Staying Healthy over the Holidays.

Christmas and New Year’s Eve are my favorite holidays. I grew up in Germany, and there we often had a lot of snow during the holiday season, which would make everything look more magical. The Christmas markets in Germany are just so beautiful and festive. I would go there numerous times during the holidays to eat “Quarkkeulchen,” drink Glühwein and buy little gifts for friends and family. Now that I live in Southern California, the likelihood of snow is pretty low, and there aren’t Christmas markets here as I know them, but still, this time is lovely and magical to me. Christmas decorations everywhere, gingerbreads, cookies and my homemade Glühwein—yummy! Fun times with friends and family for delicious dinners, and we get to exchange small gifts and enjoy each other’s company. 

And here comes the big BUT (or butt!)…

I don’t know about you, but not being able to keep up with my regular daily routine—eating at different times, eating food that I usually don’t eat, drinking a little bit more wine than usual, traveling, spending time with people who I usually don’t spend so much time with—all of this can be taxing on my nervous system, my digestive system and yes, also my emotional state, too. 

Happy Holidays or…?

Schedules can get hectic, finding just the right gift for everyone can be exhausting, and getting stuck in traffic trying to run your errands is a very real possibility. And all of this even before this whole getting-together starts, and sometimes with family members who are not always a delight to be around, to boot! Oh my!

I imagine you can relate to some, or maybe even all, of the above.

 I have put together a list of 10 things you can do to keep yourself and your digestion and emotions as balanced and centered as possible. 

These are very practical tips. You can easily implement them to stay healthy over the holidays. So let’s take a look at what you can do to stay sane, calm and centered and be able to enjoy this holiday season as much as possible.

1) Stay Centered

Every day, take some time for yourself. Make room to be alone, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. During these 15 minutes, sit down in a comfortable chair and practice deep belly breathing. I have created two videos for you—one explains the technique, and in the other we practice the breathing technique together.

Breathing Technique Video

Breathing Practice Video

You can do this belly breath for 1 to 5 minutes and use the other time to either think about or write about something that has been enjoyable on that day. Practice expressing gratitude for what is working and witness the effects of enjoying “what is,” rather than wishing for things to be different. When we don’t resist, when we don’t cause friction, but just allow things to be as they are, the space opens up for relaxation and peace. 

And here’s a little side tip: Do this with a soft smile. A  smile on your face will affect your entire body in a positive way. Go ahead and try it out right now!

2) Keep Moving

We sit in our cars, we sit in airplanes, we sit at tables on chairs. So it is important to make time to move. The easiest way to exercise is to simply take a walk. You can do this even at the airport. If there is some time while waiting for your plane, walk around instead of sitting—after all, on the plane, you will just get to sit again!  Once at your destination, walk through neighborhoods, or through a nearby park, or maybe even at the beach, if a beach is close by. Take one or two of your favorite people with you on this walk, or sneak out for 15 minutes to enjoy a brisk walk outside all by yourself.

When walking, look up! Look at the sky, maybe at the ocean, trees, birds, anything that keeps you from staring down at the ground and engaging in some of the good old habitual thinking patterns. You will see that the walk and your attention on the environment will work wonders. You will feel so much better.

3) Travel Safe 

Traveling is always a little challenging and can even be hard on the body. You may be going from a humid, warm place at sea level and traveling to a dry, cool environment in the mountains, or maybe it’s the other way around. 

At airports, we all know about canceled flights, massive amounts of people, lost baggage, and I am sure you could add more to this list.

All this will add to the stress that affects your immune system and digestive system. 

And then there’s the wide variety of germs flying around in the air. It can be tricky.

Here’s something you can do to protect your immune system. Apply a thin layer of sesame oil to the inside of your nostrils. This will prevent germs from entering your deeper respiratory system. Put one or two drops of sesame oil or a specific Nasya oil in each nostril, close one nostril and then take a deep inhale through the other. Switch sides. Massage your nostrils, and then you are ready to go. Do this every day. Traveling or not. 

Another tip: Drinking ginger tea will also support your immune system.

Cut 5 thin slices of fresh ginger for one cup of water. If you can, combine the fresh ginger slices in a small pan with the water and boil for five minutes. Then drink the tea. 

Alternatively, you can just pour hot water on top of the slices, let it sit for 5 minutes and then enjoy this delicious tea. 

If there is time, let this tea cool down a little bit, and then add honey.

4) Wash your Hands with a Happy Song

Clearly, it’s a great idea to wash our hands often, as we were frequently reminded during the pandemic. You can use this time to give your minds a little peaceful break, too. Recite a positive affirmation or sing a happy song, or, for my yogi friends, you might choose to chant a mantra that resonates with you. Whatever it is, as you wash your hands, recite, sing, or chant for 20 seconds. This way you’ll get many happy, lovely mini breaks throughout the day!

5) Use Super Spices

Buy some fennel seeds and cardamom seeds or cardamom pods, put them into a small container and take it with you everywhere you go.

