“If you don’t burn out over the year you’ll do it over Christmas” says Ruby.
Susannah Taylor from The Glow Gazette recently interviewed Ruby Wax and learnt about her tips to stay sane over a typically hectic time of year.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF BUT DON’T HATE YOURSELF FOR DOING IT
Ruby isn’t into putting up and shutting up over Christmas or killing herself for the sake of keeping everyone else happy.  In fact she tells me, she’s ditching it all and going away “I’m not being self indulgent. How much suffering can you take? How much work can you take? How much family can you take?! I’ll be jolly when I feel like it thank you” she says with her sharp honesty.

THE MAGIC OF MINDFULNESS
Ruby has written extensively in her books about the importance of practising mindfulness. She says. “I’m the most driven woman I know and I have to do something to counterbalance it. If I practise mindfulness regularly I don’t go down for as long or as hard.” How does Ruby practise mindfulness? ” Try to sit for 15 minutes in a chair without going nuts. Bring your focus into your body, which could be through the senses such as feeling your feet on the floor or noticing your breathing.” This can stop the chitter chatter of the mind Ruby says. “When you do this you can’t be thinking and sensing at the same time. After a while of practicing you realise that the thoughts aren’t real. Thoughts are ephemeral” she says, “It’s just a thought and if you can let them go they switch to another thought.”

A TIP FOR OVERACHIEVERS
If you are highly driven or tend to work yourself into the ground frequently, Ruby has a tip : Make deals with yourself. Ruby says she does this to counterbalance her overachieving mentality where she’ll say things to herself like ‘If I finish this deadline I’ll go swimming.” To apply it to Christmas try ‘I am going to do all the cooking on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day then I am taking Boxing Day off.’ Hallelujah!

COUNTERBALANCE ‘ON’ WITH ‘OFF’
Burnout is caused when we push ourselves too hard and our bodies and minds can literally want to shut down. Often our nervous systems are so frazzled we feel on edge whilst being exhausted (wired but tired). To prevent burnout we therefore need to counterbalance the fast pace times with the slow, the go-go with some calm.

Ruby tells me that sometimes when she does a show she is ‘So high on the drug of adrenaline’ that afterwards she stays in the hotel and rests for up to 8 hours at a time to allow the cortisol in her system to drop.

THE DALAI LAMA’S IDEA OF SELFCARE IS DRIVING A TRACTOR
Selfcare isn’t all about yoga and taking a bath.  Whatever makes you feel great, then do it, although Ruby advises “If you can’t live without it then it’s dangerous.” Ruby tells me she once asked the Dalai Lama what he likes to do to wind down and he said ‘driving a tractor’. Ruby’s version of bath oil?  Watching   ‘Married at First Sight’ on Netflix!

“WHOEVER P*SSES YOU OFF THE MOST GIVE THEM A TIME LIMIT”
Ruby says we don’t need to torture ourselves by forcing time with family members who make us feel bad. She suggests giving them a small slice of your attention before checking out. ‘Whoever pisses you off the most, give them an hour of being really nice and then get the hell out of there! Make sure you realise who’s fuelling you and who’s sucking you dry “

LET SOMEONE ELSE COOK
“Let someone else cook, let the kids cook,” says Ruby, “Who are you, Mrs Entertainment?”

IF ALL ELSE FAILS, JUST SAY YOU’RE ILL
Ruby explains that she hates the pressure of having to conform and be like everyone else at Christmas. She says, if you don’t feel you can cope with it all, “Just say you’re ill.”

Ruby is hosting Keeping it Real in a Frantic World alongside Gelong Thubten a monk who teaches meditation. He has been a monk since 1993 and has spent over six years on intensive meditation retreats. She also will be working with Rahla Xenopolous who uses creative writing to empower and inspire guests to make change.