We read so much about the importance of a morning routine and practice - but do you ever wonder why? If you’re like me, I am curious about everything, and like to question things - ultimately to find and know what feels right for me.
It’s been shown through research and studies that a morning routine - and structure and routine in general - is supportive to bring calm to the day. If we are overwhelmed, stressed or anxious, a routine is calming and grounds us in something certain and sets us up to plan and know what’s coming next.
0 Comments
I don't know about you, but I certainly feel attuned to a somewhat, frantic energy online at the moment, with all the marketing messages encouraging us to all be more visible, to be seen, to amplify ourselves, share more of ourselves, in so many ways. It can feel exhausting if we allow it to. With all the changes to social media platforms, it can feel an interesting time to be online, especially if we have an online business.
Overthinking is something so many of us do. It can be harmful for our health and wellbeing. Overthinking, worrying and ruminating on things, can lead to stress, anxiety, even depression and other mental health issues. Overthinking can affect our immune system and make us more susceptible to illness. Overthinking can interrupt sleep and affect our energy levels and our mood. If we live with a health condition that we manage, overthinking can increase symptoms and pain, and it can become a vicious cycle. If we spend all our time in our heads, ruminating and overthinking about everything, we can create a lot of imbalance in our minds and bodies, but there are many things that can help and support us, and I mention just a few ways here.
The words we say to ourselves, the language we use, the choices we make, the foods we eat, the relationships we have, the ways we choose to practice and lean into what supports us and nourishes us - all of these things, and more, are vital for us to truly appreciate and love ourselves. To feel connected within, to feel self assured and confident in all the ways that are true and right for us.
My beautiful dad gifted me a camera for Christmas. One of those 'real' cameras that so many of us forget about with our iphones these days! I've had one on my 'wish list' for ages, feeling a desire to truly 'capture the light' in all the small things. Yesterday afternoon, I went for a very slow wander around my local streets, and just noticed all the small things, the tiny things, the beautiful things - and came home with photos of many so-called ordinary moments, but extraordinary when you really choose to see the light.
My journal piece yesterday was about taking things one day at a time, and doing one thing at a time - you can read this here. It felt apt today, to share some thoughts about beginnings, new starts, and taking just one step forward. As one action is often all it takes to switch us from feeling stuck, procrastinating in some way, and to build our own natural momentum to just get started. Not in a rushed, hurried or pressured way. Just in a way that creates motivation, and instills confidence and self belief as we feel we are taking action, and making choices to move forward. This is true for anything we set our minds and hearts to - health, life, career, business, relationships, making a big change or transition of some kind - one step forward, one action, is all it takes to begin.
It's a new year, and whilst many have been away for a break or a holiday, others of us haven't been, and it hasn't felt quite the restful period we hoped for! For all kinds of reasons, including the obvious ones of rushing home and ending holidays through border closures, and so many personal challenges in peoples lives right now too. There's a feeling of continued uncertainty, wondering how things are unraveling, here and around the world, and the start of this year hasn't had the uplifting feel we hoped for, and for some, it's been and felt really sad. Perhaps you've been feeling a little flat, worried or even anxious about things. Finding it difficult to stay calm within so much that seems unknown and changing in your own life perhaps, and with everything around us.
I'm writing this journal piece out in my courtyard, very early on a beautiful warm clear morning, and it almost seems as if it's just me and the birds who are awake, and the rest of the city is in a restful (or hungover, perhaps!) slumber. It's new years day, 1st January 2021, after a very quiet and gentle close to the year. No big celebration. No big new year intentions. I'm a non-drinker these days, so most celebrations are quieter, for me. I chose to be very low-key and close the door on this year, and just gently open it to the next. Today. I've been finding so much more so, through not only this year, but other times of uncertainty and change over the past years in my life (or perhaps just as I'm getting older!) - how much I savour a quiet and gentle life. I notice that I make far more conscious and intentional choices, just as a natural way of being now, every day. Taking things as they come, allowing life to unfold and to evolve as it will, with an acceptance of just what is, and finding ease and calm within it all. I was reflecting on some of the gentle practices that support me with this, and I thought I'd share some of these thoughts here, as a gentle way to begin your new year.
I think it's true that happy, successful people have healthy routines in their days. Whatever happy and successful, personally means to you. Despite circumstances and situations, we can always benefit from healthy habits that support us to feel well. I don't ever compare myself to others these days. Happiness and success to me, is how I truly feel within myself, and ways I create and set intentions, to live my days in all the best ways I can. It's my own self responsibility to create happiness and success for myself, and to consciously and intentionally choose healthy ways of being, for my everyday. Having a healthy routine, helps with our whole wellbeing. If this is the only new year intention or goal you set yourself, then this is a great one to choose! Follow these 16 ways I've written below, and create some of your own that nurture and cultivate happiness and success, in ways that feel truly aligned for you. I promise there are only benefits from doing so.
I have a beautiful corgi and she's 16 years old. Many people say she doesn't look it, and still, some days she doesn't act it either! But other days, as she is very old now, and she sadly has what the vet tells me is the animal version of dementia, she can forget where she is. It's a rollercoaster ride of emotions in a dogs elderly years, our bond is so very close. I often imagine what it must feel like to be her, and I wonder if she knows she gets confused or disorientated, as most of the time, she still seems really happy. I always tell myself, that this is my hope and heart intention, that she always knows how much she matters, that she feels loved, that she has the best life possible for as long as she chooses to, and that she knows in her own way, that we will always do what is best for her.
|
Archives
November 2023
Categories
All
AuthorKatie Jane is a Holistic Therapist, Life Coach, Health Coach, Nutritionist, Naturopath, Meditation teacher, writer and author. Katie has been working in the wellness industry for over 15 years, in private practice and online, and brings all of these qualifications and skills, along with her own lived experiences through challenges, changes and transitions. Her approach to life and wellbeing is truly holistic and unique for each individual. She supports and coaches clients to make powerful changes, to feel calm through uncertainty and change, to embrace self care as a way of being, and to thrive through life transitions. |