Human’s need rituals. This is the conclusion I’ve come to
after years of studying religions, faith, people, psychology, cultures, and
just watching people in all settings, in all walks of life.
Now, let me clarify that by ritual I don’t necessarily mean
a religious rite or sermon. By ritual I mostly mean a habit. Daily rituals are
good, healthy, fulfilling habits done every day that help your emotional,
physical and spiritual growth. This could be as simple as a cup of chamomile
tea after a long day at work or as elaborate as every weekend you create an
at-home spa for yourself, shut down all technological outlets, and just relax
and detox from negativity.
Here are some daily rituals that I have and I want to make
clear that I’m not posting these to tell you that you should do them – NOT AT
ALL! You should make your own rituals, ones that are unique to you! I post
these only to inspire you and better explain how important these small acts are
to me.
Morning Blessings
I wake on my own in the mornings, usually. This is a luxury
of self-employment that has slowly become necessary on most days. I’ve found
that waking up to an alarm clock only sends me into panic-mode, anxiety-driven
mornings that end up with a Grumpus looking back at me in the mirror and in the
eyes of those I live with. Since I wake up on my own, I am usually the last out
of the bed – having never been an early-riser.
The first thing I do of a morning is my Reiki
self-treatment. This is a full-body treatment from head to toe and takes
anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Since my loved ones usually leave the bedroom
door open and can hear me stirring as I wake, I have caught them a few times
either peeking into the room to ask me something or hear one calling to me from
the kitchen while the other, on the couch that has a view into the bedroom
informs the one calling that I’m “doing my thing.” This is usually understood
as I’ll be “doing my thing” for the next five minutes or so, after that I’ll
answer your question or see what is needed of me. I am so blessed to have two
beautiful people in my life that understand this about me.
Once I’m out of bed (and have dealt with whatever my
lovelies need of me first thing – which is usually just answering what I want
for breakfast or if I’ll be attending them to whatever event or practice
they’re going to that day) I’m in the bathroom attending to hygiene fun. I post
this here not because I don’t see this as something everyone does (I hope they
do) but because of a book I read – Prakriti by Dr. Robert E. Svaboda is a book
about Doshas, Ayurvedic medicine, and how to live a health lifestyle full of
consciousness. Svaboda recommends being mindful of your hygiene in the morning
as everything from using the bathroom to the condition of your tongue on waking
are clear indicators of where your health is at in this moment.
From here, if I have the motivation/time or just remember
to, I try to get some gentle yoga stretches in. This is mandatory on days I wake
up stiff and sore from sleeping in an awkward position (usually my husband’s
doing as he likes to play King of the Bed with my girlfriend – which is not as
kinky or fun as it sounds). If I don’t have any specific kinks or aches to work
on, I usually do Salute to the Sun (who is already high in the sky unless its
dead winter).
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| Travel Tea Infuser |
After that I pour myself a glass of water in my handy-dandy
thermose with crystals in the tea-strainer-cup…thing. The crystals are usually
rose quartz for unconditional love, amethyst for health and clarity of mine,
and either clear quartz or whatever other gem I feel I am in need of. I then
reiki this water and sip it throughout my morning. This is my go-go juice, much
more powerful and better for me than any energy drink or coffee ever was.
With crystal-reiki-elixir-goodness in hand, if I am not out
the door, I grab my computer and get to work writing. If I had a fun dream (I
usually have this on hand in a dream journal by the bed that I’ve jotted down
quickly before my self-treatment), sudden inspiration, a project I’m in the
middle of, etc. this is the time in which I work on it. Everything else
(e-mail, twitter, facebook, pinterest, bloggery) can wait.
For more inspiring morning rituals please read MorningGoddess – a compilation of rituals by Leonie Dawson.
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