When you finish a meal, eat a few fennel seeds. This will prevent possible acid reflux, help your digestion and reduce your appetite. It’s a good way to end a meal with something bitter; it will help you to stop munching in spite of already being full.

Chewing on some cardamom seeds is best after coffee and tea; it reduces the acidity of these beverages and cools your digestive system. Cardamom also freshens your breath, so no bad coffee breath for you.  🙂

6) Reduce Heartburn and Hot Flashes 

This is an ancient and Ayurvedic home remedy. According to my Ayurvedic herbology professor, the tea below is his number one go-to for excessive heat in the digestive system or in the whole body. 

It’s super easy—get yourself a small bag of coriander seeds! 

Before you go to bed, pour 8 ounces of hot water over 1 tablespoon of the seeds, cover up the vessel and let it sit overnight on the counter. First thing in the morning, strain it and drink it to cool down your system. Be advised: in order for it to work, you have to do it every day for some time. 

7) Balance the Booze

During the holiday season, we go out to eat a lot and oftentimes these delicious dinners are served with wine, beer or other alcoholic beverages. Alcohol in its qualitative nature is hot, sharp and penetrating. If taken in excess, these qualities will negatively affect your digestive system, blood, skin, and, of course, your liver. Here’s a little thing you can do to balance these qualities of alcohol.

In the morning after having had some alcohol the night before, eat two dates dipped in a little bit of ghee (clarified butter) before you have your coffee, and drink a little warm water right afterwards. The sweetness of the dates and the coolness and oiliness of the ghee are the exact opposite qualities of alcohol. They will help you lubricate and nourish the mucosal lining of your G.I. tract, which is the first line of defense of your immune system. And, you want to keep that intact, right?!

And dates and ghee also have a soothing effect on your blood. When your blood is aggravated, it will show up through hot flashes, skin issues and a hot temper.Three things you don’t want to deal with during the holiday season—or ever!

8) Manage Bloating and Constipation

Eating large portions of unusual food late at night and traveling are great ways to get bloated and constipated. I don’t know about you, but it happens to me every time.

To remedy these conditions, a tea, using the spices listed in the recipe below, will help. Use 1 teaspoon of this spice mix per cup of water, and drink it two or three times a day. Or you can make a  bigger batch, and pour it into a thermos and keep sipping it throughout the day.

1 part Cumin Powder
1 part Fennel Powder
1 part Coriander Powder
1/4 Turmeric Powder
1/4 part Cardamon Powder

Or get pre-mixed CLICK HERE

Hingvashtak Powder and Triphala

This is an ancient and, therefore, a time-proven spice mix to help with bloating and constipation. Put 1/4  teaspoon on the first bite of your meal or with a little bit of ghee before your meal. The spice mix is very potent, so don’t use it longer than four weeks; after that, take a break for at least a month and then see if you need to continue with it.

If you tend to have hot flashes, this might create excessive heat, so you could use triphala (order here) instead of this mix. In that case, take one or two pills after lunch and dinner with a little bit of warm water.

I love this company for most of my spices and herbs CLICK HERE

9) Rekindle your Digestive Strength

You can strengthen your digestive system with a mono diet a day between your holiday get-togethers. Make a one-pot meal with easily digestible foods and eat that throughout the entire day. It could be a very simple soup with vegetables such as carrots, green beans, and squashes, along with white rice, or you could try a kitchari recipe.

The key is to eat just enough to not get hangry, lightheaded, or nauseous. You should eat three or four meals, 3 to 4 hours apart from each other.

Giving your digestive system a little break by feeding it small amounts of easily digestible meals will help to rekindle the full digestive power to be ready for the next holiday meal. 

10) Cultivate Acceptance

Change in your daily routine or diet, being with people who you normally do not spend much time with, and all of this with lots of moving parts to coordinate can be challenging for you. It’s hard to stay calm and centered and joyful! It’s always challenging for me.

When I get annoyed, upset, or irritated by the behavior of others, I have a tendency to believe that I should be responding differently than the way I am. There are times when I don’t get as much done as I think I should have gotten done, and then I often find myself dealing with a sense of inadequacy.

Always remember, we are all doing the very best that we can. I know you are, and the same is true for your family members, friends and traveling companions at the airports.

This is what one of my teachers, Christopher D. Wallis, reminds us of. Based on your personal history, your cultural conditioning and your current circumstances, it is absolutely OK to feel the way you’re feeling right now. 

Every time you find yourself in a situation where you believe you should respond differently, repeat this sentence to yourself—“It’s OK to feel the way I am feeling right now.”  And, if someone else behaves in a way that you wish they wouldn’t, you can repeat the same sentence for them.

It makes a huge difference, you will see! You might experience an instant softening around the situation. This practice will make space for gentle acceptance to arise. 

So that’s all I have for now.

See which of these tips you can implement. I have also made a shorter, more compressed, and concise list of these tips that you can access here, and which you can print out as a reminder.I truly hope this will help you enjoy this wonderful holiday season with all the lovely people in your life. 

Happy Holidays. Frohe Weihnachten, Doreen

10 Tips PDF