How Will You “Manage the Holidays?”

Wednesday, October 29, 5:30 – 7 p.m., Orcas Library

— from Michael Elder —

As the days get shorter, the social expectations of being happy and with family rise. Christmas-Chanukah-Kwanza is often the peak of family expectation and a time when many of us are involved in making sure others are having a joyous holiday. This workshop explores the way we experience the Holiday Season and how we can find our own joy and calm in the midst of the hubbub.

The workshop consists of two parts: first, using the techniques of Formative Psychology we will explore the “anatomical shapes” we adopt in response to the holidays, both the joy and excitement and their opposites. We will explore the degrees of these experiences as we practice increasing and decreasing the intensity of our experiences at will. Then we will consolidate what was learned using the Yoga Nidra form called Integrative Restoration.

Workshop participants will:

• Become more aware of how they are responding to the holidays
• Learn one or more ways to shift their experience through brief, repeated, practice.
• Understand the basic theory and practice of Formative Psychology and the Integrative Restoration (iRest)® form of Yoga Nidra.

Michael Elder is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Trauma Specialist. He has been helping people learn conscious influence over their thoughts, emotions, and actions for 40 years.