For those who are natural givers, the holiday season can be both a source of excitement and exhaustion. Here are 10 essential strategies to keep you balanced and grounded while you tackle your holiday duties.

Sensitivity is an abstract quality. Unlike physical strength and productivity, sensitivity isn’t really quantifiable, at least, not in a structured way. But sensitivity is a much-needed quality, one that is scarce in our society today.

I’ve come across that response countless times before, either by words or facial expressions. Even when people don’t say it verbally, they communicate their cynicism with their eyes. Why is it so hard to believe in the genuine goodness in people? Are we too cynical as a society?

What I’ve discovered is that most people in any given community are there for the same reasons I am, to feel a sense of belonging. They’re hoping to find genuine connections, to share knowledge and interests, and create lasting friendships.

Releasing each piece of your truth is like dropping a brick you’ve been carrying in your chest. Except you didn’t know you were carrying it until it was dropped and you all of a sudden felt lighter in the heart.

Lao Tzu has famously said: “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” The worry and nervousness of anxiety is that of the future, or of events that haven't happened yet but we speculate could happen.

It can be a mind-blowing concept that simply breathing effectively can improve our overall health and longevity, with a good chance of preventing a large number of illnesses. Though, is it truly that mind-blowing when you think about it?

Just remember, when we talk about mind-body, that the mind actually represses things but our body never forgets. I have worked with many women who have been physically abused and all of them have very similar postural positions.

Many of us struggle with external demands, stress, and busy schedules. We are programmed to believe that we are only valuable if we are constantly producing, achieving, or available for everybody. I’d really like to challenge that belief.

Meditation isn’t meant to shield us from our thoughts nor be used as a weapon against our mind. It is a passive tool with fluid and compassionate energy. In meditation, we cultivate the space of allowing.

For three months, I spent most days at home in solitude. I turned off sound notifications on my phone. I prioritized self-care through rest, whole food, exercise, and meditation. I chose to spend time with people and on activities that energized me.

It’s not easy to choose kindness in every moment of our lives. Our world can be harsh and unforgiving, full of people who operate from survival mode desperate to take from others.

Frequency and vibration is everything. Our body is made mostly of water. Vibroacoustic Therapy brings the water in our body to a harmonic resonance. There are harmful frequencies and there are healthy frequencies.

Having a little sanctuary to retreat to provides a sacred space and sets the tone for all mindful practices. No need to relocate to the high mountains or a remote island to feel peace and higher connections.

Simple, practical and applicable wisdom taught to us in childhood still stands in our sophisticated (and complicated) modern world. It seems to me, as I look around, many of us have forgotten these valuable lessons.

The first step in establishing boundaries is to give yourself permission to feel what you feel, as well as giving others permission to do the same.

When you experience life by means of only happiness, fear, doubt, and insecurities become so obscured that you no longer pay attention to them. They become ever so insignificant because your focus on creating happiness is larger than life itself.

A mantra is a verbal habit that helps create or support a mental habit. When repeated over and over again, it creates new patterns of thinking and beliefs in our minds.

Being a highly sensitive person can be rough in a world full of agendas, processes, rules, and numbers. Feelings and senses being intangible and invisible are often dismissed because not everyone experiences them in the same way.

When we frequently feel inner conflict and confusion, turning into constant confusion and frustration, is when we need to take a step back, observe, and examine our inner world to see what’s really going on.