Istockphoto

You can escape the daily grind without spending a fortune. Here, Peter Greenberg, travel editor at CBS News, shows you how.

Go where your cash counts.
Save money by traveling to where the dollar is strong, says Greenberg. His favorite winter destination right now is Argentina, where the U.S. dollar really stretches.

Go off-season.
Consider jetting off to Europe—less winter tourism means there are great deals now. “You aren’t going to Paris to lie by the pool anyway,” says Greenberg.

Go last minute.
Sites like LastMinuteTravel.com and TravelZoo.com bundle cheap 11th-hour packages, including airfare, hotel, even rental cars.

 
Related Links:

Ericka McConnell

Want to add a personal touch to gifts? Try the green and gorgeous Japanese Furoshiki method. “There’s nothing needed other than cloth,” says Wanda Wen, co-owner of Soolip Paperie & Press in West Hollywood, California.

1.
Take a square piece of cloth (you can buy ones with double-sided patterns at Furoshiki.com or recycle barely-used scarfs) whose diagonal measurement is three times the length of the box you’re wrapping. If your cloth only has a pattern on one side, face the plain side up. Place box at a diagonal in the middle of the cloth.

2.
Take opposite corners, pull tightly, and tie them together in a single knot at the center of the top of the box.

3.
Thread the two remaining ends underneath the knot, and tie a double knot over the existing knot to fully wrap the box. Done!

 
Related Links:

Nathalie Dion

Q: When I get really busy, I blank on names and sometimes forget important stuff. Is it just stress or am I losing my mind?

A: It’s a fact that stress inhibits the brain’s ability to learn new things and remember old ones, so your blanking is normal. You can fix that, though. Ever notice that when you try to remember something, you can’t, but if you “give up,” it pops back into your mind?

This is because the part of your brain that is trying hard to focus and get stuff done is also blocking access to all of your memories so you can concentrate. The best thing you can do is say, “Oh well, it’ll come back,” and relax.

On a more practical level, keeping track of everything in your head creates extra pressure that only makes things worse. So it’s a good idea to use a tracking system, whether it’s a day planner, BlackBerry, or Outlook reminder.

As for names, just say to the person you’re speaking with, “I’m so sorry, I’m not good with names. Can you tell me yours again?” Then repeat the name to yourself a few times, and picture the person’s face with the name. If you suddenly can’t recall the name of someone you know, just give a warm, “Hi! Great to see you.” Chances are she won’t even notice.

 
Related Links:

Istockphoto

Company’s coming, and your house is a mess? No worries. Follow this advice from Julie Edelman, author of The Accidental Housewife, and you’ll have a neat, party-ready place in no time.

Get out the baskets
It’s OK to hide stuff in plain sight (i.e., magazines in a basket near the sofa, remote controls in a basket near the coffee table). It’s a trick Edelman calls “reshifting,” and it’ll not only make your home look organized but also ensure that you’ll be able to find key things later.

Pretty up the clutter
Got junk everywhere? Make it a decorative element—stack books horizontally and vertically on tables and floor (very bookish London flat!), put cooking utensils in a cheerful water pitcher, fan out magazines in a fun way on the coffee table.

Don’t forget about the bathroom
Pull out disinfectant wipes and quickly clean thekey surfaces. For the toilet bowl, drop a couple of effervescent tablets (like Alka-Seltzer) or pour a can of soda into the bowl; let it fizz for 20 minutes, then flush.

Suck it up.
Sorry, but vacuuming is a must. Just run the vacuum quickly through the house. It’ll pick up little pieces of paper and dust and make your place look more polished instantly.

 
Related Links:

Get organized in minutes with these ingenious storage solutions. View the slideshow.

Istockphoto

Small changes in your routine can make you feel much more at peace. Try these strategies from Deepak Chopra, MD, author of the new book The Ultimate Happiness Prescription: 7 Keys to Joy and Enlightenment.

Tune in to your body
Whenever you feel any pain, fatigue, or anxiety, figure out what’s causing it. In order to be happy, you need to feel good physically, Dr. Chopra says. So if you’re exhausted, say, ask your husband to help so you can take a break.

Be Switzerland
“You can save 99% of your psychologicalenergy—and feel happier—if you can stop defending your point of view,” says Dr. Chopra. instead of always pushing your way of thinking and setting up a tense win-or-lose situation, say, “I see your point of view.” Listening toother sides will improve your relationships and make you feel calmer and sunnier, too.

Give yourself a pep talk
Try this instant confidence builder: Look in the mirror, and say out loud or to yourself, “I am immune to criticism, I am beneath no one, I am fearless.” It may make you giggle, but repeating this mantra helps people stand taller, according to Dr. Chopra.

Embrace the right now We know you’ve heard it before, but enjoying the moment rather than dwelling on future worries is a lasting mood-booster. If you start to drift, say to yourself, “Focus on the present.” That will help snap you back to the good stuff in front of you.

 
Related Links:

Two new studies provide compelling reasons to consider taking up transcendental meditation (TM). One, presented last week at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting, showed that people with heart disease who practiced TM over a five- to nine-year period slashed their risk of dying, or of having a heart attack or stroke, by 47%. Their blood pressure decreased significantly, and people in a high-stress subgroup also reduced their stress levels.

