions…

1) How am I feeling?

2) What is this telling me?

3) What do I need today?

It can help you really listen into yourself, and take steps towards your own needs (not just everyone elses) throughout the day.

A Winter Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra is a type of guided relaxation that elicits deep rest. We know from recent neuroscience research that these types of practices are wonderful option when a good night's sleep is missed, or you are facing a stressful day.

Take a listen to rest and replenish yourself.

Winter Calm Mixtape

I love all the Christmas songs and having a dance around the kitchen, but I also love having some calm relaxing music to cocoon me to at this time of year too.

So I’ve curated a gorgeous restful playlist for you all. Find my Winter Calm mixtape here on Spotify