I've spent lots of time looking into empty cups lately. After enjoying my daily ritual cacao, I usually feel an immense feeling of calm and reflection. I truly feel in the present moment and that's a lovely place to be. I'm sure it is a combination of committing to this daily ritual for myself and taking a pause in my busy days. It's like a nice long gentle exhalation as I reconnect in with myself. We are currently presented with a very unique opportunity to press pause on our busy and frantic modern lives, to fill up our cups rather than keep draining them dry. Many of us are just replacing one type of demand with another - it's this social construct and internal pressure that we MUST be productive all the time!
When we are busy we tend to put our own personal needs at the bottom of the list. Everything else seems more important, we fill up our days and leaving no time for ourselves. But we are important and worthy of our own time and focus. Here are some ways to move your own priorities back up to the top of those never ending lists, and fill up those cups until they are overflowing.
Schedule in Daily Movement
Our bodies were made to move! Movement improves blood flow, oxygenation and circulation in our bodies. It has a positive impact on mood, our immune systems and our energy levels. Movement really is one of the best types of medicine. During this time of self-isolation we are spending A LOT more time indoors and a lot of time sitting. This is leading to longer periods of physical inactivity. According to some research, sitting is the new smoking and a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of chronic health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer. Couple this inactivity with more snacking (which we are doing more at the moment too) and it's not a great combination for our health and vitality.
Moving your body is actually easier than you may first think. It does not need to be a full hour workout session, but might look more like a walk around the block at lunch time, some daily stretching or even a dance party in your lounge room! You might like to commit to a daily walk outside, some yoga or pilates or something more vigorous like a HIIT class (go you!). A combination of all of these over the week would be perfect.
Connect In With Yourself
In a modern world where we often rely on external factors to keep us distracted and busy, one of the simplest ways we can fill our own cup, is through reconnecting with ourselves. Wondering what that actually means? Well, have a think about it, when was the last time you tuned in to your body and mind to see how you are feeling? Like actually feeling? Many of us are now at home more than we have been for a long time, and for many it can be confronting! Without external distractions, we might be coming face to face with our own shit for the first time in a long time! It might be yelling, "hello I am still here! Can we please deal with this now?" The more we connect in with ourselves, the more in tune we become with our wants, needs, desires and yep, even our true life purpose. I know that might seem a little intense, but this is important! It really is the most important stuff we can focus on.
Connecting with yourself can be as easy as finding a quiet space, putting on some music and starting to tune in with your body. Journalling is also helpful and meditation in the form of full body scanning exercises are also very effective. Connecting in with yourself, like you might connect in with an old friend can be lovely.
Get Grounded
I love the concept of grounding ourselves so much, that I have actually formulated an entire product around this idea - my Grounding Ritual Cacao blend. As we become more grounded and connected with ourselves and our environment, we begin to feel more secure, safe and stable. This has a beautifully nurturing effect on our nervous systems, our immune systems and and our general wellbeing. We begin to make choices and decisions from a place of safety rather than fear and that is a glorious thing! Some of my favourite grounding techniques include enjoying my daily Ritual Cacao, getting my bare feet out in the grass and getting some sun on my skin. I also adore the Grounding Intention oil from Freya's Nourishment. Kristie suggested that each night as I get into bed, I roll the oil over the K1 grounding point on both feet. Then as I read before going to sleep, I rest the bottle on my chest and let the energy of the oils and crystals further ground me. It's a beautiful nightly ritual. You might like it too.
Putting aside some time for yourself every single day is probably one of the most powerful things that you can do for yourself. Consistency really can make anything possible. I want you to think of one thing that you can do for yourself every single day. One way you can invest in yourself and your wellbeing. Commit to this daily ritual and watch the magic start to happen for you and around you. I would love to know what you think of this piece! Get in touch with me here