The power of ritual

If you want to change the world, start with yourself. It's only once our own cup is full that we can share with the world in a meaningful way. One of the ways to fill your soul up is to cultivate your own ritual.

Humans thrive on routine. Habitual acts that light us up, fill us up and keep us at our best. When we carve time out for them, there's something profoundly grounding and luxurious that takes place, and we find we can give so much more to the world. Why? Because if we ourselves aren't full, what have we got to contribute? It can often sound selfish, but if we are unfulfilled, unhappy, discontent and lacking in ourselves, we bring that negativity to the world. We move about our day feeling that indefinable feeling that something's missing. A simple routine won't solve all your problems, but it will start a process of self love, appreciation and empowerment that will trickle into daily life, subtly attuning you to feelings of contentment, love and joy.

The word ritual can make some people's skin crawl, but it doesn't have to include anything that resembles crystals, voodoo dolls or weird potion-making. It could be exercise, your daily cleansing routine, yoga, meditation, reading, cooking, making tea. Maybe it's gently grinding your coffee beans. Or standing outside on the grass. Think about the things that feel wonderful and light you up, and start incorporating them into your day. Edit and refine, layer in more, remove what no longer feels good. Notice how much more vibrant your are throughout the day, how much brighter your light shines as you move through the world. 

If you look at your current morning routine, what do you see? Are you moving out of habit, just trying to tick boxes? Or are you setting yourself up for the day in a meaningful way? Notice that there is a difference between routine and ritual. They are both habitual, but ritual has a certain reverence to it, a conscious attention that we activate in order to perform an activity with awareness.

Here are the things that I do each morning, without fail. Try some out, and experiment with other practices and things that light you up.

Tongue scraping

This ancient Ayurvedic procedure is so simple, somewhat gross, but utterly life-changing once you've tried it. Using a little copper U-shaped device, we gently scrape from the back of the tongue to the front, lifting off what's known as ama, or toxins, that have settled on the tongue overnight. Doing so not only helps with the overall health of your mouth, but also prevents those toxins from being re-absorbed into your body. 

Warm water

The body loses a lot of water overnight as it goes through all its detoxifcation processes. It's important to rehydrate after sleep, but since your digestion is still sleepy, Ayurveda suggests warm water over cold. You can add wonderful things like apple cider vinegar, lemon and Himalayan salt, but I like mine straight up. It's warming and enlivening.

Meditation

My next non-negotiable is meditation. Before I've even taken my phone off flight mode, exercised, eaten any breakfast or even decided what I am going to wear for the day, I sit down to meditate. Morning meditations are a wonderful way to give the body a moment to purify the system and centre itself for a day lived with intention and presence. A 20-minute Vedic meditation practice allows us to rest, regenerate and commune with our true Self, our source of Being. This enables us to go out into the world with a sense of alignment, purpose and creativity, with the resilience to meet any challenges that present throughout the day.

Movement

Sometimes it's yoga, sometimes it's an intense F45 session. Sometimes it's very gentle stretches, a walk or just a few rounds of Surya Namaskara. Some kind of physical activity to activate the body. There are many kinds, and as the wonderfully unique person that you are, it's important to tune into what feels good. 

Aromatherapy

Scent and aroma are powerful tools. Proof of this is the power of scent memory - we all have smells that instantly transport us back to places thanks to certain aromas and scents that have coded themselves in our brains. Each morning, before I sit to meditate, I first fill the room with some kind of scent. Could be the diffuser with some frankincense (brilliant for meditation), a few wafts of palo santo or my favourite non-toxic sandalwood incense.  I also love using essential oils instead of perfume. Geranium, vetiver, bergamot and ylang ylang for anxious phases, peppermint and rosemary for a little extra clarity and sandalwood and frankincense to stay connected. Just a drop on wrists, behind ears and on your solar plexus. Whatever you go for, make sure it's the very best quality you can find. 

Abhyanga

Abhyanga is Ayurvedic self-massage. Using warm oil such as sesame or coconut oil, we gently massage the entire body from top to toe, allow it to soak in, then hop in the shower to rinse it all off. Incredibly nourishing and hydrating for both the skin and internal organs, abhyanga is also a profound act of self care and self love. I try to do this daily, but if not, every few days still offers immense benefits. It's grounding, calming and completely luxurious. Vital Veda has a brilliant infographic on how to perform abhyanga at home.

Knowledge

One of my teachers often uses the equation that a Vedic meditation practice of 2 x 20 minute sessions plus 15 minutes of inspiring reading is just 4 percent of your day. Just 4 percent! If someone were to ask you whether you have an hour a day to spend doing something like reading and meditation, you'd probably laugh and say it's impossible. But when we break down that hour into a percentage, we see that it's actually quite tiny, and that we probably spend far more than 4 percent on other less beneficial activities! 

With that in mind, once I've finished my meditation practice, I sit for 15 minutes and read. Reading inspiring books that pose answers to the great questions of life are a wonderful way to extend your meditation practice beyond the eyes closed state. As we progress with our meditation practice, many of us start asking questions about the universe and our relationship to the world. I've put together a reading list that has a stack of books that have illuminated many insights for me, so I encourage you to dive in and explore some of these topics.

This is just a teeny tiny list of the many practices that could be integrated into your daily routine. I encourage you to explore things that work, and, like anything, observe how things make you feel, and add or refine as necessary.