Candice Wu 0:00

This is your life and holiday season. This episode is all about how you get to design, enjoy, savor and exercise the power of loving yourself through the holidays. Try out eight embodied ways you can love, take good care of yourself, and respect yourself through the holidays.

Candice Wu 0:17

Hello and welcome. You’re listening to the Embody Podcast, a show about remembering and embodying your true nature, inner wisdom, embodied healing, and self-love.

Candice Wu 0:32

My name is Candice Wu and I’m a holistic healing facilitator, intuitive coach, and artist, sharing my personal journey of vulnerability, offering meditations and guided healing support, and having co-creative conversations with healers and wellness practitioners from all over the world.

Candice Wu 0:49

I want to send a personal and heartfelt thank you to all of the new patrons on Patreon this month, I deeply appreciate your support, it’s been really exciting to see who’s coming through and to welcome you to the community in this way. All of the money that is donated to Patreon is in support of the back end experience behind the podcast, the production, as well as all of the time and energy, and love that I put into it.

Candice Wu 1:21

So, this year for the holidays, if you want to give a gift to a good cause, consider donating to the Embody Podcast, where all that money goes to support healing and self-love for yourself and everyone involved. And you might consider donating in someone else’s name, someone who likes the podcast or would benefit from receiving a gift, like a personalized healing meditation, each quarter or a group healing session or any of the Q and A and meditation offerings that I have that are gifts of donating. You can find all that information at CandiceWu.com/patreon.

Candice Wu 2:01

So, it’s the holiday season, I invite you to cozy up with me today in this conversation. Today, I have some mint tea with me, and I invite you to cozy up with a warm drink or something that feels pleasant for you.

Candice Wu 2:22

Like my mint tea with some honey.

Candice Wu 2:24

You take a moment and get something for yourself or get a blanket.

Candice Wu 2:42

And let’s check-in a little bit. So, as you sit down, just feel into yourself and notice how you’re doing. Take a moment for yourself. Just feel your breath. And let yourself arrive here. We’re here together. It’s a pleasure to have you here. And I’m just delighted that you tuned in. Thank you.

Candice Wu 3:12

So, this year for the holidays, I’ll be in Germany, and we are wrapping up our time in Spain, my partner and I, and I’ll be visiting where his family lives. And it’s interesting because typically, I’m normally in Hong Kong, where I have some family and I get to see my grandma. So, being in cold weather again for Christmas is actually kind of exciting. I’m also preparing myself for where I’ll be in January, which is coming up pretty quickly. And for some time, I just had no idea where I was going but felt like I need to book my flights, I need to make some plans. And the interesting thing is that all I knew was I wanted to be around horses more. I wanted to warmth, warm weather, and I want to be able to podcast and work with my clients as well as write and develop some of my online courses about dreamwork and other things that are happening behind the scenes here.

Candice Wu 4:18

And it was interesting to feel a large amount of uncertainty and discomfort around that, and just slowly leaning into that and trusting that I will find my way when I find it and things will be revealed when they’re revealed, which is something that I’ve learned over time is one of my patterns that I’ll feel discomfort and uncertainty. And then I’ll slowly lean in and things will be revealed over time that I couldn’t have even known a week ago or three days ago. And as I embrace them when they come, the next thing reveals itself and things just flow from there, and usually, that comes with a great deal of ease.

Candice Wu 4:59

So, that ease, inspiration, and knowing does come, even though there’s some fear along the way. Does that happen to you? Does that sound familiar? And if it does, notice your words and your story around that fear, discomfort. This place of discomfort might be just the place where you can learn a little more about yourself. What’s the meaning that you apply to fear, anxiety, nervousness or uncertainty that’s an interesting part of either your story, your past life or your ancestry? So, within that, you can really explore and deepen something there that can also clear up at the root. So that fears just fear or that maybe there isn’t fear. And it’s just a little feeling of, huh, I don’t know what’s happening next.

