Well, here we are, smack dab in the holiday season: crazy, busy, cold and (mostly) fun.

Even here in Florida, the temperature tanked last night and I got to experience a 45 degree morning run. It was the first time I’ve put on long sleeves to exercise since I arrived here a couple of months ago.

Post run, I went to my Monday morning 7:45 am yoga class and the before and after class chitchat was all about busy-ness and to-do lists and feeling behind on holiday preparations.

I swear, the concept of turning future planning off and doing yoga without keeping your brain on fire is lost on some people (or they haven’t learned how to do that yet). After all, isn’t that what yoga is for?

Hearing the anxious chatter almost put me into a stress response.

Post-class, as I was politely listening to stories about how many different grocery stores you have to go to in order to acquire all the high demand or impossible-to-find foods that are required for a proper holiday meal, I subtly wrapped my right hand around my left wrist (the palm of my right hand resting on the back of my left wrist and put the pads of my fingertips on my inner wrist crease, below my pinkie finger).

This point:

It’s an acupoint called Heart 7. If you’ve ever heard of or received acupuncture, you likely know about acupoints. In the energy medicine I study, we use our hands to stimulate the points instead of needles.

There are hundreds of pressure points all over the body and all of them help with many issues.

Just for anxiety, there are dozens of points, but I like Heart 7.

Another name for this point is Spirit Gate. Stimulating it strengthens and stabilizes the heart muscle itself and the heart as a whole.

It also bolsters your heart energy so you can lead with love and compassion instead of judgment and irritability. (It worked for me with the yoga ladies.)

One more helpful use of this point is mitigating hot flashes because it cools down internal fire.

You’ll find acupressure point Heart 7 at the crease of the wrist. Put your thumb on the center, then slide it towards the pinky finger side over the tendons and you’ll find a depression / divot. That’s it.

To work with the point, press with medium pressure for 5-10 seconds, then release for 3-5 seconds and repeat.  You can do it for 1 or 2 minutes or even up to 5 minutes. Use any of your fingers for the pressing and also remember to do the other hand.

Anxiety and hot flashes: say goodbye to those.

And hello to more compassion and love.