Rituals For Your Wellbeing
Rituals to Create Balance in Your Life
Do you have a ritual or a life-long habit you do each day, week, month, or year that makes your heart sing?
We may take a day off work each year on our birthday to play golf with our mates or take a yoga class. We might walk, run, or bike each Saturday with a group, read to our children each evening before bed, cook a beautiful meal on Sundays for our family or have a night out with our close friends each month.
These are all rituals we will practice, come rain or shine because they bring immense pleasure and joy to our lives.
So, why not have daily rituals that will set the standard for our day's expectations of happiness and pleasure. Some people prefer a formalised ritual that has been thought through and with a familiar format, whilst others like to just wake up and randomly select their daily rituals for that day. Whatever you choose, make your rituals pleasurable, and they will bring refreshing rewards every day.
Let's begin with morning rituals. As someone who has spent most of her life with a fairly tight schedule and a hectic start to the day, I like to plan ahead. I also love notebooks of all shapes, sizes, and designs.
Therefore, my general journaling, gratitude journal, card reading, to-do lists, and planners are all accomplished in the most beautiful notebooks. I have found they actually give me pleasure before I even open them to write in!
Which highlights another important point. Don't use your "Notes" or "Memo" option on your phone. Don't even pick up your phone or turn on your laptop until you have completed your morning ritual. Technology is NOT part of your morning ritual. Make yourself a promise to start your day without it. Instead, use a notebook and pen for anything you need to write in the morning. It adds to the experience, allows you to fully immerse yourself in the task, and activates different brain areas.
Your First 5 Minutes Every Day
While still sitting in bed:
1. Sit and listen to the birds singing outside, the rain falling or just watch the sun rising
2. Write in your gratitude journal. Record just 3-5 things you are grateful for today
3. Choose an Affirmation card and reflect for a few minutes
4. Write in a "general journal" or read a chapter of a book or a magazine article in a magazine. Decide what will work for you
5. Then get up, make a cup of tea or coffee, head to your yoga mat or go outside for a walk. Choose the exercise you'll enjoy the most to wake up your body
Then, you will have set the standard for how your day will progress - on a high. And most days it will take something pretty big to knock you off your "high pedestal of happiness!"
The important note here is that you don't need to run around the house looking for a pen or finding the teapot and your lovely teacup.
Each evening, get your morning ritual sorted. Find a tray to put on your beside table to keep "Your First 5 Minutes" items. Like your favourite pen, beautiful notepad, journal, cards, magazine, book, and candle.
Before you go to bed, put out your teapot, tea bag or coffee and get your favourite cup ready to go. Then, get your gym, yoga, running, or walking gear laid out and ready for the morning.
NOTHING is going to get in the way of YOUR morning RITUAL.
Once you have your morning ritual sorted, you can work on the rest of the day. As you begin to embrace the rituals of your day, you will notice how much you look forward to them. Getting up each morning just got a whole lot easier!
It takes time to change and create new habits - so take it easy and slow.
Introducing one new positive ritual into each day or week, then give it time to become part of your life or that of your family.