Candice Wu 6:02

So I’d be curious what happens for you. And you’re more than welcome to reach out to me and share that. I love hearing from you. And knowing what’s going on for you, side by side this podcast. But just to give you an idea of what’s happened then is that I found this website help x.net through a friend and started looking at some of the sites on there. They’re all farms or people looking for help in different parts of the world. And I saw this post that just seemed absolutely perfect. It was a woman who’s a psychiatric nurse, and she has four horses, and she’s wanting help in exchange for horsemanship lessons. It’s in Ireland, I just didn’t think I’d be going to Ireland, but what better way to work with horses than to be out in the middle of nowhere in Ireland and learning from someone who sounds like she’s really connecting with horses in a compassionate way, which brings me to one of the topics today is how to be compassionate to yourself, and one of the things that I’ve been thinking about is respect.

Candice Wu 7:18

Today is Wednesday, as I record this podcast that will go out Monday. And I meant to do this podcast over the weekend. That was my plan, but I kept feeling like I wasn’t ready or other things were important, and they felt exhausted by the time I could get to this. And the word respect came to mind. I was feeling into how can I really respect myself, respect my boundaries and my needs, my energy in order to approach this podcast in a way that actually conveys that respect and love that I’m sharing with all of you. So, can I come from that energy, too? And that meant I had to push this off practically to the last minute, which is still okay.

Candice Wu 8:12

So, how are you respecting your energy, respecting yourself through the holidays, through life? And that respect really got brought up when I was thinking about working with this woman in Ireland, because she talked about interacting with horses in a way that is not predatorial because horses are prey animals, they are always looking out for what’s going to hurt them or eat them or what’s going to prey upon them. And humans are more predatorial in general, and a lot of our behaviors towards horses, she explained and I’ve been learning is extremely predatorial, all two horses and they don’t feel safe, they don’t trust humans that just come up and touch them, or just start to clean their shoes or groom them without that connection beforehand.

Candice Wu 9:09

And even tying them up in order to get them to do what we want them to do, that’s extremely predatorial. I’m not judging what people are doing out there with horses, but what I’m learning is something very new to me because of all the places I’ve taken riding lessons from, we don’t exactly allow that connection to build over time, we just jump on and ride. And I think that’s just not the way I want to interact with horses at the moment. But I understand why it is or where that might be important or coming, where it’s coming from rather, the need to be on time with writing or the need to train horses so that people can ride them or work with them. But all of that really, is that a need? Is it necessary for us? Is it conquering? Which I do believe it quite is.

Candice Wu 10:12

So, if I just assert power over these animals, and do what I want to do and push what my agenda is, how much are they going to feel that connection with me and how connected will I actually feel with them? And I find that that’s how we have been treating ourselves, our spirit and our body, that we often push some agenda upon ourselves. We override what our feeling is inside about what we need. What’s truly supportive for us, and we go ahead. But we develop this dissonance between who we are, our body and what we’re doing, and how we treat ourselves and therefore that trust gets broken.

Candice Wu 11:10

So, with that, I’d like to introduce the topic today, which is how to design your life, how to respect yourself through the holidays, love yourself in ways that support you in feeling your best self into shifting out of autopilot and into presence, intention and having the permission to do it your way.

Candice Wu 11:39

So, it can be quite a busy time of year as we are continuing into the New Year, which can bring all sorts of things, shared connection, joy, rejuvenation, a lot of delicious experiences. But sometimes, it’s bringing regression, we revert to different parts of our that get triggered. Sometimes, it’s pulling ourselves off of our normal self-care routine or doing things that we feel we should do, versus the things that we want to do, and that ultimately takes a toll on us. Maybe it’s going to this holiday social gathering or party, or shopping for gifts, cooking or eating differently. All of this can start to wear on us and trigger our stress more easily.

Candice Wu 12:28

Remember that this is your life, you get to design it, you get to enjoy it the way that you want to, and be proactive about how you treat yourself, how you love yourself. And the holidays are no different. It’s, in fact, a really wonderful time to assert that respect that we’ve been talking about towards yourself. The only permission that you need to take your own steps is the fact that you already exist. This is your life, and perhaps the inner permission, that permission from yourself to choose what you want to choose, to even look at what you want for yourself.

