Learning how to reduce holiday stress in Palm Beach

Kimberly LaRue in the King Library

In the tranquil setting of the Society for the Four Arts campus, a group of women mostly older than a certain age gathered for a free talk on how to reduce holiday stress. They came to the Palm Beach campus to hear instructor Kimberly LaRue present her techniques for practicing mindfulness.

After gathering on the second floor of the King Library amidst the hardcover books and waiting for the session to start, they bantered with each other. One woman told her talkative friend, "You stress the rest of us."

"I know," replied the woman to whom that comment was directed, "that helps keep me de-stressed."

Bell ringing

LaRue began the session by ringing a bell three times and telling the group to train their minds to stay in the moment. "Like a puppy," she said, "train your mind to stay....No other moment, but this moment....Every time you bring your mind back, it is like a bicep curl for your brain."

Audience at the mindfulness talk

She presented her 12 steps for Mindfulness in the Holidays.

1. Use the STOP technique -- For 1-3 minutes every hour during the workday, become aware of your breathing and bodily sensations, allowing the mind to settle in as a time to regroup and recoup:

a. Stop what you are doing.
b. Take a breath.
c. Observe how you are feeling, feel feet planted on the floor, how your hands are feeling, etc.
d. Proceed -- return to what you were doing.

2. Don't multitask, do one thing at a time. When you multitask, LaRue told the group, studies show you end up doing fewer things and none very well.

3. Be selective about attending parties and holiday celebrations. You don't have to say yes to all of the invitations.

LaRue rings a bell.

4. Make a list, a short list. Now forget the list, adapt!

5. Spend time doing the things you like best. Book yourself first on your calendar, she told group. As an example, she talked about the familiar phrase airplane passengers hear, "Apply the face mask to yourself, then help others."

6. Create traditions that fulfill your present needs. Find comfort in old rituals.

7. Make your transitions mindful in the beginning of the day, the middle of the day and the end of the day.

8. If you find yourself over-focused, go out in nature and look at the sky, hear the birds, smell the fresh air.

9. Notice your surroundings through fresh eyes.

10. Feel the dough in your fingers as you roll out cookies; be present, feel it, smell it.

11. Be aware of family dynamics, and the stories we tell ourselves from the past. Learn to forgive yourself and others.

12. Do your best -- according to your capabilities.

Keep calm and carry on

The 12 steps are just a taste of her 8-week workshop on mindfulness. She is offering free introductory sessions on January 7 at Muses & Visionaries in West Palm Beach. Morning and evening sessions are available.

Her Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction workshop relies on a program developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, she explained. The program costs $400, but scholarships are available.

Gratitude

LaRue had planned to start the session by showing this video on gratitude, which is central to mindfulness. But she had technical difficulties getting the video to run on her Apple laptop. She told us we could find the video on YouTube by searching for "gratitude hd." Here it is:

Going to yoga? Bring a can

Famed yoga teacher Priyanka Shanbag is collecting non-perishable items at her Tuesday evening and Saturday morning yoga classes at the Mandel Public Library. The items will go to the Extended Hands Community Outreach food program in West Palm Beach. Items will be collected until the end of January.

And now, for my numbers:

I had my best walking day last week on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, when I walked:

Steps: 10,989

Miles: 5.5