Holiday stress has you in a vice? Let yoga break you free!

The holiday/end-of-the-year crush is filled with friends, family, and joy, but also a lot of stress. Zipping around from party to gatherings to maintaining the daily schedule can leave the best of us feeling drained. Along with all those parties come food – not only are we eating more this time of year but we’re exercising less.

However, what if I told you could have a secret weapon in your back pocket to fend off the bustle and stress and some of those holiday indulgences too? Too good to be true? Nope. My solution, yoga.

No matter when you do it or for how long, regular yoga practice can help you reverse the damaging effects of stress on your body, help you sleep better after those lush holiday parties, and fight back against end-of-the-year weight gain.

Yoga Boss Babe subscribers helped come up with a list of quality ways to manage the intensity of the season – which will work for you?

1. Choose your power poses! I love doing warrior sequences when I’m feeling especially stressed. Not only do I love how it sounds in my head to encourage myself to become the warrior, but the poses make me feel invincible. It is so much easier for me to tackle extra cleaning, cookie baking or whatever’s on my endless to-do list! – Andrea Q., Dayton, OH

2. Extra self-care. I find family events to be really draining on me energetically, so I always spend lots of extra time by myself meditating, taking baths, journaling, etc. Also, lots of extra vitamins and green juices to balance out all the desserts, alcohol, and goodies! – Amanda Kingsmith, Canmore, Alberta

3. Remember to breathe. Literally and figuratively – spend time taking care of yourself, whatever that means to you. Maybe more yoga, maybe a massage or two, maybe just a quiet few moments of meditation or reflection. And don’t sweat the little stuff! – Jaimee H., Boulder, CO

4. Take time to practice yoga at least 10 minutes a day – same for meditation! – Laura Orso, Bellingham, WA

5. My advice is to remember to give yourself alone time. Even though my family is super close and the fact that I look forward to seeing them, sometimes it can get exhausting being in “entertaining” mode all the time. Having a place where I can sneak off to for a few minutes and reset - take a quick nap, meditate, get a few moments of yoga stretching in - is so important in keeping my stress levels at bay. -Elizabeth N, Founder of Yogabossbabe, Orange County, CA 6. Stay positive. If there’s a friend/family member you’re not particularly a fan of, remind yourself of why they play such an important role in your inner circle and find reasons to appreciate their company. They might be annoying to you, but they make your brother/sister light up!

7. Appreciate and be in the moment. It’s natural to take for granted the time we are able to share with one another, but we’ve all learned at some point that life is short. Take in the moments - whether good or bad - and just immerse yourself in the experience. Find gratitude in the fact you and your loved ones are there to stress and annoy you because those will be some great memories to look back on someday. 8. Find peace within. We’ve all heard the term, “Misery loves company” and feeling anxious and stressed will only magnify the feeling. Try and set your negative feelings aside, if you can, and just go with the flow. Show up with a positive attitude and spread cheer instead of negativity.

9. Schedule time for yourself. It’s one thing where I vaguely tell myself I’m going to carve out a few minutes for myself amidst the crazy schedules we have November through January. However, I find I really only do it if I actually put it on my calendar – a yoga date for myself is the best sort of treat this time of year.

10. This may sound weird, but if all of the above doesn’t work (and I agree with ALL the awesome tips – breathing, finding time for your practice, self-care) sometimes the best thing I can do for myself is to release the emotions, and to me, that’s through crying. I tend to find myself in the shower (because it’s already wet and loud in there) and just kind of let the warm water run over me and wash me clean as I cleanse myself of the stress and emotional build up. It’s not that I cry out of self-pity or because I can’t handle it but because sometimes, you just need that visceral release response to truly let things go. - Michelle Dickey, Vancouver, WA

No matter what you do, don’t let stress take over your life. Take it back, one breath at a time.