Reclaiming Ease and Enchantment During the Holidays

There’s something electric about the holidays.

Lights flicker, calendars fill, hearts swell — and so does the nervous system.

We stack expectations higher than our trees, chasing that one perfect moment of “magic.”

But here’s the truth I keep returning to:

✨ the spirit we’re searching for has never left. ✨

It’s already humming beneath the noise, steady and waiting — like breath.

The Pressure to Be Magical

We’re told to make the season special — bake the cookies, wrap the gifts, light the candles, host with grace, sparkle with joy.

But our bodies often whisper otherwise.

Underneath the glitter, our nervous systems are quietly trying to regulate the excess: the lights, the sugar, the travel, the emotional caretaking.

It’s not weakness. It’s biology.

When the holidays flip our internal switches to “fight, flight, or freeze,” we forget that calm is our natural state.

The parasympathetic system — the one that invites digestion, rest, connection — becomes buried under sensory overload and endless “shoulds.”

No wonder so many of us end up breath-holding through December.

Nervous System Wisdom for a Season That Overflows

What if we didn’t perform the holidays, but felt them instead?

When we breathe deeply, sway, hum, or listen to the resonance of sound bowls or a quiet night sky, we invite our vagus nerve to soften.

This is the body’s secret door back to peace.

Try pausing between errands to simply feel your feet on the earth.

Drink your morning coffee (or Purity brew 😉) in silence before scrolling.

Step outside and listen — not to fix or plan, but to remember.

Your body will tell you what pace it longs for.

The Primal and the Present

Our ancestors didn’t have electricity or noise machines — their rituals were the rhythm of the earth.

They gathered, sang, feasted, and then rested.

They honored cycles: the dark was for dreaming, the light for action.

That rhythm still lives in our DNA.

When we return to those primal roots — through ceremony, laughter, and stillness — we awaken something cellular.

We remember what “holiday” really means: holy-day.

A pause to realign with what is sacred — breath, body, and belonging.

Childlike Enchantment Never Dies

Even when there was chaos or scarcity, we remember the warmth — the smell of pine, the flicker of a candle, the hum of togetherness.

Our innocent hearts didn’t need perfect décor; they simply needed wonder.

That’s the invitation this season: to trade perfection for presence, consumption for connection, and performance for play.

Enchantment doesn’t come from electricity or endless effort.

It’s the natural current that flows when we slow down enough to feel it.

Returning to Resonance

This year, I’m letting my nervous system lead the way.

I’m saying yes to presence, sound, laughter, and small sacred circles — and no to anything that pulls me out of my body.

You can join me in The Breathing Room for a session of sound healing, or simply create your own “Respite Play” moment at home:

light a candle for your ancestors, hum a note until it vibrates in your chest, or share a slow cup of tea with someone you love.

The nervous system doesn’t need more sparkle; it needs safety.

And once it feels safe, the sparkle returns all on its own.

Because — and I’ll say it louder for those in the back of the sleigh —

🎄 the spirit is already here. 🎄