With the pace of modern life, it’s so easy to get lost in the chaos and forget to rest and be intentional. Especially when you live in a city like me…
Life becomes repetitive, almost robotic at times and in the desire for progress and growth we can often let our health suffer both mentally and physically. The way that I keep my self-care practices up consistently is by ritualizing them wherever possible. The concept of rituals might bring up some hesitation to you if you’re adverse to religious or esoteric inclinations but for me, it helps me do the following:
ALLOW FOR COMPLETE FOCUS ON A SINGLE, BENEFICIAL PRACTICE
SLOW DOWN TO SPEED UP - RESTING WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE ENERGY I CULTIVATE WILL, IN TURN, MAKE ME MORE PRODUCTIVE
BRING MORE MEANING INTO MENIAL AND SOMETIMES BORING PRACTICES
ADD EMOTIONAL CHARGE TO MY SUBCONSCIOUS PRACTICE
PLUS, I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE WITCHY AT MY CORE ;)
Ritualizing your routines is a simple yet powerful way to bring a sense of calm, purpose, and meaning to our lives. Rituals can provide a structure to our days, grounding us in the present moment and allowing us to connect with our deeper selves. They don’t have to be spiritual, elaborate or time-consuming; even small, intentional changes to practices and tasks you’re already committed to can transform your entire life.
Let's explore how incorporating rituals into your daily routine can enhance your overall well-being.
MAKE THE ROUTINE—RITUAL AND WATCH THE MUNDANE BECOME MAGIC
IF YOUR MORNING ROUTINE ISN’T WORKING YOU NEED TO RITUALIZE IT.
The way you start your day sets the tone for everything that follows. So it’s important to create a morning ritual that aligns with your goals and values. It could be as simple as a few minutes of a morning meditation, expressing gratitude, or setting positive intentions for the day. By engaging in these practices consistently, you cultivate a sense of mindfulness and purpose that can positively influence your entire day.
Something I’ve been doing since starting my own business and struggling with time is to split up my long morning routine throughout the day. I start with THE MORNING from THE MEDITATIONS (walking around the block if I can) and either the Quick Beauty Ritual or the EFT Session from The Beauty Essentials. Then I start my day. I come back to other practices I would have usually tried to cram in later at lunch and after work.
OUT WITH THE NEGATIVE SKIN CARE ROUTINES AND IN WITH THE LOVING BEAUTY RITUALS
One of the most foundational things that I teach is all around the Beauty Ritual. How to go from doing skincare and make-up in the morning, trying to cover up perceived flaws and doing beauty practices in order to “look better”—to looking lovingly and gratefully at your reflection while cultivating confidence from within and nourishing your body as your natural wellness enhances your natural beauty.
The most transformative part of this is in subconscious work and journaling but ritualizing a skincare or makeup practice is an incredibly powerful aspect too.
Try adding positive affirmations and loving kindness visualizations to your daily skincare routine. Or focusing on the things you like about yourself and sending love to the parts of you that bring up challenges. Consciously noting or writing down your internal dialogue and then reframing them to be positive statements is amazing too!
CREATING MOMENTS TO ‘RESET’ THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY
This aspect is almost exclusively based around external and societal influences that can really throw off our balance and stress levels throughout the day. Things like social media and comparisons or stressful events and interactions. If we don’t take moments of pause to ground and center ourselves, these events can compound and build upon one another and finding time to consciously release them is a hugely beneficial ritual to add to your schedule. I have a meditation I created just for this exact practice called THE RESET. It is less than ten minutes. It’s so easy to create your own ritual too.
Just put away any electronic devices, step outside, or engage in a simple breathing exercise. Visualize the negative comparisons you’ve made on social media, moments of stress or self-doubt, interactions with others that brought you down… Anything that has you feeling down, stressed or out of balance. As you continue to breathe, just imagine them releasing with each exhale. When you run out of moments to release, take a moment to check in, send yourself love and then come back into the world.
THE FORMULA FOR BALANCE -
SLOW EVENINGS IN LOW LIGHT WITH ROM-COMS
You might have seen my post all about cortisol friendly shows. I recently made the switch with my husband to eliminate the stressful, negative and intense content from our evenings and our sleep improved tenfold almost instantly. Who would have thought that not watching thrillers right before bed would do that?!
I love a good murder mystery as much as the next girl but since healing my hormonal imbalances and now working with a Neuroscientist and MD. I realized just how much the content you consume can negatively affect your body. Not to mention the quality of your sleep which is arguably the most important aspect of health.
As the day comes to an end, winding down with purposeful rituals can signal to your body and mind that it's time to relax. This could include activities like journaling, gentle stretching, or sipping a calming herbal tea. By consciously transitioning from the busyness of the day to a more relaxed state, you set the stage for restful sleep and overall well-being.
REFLECTION AND GRATITUDE—CLOSING THE CIRCLE
Since discovering just how powerful gratitude practice really is, I always end the day with it. It’s a huge component of the integrity groups we run as well. Research correlates: that those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events. There is also evidence that a regular gratitude practice can positively affect the way we age and even potentially how long we live. I have always believed that the way we perceive the world plays a huge role in physical health and gratitude is integral for shaping a beautiful and positive perspective.
So, end your day with a reflection ritual, acknowledging any positive moments and practicing gratitude. It’s important to write them down physically not type them, it has been proven to be more effective that way. I also love to find things about myself and my body and mind that I am grateful for. I will write down things like, “I am grateful for my body for getting me to my meeting today”. Or I am grateful for my mind for reminding me I needed to drink more water today”.
Ritualizing your life sounds daunting but it doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. It’s not even about the actions themselves, it’s just adding focus and intention to your routines. By adding purpose and positive intention, you can really cultivate an incredible sense of meaning into everything you do and enhance your overall well-being too.
References:
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201812/5-ways-start-your-day-mindfully