The holiday season invites shimmering snow, hot drinks inside and long-awaited family gatherings. On the other hand, it can also invoke financial stress, complex family dynamics and a whole host of stressors.

Though upbeat holiday songs may suggest differently, “holly jolly” isn’t the only emotion of the season. Instead, stress increases, but many practices can help release these emotions and invite better ones this holiday season.

Amy Reed, heart nurse navigator at St. Charles Hospital in Bend, teaches people how to curb stress during the winter season, from clearing busy schedules to finding gratitude.

Recognizing your limits

With an influx of invitations to holiday parties and gatherings, one way to prepare for stress is give yourself permission to respectfully decline.

“You can say no when there’s events and things that you’ve been invited to that you feel like it’s going to be too overwhelming,” Reed said.

Before holiday parties, Reed recommends eating a meal or bringing healthy food options to better control emotions.

“It helps people kind of feel like they’re in charge of the situation,” Reed said. “If there’s nothing else that is going to be offered at the party, you at least have something that you’ve made that you know is healthy for you.”

When gifts pile up, financial stress may, too.

“Financially, the holidays could be stressful, with everything being so expensive these days,” Reed said. “(It’s important to find) different traditions like gift exchange, maybe instead of feeling like you have to buy gifts.”

Reed recommends donating to a local charity on someone’s behalf, or volunteering at a shelter with friends or family as a way to give back to the community.

Staying in the present

Our stress and anxiety can be rooted in future worries and problems of the past. Presence can be the medicine to rid us of the increased stress during the holidays, according to Lauren Davey, senior instructor and head of fundraising at NamaSpa yoga studio in Bend.

As the cold winter weather creeps in, more people pack into the studio to find meditative practices, Davey said.

“There are many ways that we can take nervous system regulation into our own hands,” Davey said. “At the studio, we offer yoga classes, and that is found to be very therapeutic for people, but also sound baths, meditations and things like that.”

For those who can’t get into a studio this season, people searching for mindfulness practice can find online meditation and yoga classes.

Even Central Oregon’s cold outdoors can be a place to exercise meditation.

Bundling up for a walk outside is always a great idea, Davey said. Breathing in fresh air and appreciating winter’s beauty instead of hiding from the cold is another way to find peace.

Additionally, moving the body is a great outlet to move emotions and feelings, especially during the hibernation time of year, Davey said.

“It’s so important to remember that it’s normal for us to slow down in the winter,” Davey said. “We are natural mammals that should be following nature’s rhythms and take the time to slow down and be more introspective in the winter.”

Finding inner peace

Breathwork is a great tool for regulating the nervous system, Davey said.

“We can’t necessarily control our nervous system, but we can control the breath,” Davey said. “That gives us an avenue to take control of our feelings from the inside rather than just letting like our external circumstances affect our internal world.”

During the season of gifting, Davey recommends ‘tis-ing the season for gratitude as a way to reduce stress.

“When we focus on gratitude, we remember that what we have is enough, and we can live life from that sense of fullness,” Davey said.

Writing down things you’re grateful for is a way to recognize gratitude and find peace within what you already have, Reed said.

Meditation by Eckhart Tolle, spiritual teacher:

“Imagine that you are a lake, and the surface of the lake changes according to the weather, wind and rain, but the depth of the lake always remains undisturbed,” Davey said. “The depth of the lake is your inner state not dependent on external things.”

Countdown method with our senses by Lauren Davey, senior instructor and head of fundraising at NamaSpa yoga studio in Bend.:

• Five things you can see
• Four things you can hear
• Three things you can feel
• Two things you can either taste or smell
• One thing you want to feel or cultivate emotionally

“(I) finish with that feeling and go forth with that has my intention for whatever challenges coming up for me.”

Square breathing technique from Amy Reed:

Breathe in for five seconds, hold your breath for five seconds, exhale for five seconds and hold your breath for five seconds.

“Sometimes just five to 10 of those in a row can just completely reset your stress level and your anxiety,” Davey said.