The true meaning of Thanksgiving can easily get lost in translation when we are so focused on the wide array of particulars. Maybe you are the host this year and a dozen family members or more are about to grace your dining table. Perhaps it is you and your own family’s turn to pack up the Suburban  and trek across the country to be the guests of honor. However you live your Thanksgiving experience, it is easy to forget about thanks and giving. It is often not until grace is said, the wine glasses clink and someone passes the stuffing that we actually relax and feel some gratitude, yet this moment of pure thankfulness doesn’t have to be lost when the meal ends and grandma starts loading the dishwasher.

Whether we believe Thanksgiving Day marks a time when the pilgrims and the Indians set aside their need to fight over their differences, or feel it began as a simple celebration of the bountiful fall harvest, it remains a day that reminds us all to practice gratitude.

Each and every one of us can think of something we are grateful for yet our thankfulness is often overshadowed by our busy and hectic schedules before and after Thanksgiving Day. The following reminders will help you to keep feeling gratitude before, during and long after Thanksgiving Day has past so that the other 364 days of the year are filled with just the same amount of joy that being grateful brings.

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If you are feeling overwhelmed by your impending holiday agenda, read on.

Whether it’s a calendar full of parties, hosting responsibilities, or kids’ activities that have you running around like a chicken without a head, do yourself a favor and take just five minutes of your time to practice this guided meditation and refresh, restore and replenish your peace of mind. It will not only help you, it will help those around you. People will gravitate toward you because you will radiate with pure, inner tranquility, and that will look better on you than any facial treatment I know of.  Can you think of a more perfect way to be this holiday season?

Sit in a comfortable position away from external distractions such as the telephone, radio or television. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths, breathing in and out through your nose. Draw your awareness inward by tuning in to physical sensations throughout your body. Resist the temptation to judge these sensations, just notice them from an unbiased point of view. If you feel tension, fatigue or tightness anywhere in your body, just be aware for now. Try not to force changes.

Next, focus your attention on the base of your spine. Visualize a tiny flame there, flickering with a gentle glowing light. Feel a warm and soothing sensation emitting from this flame. Notice your hips, legs and feet relax completely.

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It is no wonder people get sick, feel depressed, gain weight or have little energy throughout the holiday season. A change in your diet and exercise program, plus frenzied trips to the shopping mall can zap your vitality and well being faster than you can say, “Happy holidays.”

It is important to take care of yourself in order to maintain your health (and sanity) through this busy time of year. Eating right, exercising and getting enough rest are the obvious ways to combat stress. In addition, adding a few moments in your day to have absolutely no agenda other than to relax and practice the following gentle yoga poses will be an added bonus to further help you reduce holiday stress.

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When most people set out to lose weight, they start by thinking about what they eat, and then about how much they move. Holly Mosier provides a different approach: deal with your stress levels, and the rest will come more easily. Mosier says that stress creates real cravings by releasing hormones that trigger us to reach for fatty, salty and sugary things.

In her book Stress Less, Weigh Less, Mosier lays out a plan that will not only help you eat and workout out better, but also to calm the chaos of everyday life. Mosier’s book is rooted in her own experience of overcoming mid-life weight gain and chronic fatigue. Today, she exudes positive energy and is in incredible shape, not just for a woman who recently turned 50, but for anyone.

In the process of finding solutions that worked for her, Mosier researched diverse stress-relief techniques from different fields and cultures, to find the most useful tools that could be easily incorporated into our busy lifestyles. “I boiled it all down to the most essential nuggets,” Mosier says. Her program for stress reduction includes meditation, yoga, deep breathing and tools for adopting a positive outlook.

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Negativity is a bummer. It can ruin your day whether it comes from you, a co-worker, family member or a spouse. It has the potential to increase exponentially, and spread rapidly from person to person like a contagious and deadly virus that kills hope and optimism.

Not only can a dose of negativity squelch your good mood, it can also be detrimental to your health. Negative thinking causes stress, and we all know that the ill effects of stress are many.

In order to stop negative thinking from raining on your parade, you must block it before you’re drenched to the bone with sodden pessimism.  The following steps can help.

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