If the holidays push you to your wit’s end, you can relieve your stress by taking an occasional break to find peace and serenity.

For many people, the holidays are fantastic. However, they’re also a lot of work. Resultantly, preparing for and participating in holiday events can prove stressful.

Anxiety is common in America. For example, 30% of respondents in a recent survey of college students expressed experiencing feelings of overwhelming stress.

Meditation Can Relieve Your Holiday Anxiety

During stressful holidays, you can practice meditation to prepare your mind to redirect your thoughts and focus on positivity. Meditation increases your awareness of yourself and your present environment. Consistent meditation enables many people to maintain lower normal stress levels while increasing their overall concentration.

Meditation can also help you develop other useful traits – such as heightened pain tolerance, restful sleep and self-discipline – that will help you breeze through the holidays.

The following are four meditations that you can try to find calm during the holidays.

1. Guided Meditation

Begin by relaxing mentally and physically and taking a few deep breaths. Acknowledge your true feelings – whether you’re stressed or relaxed. Next, picture the holiday unfolding.

Assign an emotional label to holiday events as they unfold in your mind. Pick one word that describes how you feel. After acknowledging your emotions, breathe, relax and stay in the present.

Now, focus on someone that you care about deeply. After focusing on a loved one, hold on to the feeling that they inspire, but turn that emotion toward yourself.

Now, practice letting go of anxiety as potentially stressful holiday circumstances arise in your mind by holding onto that emotion of compassion. By practicing guided meditation, you can prepare yourself when real-life stressors arise.

2. Mindful Walking

Amid a never-ending procession of calling, cleaning, reminiscing, shopping and texting – all while continuing to run a household – you’re probably going to do a lot of walking during the holidays. A few free minutes while walking is an excellent opportunity to practice mindfulness, free from a cell phone and negative thoughts.

Stretch out your brief walk by slowing down your pace. Allow your mind to slow down as well.

As you settle into a rhythm, focus on your footsteps and how it feels as your feet rise and fall. Try this quick meditation two to three minutes at a time and once or twice a day.

3. Joyful Meditation

Prepare for joyful meditation by getting comfortable. Find a relaxed position and focus on breathing slowly and rhythmically with even breaths.

Once you find a sustainable breathing pattern, think about your loved ones, whether it’s a spouse, pet, friend or someone else who generates a positive feeling. In the unlikely event no one in the world can help you visualize positivity, imagine a positive feeling moving in and out of your body as you breathe.

Try not to let your mind wander away from focusing on your breathing. Continue to breathe in feelings of positivity for a few minutes until you feel more relaxed.

4. Nature Meditation

More than likely, there’s someplace within walking distance that can make you feel closer to nature. Any area with vast greenery or some geographically natural feature can provide you with an opportunity to meditate.

If you live near the beach, for instance, watch the ocean and how the waves rise and fall. This exercise is a good lesson in how thoughts and emotions enter and exit the mind.

If you live in a city with a barren landscape, don’t worry. Look up at the sky and observe the movement of the clouds, and – if possible – observe any avian wildlife, while clearing your mind of all thoughts and reveling in positivity.

Don’t Forget About the Kids!

It’s easy to get lost in your anxiety and forget that other people feel stress too. Kids can also experience the pressure created by a flurry of holiday activity.

A Pew Research Center survey of teenagers revealed that 70% of teens experience anxiety and depression regularly. The holidays can amplify these feelings.

Furthermore, kids can find that a never-ending series of classes, online pursuits and other activities prove mentally and physically tiring. As a result, many of today’s children suffer from extremely high stress levels, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Meditation is a way for kids to unplug and relax their bodies and minds.

Regular meditation can help you and your family reduce your anxiety levels and prevent stress from spiraling into more significant problems, such as clinical anxiety and depression. Some meditation practices can even help you improve your self-image as well as your outlook on life.

By embracing healthy habits such as mindfulness and meditation, you can promote long-term health benefits for your entire family.