The Holiday Paradox

Welcome to the holiday season—the official study in spiritual whiplash. December has crept up, the days are shorter and darker, and the natural world is begging us to go full Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Bear: jammies, a big mug of herbal tea, and gently nodding off by 6 PM, ready for a cozy winter hibernation.

Yet, our social calendar has other plans, starting with the Thanksgiving kickoff last week. Suddenly, the full holiday season hits, pushing us toward gatherings that demand peak extroversion. We’re tasked with swapping fuzzy slippers for heels—and our souls are screaming from having to leave the blanketed couch. The Season of Maximum Obligation has crash landed.

When Hibernation Meets High-Demand 
This inherent push-pull—the yin/yang of wanting to stay in bed while simultaneously needing to show up as a functional, party-going human—is the ultimate duality. And let’s be honest: 2025 was a year for dualities that were less “beautifully balanced” and more “doggedly exhausting,” leaving us questioning which way is up.

Personally, I ran on fumes much of the year—navigating aging parents’ illnesses and the immense change of returning to full-time employment. Naturally, my survival strategy as an introvert was to retreat, even before winter arrived. I spent the entire year armed with chamomile tea, reluctant to face the outside world despite missing my friends in my heart. 

Isolation and resistance ultimately solved nothing, but they did lead to an eventual breakthrough.

Here’s the sticky part. It's the thing that tripped me up, and probably you, too. Resistance shows up wearing a helpful mask. Resistance promises ‘self-care’ when it encourages you to stay home, but sometimes, that comfortable solitude is just plain self-confinement and isolation. 

That’s resistance doing its sly thing, my friends. Thankfully, tension is fertile ground for wise lessons.

The Confidence of Openness 

My lesson and breakthrough came thanks to the incredible community on our October Puerto Vallarta yoga retreat. Their remarkable personalities and adventurous spirits were the joyful external pull I desperately needed. After a brutal, extra-introverted year, they literally coaxed me out of my head and showed me that connection is not a drain—it’s a vital, grounding force.

The key to sustained presence—especially when life demands outward energy—is not to hide away. It’s anchoring in who you are. Proudly own your quiet nature; it’s a wellspring of wisdom. But don’t forgo connection with loved ones who want to support you, no matter the year you’ve had or the mood you’re in.

We don’t need to “fix” our introversion or fight the tension inside ourselves. We recognize that embracing both sides of ourselves—the quiet reflector and the engaged connector—is the ultimate practice. True confidence is about trusting yourself enough to find a balance between your inner needs and outer demands. Don’t ignore the tension—use it as a vehicle for introspection and growth.

The Practice 

Use these practices, rooted in yogic duality, to find our Confident Openness this season:

-Anchor Your Energy Before You Leave (Rooted & Expansive): Before walking into that party, check in: How am I feeling right now? Then, take three deep, slow breaths with your hands over your heart. This self-compassion anchors you, names your feelings, and confirms that you are enough, no performance required.

-Embrace the Student Role (Effort & Surrender): In social situations, drop the pressure to perform. Shift your focus to curiosity. Ask genuine questions and listen to learn. This is the essence of confident openness—you are secure enough to be interested in the world, making connections richer and more sustainable.

-Schedule Your Hibernation (Strength & Softness): Block out “unscheduled time” in your calendar. Treat this time for quiet reflection with the same respect you would treat a holiday party invitation. This is how we fuel the energy needed for the outward demands, ensuring we don’t run on empty.

You don’t have to be loud to be a powerful presence. Let’s make this December the month where we finally stop fighting our own nature and step into the holiday season grounded, confident, and balanced—together.

Sending fierce self-trust and gratitude.