{"id":12404,"date":"2014-12-19T16:54:51","date_gmt":"2014-12-19T21:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tm.org\/blog\/?p=12404"},"modified":"2015-01-12T16:51:28","modified_gmt":"2015-01-12T21:51:28","slug":"gift-shopping-travel-delays-and-family-gatherings-oh-my-how-to-stay-stress-free-during-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/meditation\/gift-shopping-travel-delays-and-family-gatherings-oh-my-how-to-stay-stress-free-during-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift Shopping, Travel Delays, And Family Gatherings. Oh My! How To Stay Stress-Free During The Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Winter blues aside, the holiday season is stressful for just about anyone, emotionally, financially, and physically. There are thoughtful gifts to think of, let alone purchase, extra work to cram in, if you\u2019re taking a few days off, and travel delays left and right. Even if stress doesn\u2019t sour your holiday spirit, it will increase your risk of getting sick (especially if you\u2019re traveling from toasty Los Angeles to the frigid Midwest, like I am) \u2013 and nobody needs that. The holidays are meant to be relaxing and fun, so here are a few tips for staying stress-free and making the most of the season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Need a moment alone?<\/strong><br \/>\nWe all know you can have too much of a good thing, and that includes time with extended family. Between group meals and catching up, it\u2019s hard to find time for yourself, and it\u2019s not like you can just say, \u201cHey, we need to not be talking to each other right now,\u201d right? Well, wrong&#8230;kind of. If you need a break from the group, a quick meditation is not only an indisputable excuse, but a great way to refresh and recharge. You\u2019d be surprised how much 20 minutes can improve your mood, increase your patience, and boost your energy. And it still works if someone says, \u201cHey! I\u2019ll come too!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stuck at the airport?<\/strong><br \/>\nInstead of cursing the weather and the 8 names before yours on the standby list, accept what you can\u2019t change and relish the unique, airport version of having no responsibilities other than sitting and waiting. Read a book, savour a latte, people watch, play candy crush till your phone dies, or cram all your luggage underneath your seat and meditate. Do them all! You probably have time! And then maybe you\u2019ll arrive at your destination rested and stress-free, with a smile on your face.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can\u2019t think of a meaningful gift?<\/strong><br \/>\nGive a gift that will last a lifetime \u2013 inner peace, better health, and greater happiness! Has a sibling been talking about learning the Transcendental Meditation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tm.org\/gift-certificates\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-12403\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tm.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gift-certificate-large-300x191.jpg\" alt=\"TM Gift Certificate\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gift-certificate-large-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gift-certificate-large-1024x652.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gift-certificate-large-712x453.jpg 712w, https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gift-certificate-large-474x302.jpg 474w, https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gift-certificate-large-208x132.jpg 208w, https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/gift-certificate-large.jpg 1032w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> technique for years but never gotten around to it? We\u2019ve created a beautifully designed TM gift certificate that you can personalize and print yourself. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tm.org\/gift-certificates\" target=\"_blank\">Check it out<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>You can read more about the TM technique for reducing stress and anxiety <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tm.org\/reduced-stress-and-anxiety\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The holidays are meant to be relaxing and fun, not exhausting and overwhelming! Here are a few tips to help you stay stress-free and make the most of the season. Happy holidays! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tm.org\/blog\/meditation\/gift-shopping-travel-delays-and-family-gatherings-oh-my-how-to-stay-stress-free-during-the-holidays\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_excerpt -->","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":12405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[229,295,230,22],"class_list":["post-12404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meditation","tag-holiday-stress","tag-meditation","tag-stress-relief","tag-transcendental-meditation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12404"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12449,"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12404\/revisions\/12449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.tm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}