The time between Christmas and New Years Eve can be a bit of a funny one. After all the build up to Christmas and then Christmas itself,  I’m left feeling a bit flat and low in energy. And not entirely sure if I’m keen on building it all up again for the whole NYE thing!!!

So if Christmas has left you with that slow, flat, eaten-too-much, moved-too-little, how-on-earth-am-I-going-to-get-going-again feeling, then you are in the right place. What you need is a bit of ultra TLC. An energy boost! Together we can do this!!

In this blog I want to set out for you some of the techniques, tips and strategies that I use when I’ve indulged a bit too much, like at Christmas time. This is your guide for a rapid reset and reboot. I’m talking more energy in 24 hours or less here!

My 7 top tips for resuscitating those flagging energy levels!!

Once you’ve done this little lot, you can decide what kind of NYE you really want!!

1) Have a one day veg fest
I love a little indulgence, don’t get me wrong, but all that rich food, the strong flavours, and the amount of it….. By this time my body is crying out for something simple, easy and chockablock full of nurturing goodness. So here is my suggestion:

Try having a one day veg fest. This is where all your meals consist of vegetables. The more variety, colour and yumminess, the better. And if you can’t face cooking, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

Here are 3 easy ways to create veg only meals to get you started:

i) Grate 3 or 4 different kinds of raw veg into a bowl, add lemon juice, a tiny bit of salt, mix together for 30 seconds, leave it for 3 mins, and then you’re good to go! My fave combo is red onion (not too much cos its strong!!), carrot, beetroot and apple (for freshness).
ii) Stir-fry pan full of thinly sliced fresh veg in a little olive oil. Season it and eat!
iii) Cut a whole bunch of veg into similar sized cubes, pop them all into a big pan, sweat for about 10minutes in olive oil , add some liquid to cover them (water is fine), bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 20mins until the veg pieces are soft. Whizz with a stick blender and voila, a gorgeous veggie soup.

2) Max out those superfluids
Its true, we rarely drink enough fluids and often wait until we feel thirsty before we think about drinking more. For most of us, our sense of thirst is not very accurate at telling us when we are optimally hydrated.

So one incredible powerful and super energising thing you can do is to drink more fluids. Start the day with a hot water and lemon, drink more water and try out some new herbal teas which are naturally caffeine free. And put the alcohol off to one side…..you can do it!!

If you want more help here go to https://drmargriet.com/free-resource/ and download my free superhydration guide!

3) Ultra sleep
It’s hard to sleep properly and deeply when life is super busy, we are stressed, anxious, tired and when there is so much going on!!

We sleep in 90mnute cycles, and for most of us getting 5 cycles a night is already a huge luxury, thats 7 ½ hours!!

So for a little post christmas resuscitation, trying going for a 6 cycle night – that’s 9 hours of delicious sleep. Or you could even really go for this and have a 7 cycle night which is 10 1/2 hours.

For more tips on how to get an incredible nights sleep, you can read more here: https://drmargriet.com/10-natural-melatonin-boosters-for-better-sleep/

I dare you to try this and not feel better for it!! And if you really want to power this one up, do this for 3 nights in a row. It’s amaaaazing!! Just saying….

4) Time alone
This is a powerful practice, especially when we have struggled with people-overload!!

This is usually the one that catches me out. I absolutely LOVE being with people, connecting, having all those conversations. But, after a few days of that, I need to balance that out with a little time in my own company.

This could be because you’ve had to give a lot to others, being ultra-considerate over the christmas period, trying to please lots of different needs, or because you’ve had people staying with you…. Whatever the situation, deep down you are so ready for a bit of time and space of your own. Without someone needing something from you, or being in your space.

And it’s OK!!! It’s called balance. And I give you full permission to ditch the guilt, and give yourself some much needed time alone.

Here are some ideas to get your started: go walk the dog by yourself, get up early one morning this weekend and sit outside with your fave cuppa watching the daylight break, go out and have a coffee on your own, tuck yourself into a corner somewhere with a good book, switch off your phone for a day……

So I invite you to see how and where you could give yourself some of this precious much needed time alone.

5) Go for a long slow walk

This one is a miracle worker.

But I’m not talking about any old walk here. To be specific: not the ‘drag all the kids with you’ type, or ‘listen to your friend offload’ type, or the goal driven ‘right I’m going to walk 3 miles type’….. No!!!!

This is a ‘coming back to yourself kind of walk’. So the rules are …! You go alone, you don’t take a phone, you walk somewhere that you like and feel safe, and you go at a gentle pace, allowing yourself to experience what is around you.

20 minutes of that, and promise you, things will start to feel a little easier. Think lighter, more like yourself, and more energised..

6) The nurturing breath

This is one of my absolute favourites! Because breathing fully and deeply is so easy to do, oxygenates and energises you, and makes you feel brighter almost instantly!!!

Here is one of the simple breathing practices that I will be doing today: breathe in for a count of 6, hold it for 2, breathe out for a count of 6 and hold for 2. Repeat as many times as you like. If you are not used to breathing deeply, you might go a little light headed doing this, so go at your own pace!! You will still get the benefits!!

To deepen this practice place one hand on your belly and when you inhale, really allow the breath down into your belly, so that it moves your hand.

Lying down on the floor adds yet another layer to this one! Go have fun, experiment, play with it. Breathe yourself into awesome energy!!

7) Siesta with a twist
I’ve always believed I was born in the wrong country. I just know I belong somewhere where a daily siesta is part of the natural culture!!

But here’s the thing, simply lying down for 20minutes in the middle of the day isn’t necessarily that relaxing. Because our busy mind gets in the way, or we worry that we should be doing something else, and so on.

So siesta with a twist goes like this: find a deeply relaxing piece of music, set your alarm for 20 minutes, and then lie down and allow yourself to float on the notes. Just float. That’s it!!! Soooooo good for you!!

So there you are, my 7 favourite post-christmas resuscitation techniques!!

How to put all of this into action

The first thing is don’t panic! You don’t have to do all of them to start getting the benefits.

Here are some suggestions:

– You could do one or two every day over the next 3 days.
– You could ring fence off a chunk of time eg few hours or even a whole day, and do them all!! Like a mini home-retreat.
– You could add your own favourite practices into the mix.

But whatever you do, give yourself some extremely well-deserved post christmas self care and self nurture.

Say hello to lovely relaxed energy levels and goodbye to feeling yuck, slow and low!!!!

Happy New Year!

Love
Margriet xx