What if health and wellness came in the form of a pill? One dose a day and you get guaranteed health and happiness. Would you take it?
You could live your life doing whatever you want. You could eat or drink whatever you want, sleep and wake up at whatever time you wish, never work out again. The only thing you will need to do is take the pill. Would this be your best life?
I know, that sounds hypothetical and unrealistic. But, I believe a fulfilling life happens without the need of a magic pill. There’s a lot of inner pleasure that comes from overcoming self-limiting beliefs and showing up for yourself at different levels than you have before.
Pleasure is a good thing! Won’t you agree?
If you embrace the thought that the actual joy is in the journey, then it’s easy to realize that you can create the magic pill for yourself. The key is to discover and strengthen your inner resources so that you can build the life of fulfillment and pleasure you long for.
The magic pill for wellness, health and happiness is to gradually adopt nourishing routines into your life while allowing yourself to receive pleasure and gratitude in the experience of doing so. I would like to call them devotional practices.
When your days and weeks include lifestyle routines that are beneficial to your body, mind, and spirit, you will be empowered to live a passion filled life. You and your amazing body are already equipped for wellness! The key is to devote yourself to actions that honor the needs of your physiology. One task at a time. Day by day. Again and again.
Let’s take a closer look at the power and beauty of wellness routines and how you might commit to having them in your everyday life.
How to Find the Motivation to Stick To Health Routines?
I feel you, it’s not easy to find the motivation to adopt and stick to something new, especially if it feels like more work to add to your already full life. But what I’m going to suggest is not that far-fetched or out of reach. Firstly, it’s important to remember that resistance to change is inevitable, at first. When I’m working to bring in new routines and habits I end up out of my comfort zone. Predictably, I experience resistance in this process. Most people do.
Creating a wellness-based lifestyle will take dedication and commitment. It might help to know that motivation is fickle, it’s totally undependable. What I mean is that you can’t wait to feel highly motivated to do the thing that you want to start doing. In order to create a new routine and turn it into a habit you will have to do the new thing even when you don’t want to. There will be rare occasions when your motivation will be high, and that’s great! But, low motivation is not bad either. The point is motivation is not something you can count on, so don’t wait for it.
What you can count on is that initially,
- It will be hard to get up earlier in the morning to practice meditation or exercise
- Meal planning and eating at regular times will seem like a chore
- It’s natural to want to procrastinate
- It can feel easy to stay the same and it can feel hard to change – even when you know that staying the same causes you harm.
Do you see how cleverly our minds can work against us!?
When I first began to incorporate the nurturing daily wellness routines that I was learning about from my Ayurveda teacher, I became flustered. I didn’t know how to make all of it fit. At times I rebelled. But I stuck with the struggle, I kept returning to the plan, and the methodology from habit science, then this happened.
- The effects of my meditation and yoga practices began to give me self-understanding, mental clarity and better sleep
- Changing my eating habits helped me to feel less stressed about food and body image
- Consistent eating and exercise times helped to regulate my cortisol (stress hormone) levels which gave me more patience
- Routines with my calendar tools and weekly planning helped me to prioritize the wellness routines I wanted in my life
- All of the above was a process of developing self-compassion and quieting my negative inner dialogue.
Each day of wellness routines created a ripple effect on all the other aspects of my life. With greater self-understanding my creativity and sense of purpose really began to open up. Finding flow with the changes became easier!
Alas, the key to finding the motivation to stick with health routines is to:
- Realize the BIG WHY value that they give you. How do they help you fulfill your sense of purpose and belonging?
- Stop looking at routines as a restriction or control or somebody telling you what to do.
- Start looking at routines as your soft landing and a place where you find pleasure at the moment.
- Develop relationships with people who already have the lifestyle habits you want to have.
- Fall in love with your sense of devotion as you keep taking one small step after the other towards your heart’s desire.
“Aim small, make it so easy you can’t say no”
Your Body Loves Routine
I am sure it’s not news to you that your body loves routines and gets disrupted by unusual events. A simple example is the late-night heavy dinner that gives you belly trouble the next day. Daily routines help to keep your nervous system in a regulated state. The nervous system prefers predictability.
A morning routine prepares you for a fruitful day ahead and equips you to organize and follow through with the rest of the tasks of the day. The simple act of drinking a glass of warm water first thing in the morning can make a big difference, on multiple levels.
A mealtime routine of pausing before you begin to eat, taking a deep breath, mindfully tasting flavors, and relishing the food in front of you without distractions like your phone or TV, can improve digestion, reduce stress and keep you from overeating.
An evening routine gives you a night of better sleep and helps you wake up refreshed, able to take on each new day with more energy and vitality. Evening is the perfect time to focus on yourself by doing something that brings you pleasure like having a couple yoga poses while listening to some chill music. Spend a couple hours talking, writing, making art or walking with your loved ones or partner before bed. It’s an excellent stress buster and sleep inducer.
Well, I could keep going on about the benefits of Ayurveda and yoga inspired wellness routines but let me switch gears here. I’d like to show you how you can begin to craft your routines, firsthand.
Firstly, I’ll invite you to consider the difference between routines and habits. There is a lot of talk about the same all over the internet, and I would like to share my perspective.
“The most common mistake that people make is setting their sights on an event, a transformation, an overnight success they want to achieve – rather than focusing on their habits and routines.”
Routines vs Habits
Routines are tiny behaviors you do each day at a specific time which eventually turn into habits. One simple example is, getting up each day and brushing your teeth. This act of brushing your teeth as soon as you wake up started as a routine when you were a kid, then it turned into a habit.
It’s like the right seed being planted in the right spot. The seed does not need much nurturing. It’s set to grow. Similarly, if you pick the appropriate small behavior and put it into the right spot in your day, then you won’t have to work very hard to keep repeating the process. It will be set to grow well, like the right seed planted in the right spot
“If you want to be the type of person who accomplishes things on a consistent basis, then give yourself a schedule to follow, not a deadline to race towards.”
To Sum it Up!
With the understanding of what a routine is, and how it can help you to build a habit, treat this change in your life as an act of receiving pleasure and joy in the process of doing the routines.
Adopting routines and putting them on a loving repeat mode, like a favorite song, will turn said routines into soulfully devotional habits that you won’t even have to think about. They will be second nature for you.
We as humans are trained to think that we need discipline to succeed. But I believe that success in the form of good health and wellness comes when you realize your own form of devotion to your body and soul. Become devoted to your “Big Why” – the reason you want a change in the first place.
Nurture this shift in mindset and it will set you free. It will help you stop being discouraged in your lack of follow through. It will help you feel the pleasure in the process of bringing about this organic change to your life.
“I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my soul.”
~ Rumi
You Can Do This!
Remember, you are not alone. You don’t have to go about bringing this change towards a better life of pleasure and fulfillment, all by yourself. Reach out for support and support is what you will get. There is power in the importance of finding your herd, your people. There is power in sharing your success and experiences with others who want to hear from you. Check out this post on exercise routines and the importance of finding your group or a mentor in your journey to fitness.
I hope my experiences and knowledge gained through my journey creates a roadmap for you to discover your own version of whole-body wellness, leading you to a happy long-life filled with pleasure. If you’d like my help finding that treasure, take 10 minutes to do this self-inquiry workshop and set up a free consultation with me.
With High Regards,
Sarah