Candice Wu 13:15

So, in this episode, I want to talk about eight ways that you can design your holidays, and take really good care of yourself from an embodied and intentional perspective. There’s also a blog post written up on this with these eight tips in a short version. And starting tomorrow, which is December 11, the day after this originally airs, there will be a day to day tip, a tip each day for all of those following on Instagram. And it’s something where you can just focus in on one thing a day and start to integrate that into your life. So, find that at Embody Your Nature on Instagram.

Candice Wu 14:00

So, let’s start with tip number one. It’s aligning yourself to your desire to the state of being. This is pretty much like an intention, but I really want to focus on that experience of what state of being do you want to be in as you move through this holiday season or move through your life in general? So, what would you like to feel like this holiday season? Would you like to be in a state of ease, in joy, calmness? Would you like to be in a frenzy? Busy or anxious? What feeling do you want to feel?

Candice Wu 14:41

Instead of letting our circumstances decide who we are being, decide our state of being, instead of letting our reactions pave the way for us, let’s be proactive, responsible and clean without our energy. This is energy hygiene, it is being attentional and aligning yourself to the state of being that you’d like to feel. And then acting from that place. Taking a step from that place, moving from there.

Candice Wu 15:14

You know, when you’re doing a task, even if it’s something like doing the dishes, if you come from the state of being of frustration and obligation, like “Why do I have to do the dishes, that pile?” Versus a state of being of ease. If you feel ease into yourself, if you have had an experience of ease before and you can tap into what that feels like in your body and come into that place before you do the dishes, your whole perspective might be different. Granted, you still might not like it, but maybe it’s coming a little easier. Maybe there’s something you can enjoy about it when you feel that doing the dishes is easy. There are much harder things in life. And of course, if you have depression or you’re in a really challenging place, stressful place in your life, if you have a life that’s very busy, then doing the dishes might be still very, very, very hard.

Candice Wu 16:24

So, there’s no shame in feeling that things are hard, but how can you help yourself the best to approach something from a different place, from a different storyline, from where you were before? So, while we can tap into a state of being that we’ve had before, for example, if I want to tap into feeling calmness. When have I felt that sort of calmness before that I’d like to feel or if I want to feel into trust, where and when was a time I felt that kind of trust that I really like to embody now?

Candice Wu 17:07

And well, that feeling might be a result of something that has happened in the past, it’s one way we can strengthen our ability to deepen into a state of being that we can call upon, over and over, we can call upon that part of ourself, that knows how to feel that way. And that just allows that feeling to enhance and grow, expand, then that state of being can come before the action and the things happening, which gives way for us to be this way, no matter what happens if it’s strong enough. And so you can build yourself to that place.

Candice Wu 17:48

A couple of weeks ago, I did a podcast on alignment, and there was a meditation on resourcing your desire, which will walk you through that whole entire process of tapping into a feeling you desire, which can support you in getting in sync with yourself, with your most aligned self, your desired state of being. So, check that out at CandiceWu.com/alignment and find the meditation called Resource Your Desire, if you want that step by step. You can also just start by journaling and seeing what words resonate with you as far as how you want to feel during this holiday season or even into the new year, And embody it, feel it in your body, how that feels And notice where you feel that where your body tells you you’re feeling joy or connection, or whatever feeling you want to feel.

Candice Wu 18:49

So, now let’s move to number two is design your holiday season, take the approach of you designing your life. So, instead of going on autopilot, and letting all the social events take over, and feeling pulled in all those directions, be proactive about how you want to spend your time, see what your values are, and what’s feeling important to right now. Does that mean you want to spend time with your family and have quiet time by the fire? Does it mean you want to see a couple of different friends or have a big party and see all of your friends? What do you want? What kind of feeling do you want?

Candice Wu 19:31

And step one of feeling into your state of being and really inform how you want to design your holiday season. And this designing aspect is that action step, the state of being was feeling how you want to feel, and that inner being, the inner energy. And this step is what steps, what actions will you take in order to create that to be congruent with the state of being that you’re going for and that you’re, you are from the inside out.

