Simple rituals have the power to ease your anxiety, clear your mind, and make you happy.
A ritual is a reminder that you are alive and connected, that you are surrounded by beauty and love at every turn. Its a way to infuse all of life's little moments with magic and meaning. Its taking time to be yourself and to honor yourself. Its a chance to take a deep breath and relax into YOU. Its the ultimate self love!
AND there is also a huge payoff! The ripple effects of the rituals you choose to honor in your life go far and wide. You know that saying 'you get what you give'? Rituals are inherent acts of gratitude, and when you have gratitude you get gratitude. Its a shift that happens, like you've opened up the gates and allowed life to flow in and out freely and abundantly. The people around you will notice your shift and feed into it, and it grows exponentially from there.
What makes something a ritual is not so much what you’re doing but your intent to make it special and to be present with it in the moment. I’ve spoken about intention a lot before, because I truly believe it defines our approach to everything we do. So the small acts that you take time for and make special can become a ritual. Do what feels right for you. It doesn’t have to be a big to do, and it should definitely not feel like another thing on a list of things you have to do.
A ritual can also be very freeing. Its an opportunity to just notice what IS in the moment, without judgment. Take stock of what is going on internally and externally. Is my mind quiet or particularly active in this moment? Does my heart feel constricted or free and open? Am I holding tension in a part of my body? How am I doing today?
Or you can just skip the questions, take yourself out of your head and get right into it! Below is a list of suggestions of easy but powerful rituals you can choose from. Pick one or a couple or give them all a try to see how they make you feel. Do what’s right for you!
10 easy rituals you can do anytime and anywhere:
- Close your eyes and breathe. This automatically takes your awareness out of your mind and brings it into your body. This immediately calms the nervous system, especially if you make your exhales long. I love this one because I can do it while I’m working at the computer, waiting on hold, or as part of a long seated meditation practice at my altar.
- At the end of the day list at least 5 things that happened that day that you were grateful for. Remind yourself before you go to sleep of all the things that you have in your life and are grateful for.
- Take a few minutes to hug your self. Yep. Wrapping your arms around your torso and just holding yourself can offer you an incredible shift in perspective. You are acknowledging that you matter. You are acknowledging that you are worth love and care. It’s a great ritual for turning inward, and reflecting back to ourselves the love and care we give throughout the day to others.
- Pick an uplifting phrase for yourself when you wake up in the morning. Make it something that feels good and right to you. Then repeat it to yourself (or outloud!) as you go through your day. Use the same phrase every day or change it up as you need. Every moment can be an opportunity to connect into what is true for you. If this resonates with you, go in for a deep dive on the effects of mantra repetition in our article here.
- Check in with loved ones. Get it on the schedule to meet with a person in your life for a check-in conversation to see how they are doing, or to call a friend to say hi. You can block out 15 minutes for it, or an hour or whatever length of time you feel best serves you. This is a great way to shift yourself out of your daily routine and remind you of what is good.
- Write a little love note to someone. It can be to a member of your household or to yourself. It can be as short as one sentence or as long as a letter. Leave it in a place where they can find it. If its to someone who lives somewhere else, mail it to them. When they do receive it you know it will be a little moment of joy for that person.
- Choose a time of day to move your body in whatever way you want. It can be dancing to a favorite song, getting up and stretching, doing an online yoga class, cardio workout, a long walk in the neighborhood - whatever you choose make it a point to do it daily. If you already have a regular workout routine still take some time at another point in the day to move a little. Your body – and mind - will thank you.
- Thank yourself. Just a nice and easy mental ‘thank you’ throughout the day to remind yourself that you’ve done good in this day.
- Take stock of what you accomplished during the day. This may not seem worthy of being called a ritual, but it is actually a great way to put yourself at ease. What it does is it takes you into the POSITIVE. Do you have a tendency to go to the negative? Do you list out in your mind at the end of the day all the things you DIDN’T accomplish? All the things that went wrong? Well take stock of all the things you did do and see how much better that will make you feel!
- Listen to some music. Not just hear the music of something you happen to be watching, but purposely put on a song or album that you can take in and enjoy in whatever way you want. It’s a proven fact that music elevates our vibration!
We want to hear from you! Let me know if you've tried our suggestions and how it has worked for you. Also feel free to share your own rituals with us! Send me an email about what works for you and we’ll include it in our followup posting about rituals. om@anahatapath
Lots of love
xx
Nazly