STOP over-drinking this holiday

In the days of early sobriety, I was thankful to learn a crucial tool that bolstered my ability to weather the cravings and anxious urges for alcohol.  All too often I found I was in the throes of emotions like agitation and overwhelm, and I thought that what the chatter in my brain had to say was gospel.  But we are not our minds.

The thoughts we have can be complicated by unsettled emotions, past negative experiences, and tainted by the defense mechanisms that we inadvertently develop due to past hurts, fear, and discomfort with vulnerability. 

Oh, but the stories we tell ourselves, right??

When we get too comfortable with these persistent thought patterns, they lead us to outbursts, panic and anxiety, and reaching for substances to numb us out.  That doesn’t sound very good, does it? 

But you have been there, I suspect.

I never could imagine that I was actually able to affect this process, and hold the reins of my emotional stagecoach.  But it turns out that by utilizing practices based in mindfulness, that I was able to get out of my “attic”, and re-orient into my “home”, a.k.a. my body, and heart center. 

We often overlook the practices of mindfulness because we think that they can’t be possibly as effective or hard hitting as something like a medicine or something concrete.  But the truth of the matter is, mindfulness can change your life.

If you’ve ever had a yoga practice that rocked your world, leaving you centered and breathing easily, clear headed and relaxed, then you know the possibilities we hold for ourselves to drop down and get grounded. 

For me, when I elected to S.T.O.P. – true magic happened.

To do this simple, but radically effective practice yourself, just follow the steps outlined below. 

S = Stop what you’re doing, don’t take another action or step.
T = Take some deep belly breaths, in AND out.  Rest your hands on your belly, to feel the air moving, and make your exhale a little longer than your inhale. 
O = Open to the new awareness, a new experience that your urges are expressed as emotions that will pass.
P = Proceed, but with positive action, not a mindless, anxious REaction. 

I urge you to try this, even right now as you may be experiencing holiday planning overwhelm and craziness.  Get back to the heart of the matter by being able to see the situation for what it is! 

Your system gets confused with all the signals we receive, and create, and we need a mindful break filled with breath and heart. So S.T.O.P., and reorient. 

Give yourself the opportunity to radically shift your breath, and therefore your mindset, and your reality, so you can move forward with  intentional action and effort, instead of being victim to a panicked mind and body. 

It is life-changing, and I hope you find it so, too.  Let me know how it goes?