Candice Wu 20:05

So, if you could do anything you wanted, without any consequence or hurting other people’s feelings, what would you do? And how much of that would you like to go for this holiday season or this coming year? Be honest with yourself and assertive about what feels enlivening for you, and doing that helps everyone involved. It gives permission for you, yourself and those around you to create the life you want and to be in the life you want. And even if others maybe initially disappointed, this may also lead them to the path of following themselves.

Candice Wu 20:48

If you’re doing an activity that you really don’t want to be at, or you feel too exhausted to be at, you’re not going to enjoy it very much likely. And other people may feel that as well or you might push yourself to the limits and create an experience that feels good for the moment, but really you pay the price later. So, ask yourself, are you doing certain things or activities because you think you should, or because you feel obligated to? Or is it because this is just what you’ve always done this time of year? This is what you expect of yourself or what others expect you to do.

Candice Wu 21:29

Someone recently shared with me that they feared missing out, they feared not going to a networking event because they weren’t going to have that chance to network and to be seen and to share their work, their business, etc. and my thought was: if you’re not going to that holiday party, with that inspiration about your business and your marketing efforts, it probably won’t be that kind of enjoyable connection that allows the right meaningful connections to happen, and it may not be the fruitful kind of experience you want to have, anyway. If you’re going because of that fear of missing out, it’s not quite a good reason, and some parts of you will act from that place, of obligation, that place of fear. So, acting out of fear.

Candice Wu 22:28

So, I invite you to do things because you want to and to prioritize your enjoyment, design what you’d like instead of letting the holidays run you. And check in with yourself, monitor yourself a bit. If you got something on the calendar, and you’re not quite certain, if you want to be there, there’s just some feeling in you, check with yourself, “Why do I want to go? And if I don’t, what will happen? Or what do I fear” And if you have a response to that, like “I’ll miss out or people won’t get to know my work, or people will judge me”, whatever that is, then that’s a really good gauge that you might be acting out of fear.

Candice Wu 23:16

And then ask yourself, “What do I really want to do?” Get real with yourself and see what the answer is. And whatever it is, validate it, acknowledge it, maybe it’s you want to curl up in bed and read a book, or take a nap or go outside and take a walk by yourself, or go to something that’s more wild and fun, and got music, whatever it is, acknowledge what you want. And if you do have that fear of missing out, ask yourself, “Well, is what I want worth doing with my time?” And it’s a good gauge to see what you’re most compelled to do.

Candice Wu 23:58

If what you want is really not worth doing, then you might check in again and see what’s going on around that, what’s the story behind that. But if it is, if it is worth doing that, then great, because you might feel way better choosing what you truly want to do than choosing the obligatory event or thing that you would have had on the agenda. The thought I have is, why would I want to be anywhere else than where I want to be? Which is kind of a circular question, but it makes sense.

Candice Wu 24:36

The third tip I have for you is to balance giving and receiving. So, check in with yourself. I think this time of year is interesting, we’re called to give. And we’re also called to receive in a lot of ways and that can stretch us, that can trigger us, that can be too much in one direction. So, check to see if you’re really available and present to give. Check in to see if what you really need us to receive and to nourish yourself. And see if you can allow yourself to receive without shame or guilt. How much of you can receive? Your body, your emotions, your intuition, all of these are your best cues to tell you what’s truly best for you in the moment. So, respect yourself.

Candice Wu 25:27

Feel into yourself and see. Is it okay for me to give right now? Do I need to nourish myself instead? Or have I done enough of that, and it’s time to give and reach out? What you can do, an easy thing to do is check in with your heart and just to put your palms on your heart. Replace your palms together to connect yourself to your heart energy. And ask, ask yourself, “Am I open to receive?” “Am I open to giving?”

