Image by Mark Skrobola.
This post on navigating the holidays in health and happiness is courtesy of Dr. Miranda Marti and the rest of the staff at Balancing Health.
Between now and the New Year you’re likely to encounter many demands on your time and attention. With that in mind, here is a selection of local services you may find worthwhile to help you maintain a healthy balance between the joys and challenges of the holiday season.
Entertaining yourself, your kids or your guests
Fresh Picked Seattle is a fantastic day-by-day calendar of food and nature-related activities going on throughout the Seattle area. Best of all? Many of them are FREE!
We find Fresh-Picked Seattle to be an essential resource for finding fun, natural and affordable activities throughout the year, but particularly so during holidays when we have out-of-town guests or out-of-school kids to entertain.
From cooking classes for toddlers to jewelry making for teens to beer, wine, whisky and chocolate tasting for adults, Fresh-Picked Seattle has an option to keep everyone entertained and in good spirits.
Finding living trees, local and sustainably made gifts
Living tree image courtesy of Our Living Forest
Woodinville’s own Molbak’s Garden & Home is our favorite place to find living trees for seasonal indoor and outdoor decor. They also feature many local, sustainably made gifts, including hummingbird feeders, bamboo kitchenware, gardening gloves and ornaments.
One of our favorite living gift ideas are Molbak’s beautiful herbal topiaries that will keep in your kitchen during the holidays and can later be planted in your garden for year-round enjoyment.
Also check out the Chick N Coop Crafts Holiday Bazar and many other holiday events at Country Village, a collection of over 40 locally owned small businesses in Bothell.
Keeping your inner peace during the holidays
Do you have acupuncture or massage benefits that are due to expire at the end of the year? Now is the time to schedule in some self-care with acupuncturists Janna Rome and Miranda Marti. Acupuncture can do wonders for promoting relaxation, improving sleep and focusing energy.
Avoiding holiday weight gain
It’s not just the holidays themselves that tempt us with more alcohol and snacks, not to mention leftovers – it’s the entire holiday season from now until New Year’s. And for some of us, that can lead to an average 1-5 pounds permanent weight gain, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
Join us on Tuesday, November 27th at 7 pm at the Balancing Health office for Dr. Mona’s Guide to Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain. Dr. Mona Fahoum provides advice and practical tips on how to avoid unintentional weight gain this holiday season while still enjoying a delicious holiday season. This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP at 425-398-9355 or via email at balancinghealth@frontier.com
Finding a new balance point in the New Year
Yoga image courtesy of Tom Mooring.
Looking to find a new balance point in your life? Need a positive antidote to the onslaught of body-shaming gym promotions that capitalize on the traditional New Year’s resolution to lose weight?
Come January, consider joining Insideout Yoga’s Realize Your Radiance Group for Women as an avenue for regaining or reinforcing a healthy mind-body balance after the holidays. Instructor Kim Trimmer offers yoga and meditation classes and workshops for individuals at any experience level in a body-positive environment.
Or if you’re looking to kick your yoga practice into high gear, consider signing up Balance Yoga Studio’s 30-Day Challenge: 30 classes in 30 days, starting January 2nd.