The nine-year study followed 201 African-American men and women. Their average age was 59, and they all had narrowing of their heart arteries. They were randomly assigned to learn and practice TM, or to take classes about heart risk factors, including diet and exercise advice.

Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, conducted the study in collaboration with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management, in Fairfield, Iowa.

According to study author Robert Schneider, MD, the director of the Center for Natural Medicine and Prevention, the effect of TM was like adding a class of new drugs for preventing heart disease. “In this case, the new medications come from the body’s own internal pharmacy, stimulated by the transcendental meditation practice,” he says.

TM lowers blood pressure and eases anxiety and depression
The second study, to be published in the December issue of the American Journal of Hypertension, showed that TM reduces anxiety, depression, and anger among at-risk college students.

In a three-month study, 298 students from American University and other Washington, D.C.–area colleges were randomly assigned to learn and practice TM, or to a group who didn’t learn TM. The study was conducted by American University and the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention. A subgroup of 159 students at risk for hypertension was analyzed separately.

At the end of the study, students in the TM groups lowered their systolic blood pressure by 6.3 mmHg and their diastolic pressure by 4 mmHg—reductions that are linked to a 52% lower risk of developing hypertension later on. At the end of the study, students who’d meditated were less anxious, angry, and depressed than students who hadn’t meditated.

What is TM?
Transcendental meditation is a simple technique that produces a “profound state of restful alertness,” says Sanford Nidich, EdD, a professor and senior investigator at the Maharishi University of Management Research Institute. It’s the practice where you murmur a mantra for 20 minutes, twice a day, and it’s what the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi taught the Beatles back in the late 1960s. Since then, more than 30 clinical studies have confirmed its many benefits. You learn TM from a certified teacher in a seven-step program.

(Istockphoto)

How does it work?
That’s the question I put to Nidich. “Daily practice enlivens the body’s own inner intelligence,” he tells me. As I reported here last year, TM can turn down your fight-or-flight response, which leads to lower levels of stress hormones circulating through your system. Those stress hormones play a role in the inflammatory process that can trigger or worsen chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

I wasn’t very successful last year when I tried to reinvigorate my TM practice, so now I’m going to try what TM experts recommend: I’m scheduling a checkup with a TM teacher to refresh my technique. For more information about TM, visit the transcendental meditation official website.

Note: Next week, more details about my program with Dr. Braverman. So far, results have been pretty terrific: I’ve lost 3 pounds and I’m sleeping through the night for the first time in years.

Previous posts by Sara Altshul:

John Kernick

This multitasking spice fights cramps, soothes sore muscles, and calms cranky winter skin. View the slideshow.

 

Marc Royce

If you’re wishing for more amazing abs, you’re not alone. Almost everyone I know—no matter how fit they are—longs for a flatter belly. Fortunately, yoga can help. My favorite core strengthener and ab-toner (it targets every major ab muscle) is called Boat Pose. For best results, do this move every day.

How to:
Sit with your feet on the floor, knees bent, hands beneath your knees for support. Keeping your chest lifted and shoulders back, engage your ab muscles and raise your lower legs until they are parallel to the floor (your knees should still be bent) and you are balancing on your sitting bones.

If this feels comfortable, begin to straighten your legs (stop if you feel any discomfort in your back) and stretch your arms forward. Hold for 5–15 breaths, then release. Repeat up to 5 times.

Related Links:

Marc Royce

Here’s how I almost set my kitchen on fire last Christmas. I began the evening listening to Nat King Cole on the stereo and mixing a supersize batch of chocolate-chip-butterscotch batter because I had volunteered to make six-dozen cookies for a holiday bake sale. So far so good.

But while the third batch was in the oven, I started wrapping presents when I realized that I’d bought practical gifts (clothes) for all four of my nieces but had forgotten to buy them something fun (anything from the American Girl store).

I was down the hall on my computer debating whether it would be more practical to pay for overnight shipping or drive an hour to the closest American Girl store when … BEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEP! The smoke detectors started blaring, waking everyone else in the house because it was nearly midnight.

So, you see, for me ’tis the season to have a nervous breakdown. And I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about. According to an American Psychological Association study, nearly half of all women in the United States experience heightened stress during the holidays.

With the exception of Mr. Claus, men just do not work themselves into such a Yuletide frenzy. (Actually, now that I think about it, Santa schedules in regular milk-and-cookie breaks, so I doubt he’s stressing as much as the missus.) I love my husband, but is he volunteering to bake 72 cookies from scratch? Is he budgeting, buying, and wrapping any of the gifts? Is he calculating how many hours we’ll spend in the car—and how many dollars we’ll spend on gas—if we attend all the gatherings and parties we’re invited to? Ho, ho, no.

It’s no wonder that by the time the New Year rolls around most women are, as my friend Alix bluntly put it, “broke, spent, and hella tired.” And that’s because, while we’re under the do-it-all stress of the holiday season, it’s way too easy to make unwise choices that leave us feeling far from jolly in the end.

Next: Not-so-merry memories