Looking for something to give your employees this holiday season?  Why not give them some tools for dealing with the stress that holidays can bring?

Did you realize stressed spelled backwards is desserts?  Neither in excess is good for you anytime, but especially not around the holidays.

Here’s a sample of some of the tips in the new presentation:

• Eat healthfully!  We often reach for foods and snacks that only add to our stress levels because of their components.  Some great choices are salmon, nuts, apricots, garlic and dark chocolate. We provide a lot more info on food in the presentation.
• Plugs.  Don’t rush to get plugged in immediately upon waking.  Take your time, do some stretches, grab a cup of coffee and greet your day before you greet your email and phone.  Unplug at the end of the workday by giving yourself 15 minutes transition between work life and home life.  Close your eyes in your car for a few minutes, grab a quick walk, or just chill for a little before the next event.  We talk about the role of movement and exercise, too, in the workshop.
• Breathe!  Get in the habit of deep breathing.  Several times a day, practice my 5-5-5 breathing technique:  inhale for a count of 5; hold it for a count of 5 and exhale fully for a count of 5.  Do this three times.  Your oxygen-nourished cells will love it, and you’ll instantly feel a little better. Other strategies for relaxation and better sleep are presented in our stress management information.

A lecturer, explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?”  Answers were called out ranging from 8 oz.  to 20 oz.  

The lecturer smiled and replied that the actual weight did not matter. What actually mattered was how long a person tried to hold the glass of water.

• If you hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem.
• If you hold it for an hour, your arm will begin to ache. 
• If you hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance!
• In each case, the weight is the same; but the longer you hold it, the heavier it becomes.

It’s the same with stress and managing it. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

Full Circle Vitality Group can help your employees and co-workers learn these techniques, strategies and more in our Stress Management workshop. Our prices are reasonable, and your staff will get take-away materials they can refer to again and again, and they’ll have some fun, too!  Give us a call today!

To Your Vitality!