As the holiday season rolls into full swing, we can get pulled in a number of directions, straining our energies and exhausting us at a time when we are meant to be settling into the calm of Winter. Feng Shui’s focus on balance can be applied to our lives on every level to assist through this time. In an effort to make the most of this holiday season, here are five tips centered on the Feng Shui concept of “creating space.”
Create Space Physically: Take one thing out for each thing added
A crowded space creates a slow, stagnant energy. Coupled with the slower energy of Winter, this can lead to our feeling unmotivated, inert and even depressed. Many homes and spaces compound this problem by becoming crowded during the season with decorations and gifts. One way to balance the flow is to remove a piece of furniture in order to create space for the tree. Additionally, if holiday decorations are going up around the room, put away some of the every day knick-knacks, photos, and display items.
Create Space Mentally – Feng Shui Tip: Write out your to-do list
Worry increases over the things for which we do not have clarity around. It is easy to keep a mental list of things we need to do today, this week or before the end of the year, but without a bird’s-eye view of these tasks, we can easily feel overwhelmed. Clear mental clutter by writing out a to-do list. Just the act of writing things out allows our mind to stop trying to remember everything and gives us the space to focus on what we want or need to do.
Create Space Emotionally: Extend the olive branch
With all the season’s family and social gatherings come opportunities for honesty and healing. Clear emotional clutter by picking one person with whom you have had an issue and commit to resolving it. Resolution could look like apologizing or asking for their side of the story or just dropping everything and starting over. Creating space in our emotional world this way has a domino effect on every aspect of life.
Create space Physiologically: Take one exercise class each week
Given the season’s cornucopia of big meals, holiday parties, and sweet treats, create space in your body for this annual indulgence by adding in some exercise. If you are hosting a party, consider making it a physical one that gets the group moving – like a hike or roller-skating. In any case, create balance in your physical body and increase your own energy by taking an extra hike, yoga/dance/Pilates class, or whatever else you personally enjoy doing physically.
Create Space Spiritually: Take conscious breaths
Quietly listen as you take a single breath. When we are focused on our breathing, we do not drain our energy with concern about all the other temporary external things in life. We do not hold regrets about our past or worry about the future. We are in the moment, in the synch with life. Set your watch to go off at some point during your holiday party, your holiday gathering, or your holiday shopping and when it does, stop, close your eyes, and consciously take three slow breaths – disconnecting from all the hustling and bustling and reconnecting with the present moment.