Daily rituals that brighten up your day
July 04, 2020
I have the impression we stopped seeing and distinguishing our daily activities and I am sure the reason is our busy life. We tell ourselves that there is no point in wasting time on things that are not necessary. We forget that what gives us pleasure has no price. Rituals are classified into this group. No matter how young or old we are. It does not matter whether we are in a relationship, we have children, grandchildren or we remain singles. It is always just as important not to forget about yourself and do things that please us. Instead of running blindly every day and bouncing from one task to another, indulge in small rituals that even a gray day and ordinary activities raise to the rank of an event.
Morning hydrating elixir
You should drink warm water with lemon juice and a dash of apple cider vinegar every morning, on an empty stomach. Probably you heard about it thousand of times, so why aren't you doing this? I feel like the things we hear a lot and we know they are beneficial for us to become too common, don't they? As human beings, we need something wow, something that gives us results quickly. Unfortunately, It's not the way to go. All of the beneficial rituals need a sweet time.
Sleeping (from 6-8 hours) is a fairly long period during which we do not absorb water. Therefore, drinking one or two glasses of water immediately after waking up is such a great idea to rehydrate your body and give it power!
Warm water with lemon and apple cider vinegar in the morning has become a very popular trend in recent years. Naomi Campbell drinks lemon water with probiotics to reduce the amount of coffee drunk, Gwyneth Paltrow drinks lemon water to cleanse herself. Also, Jennifer Aniston is the first to drink lemon water in the morning. Is it just a trend or it really works? It definitely does! I don't remember when drinking this mixture became second nature to me. I guess it was 2 or 3 years ago. I noticed benefits and I stick to it. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Let's dive deeper and find out what the real benefits are:
improves intestinal motility - guts condition has a huge impact on health and beauty. I truly believe that death begins in the intestines, so it's worth taking care of!
refreshes and tones the body, adds energy in the morning
hydrates the body after the night
warms the body after a night
strengthens body's immunity
improves metabolism
cleanses the liver
delays the aging of the body, including the skin
10 conscious breaths
We breathe 24 hours a day. Proper breathing brings a whole lot of benefits both for the health of our body and the psyche. The fact is that most of us breathe shallowly, quickly, anyhow, without ever thinking about the consequences for our own health. The house renovation and other stuff made me really stressed a year ago so I was looking for different methods that calm me down. I found conscious breath really helpful and finally I see the difference between just any breathing and conscious one.
While breathing deeply, slowly, not only the lungs fill, but also the working diaphragm fills the stomach with air. There are plenty of guides teaching about the different breathing techniques that support our bodies. If you do not want to delve into the meanders of these techniques, just "turn on" awareness while breathing and try to fill not only the lungs but also the diaphragm with oxygen.
Meditation and visualization
The time when you have not thrown yourself into work yet neither read the latest news is the best time for meditation. It's time to get in touch with yourself. If you start the day with a negative approach, bad attitude and fatigue can persist for a long time. However, if you give yourself a moment and do something good for yourself, your day may be completely different.
When I was scrolling the internet and looking for a perfect way of meditation, I bumped into a quote that has stuck to my mind.
"There is no perfect meditation. Meditation needs to be an art of presence: presence in current, unimaginable experience. Therefore, free yourself from the pressure that meditation or the conditions for it must be perfect. Just meditate every day. "
Visualization is simply imagining something in such a way that it brings the desired effect. We can imagine everything - full health, the desired place, character. Our task is to see the object with the eye of the imagination so it seems real and we subconsciously believe in it. Visualization is not only connected with images but also sounds and smells. The more real the picture is, the better because the subconscious perceives it as real. The more such experiences, the more happy and beautiful our lives become.
When I heard about it the first time I thought it's a little bit crazy because how come the visualization can make the pictures from my mind come true. Then, I read a couple of books and I was literally shocked by people's experiences. I decided to try it out on the long term goals and believe it or not, it works!
