Holidays are filled with challenges. In addition to the regular stresses of shopping, cooking and traveling, there are decisions to be made about how and where to celebrate. This is particularly true for people in transition, including those soon-to-be or recently married.

Do you celebrate with your family or your partner’s? Do you split your time? Alternate years or alternate holidays? Do you celebrate in your own way with friends?

These decisions can be difficult and quite emotionally charged. Parents and siblings can try to sway your thoughts. You can feel guilty and sad or surprisingly excited.

Choosing how to spend your holidays has some of the same flavor as choosing how to celebrate your wedding. Which traditions do you keep? Do you follow one family’s tradition or the other? Do you combine or merge them? Do you create something new that is meaningful for you as a couple?

In the end, different couples make different decisions. What is important for both holidays and weddings is to come to a thoughtful decision that works for you both.

One important part of coming to a comfortable decision is knowing what you and your partner really want. Another is sitting still with the ramifications.

So on the eve of this holiday season, I wish you a few quiet moments to turn inward and hear the small voice within that knows your truth. And, the warm courage to live it through.

I Do Yoga supports couples through the wedding process. For more information visit www.i-do-yoga.com/services or call 781-258- 9187.

To live more gracefully through the holidays (and the entire wedding process), use this calming and balancing breath known as Alternate Nostril Breathing.

1. Using the right hand, gently press the thumb against the right nostril and breathe in through the left nostril.
2. Then press the ring finger against the left nostril and breathe out through the right.
3. Breathe in through the right and then out through the left.
4. Continue breathing in through one nostril and out the other for 10 or more breaths.
5. End by exhaling out the left nostril and breathing naturally.

This breathing technique is great for diffusing overwhelm and bringing you back to your senses. Try it when things get crazy in the kitchen, as you're taking off in the airplane or when you have spent the day shopping for gifts and need to gather yourself.

Enjoy your holidays!

I Do Yoga offers yoga classes and workshops. For a complete calendar visit www.i-do-yoga.com/calendar.