“Didn’t you like the food? You only had two helpings!”

Lots of people have a hard time setting up effective boundaries with not only their family members, but themselves — especially around the holidays. Even though the holiday myth that we gain 5-10 pounds during the holidays was busted a while ago, weight gain isn’t the only way to measure how healthy your gut is. 

This is because there are several factors interacting that lead to unhappy digestive conditions.

First of all, holiday fare tends to be heavier in starch, dairy, and sugar, all food groups which we’re advised to consume in moderation.

Second of all, there’s more food than we’re used to eating in one sitting and for a prolonged period of time. Meals are often more plentiful and varied than the sandwich you would’ve made for yourself at home. And overloading your digestive system with too many different types of food makes your gut work extra hard to digest those foods, leading to discomfort and reduced functionality.

And finally, your carefully curated routines are tested. You may not be going to the gym as faithfully as you had been during the year, or making sure to drink a glass of water when you wake up, or not eating past a certain point in the evening.

But there’s no reason to distress — everything in moderation, even moderation. Many people forego moderation during the holidays because they’re celebrating, and there’s nothing wrong with behaving differently while you’re celebrating.

It’s just important to balance that out by making sure your behavior is a little bit more stringent following an indulgence.

Here are a few tips for restoring your microbiome to its former equilibrium…

Walk More 

It sounds simple, but remaining physically inactive after a binge doesn’t help you.

This is because exercise helps increase motility and keeps your blood circulating and your digestive tract pumping. If you were very sedentary during the holidays, get back to your gym routine as often as you can. 

If it’s not possible to immediately get back to your gym routine, get out and take a thirty minute walk! 

Studies have shown that walking helps reduce the glucose levels in your blood as well as reducing the effects of bloating.

Try a Bone Broth Break

Not surprisingly, your gut has an easier time digesting liquids than solids. And since bone broth has more nutritional properties than stock or water, it’s not as close to fasting when you only consume bone broth for a day or two.

Now, if you have a history of disordered eating or specific conditions that come with dietary requirements, always consult your doctor before fasting in any sense.

But you may find that stepping back from the solid consumption of carbs and starches gives your gut a chance to catch up and repair itself, while feeding your gut bacteria the good stuff it needs.  

Focus on Water and Tea

Drink warm water and lemon in the morning when you wake up. Hydration stimulates the digestive tract, and it also allows your liver and kidney to effectively filter out toxins — which for most people is absolutely necessary after a week of overeating and overdrinking.

Set yourself up with plenty of green tea and fennel tea, to keep your digestive system operating optimally — they help reduce indigestion, bloating, constipation, intestinal gas, heartburn, irritable bowels, and excessive flatulence.

If the habit of consumption is difficult to break (being used to eating or drinking with consistency throughout the day), replace what you’re drinking with water or tea.

Stretch and Sweat

Sweating is a powerful way to release toxins from the body.

Get to the gym, go for a run, visit a sauna, take an extra hot bath — whatever you can do to start pulling toxins from your body and restoring your organ systems to their peak performance levels.

You can do yoga for this, too. There are lots of poses that stretch and awaken the gut, and lots of studies proving that exercise enhances our digestive capabilities. A quick Google search for “yoga for gut health” will reveal tons of resources that specifically target the healing of unhappy guts.

It’s pretty likely that none of the damage you do during the holidays is permanent.

Although every year we should try to indulge more mindfully, losing control for a week or so isn’t the end of the world.

Just make sure that you clean up the mess when you’re finished playing!

The post How to Be Nice to Your Gut After Holiday Binging appeared first on The Urban Monk.

Every three minutes, people with chronic mental disorders, stressful jobs, busy families, and physical constraints are advised by yogis that stretching it out can change their entire outlook — spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally.

That statistic isn’t real, but it sounds likely, doesn’t it?

Now, yoga cannot solve everything.

But the insistent cries of yoga-believers aren’t unfounded.

In fact, around this time of year, stress skyrockets. This is because the brain is reacting to an imminent threat: more responsibilities, more spending, more events, and a monumental pressure to impress. 

This overloads the prefrontal cortex to such a degree that according to a 2015 study, only 10% of people reported feeling no additional stress during the holidays. 

So if there’s a free, accessible, and harmless way to potentially lighten your mental load, it would be worth a shot, right?

Certainly better than trying holiday stand-bys: overdrinking, overeating, and oversocializing. 

Let’s explore some of the more calming yoga exercises you can do to send a message to your brain that everything is going to be alright.

Standing Forward Fold

The reason this pose is known for its stress and fatigue relief is that blood flows straight to the brain. 

Simply stand with your feet hip-width apart, crease your body at the hip, and let your arms dangle with your knees bent. It’ll relieve the tension from your shoulders, which is one of the most common areas of the body to knot and warp when you’re feeling worried.

Not only that, but it can help to relieve insomnia by stretching the body from heel to head. By creating space between the vertebrae of the spine, which dictates the nervous system’s behavior, circulation is improved and the nervous system can relax. 

