People often ask me what my daily wellness and/or spiritual practices are…today I’m sharing them with you in case any of them are helpful to you and your health and wellbeing! I want to make sure you understand though that what works for me might not work for you. Play with any that interest you and then check in with your body to see how it is responding…your body is the #1 expert, not a blog!
Warm lemon water in the morning
I learned this one a long time ago but only recently reconnected with this practice… After my dad sent me an article highlighting the benefits of it. Since that’s highly unusual (he calls most of my stuff voodoo LOLOL), I took it as a sign to jump back into this habit. And it makes such a difference when I start my day with my warm cup of lemon water! My energy, digestion and hunger levels are so much better.
Meditation
If you’ve read any of my stuff, you knew this one was coming. It’s the best way I know to reconnect with my authentic self, my true desires, my spiritual side, and release all the crazy BS my mind creates during the day – fear, doubt, self-worth stuff. I do it in quick bursts as needed, 1-3 minutes, to reset my energy or to calm my system before eating (to help with digestion). Plus, I do a morning meditation and an evening one. My mornings often start with Kundalini Yoga followed by a meditation, which is know as Sadhana, or morning ritual. My favorite Kundalini Kryia is “Awakening the Ten Bodies. “ Evening meditation is to calm down and get my mind ready for sleep.
Donna Eden’s 5-Minute Energy Routine
When I was in the thick of my adrenal and thyroid issues, I worked with an amazing woman who introduced me to Energy Medicine. Basically our energies create patterns to support us, and those energies can get crossed and jacked up when we are stressed. (Do you like my super formal explanation? Sorry Donna!) When that happens our systems waste a lot of energy, leading to feeling drained and lethargic. Doing the 5-min energy routine balances my energies and literally shifts my mood. I recommend it to all of my clients. You will feel a shift. Give it a whirl.
Drink 8 cups of water and eat 6 cups of vegetables per day
Everyone knows the benefits of water, so that’s a no-brainer. In researching how to heal my autoimmune condition (Hashimoto’s Hypothyroiditis) I read several books and learned that eating 6-9 cups of veggies a day (depending on your size) can help the autoimmune disease into remission. I thought I was eating healthy before, but I was probably having more like 3 cups of veggies a day. The week I upped my veggie game to six, I felt huge shifts in my mood and energy. (I have some sneaky ways of piling up on extra veggies, which I can share if anyone is interested! :-))
Leisurely walking
The former intense exerciser in me is still slightly pissy about walking, but, it is awesome for my body at this stage in my life, and I always feel amazing afterwards. Some days it’s on my own, other days it’s with my Frenchie Miles. The lengths vary, but it happens every day, whether it’s 10 minutes or an hour. Leisurely walking is an amazing restorative activity for your body. Play some awesome music or download an inspirational podcast if you need a distraction.
Connect with my intentions
I talk to clients a lot about creating lives that they want because so often we are focused on what we don’t want, myself included. Each month before I facilitate the Monthly Manifesting Meeting I set my own intentions for the month, and then I read them every morning and evening before I meditate – sometimes even after I meditate. Intention plus attention is where the magic happens.
Gratitude practice
At the end of each day I make sure I thank the universe for 3 amazing things that happened during my day. And they’re not one-word answers, like “family.” They’re specific and detailed, with an emotional connection. In my yoga teacher training years ago, I learned that this practice had better results than Prozac with people suffering from depression. No matter what your emotional state, you’ll feel happier by doing this. Sometimes it’s when I’m brushing my teeth, but ideally it’s writing it in my journal at night.
Bed by 10 PM
OK, I’ll admit I “fight” with this one the most, buuut, I do feel a difference when I’m asleep by 10. I learned this from my health coach during my adrenal healing process. Every hour of sleep you get before 10 PM is worth two hours of sleep for your body. And, the hours of 10-12 are critical because it’s the time when your body does a lot of awesome repairing and restoring related to hormones and the nervous system.
Three meals a day
Everyone’s bodies are different, but mine feels so much better when I have three meals a day without snacking in between. It’s not always possible, but it’s a daily goal. Because of certain food restrictions, I sometimes have to eat what I can when I can when, for example when I’m at conferences. But when I’m home, I pretty much stick to three meals a day. BTW: I never thought I could do it or that it would feel amazing as I’m a recovering grazer (6 meals/day). But, it clearly I can do it and the results are amazing for my body. I have some awesome teas I rely on to crush cravings in between meals.
Accepting imperfection
I do track these daily practices through an app “Habit List” because it makes me happy to see all of the amazing things I am doing for well being each day – total self-worth booster! BUT, I am not perfect, and I don’t hit the mark every day with every single one of these! And since trying to be perfect creates stress, there’s no way I’m going to stress myself out over being perfect with the very behaviors that are supporting my wellbeing!
Of course there are some other things I do at various points throughout the week…like hatha yoga, tapping, journaling and food shopping every few days. But not every day. 😉
Let me know if you have any questions or if you try any of these! Would love to hear your experience and/or any daily practices that you have that have shifted your health and happiness game!
Happy to Heal (Everything Your Doctor’s Not Telling You About Healing Your Thyroid, Adrenals and Leaky Gut) is starting this September! Get on the waitlist today for discounted pricing! 🙂