Candice Wu 26:10

As far as receiving, stretching your limits of receiving and seeing how much of you is open to receive to truly receive something with compassion for yourself and with that, embracing of what’s coming your way. So much of the time we resist what people are offering us, we end up saying to them, “I don’t want what you have to give.” And it might feel like rejection on the other end. But that’s usually because of our own insecurities around receiving. Receiving love, receiving gifts, receiving compliments. Are you often the one that’s giving? And are you able to turn that around and let yourself receive just as much as you give?

Candice Wu 27:05

From my family constellations perspective, we can look at giving and receiving, these two actions in a very interesting way. There needs to be some balance for the relationship to feel in harmony. You might also notice from which place of yourself are you giving, is it out of joy, love or excitement and inspiration or is it out of obligation? And this can be a way you take charge of your own energy is to find the place in you that wants to give for the right reasons, for the reasons that feel right for you.

Candice Wu 27:47

So, let’s take a little break and have some more of your tea or drink whatever you have there.

Candice Wu 28:00

Mine is cold now, maybe I’m talking too much.

Candice Wu 28:05

The fourth tip I have for you is to give yourself permission to be unavailable. That can be any time of the year, ofcourse. The holidays might be an important time for this. You don’t need to return every call or be at every party. You don’t need to show up everywhere you’re asked to show up. So, this is a way to take care of your energy and focus your attention on the places that you value the most right now. This is a very deep way to respect and not override your needs, your desires, what you truly feel is right for you. And you can share your gratitude for someone else’s reaching out or for their invitation and let them know you won’t be able to make it or you won’t be able to talk. You can respond when you want to, your time and space is yours.

Candice Wu 29:01

I tend to feel like when someone reaches out to me, I need to respond right away even if it’s to let them know I can’t respond or that I won’t be available for a time. What about just taking that time, and responding when you feel it’s right for you to respond? Respecting that need allows other people to respect their needs, of their timing and their pace, everyone has a different pace, some people respond right away because it feels the best for them. And I used to be that but it started to become more stressful for me. And I wanted more space and time between communications. And one of the things to move a little slower. So, what is your timing? What is the kind of pace that feels good for your inner being and for your outer being?

Candice Wu 29:52

I have a few friends that like to just go in their cave and be a hermit for periods of time. And initially, I took that a bit, personally. I didn’t understand what’s going on, but over time as I got to know them, and as we began to be more honest with each other, I realized that they need that time, they just need to go inward and be by themselves, and respecting that is really important. I’m glad that they respect that in themselves. And that also gave me a new permission to find that the pockets of time and spaces that I want something like that for myself, just like respecting a cat for going away when it wants to go away. We don’t force the cat to be right there in front of us, that would be pretty abusive. So, why not treat ourselves with that same understanding, that sometimes you just need to go this way or that way. So, give yourself that permission to be unavailable if you need it or perhaps it’s giving yourself permission to be available if you tend to be that hermit, which is an entirely different topic, but related.

Candice Wu 31:07

Okay, and now we’re to our fifth way to love yourself through the holidays. It’s to attune to pleasure and joy. There are two ways that I can feel into pleasure and joy and that’s either finding it in the moment with right where you are, noticing what feels enjoyable to look at? What sounds pleasant? What smells are here right now that feel pleasant to smell into? What feeling in your body feels pleasurable at the moment? How can I enjoy this tea a little more? And that’s just one way to just embrace what’s already happening in the moment.

Candice Wu 31:55

Another way is to create your own pleasure. So, whether that’s getting a blanket or pillow to make your body more comfortable or designing a holiday experience. Choosing that you want to go ice skating instead of going to that networking event or do an outing instead of a dinner. Create your pleasure. If you want something more step by step around this, I have two links for you around finding the pleasure in the moment or creating your pleasure. And you can check that out at the show notes connected to this episode or go to CandiceWu.com/holidays. So, I challenge you to finding your pleasure, finding your joy, and feeling into it as much as you can. If you’re at the grocery store, what is pleasant in that moment? Did feel good to stand on your two feet, or to breathe?