It’s a delicate pause when one is most needed. 

Eagle Pose

Although it looks trickier, it just takes a little bit of concentration and balance (two things we should be extra focused on for ourselves around the holidays.)

Start in mountain pose, which should sort of feel like just standing straight and tall, engaging your quads, and leaving your arms at your sides with your palms facing outwards.

Then bend the knees, and bring your right foot across your left thigh. 

Move your arms out in front of your body and pull your left arm under your right arm. With bent elbows, raise your arms up straight so they’re in front of your face, and wrap your arms around each other with palms pressed together. 

Lift your elbows high so that your shoulder blades are pressing into your back. 

Hold for a minute if you can, and if you can’t, hold for as long as you can. 

The beauty of this pose is that it requires you to slow down, breathe, and think. It stretches the shoulders and upper back while also engaging most of the body, which gets the blood flowing everywhere.

Reclined Hero

This is perfect for the person who’s so wiped by the holidays, they really just need a good lie-down (but won’t allow themselves to have one.)

Start in hero pose, sitting upright on the floor with your legs bent at the knees, pointing behind you, and the arches of your feet facing upwards lying next to your things. Let your hands fall to the floor, palms up, next to your ankles.

Walk your hands back towards the floor space behind you and bend your elbows so that you’re resting on your forearms. (Note: this should not cause pain in your lower back or knees.)

Keeping your knees together, release your back all the way to the floor and bring your arms behind your head, stretched and reaching for the space behind you. 

Designed to release tension in the hips, it also makes the spine more flexible and reduces stress by creating an open space in places where tension is often carried in the body.

Hold for up to one minute, or longer if it’s comfortable.

So again, yoga isn’t the answer for all the ills that ail the Western world and the monetization of these six winter weeks. 

But within yoga, you’ll find myriad poses and exercises that scientifically and physically cause reactions in your body that can soothe, mend, and calm…

Which we can all agree is a holiday necessity.

The post Trick Your Holiday Stress with Regenerative Yoga appeared first on The Urban Monk.

The reality is, of course, that there are many, many more religious and cultural holidays between Thanksgiving and NYE that don’t necessarily stem from Judeo-Christian traditions.

And let’s face it, the Christmas traditions that most people hold nearest and dearest — decorating the Christmas tree, giving presents, Santa Claus sneaking into the house with gifts, the twelve days of Christmas referencing twelve feasts and festivals — don’t relate to Christianity at all. 

They’re pagan.

But America was so overwhelmingly Christian for so long, other holidays didn’t get a lot of attention. 

In 2019, 65% of the United States is Christian (including Catholics, Jehova’s Witnesses, and Mormons). 

5.9% is Jewish, 1.9% is Muslim, 0.9% Buddhist, 0.7% Hindu, and a solid 26% is areligious. 

And yet, not much is widely known about the other religious and cultural holidays in the December canon. 

Let’s take a look at some of the other celebrations that are going on while Santa’s cooking up Christmas at the North Pole.

Mawlid al-Nabi Islam November 20-21st

This holiday is for the Prophet Muhammad, the father os Islam. It celebrates his birthday, and in its most festive form, it is celebrated with a carnival or street procession. Charity, food, and poetry mark the occasion.

Advent Fast Orthodox Christian November 28th

Orthodox Christians start fasting two weeks before Christmas, but the advent begins on the 28th. You’ll often see candles lit in windows every night, wreaths hung, and attending Church ceremonies.

Bodhi Day Buddhism December 8th

This is the celebration of the day that Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, found enlightenment, or bodhi. He’d been sitting under a peepal tree for many years until he figured out the root of all suffering and determined how to end it. In observing Bodhi Day, people meditate, have a meal of tea and cake, focus on kindness towards others, or study.

Las Posadas LatinX Christianity December 16th – December 24th

Though it’s celebrating the story of Mary and Joseph, it’s got its own traditions and salutations. This celebration lasts nine days and is an at least 400 year old Mexican tradition, with roots in the 10th and 11th centuries (although it fell out of favor with the Church since it wasn’t somber enough). It’s also the genesis of the Christmas Pageant.

Winter Solstice Pagan December 21st

The original festival upon which Christmas was based, the Winter Solstice occurs on the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere. Solstice traditions, however, remain in their raw and natural state, for the most part. Soaking in fruit-filled baths, for example, or dressing up as scary folklore legends to scare naughty children into being nice. And of course, let’s not forget feasts, singing, drinking, decorating your home with herbs, and gift-giving.

Pancha Ganapati Hindu December 21st – December 25th

This five-day festival honors Lord Ganesha, or the Patron of Arts and the Guardian of Culture. Each day in the festival focuses on a specific spiritual discipline, as well as dressing up the statue of Ganesha in yellow, blue, red, green, and then orange. Along with the colored dressings, celebrants also make amends among themselves, apologize to far-off relatives, settle their debts, discuss art, and make their homes beautiful.

