Written by Cloé Vaz-Wiggins
Image by @idomyownstunts
Let me ask you this, what does ‘RITUAL’ means to you? Is it something as simple as pouring yourself a cup of tea or coffee in the morning as you prepare for your day? Is it finding the time to work out and eat well throughout your week? Is it writing on a gratitude journal every day? Praying or meditating on a consistent basis? Is it carving time for face masks, candles and a glass of wine? Is it watching your kids play? Or is it, not doing anything at all and taking time for yourself?
Whatever they are to you, your rituals should bring you back to your core. They should feel like a mix of a very deep breath and a soothing grounding sensation that re-connects you to your values and your goals whenever you need tap back in. Whichever they are to you, however big or small, utilising and viewing them as tools you can use when taking the time to recentre your focus is essential when building a more balanced and focused lifestyle for yourself.
We all lead busy lives, we all have in one way or the other busy schedules, but most importantly we all are navigating this thing called adulthood, and boy… that’s a whole other article. So back to rituals.
The point is: IT’S A LOT! It’s a lot to navigate life as an adult in this day and age so having the tools to regulate and recentre yourself whenever you need them, whenever you feel overwhelmed or simply need a breather is key to creating a more balanced, happier, and stress-free life for yourself and the people around you.
I’m not sure about you, but I think of rituals and habits as tools. Literal tools that I can use and pull out whenever I need to regulate and recentre myself emotionally and mentally.
So, if you’re not thinking of rituals as tools or if you’re not giving them much space or importance in your life because they feel like a recreational thing as opposed to a necessary one, try it out. Find a ritual that works for you, or even better, create one, one that grounds and recentres YOU whenever you need it. Whatever that is for you, utilize it!
Here are a few ideas:
- Write six things you’re grateful for every day. Do three in the morning, three in the evening, or do the six in the morning or the six in the evening. Remember whatever works for YOU and your lifestyle.
- Find time daily to prepare yourself a tea, a coffee, a meal, whatever you enjoy, just carve time and really be present in that moment where you’re taking care and nurturing yourself.
- Read a little bit every day, and when I say a little bit, I really mean it. If you can only do ten minutes? Do ten minutes! If you have an hour, do an hour.
- Listen to music, but really… listen to music not in passing, not while doing five other things, put the sound on and jam…
- Go for a walk or work out. Moving our bodies literally, and as a wide range of recent studies show, will improve brain function, structure and connectivity. So do it, find the type of movement that resonates with you and your lifestyle and stay on it.
And lastly, but definitely not least: BREATHE…
Breathing is key, key to regulate, key for clarity and key to recentre. So tap in, create or implement your rituals but start now, start creating the life and the mood you want to exist in.
Also see: Ciara’s Prayer