Candice Wu 32:58

If you’re in a conversation, what’s the joy in it? Feel into that and lean into it, let your focus go there. So that you can appreciate the moment and feel into the experience. Breathe in those lovely smells or sit in the corner that feels the most pleasant. Make yourself something delicious to eat or drink or put some candles on, or the music on or do the activity that feels exciting and enlivening to you. We’re not always trained or conditioned in ourselves to feel into our pleasure. And this can bring up a lot of other emotions. So, just be mindful and gentle with yourself about that, and ease in. So, whatever level you are at with the ability to feel joy, to feel your own pleasure, take one more step. After all, it’s the season to be jolly, right? And in so doing, you can enhance the pleasure and the joy that you feel in your being, in your life. This is a beautiful way to love yourself.

Candice Wu 34:16

Alright, and we’re at number six. And this tip is about loving your inner child. For years, whenever I’d be at a family function or at home with my family, I would get into some experience that would trigger me into feeling like I was five years old again. I’m definitely not immune to it happening now. But I know much more what to do for myself and how to shift or take care of myself when that happens. So, let’s talk about how you can take care of yourself through that.

Candice Wu 34:49

When you feel that trigger, when you feel something upsetting happen, and it might feel like, “Oh, that thing again!” Like that’s happening at again, or we’re in the same fight that we’ve always had. Maybe that’s with friends, or maybe that’s with certain family members, this is a huge opportunity to give your younger self the loving support that you never got before. It’s to give your younger self that validation or the presence, the affection, or words of soothing and encouragement, assurance that you truly need. This might take a bit of time to sense into what part of you is reacting. So, when you have a reaction, and you have the time and space for yourself or you take a break from the interaction, what you can do is ask yourself, “What part of me is upset? Or what part of he’s angry or crying? Or reacting right now?

Candice Wu 36:00

And if you could imagine, in the scope of your life, what age does this feel like? How young does this feeling feel? Or is this my five years old, upset, a 12-year old teenager? And if you can picture that part of you, you can start to see what they’re reacting to, and why. This is all for healing and loving yourself so that this wound can resolve. But for the moment of tuning into your younger self, just acknowledging what’s there without changing it at all. Acknowledge the feelings that you have. And ask this younger part, “What do you need?” Do they need someone to just sit with them while they cry? Do they want to tell their story? Do they want to throw a tantrum and wreck the Christmas dinner or throw everything out the window and onto the floor?

Candice Wu 37:06

Anything goes here, it’s all in your imagination. And when you picture the thing that your younger self needs, the healing in the body can happen. It’s like the body doesn’t really know it’s not happening, because you can use your imagination as that healing occurs.

Candice Wu 37:32

Give your younger self that space or that kind of nurturance or maybe holding and soothing, the thing that this younger part of you never got and always wanted, the thing that you ache for. Our younger parts can still desire something from the ones that we love, especially our parents or very close people to us that we relied on, usually, it’s because we relied on them for safety. We had a dependency on them. And if there are things that we needed, ways that our nervous system needed to be supported or ways that we wanted them to be, then it can be really upsetting to that younger part of us and upsetting now if things are the same or if nothing’s changed from the past. But you can turn your inner child towards yourself instead, disconnect from the previous dependency that was on your parents or loved ones, and give that need to your younger self, the attunement that they needed or presence or empathy, give that to your younger self so that that pressure is off of those that are around you, and those that aren’t going to change perhaps or haven’t changed.

Candice Wu 39:03

You don’t have to ask them to change anymore, because you can give that to yourself, you can heal and fulfill that part of you that always needed that. And this can even greatly improve your relationship with your family, your loved ones in the present moment, because that pressure isn’t on them anymore to fulfill something and you. It asks them to be more than who they are when you demand that or feel that reaction. And without that tension, they actually might be who you wanted them to be in the first place. And also you get the chance to agree to who they are today or to love them in a different way. It can restore dignity, compassion, and respect, and allows people to be who they are to be themselves right now with all of their flaws, with all their protection and ways of being that might be triggering to a younger self. You can then receive the love that they do have to give rather than trying to pine for the thing that might be futile, actually.

