When you think of the holidays, how would you describe their essence and purpose?
At their core, the holiday season is a time for joy, connection, love, and gratitude. Yet we live in a society that has created some chaos with all the pressure to buy things and adhere to certain norms. Naturally, many of us have gotten pulled away from the celebratory essence of the holiday which can make us feel a bit disconnected from it all.
Today, we’d like to share some tips on how cacao can help you feel connected to the true energy of these celebrations. We’ll also share how you can nurture a calm and grounded state when you are in family gatherings (which we all know can sometimes be a bit stressful).
Holiday Season Tips
Tip #1:
Studies have revealed that the holidays can cause stress due to five main reasons: feeling a lack of time, money worries, overcommercialization, gift-giving pressure, and family gatherings. Stress can reduce neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin which are necessary for maintaining a positive mood. This is where our ceremonial cacao can come in as your ally! Cacao contains both of these neurotransmitters along with many others that aid in a healthy brain chemistry. By adding a daily dose of ceremonial grade cacao to your morning routine, you’ll be proactive in ensuring that you can meet these sometimes frantic times with mindfulness and a positive outlook.
Tip #2:
Another tip for the holiday season is to create a plan or a routine for yourself that you can take anywhere with you! This way we can manage feelings of overwhelm and avoid getting distracted and forgetting about where we’re headed and what’s truly important. This can look like breathing mindfully for five minutes every morning before beginning your day, or journaling about how you want to show up before you head off to a gathering. No amount of time is too little. Dedicating space to yourself can make the world of a difference, AND creates more capacity for you to be present with your loved ones. With this kind of devotion to yourself, you will also develop clarity on your boundaries which are important to have when it comes to sharing your time.
If you want to explore what it means to have healthy boundaries during the holidays, we recommend sitting with a daily dose of Oaxacan Spice Cacao which activates solar plexus energy, which is the energy center in charge of our autonomy and inner power.
Tip #3:
Society has shifted the emphasis of the holidays from quality time to materialism by pressuring us to buy more, more, and more. But likely, some of the most special gifts you have received are not material or don’t conform to the capitalistic view of what’s valuable. So we invite you to put a little less pressure on yourself this year and listen to your heart for creativity in how you give gifts. As foodies, one of our personal favorites is creating a meal for your loved ones. You could also invite everyone to connect on a soul level by sharing your favorite cacao in a small family ritual or in 1:1s with different family members! There are endless possibilities, what matters is that it comes from your heart.
