How to Practice in the Holidays:
Whether you are home, or away, the summer holiday season pulls us off kilter. We’re all susceptible (understandably) to having routines that keep us healthy impacted, loosened or let go of.
Here are 3 Ways you can Keep Practising Daily to keep your mind, body and spirit balanced in the holidays, wherever you are, whoever you are with (or alone), and whether you are working or not:
- Morning – time not not rush, and to not get consumed by ‘the external’ too quickly or too much.Whether it’s a ritual or a routine, create a ‘space’ between waking and engaging in the rest of the day. e.g few minutes drinking tea mindfully, a meditation, a short walk, or applying mindfulness to morning routine such as how you shower.Something and some space that is deliberately non-hurried and where you can be present.Why? – this will not only help you stay balanced for the rest of the day mentally, but will ripple effect physically; if the mind remembers what it feels like to have space and not be hurried, the nervous system will pick up on this and will be better able to keep things regulated such as your digestive system and sugar levels
- During the Day – some movement, some fresh air
Wherever you are and whatever is on the agenda of the day, incorporate some ‘movement’ at some point in the day (before the sun begins to set, ideally in the afternoon when we tend to get sluggish or apathetic). The movement could be exercise, or it could be mindful stretching, or walking or even some stretching at a desk if that is where you find yourself.Why? – not only to keep circulation flowing and release tensions in the body, but also to help prana flow more freely through the body and mind, in turn creating a sense of equilibrium within us at a deeper level, no matter what we are thinking about or having to deal with. Prana is not physical energy, it is the flow that keeps us thinking, feeling, alive and being ‘who we are’. Fresh air – getting some fresh air in the middle of the day or afternoon; not only for better oxygen intake, but also to remind your inner being of your connection to things that are not thoughts and that are not human-made; to reconnect to the natural world, even if that’s walking down a pavement – the earth beneath your feet can be felt. - Evening – enjoy dinner, space between doing-time and bed-timeWhatever you eat for dinner (light or heavy, vegan or meat, cooked or put together), and yes, whenever you eat dinner (I don’t believe in flat universal times for eating, if you eat ‘late’ so be it, if you eat early, so be it), enjoy it! Take time to taste the food, to digest the food, be with the food, and allow dinner time to be the start of the day’s wind down. Before going to bed, create ‘space’, between non simple thinking activities (i.e. anything involving problem solving type thinking) and simple thinking. e.g. taking a bath, some light tidying, prepping for next day if not too tedious/simple prep (e.g. note of list of things to do tomorrow, ironing, putting out rubbish, whatever). Once in bed, many people enjoy reading and find it relaxing. Trust your own experience if that is so for you and be aware that ‘what you read’ and ‘how you read’ will impact your sleep and rest experience. Maybe you know already, or from tonight you can ‘test’ out what is helping you wind down before bed, and what is stimulating your mind. Adjust and adapt accordingly, making this a priority….
Why? – because it’s not just bedtime and sleeping that is an essential to operating as a human being, it is the energy we carry ‘into bedtime’ that impacts how we sleep, and how we feel the next day.
So, in a nutshell, or bottle:
1. Space in the morning
2. Movement and fresh air in the day (doesn’t have to be a work out remember)
3. Night time wind down
You will very soon feel the difference, positively.
We have a lifetime to calibrate things. Let’s start in the holidays!
