The holiday season brings a lot of extra to our lives leaving us with less energy and more overwhelm than usual as Highly Sensitive People.

Extra stress, extra overwhelm and expectations, extra fun and joy but also extra food and extra sugar.

We have enough to manage this time of year as HSPs without literally adding more to our plates.

Today we’re talking about mindful eating with a BONUS Mindfulness Practice at the end of the episode!

NOTE: To fully experience everything this episode has to offer you may want to listen to it at home or in another place where you feel at ease and where you have access to a piece of food- nothing elaborate or complicated is needed- just a small piece of fruit will do. 

Reach out and let me know how this practice went for you! ♥

Resources:

Mindful Eating | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Sifu Rubia discovered the benefits of Tai Chi and Qi Gong as a way to heal herself. Now she has made it her life’s mission to share and teach these ancient healing practices with others, so we may maintain overall health, rejuvenate our bodies, recapture youthful energy, and most importantly as HSPs, introduce more equanimity and balance into our lives.

Enjoy this beautiful conversation about how these ancient practices can bring us more balance, grounding, and healing as Highly Sensitive People.

Course Info:

Qi Gong for Grounding Course Free during December 2021 with VIP Code: GRATITUDE2021

Tai Chi Fundamentals for Beginners Course 50% off for HSH podcast listeners with VIP Code: HSP50

Find Sifu Rubia:

Website: Wei Wu Tai Chi

Instagram: weiwutaichi

Books:

The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi

The Tao Te Ching, translation by Stephen Mitchell

Tai Chi Classics, Translated by Waysun Liao

A Guide to Tai Chi for Amputees and individuals with limb difference

Seated Tai Chi Videos:

Wheelchair Tai Chi practice

Seated Tai Chi for Home Practice

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." Robert Brault

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in all the big things we're experiencing both externally and internally as Highly Sensitive People that we lose sight of the glorious gift of simply being alive.

I hope you find this meditation useful.

I am eternally grateful that you are here with me on this journey.

Tonya ♥

On the surface it looks like we’re getting closer to one another— yet so many of us feel lonely during the holiday season.

This can be a time of celebration, love, and togetherness but for many of us, it’s simply a time of loneliness and sorrow.

According to the Roots of Loneliness Project nearly 50% of Americans feel lonely or left out. There are over 80+ distinct sub-types of loneliness (loneliness during the holidays being just one) meaning that whatever type of loneliness you’re experiencing others are feeling it too.

If this time of year is especially painful for you, know that you are not alone.

In this episode I share a few suggestions that have helped me and that you might like to try if you struggle with loneliness. They are things that you can try not just during the holidays but all year round.

Tonya ♥

Resources:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Highly Sensitive Healing Circle Community

International Helplines

Volunteer Connections

The Roots of Loneliness Project

It's that time again! The holidays are upon us and so are all of the joys, stresses and overwhelm that come along with them. In this episode we’ll talk about 5 simple ways to manage holiday season stress that you can also use all year round!

In this episode we’re talking about the very special kind of stress and struggle that comes with the holiday season. The sights, sounds, smells, the crowds, and all awkward forced fun can leave us more overwhelmed and overstimulated than usual. 

Resources:

SAMHSA's National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

International Helplines

5 Fixes for the Winter Blues Article

Is making decisions tough for you? Do you spend sleepless nights agonizing over what to do? Are you afraid to hurt someone's feelings or are you afraid of the consequences when you’re faced with a tough choice?

As HSPs we often have a real fear of making the wrong decision and this can leave us feeling frozen and afraid to move forward spending countless hours agonizing over what to do. 

This is not only tiring emotionally but physically and spiritually as well. And if we don’t know to look for it, decision fatigue can be hard to recognize disguising itself as just a general sense of feeling weary from our environment and all the things we come up against every day as HSPs. 

Today we’re talking about making choices and decision fatigue, how it affects us as HSPs and how we can make the process a bit easier. 

Britta Vercoutter is an HSP entrepreneur who specializes in heart centered marketing and design who helps highly sensitive entrepreneurs grow their business. She creates personalized solutions to help HSPs feel more confident in online spaces.

As an HSP Britta has the life experience to support those of us who want to go out on our own but need direction when it comes to setting the all-important boundaries we need to maintain our well-being.

Today Britta shares the ups and downs of her journey as an HSP business owner and some great advice about things shes learned along the way!

More about Britta and her work:

Website: www.brittavercoutter.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/britta.vercoutter

Facebook Group

Instagram

As a highly sensitive person do you ever feel invisible? Or maybe you feel only seen and appreciated for what you can do for others and how you make them feel about themselves, instead of for who you truly are.

When we feel overlooked or dismissed on a regular basis it can increase our emotional distress and manifest in unhealthy ways through feelings of sadness, anger, envy and shame, it can affect our sleep, eating habits, and energy levels. 

Feeling rejected and ignored can lead us down a lonely path as HSPs, leaving us more isolated and disconnected and this is something we must be mindful of when it comes to our mental health.

Resources:

SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (USA)

International Links: International Mental Health Resources and Helpful Links

Mental health resource hub: ‍This page contains a wide range of mental health services around the world.

Welcome to your 5 minute Highly Sensitive body scan meditation practice.

In this short practice, we’ll focus on centering and calming ourselves when we only have a few minutes to spare… but sometimes that's all we need to reduce our stress and overwhelm.

***

Remember that mediation isn’t always appropriate for everyone. If you experience any discomfort emotionally or physically it is perfectly fine to just stop, and remove yourself from the practice. The whole point is to feel better and peaceful. If you become uncomfortable at any time, you may open your eyes, or shift your attention to something else.

Please do not use this meditation while driving or during any other activity where you need to be alert.

This meditation may not be appropriate for some trauma survivors.

In this practice, we will explore different sensations in our body through body scan meditation.

The purpose of this meditation is to connect to our physical self while noticing any sensations, sensitivities, or stress we're experiencing without judgement.

***

Remember that mediation isn’t always appropriate for everyone. If you experience any discomfort emotionally or physically it is perfectly fine to just stop, and remove yourself from the practice. The whole point is to feel better and peaceful. If you become uncomfortable at any time, you may open your eyes, or shift your attention to something else.

• Please do not use this meditation while driving or during any other activity where you need to be alert.
• This meditation may not be appropriate for some trauma survivors.