Chanukkah Judaism December 22nd – December 30st

This eight-night long Jewish tradition celebrates the return of the Second Temple in Jerusalem to the Jewish people, after they revolted against their Greek foes and Judah Maccabee led them to freedom. While they hid in the temple with oil to last one night, despairing their loss, the faith of the Maccabees kept the oil burning for eight nights. Every year, Jews light one more candle on the Menorah than they lit the night before, say prayers, spin dreidels, give gifts, and feast.

Christmas Christianity December 25th

Likely the biggest holiday celebrated in December, it commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the prophet Christians believe to be the Son of God. On Christmas day, Christians celebrate Christs’ sacrifice for mankind with a Church service, charity, feasting, gift-giving, drinking, and more modern traditions — Christmas movies, hot chocolate, playing with toys.

Kwanzaa African Heritage December 26th – January 1st

This week-long celebration honors the African diaspora, and was created to allow African heritage a place and time to shine. It is tethered by seven core principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. People decorate their homes and bodies with art, traditional cloth, and fresh fruits. At the end of the holiday, there is a feast and gift exchange.

So you see…
It really is the most wonderful time of the year… for everyone, and for all of their holidays.

The post All of the Happy Holidays Between Thanksgiving and the New Year appeared first on The Urban Monk.

But try telling yourself that when you’re in the middle of a panic attack.

And studies have shown that the holidays can be peak-panic attack season for people with anxiety disorders (diagnosed or otherwise) — even up to 75% of us, in a recent poll. 

Thanksgiving is the first big hurdle to jump for most people. If you dread the holiday season (because of family tension, financial concerns, painful memories, social anxiety, or any other reason), it can feel like the first step in a slow march to January 2nd when all of the fuss is over.

There are dozens of ways to combat anxiety, and no two conditions are alike. For some, exercise is a meditative experience. For others, medication helps more than anything. Lots of people even have mantras or personal rituals that help them work through anxiety attacks (which famously can feel like heart attacks if you’re not familiar with them). 

But the holidays are their own beast… and Thanksgiving can be a trigger for lots of people. 

It’s busy. It’s crowded. More may be asked of you than you’re used to contributing. You may encounter family members or friends you’d rather not spend time with. You may have dietary concerns that aren’t considered during the making of the menu. You may find travel stressful. You may find that you’re unable to be honest about your lifestyle or personality with your family. 

Today, we’re going to introduce some methods for centering yourself during a panic attack — especially during Thanksgiving. 

First Line of Defense [subhead]

Walk away. 

Stand up and move to another room. If you can’t find a space to be alone in, go outside, into a bathroom, or an unused bedroom.

Sit down and center your breathing. There are a lot of great meditation tips out there, but try some of these Qigong breathing exercises first. 

Don’t return until you’ve calmed your breathing, your vision is clear, and you feel ready.

The Countdown Game [subhead]

If it’s too difficult for you to leave the room, stop engaging. 

Instead, play the countdown game. Here’s how it goes:

5. Find FIVE things you can see in your immediate field of vision. Turkey? TV? Ladle? Screaming baby?

4. Find FOUR things you can touch. You don’t have to touch them, but think about the way your hair feels. Or your aunt’s Jell-o Mold. Or the grass in the backyard through the window.

3. Find THREE things you can hear. Your uncles fighting? The kettle whistling? Your own heartbeat, even.

2. Find TWO things you can smell. Easy on Thanksgiving, right? Pecan pie in the oven. Your father’s cologne. 

1 Find ONE thing you can taste. Maybe it’s wine, maybe it’s soup, maybe it’s just the inside of your own mouth.

Lose yourself in the game, and come back to reality whenever you want.

Let the R.A.I.N. Fall

It’s an acronym… but you probably already knew that.

R: Recognize when a strong emotion is present. You are having anxiety. It is not weakness, a mental failing, or childish. It is a scientific, physiological stress response that your body is experiencing in reaction to an unfavorable environment. 

A: Allow it to be there. Fighting anxiety produces anxiety — your nervous system is already in fight-or-flight mode. Let your palms sweat, or your eye twitch, or your eyes glaze over. Don’t disagree with your body about what’s happening.

I: Investigate the feeling. Are you hurt by an unfriendly comment? Outraged at political differences? Afraid to be around alcohol because you don’t want to drink? Find out why you’re having the reaction you’re having.

N: Non-identify with the feeling. It may sound complicated, but it’s actually very simple. Tell yourself that the feeling is not YOU. It is not yourself, your attitude, your chemical make-up, your permanent state of being. It is a feeling. Acknowledging that can help take power away from the story the feeling is telling your brain.

There is no perfect way to stop yourself from having a panic attack.

And during the holidays, people tend to be more prone to experiencing them.

If you can remember to walk away when you need to, play the countdown game when that isn’t an option, and let the R.A.I.N. fall (because there’s no other option), you’ll make it through this day just fine.
And if all else fails, remember that you can always find something to be grateful for. Even if it isn’t Thanksgiving dinner.

The post How to Center Yourself During a Holiday Anxiety Attack appeared first on The Urban Monk.