Candice Wu 40:16

So, be gentle and compassionate with yourself if you do get triggered by a situation and gracefully take a break if you can. Picture your sweet little one that wants and give this little one what they ate for. And better yet, you can even prepare for that family dinner or experience with people you know you might be triggered by, by imagining what it is that you do get triggered by and giving that to yourself preemptively so that that healing can take place before it even happens. And you can walk in the door with your little one in hand. Supporting that younger self in case anything does happen, you can give them the hug to reassure them or internally let your younger self know, “I love you.”

Candice Wu 41:09

And now we’re coming to the seventh tip for the holidays, is support your body. Let your body move or be the way that can support you through this holiday season. Just don’t forget about your body. Move your body, maybe that’s exercising, dancing, yoga, or free movement, walking, or some activity that you love. Incorporate that into your time or do some supportive self-touch that helps your body be present and helps your nervous system to feel grounded. You can find a practice for that in the alignment podcast which is at CandiceWu.com/alignment. There’s something called Supportive Self-touch and it walks you right through that. You can follow along anytime, maybe while you’re on a break or in the morning, before you head to some social event or work.

Candice Wu 42:05

Your body might need to be still and to rest. Let yourself feel into that stillness, especially in the winter time, it’s a time of hibernation and reflection, that inner connection.

Candice Wu 42:18

What about a bath or making everything comfortable like having slippers and soft clothing. Your body is your ally, so, support it and it supports you, you support one another.

Candice Wu 42:33

I also have some marma points for you to practice, especially heart seven. That’s following the pinky line of your hand all the way to the wrist crease. And pressing there, you can find the link in my bio to see a picture of heart seven marma point. This is an energetic point that you can massage any time of the day. And it helps release anxiety, other emotions, helps you sleep better, and ground. So, I encourage you through this season to check into what your body needs.

Candice Wu 43:15

And the last tip for today is to take a break. And actually, I’m feeling myself record this podcast and needing a bit of a break. But it’s a good thing that we’re right at the end. Don’t be afraid to go away for some time, wherever you are and whoever you’re with, just take some time in a quiet room or in a bathroom, have a breather, might even go out to your car or take a walk, phone a friend, put your headphones on and turn on a soothing song or a meditation. Just take a break when you need to. Just let your eyes be soft and look around or close your eyes and rest.

Candice Wu 44:02

So, that’s the last tip I have for you. And I’ll just leave you with a few thoughts that our experience is our responsibility. You are the only one that can truly take care of your experience and take charge of your enjoyment. So, challenge yourself to find the ways that you need to love yourself this holiday season. And no matter what happens, I want to remind all of us to be gentle and tender with ourselves. Just being kind because a lot can happen through the holidays, and it’s just more chances for us to get to know ourselves, get to know where our needs are, what our desires are, and where our wounds are and how to heal them. So, all of it, and be such an interesting experience if you just stay in that witnessing part of yourself, witness what’s happening, witness how you feel and what you need.

Candice Wu 45:06

Happy Holidays to you all, and again, be sure to check out my Instagram if you want a day-to-day tip to follow and to remind yourself. Just find me at Embody Your Nature on Instagram, or on Facebook. I hope that this was interesting for you and that you can take these tips into the New Year. These are not just for the holidays, they’re for all time, designing your life, giving yourself permission to go at your own pace, to be unavailable if you need, moving your body, tuning into your state of being that you desire. All that’s just good nourishment for every day.

Candice Wu 45:48

Thanks so much for tuning in with me today and I look forward to seeing you next time. Just going to finish up my tea here.

Candice Wu 46:02

And if you want more information about me and my one-on-one sessions, or group work with family constellations, ancestral healing, embodiment, trauma healing, any of those, you can find me at CandiceWu.com. And you can also sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter at CandiceWu.com/embody. This is a newsletter where I offer self-love tips and workshops that are coming up, as well as resources and other healing tips that you can integrate into your life.

Candice Wu 46:38

And as we end today, I’m wishing you all that kind of respect for yourself, for your body, for your spirit and heart, that we spoke about in this podcast. Enjoy your holidays. I hope you enjoy your holidays the way that you want to and see you next time on the Embody Podcast.