It's the most wonderful time of the year

It is that time of year... that time where Halloween starts and we engage in the holiday marathon that doesn't end till January 1st. It's hard not to feel stressed, rushed and irritable and then we add time and money constraints on top of that. We put so much pressure on ourselves at being the perfect parent, party planner and gift giver and the return on our investment is feeling neglected, exhausted and perhaps even depressed.

What is a yogi to do? In times where I feel like I am repeating a cyclical habit, as I tend to do when the holidays pop up, I like to turn to the wisdom of the past. What do the ancients tell us to do? Surely they all felt times of increased stress and had their own challenges balancing work, family and life in general. Their circumstances were undoubtedly different than our own, but stress is stress in any age. So for this particular time on the calendar, I'll refer to a yoga term called the "Yamas." And one yama in particular, which is "Brahmacharya."

Briefly, the yamas are described in Patajanli's Yoga Sutras, one the earliest texts ever written about yoga. To simplify, the yamas are "restraints" or "self disciplines" for our own personal yoga practice. It can also be depicted as certain ways we conduct ourselves in the outside world. They include such practices as truthfulness, non-stealing, non-harming, etc.

I bring up Brahmacharya becauses it is an observance about containing your energy and not giving everything away (time, money, etc) to everyone, at all times. And this is not just during the holidays. This should be practiced at all times, but it's especially important now when we are running this marathon to buy presents, bake cookies, go to parties, etc. Brahmacharya is about boundaries, setting them and keeping them. And it's about saying that dreaded word, "No."

What can you let go of or at least lighten your burden so you are not feeling so rushed and stressed during this time? By letting something go and saying no, you say YES to your personal needs, like your yoga practice. The true practice of Brahmacharya forces us to balance all of these activities AND still have time for ourselves. Keep a little for yourself and maybe this year, you'll feel alot more of the true essence of the season: gratitude, family, love, peace and miracles.