Founder of the Graceline Institute, Mickaela Grace, offers five tips on seasonal & holistic self-care.
1. PHYSICAL FITNESS: Detoxify to Revitalize
Studies show that being flexible in both body and mind not only keeps us open to new information, but keeps us young and vital. So get bendy and get sweaty — preferably outdoors. Vitamin D and Vitamin Sea are just what the season needs.
2. EMOTIONAL FITNESS: Drop Story, Raise Consciousness
New findings in neuroscience and epigenetics reveal that we can immediately pollute the body with stress chemicals just by thinking about a past wound. And there is no greater emotional activation for past narratives than a holiday spent with the cacophony of family. So use this opportunity as a pilgrimage into emotional intelligence (EQ) and decide that you will drop grievances.
3. INTELLECTUAL FITNESS: Avoid Certainty, Embrace Curiosity
Show up to every holiday party with a blank slate. Be open to diverse opinion and new perception. Release negative expectation. Be curious about your own motivations. Are you being petty, small, or unforgiving? Are you overdoing or over-entertaining, scorekeeping, image-crafting, attacking, defending, or permission seeking?
4. FINANCIAL FITNESS: Avoid Over-Extension, Lean into Presence
Time and money are vital currencies to overall health and wellbeing, so fiscal fitness is crucial. If you are overworking, overbooking, overextending or overspending, your vitality is trapped in deficit. Even credit card debt disallows you to be present with your energy — because it binds you to the past while simultaneously enslaving future earnings.
5. SPIRITUAL FITNESS: Obliterate Obligation, Create Tradition
Nobody likes the dude at the party who doesn’t want to be at the party. Right? So part of being soulful is to be truthful. Don’t show up to rooms you don’t want to be in — and really be in the room when you’re in it. Truly. And lastly, create ritual for yourself. Meditate. Walk. Write. Pray. Provide. Play. Investigate. Collaborate. Find a practice that suits your self discovery.
The Graceline Institute at 41 Main St is a consciousness center focused on healthy living, unified-field meditation and Emotional Intelligence. Mickaela Grace splits her time between private healing clients, teaching, making environmental films, appreciating well-made mittens and chasing a happy husky through the dunes daily. Join her in January for a month devoted to clean living.