Hence, before you leave the house and throw yourself into work, find at least 5-10 minutes alone for a moment in silence. Use them for meditation or visualization depending on what gives you greater pleasure. A calm, positive mind is much better at dealing with various challenges during the day, isn't it?
Being thankful
Want to know a secret? You can learn to be happy. However, people are doing the opposite all the time. They set themselves the conditions which usually look like that - if it becomes something, I will be happy. In this way, they prevent themselves from feeling real happiness and live all the time hoping that it will come someday. Unfortunately, it is very likely that we will never reach this place where we meet all the conditions that we have set ourselves on the road to being happy. Each stage of life brings us new challenges and new requirements. We have gratitude at our fingertips and we can reach for it at any time, regardless of the circumstances.
Take a pen and spend 5 minutes writing down all of the things you are thankful today for. You can be grateful for everything. For the sun shining today, for your health, for an interesting conversation at the bus stop, for a good day at work, for a loving family, for a good friend, for having dreams, for learning something new, for a simple smile of another person, for a compliment that someone gave you today, for having ambition and plans for life, for going to the cinema today for a good movie... Be thankful for everything that comes to your mind. Even for seemingly small and insignificant things. You'll see that over time you'll find more and more reasons to be grateful. This will be the best sign that you are starting to see more positives in your life.
Stretching
You can't imagine how I hate stretching. It hurts even when I am talking about it! To be honest it was never my thing. When I was 4 years old my parents signed me up for a dancing classes. We also had some acrobatics classes and I never was good at it and hated it with all my heart. Do you think my muscles are just like that? Probably now you are imagining myself as a Sheldon trying to stretch.
Nope, I'm not so bad haha! I know stretching is massively beneficial for the body so every week I do yoga, which really helps me. I have low back pain, 30 minutes of yoga, bam! there is no back pain. I also try to incorporate stretching into my morning routine for as little as 5-10 minutes. I definitely feel less 'frozen'. It's really a great kick-start for your energy levels and circulation.
Here are some great benefits of stretching:
regular stretching improves body posture and increases the range of motion of the joints. It means an impeccable figure and a relaxed, pain-free body
it improves circulation, increasing blood flow to the body, and the supply of nutrients to the muscles.
it is a bit like a break for your mind. You focus on deep breathing and gentle relaxation of the muscles you are working on. In turn, it charges your body with fresh energy
stretching is a very effective way of dealing with stress. Bear in mind that the body and mind are inextricably linked. If a situation is stressing you, your body reacts to it appropriately: you clench your jaw, raise your arms, close your chest; and all this leads to even greater tension and pain in various parts of the body.
what's the most important, it increases body awareness and is great for well-being, calming the mind and recharging it with soothing energy
Things you love
There is no better way of taking care of the relationship with the most important person - yourself then doing things that make you happy. Being good to yourself is a crucial thing and should be treated as the most important daily ritual. Our lives are made up of these little moments, of those little things that can make our day more pleasant. Therefore, every day, do at least one thing that brings joy into your life. Turn on your favorite music, make yourself your favorite tea, go for a walk, cook something decent, buy yourself flowers, read your favorite book, tell yourself something nice. Every single day.
How to create your own rituals
It's very simple and usually, you already have them, but you don't even realize it. That is why it is worth analyzing your day in order to catch the elements that you want to develop as well as those that you want to learn.
List the activities you did in the morning / evening / during the day over the past week. Both the cool ones, such as a quiet breakfast and the less cool ones, such as spending 20 minutes in front of the wardrobe in search of something that would be suitable for wearing
Divide all these activities into 3 groups: positive, negative and indifferent
Choose the ones you want to nurture. So those that bring something to your life, those needed and making you feel better. Focus on them and make sure you don't skip them during the day
Highlight the ones you want to learn and look for ways to do it
Think about whether there is something you want to introduce to your everyday life Maybe training, drinking more water, going to bed earlier. There are a lot of possibilities and it is hard for me to tell you what you need
Choose the most important tasks and make your ritual out of them
I hope you like this blog post! Please let me know what your thoughts are and what kind of different rituals you introduce on a daily basis!