

Your Holiday Survival Guide: Fitness + Wellness Edition
The holidays are upon us! It’s such an exciting season - more family time, more social occasions, but ultimately more on your plate.
With so much going on, life can get overwhelming. The holidays can be stressful! Before we enter full holiday mode, here is a quick 1, 2, 3 on how to survive the holidays and maintain balance and harmony in your life.

The natural inclination when we get busy is that there’s no time to move. We have to use up every minute to conquer that to-do list. However, mindful movement is so important when practicing self-care. It’s a dedicated time for you to prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional health, before you use your energy to take care of others.
Movement can also help to keep sickness at bay. It is cold and flu season, so it’s time to strengthen our immune system. The more we move, the better it is for our cardiovascular health too!
Depending on your movement of choice, here are some great studios that offer low impact and effective options for you!
Lit Method: I love the resistance bands. Surprisingly, I feel that not many boutique studios offer this as a part of their regular programming. The bands, mixed with the rower, is the right combination to help you both break a sweat and tone your muscles. After each workout, the instructors always lead you through recovery with a foam roller too. Recovery after a workout essential, and I love that this studio recognizes the importance of it!
Coreology: There is Pilates, and then there’s Pilates on a Megaformer. The Megaformer at Coreology helps you not just lengthen and tone your body, but you also hold the positions longer with more resistance. I am always surprised at how much I sweat!
Y7 Studio: Speaking of sweat, Y7 is the ultimate yoga studio to help you do just that. Their classes are set up in an infrared studio, so even by just staying in Child’s pose, you’ll get centered and sweat out those toxins in no time.

The natural inclination when we get busy is that there’s no time to move. We have to use up every minute to conquer that to-do list. However, mindful movement is so important when practicing self-care. It’s a dedicated time for you to prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional health, before you use your energy to take care of others.
Movement can also help to keep sickness at bay. It is cold and flu season, so it’s time to strengthen our immune system. The more we move, the better it is for our cardiovascular health too!
Depending on your movement of choice, here are some great studios that offer low impact and effective options for you!
Lit Method: I love the resistance bands. Surprisingly, I feel that not many boutique studios offer this as a part of their regular programming. The bands, mixed with the rower, is the right combination to help you both break a sweat and tone your muscles. After each workout, the instructors always lead you through recovery with a foam roller too. Recovery after a workout essential, and I love that this studio recognizes the importance of it!
Coreology: There is Pilates, and then there’s Pilates on a Megaformer. The Megaformer at Coreology helps you not just lengthen and tone your body, but you also hold the positions longer with more resistance. I am always surprised at how much I sweat!
Y7 Studio: Speaking of sweat, Y7 is the ultimate yoga studio to help you do just that. Their classes are set up in an infrared studio, so even by just staying in Child’s pose, you’ll get centered and sweat out those toxins in no time.

Living in a society of constant “to-do’s,” I don’t think we emphasize the importance of rest and sleep enough. We are so often defined by how much we get accomplished. However, none of the things on our list will get done if we don’t take care of our health first. Sleep is crucial to replenish our bodies. It’s a time for us to repair and recover from the stress we put ourselves through during the day. Getting as close to eight hours of sleep a night should always be the goal.

Living in a society of constant “to-do’s,” I don’t think we emphasize the importance of rest and sleep enough. We are so often defined by how much we get accomplished. However, none of the things on our list will get done if we don’t take care of our health first. Sleep is crucial to replenish our bodies. It’s a time for us to repair and recover from the stress we put ourselves through during the day. Getting as close to eight hours of sleep a night should always be the goal.

Plants aren’t just an Instagrammable moment; it’s so replenishing and nourishing for my soul. No matter how stressed I feel, being with greenery always helps alleviate any heavy energy I may be carrying. If you don’t have greenery nearby, even taking a moment to step away from your office or work area to go for a walk outside can help you! Transitioning from a potentially stressful environment to calmer surroundings can help you move through the rest of the day with more ease.

Plants aren’t just an Instagrammable moment; it’s so replenishing and nourishing for my soul. No matter how stressed I feel, being with greenery always helps alleviate any heavy energy I may be carrying. If you don’t have greenery nearby, even taking a moment to step away from your office or work area to go for a walk outside can help you! Transitioning from a potentially stressful environment to calmer surroundings can help you move through the rest of the day with more ease.

Journaling and writing down thoughts is so important for my emotional well-being. It helps to clear out a lot of negative thoughts that might be throwing me off balance. Once it’s out on paper, it soothes my mind and provides more space for me to create and be productive.
If you’re not the journaling type, the following quick exercise might help you if you are struggling with stressors this season.
Step 1: Split a piece of paper into three columns: In the first column, write down all of the stressors you have in your life. Perhaps it’s a relationship struggle, a problem at work, a health issue, anything!
Step 2: In the middle column, write down how you want to feel. If you have a problem at work because you aren’t getting the validation you need, your middle column would be that you want to feel recognized.
Step 3: In the last column, jot down a list of solutions. If you want to feel recognized at work, a few solutions could be setting up one-on-one time with your manager, talking to your peers, and letting them know of your needs, praise others more so it allows coworkers to return the compliment, etc.
By being mindful of our approach to dealing with stressors, we can hopefully alleviate stress and find a sense of calm this holiday season!

Journaling and writing down thoughts is so important for my emotional well-being. It helps to clear out a lot of negative thoughts that might be throwing me off balance. Once it’s out on paper, it soothes my mind and provides more space for me to create and be productive.
If you’re not the journaling type, the following quick exercise might help you if you are struggling with stressors this season.
Step 1: Split a piece of paper into three columns: In the first column, write down all of the stressors you have in your life. Perhaps it’s a relationship struggle, a problem at work, a health issue, anything!
Step 2: In the middle column, write down how you want to feel. If you have a problem at work because you aren’t getting the validation you need, your middle column would be that you want to feel recognized.
Step 3: In the last column, jot down a list of solutions. If you want to feel recognized at work, a few solutions could be setting up one-on-one time with your manager, talking to your peers, and letting them know of your needs, praise others more so it allows coworkers to return the compliment, etc.
By being mindful of our approach to dealing with stressors, we can hopefully alleviate stress and find a sense of calm this holiday season!