With merriment in full swing this holiday season, don't forget one of the most important aspects of your nutrition: hydration. The dangers of holiday high fat foods, sugary cookies and alcohol are well known. Somewhat less known are the subtle, yet significant signs of dehydration. During the cold winter months, many of these symptoms may seem like a result of the weather. But this year, consider yourself dehydrated if you have symptoms such as dry lips, dry skin, muscle aches and pains, fatigue, digestive problems, or eczema. Sufficient water is needed for our cells and organs to carry out the many functions they perform. When our bodies lack sufficient water, our cells build reinforcement on the cellular walls, to hold onto the water that is already there. This makes it more difficult for new water to enter, causing the cellular fluid to become stagnant and stale. This results in a loss of energy within the cell, which leads to our experience of lethargy and fatigue. Dehydration causes our tissues and blood to be acidic, leading to joint and muscle pain, skin rashes and headaches.

Make it a priority this busy season to drink at least ten glasses of water every day. Remember that your body needs plain water. Coffee, tea, alcohol and soft drinks have been shown to cause dehydration, so every time you have one of these beverages, be sure to follow it with a glass of water. Enjoy the holiday season with a toast to your health and hydration.

Chances are you've made at least one personal goal of not gaining weight over this holiday season. Let's face it, with the onslaught of high fat foods, scrumptious goodies and drinks that come with the festivities, the best way to achieve weight maintenance or the ever elusive holiday weight loss, will be through your physical exertion. Specifically speaking, aerobic activity is paramount in burning calories, bringing on the endorphins and keeping those holiday pounds at bay. Aerobic exercise is any extended activity that makes you breath hard while using the large muscle groups at a regular, even pace such as swimming, jogging, bicycling, or brisk walking. This kind of exercise helps strengthen your heart and lungs, making your body more efficient at pumping blood and distributing key nutrients and minerals to your system. Cardiovascular activity is well known to burn excess calories, and burn fat all over your body. When starting an exercise program, you may seem tired for the first couple of weeks, but over time you'll notice an increase in your daily energy and stamina.

This holiday season give yourself the amazing gift of a healthy, strong body for years to come.

Meditation calms your nerves, quiets your mind, and brings you to a state of deep relaxation. The trick is setting aside the time to spend just twenty minutes a day for yourself creating a comfortable soothing internal environment with which to face the hurried and busy world of lifetime obligations. There are many forms of meditation available, but when you get right down to it, meditation is focusing your attention on a single point and holding it there by use of your Will. The benefits of meditation, or the focusing of your attention, can be had through the practice of immersion. Immersion is the act of making a choice within your mind, deciding where you are going to focus your attention, and then opening up yourself to that point of consciousness or state of being. In other words, you place yourself within that state of being, you focus on it with the intention of allowing it to become present within you in that moment. When your mind runs off with other thoughts simply let them go and redirect your attention to the point you wish to immerse in. This practice is often used, consciously or unconsciously, by people to alter their state of mind in a practical way. For instance, changing a bad mood into a good mood, a poor attitude about work or some other relationship into a positive attitude. Immersion is a fundamental tool in the managing of your life as well as creating a productive and rewarding experience with meditation.