I’m not sure what everyone else’s morning and/or daily rituals look like these days but with the instability of access to our normal happiness resources (gym, hairdresser, nail salon, hugs, yoga studios and so many more), I know I have found it hard to keep my sparkle going sometimes.
However, what I have found is that when I have a morning and daily ritual, I feel my strongest emotionally, mentally, and even physically.
The word ritual can sound somewhat spiritual, but it also refers to ‘a series of actions or type of behaviour regularly and invariably followed by someone’ and we all have them. We all have the list of things we do in the morning and typically another list of things we do when getting ready for bed.
Ritual and routine become powerful when you are consciously aware of the list of things you are doing and the intention behind why you are doing them.
I was asked to share my ‘toolkit’ for staying sane during this time but when I sat down to write, I thought ‘Sure, but I haven’t actually stayed happy the whole time. Hmmmm, maybe I can share what I find helpful.’
We all know what the tools are:
- Yoga
- Walking
- Eating lots of vegetables
- Checking in with a friend daily
- Allowing the sun to sit on your face
- Getting fresh air
- Learning something new
- Self care and self love
The tools are not hard to find access to or even take action to do. The hard part is creating a conscious routine or ritual that intentionally includes time for the activities that make you feel warm inside.
What is an activity that makes you feel warm inside? Do you have more than one? (of course you do)
How can you consciously include these activities in your day regularly to help take control of your emotional and mental stability during these times of lockdown and working from home?
My daily rituals include:
- Making time to go for a 30 minute walk outside every day
- Doing some squats, push ups and other exercise for 30 minutes every day
- Dancing and/or singing at least once a day
- Talking to at least one other person a day
- Making a fresh juice and smoothie every day
- Aiming for only 1 hour of social media a day
- Working on a home project a little every day
When I do these with intention, I feel more motivated, happy and capable of handling whatever comes my way.
Some free resource ideas for the CGD family are:
- Black Dog Institute - Mental Health Toolkit
- Yoga with Adriene
- Yoga Nidra 20 Minute Guided Meditation
- Fun Beginners Dance Workout For Weight Loss - At Home Cardio Exercise Dance Routine
- 30 Minute Cardio Latin Dance Workout
- 20 minute full body home workout - no equipment, no noise
- 20 minute full body home workout - no equipment - Pamela Reif
Amy Mcloughlin
Team Leader Public Safety and Security
