How to re-enter a ritual
In a hard season or waiting for the dust to settle after busy times? Sometimes it's the annoyingly easy actions that can help slide us back into a healthier groove.
Back here on this Monday evening, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how we re-enter cherished routines and rituals. It can feel like we spend life in a dance of beginning again, and again and again. A new day, week, month, year and the subtleties within those constructs. Meals, conversations and even the next immediate moment are all opportunities to try again, to begin. When you look at health from this lens, to me a lot of the tightness, rigidity and unnecessary ‘wellness toxicity’ melts away. You just get started from where you are!
I speak a lot here about routine, partly because I really do try and practice this stuff in my own life. I’ve experienced how transformative small but mighty daily rhythms can be. With that, I’ve also noticed how there can be grittiness or resistance when we need to re-enter helpful practices like consistent movement, more nourishing meals, better connection etc.
And, it’s inevitable that we might spend time away from our supportive routine or rhythm. We may have been travelling, on holiday, or experienced stressors that are out of our control - sickness, injury, birth recovery, unexpected busy weeks or family matters.
We depart from our usual ways to pour energy in where it’s needed most, and then afterwards, whether it's been a few days, weeks or much longer, it can help a lot to take a moment to throw some intention in the mix and re-establish your go-to practices.
Here are some things that I personally do to re-enter and get back in the groove:
Movement
Initially, I like to opt for movement that nourishes the nervous system - random dancing, stretching, jiggling/jumping/rebounding, walking, moving fluidly with no set agenda. When my arms are feeling more noodly and my hips have opened up (particularly relevant if you’ve been on long flights), I’ll then introduce weight bearing exercise or high intensity movement. Fluid and fun is the aim of the game, especially if you’ve not been in a regular movement habit for a while.
I recently discovered the world of Range by Kara Duval. It’s the first video-based movement platform that I’ve been truly excited by. Kara blends pilates, mobility, strength training, functional movement, play, and nervous system nourishment. Her movement suggestions feel cathartic and Kara herself feels like a total breath of fresh air in the online fitness space. She seems to abandon all the cliches to be raw, relaxed and just a really lovely person and a guide for movement that isn’t goading at you to scoop, tuck, suck or slim your body.
Food
Get yourself a few food return rituals. I have a mental roster of ‘back home now’ recipes that I’ll cook soon after we arrive home from a trip or have been out of routine for whatever reason. It’s usually dahl in winter or a citrusy quinoa salad in the summer. Baked kumara almost always features as a side - if you’ve followed the ‘to eat’ videos, you know its a staple in our house! Collecting the ingredients, and making time to cook a grounding meal can do wonders for yourself, and everyone who lives with you. If it’s more or less the same or similar meal after each return home, the act of making the meal feels reassuring and not too taxing on your decision making capacity. I’ve queued dahl for the monthly Golden State ‘to eat’ video with Tom, coming next Monday!
5 minute rule
If you’re feeling particularly fragile or uninspired, make a mental list of a few supportive rituals that you’ve loved in the past that can be completed in under five minutes. The aim is to dip your toes in with some helpful action that will hopefully then inspire you to take other actions, too. It could be things like dry brushing, drinking water, sitting outside in morning sunlight, juicing, a breathing practice, a phone call with a friend who is an energising or loving presence in your life, lying in the sun - whatever works to shift the energy and encourage mood change. Choose practices that meet you where you are, rather than striving to get to where you wish to be.
Poop.
We all need to do it, and sometimes we need to talk about it! Regular elimination is one of the easiest things to be thrown out of whack when we travel or have a sudden change in diet or circumstance. Focus on re-establishing a healthy elimination rhythm by thinking about when you usually go. Then, give your body some extra support to go at that time through adequate hydration and fibre rich fruits and vegetables. What can also help for some people: a large dessert spoon of psyllium husk stirred into a tall glass of water and lemon squeezed into it for taste. Last week’s dive into practical tools to improve digestion could also be of service in this space, too.
Sophie’s Marketplace
Walter carafe by Service Projects. A thoughtfully designed glass carafe that holds 900ml so in other words *almost* a litre which is convenient for those who like to loosely track their water consumption. So beautiful, too!
Two Islands electrolyte sachets. These sachets really come into their own when travelling and I’ve since given them to friends and family, who all love them as much as I do. The individual sachet size is PERFECT. Special mention to the flavour options - these feel really considered and my kids love them, especially the raspberry lemonade option. Sometimes I add to my daughter’s water bottle when she’s run down or doing after school sport.