We all have routines. Things that we do on a daily basis. Sometimes these are healthy routines, and sometimes they are not so healthy, and sometimes simply mundane everyday things that we have to do – shower, brush teeth, fix breakfast. But what about an intentional, daily practice to nourish our body, minds, and hearts?
For years, I struggled with finding time for a daily practice for myself. Even though I knew how good I felt after practicing yoga or taking time for meditation, it was so easy for other things to take priority. You can read about my journey with being “too busy to practice” here.
I spent years beating myself up that I “should” be doing yoga and meditating every day. As we all know, self-judgment is hardly a healthy motivator.
I am happy to say that after many years of yoga and meditation practice, I have finally settled into a daily practice, without self judgement or criticism, and if I miss a day I don’t beat myself up, I just begin again the next day.
I also have let go of what I think my practice “should” look like. What my daily practice looks like right now is meditation when I wake up (sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes 30, depending on how much time I have that morning), followed by getting down on the floor for 10 minutes of gentle movement to wake up my body, and strengthening postures that support my back.
For me, daily practice is time to connect with myself, my spirit, and my innate wisdom. It is time to let the busyness of my mind settle, to find a place of inner stillness, and to listen to my body. It is time to drop out of my thinking mind, and into my sensing, feeling body and heart. It is time to let go of “figuring things out,” and connect with my intuition. It is time to breathe more deeply, to sense more fully, and to be present to the miracle of simply being alive.
“Every soul innately yearns for stillness, for a space, a garden where we can till, sow, reap, and rest, and by doing so come to a deeper sense of self and our place in the universe.”
-Anne D. LeClaire, Listening Below the Noise
