There are at least 10 wonderful things we can do daily to boost our mood, our mental state, our over all health of spirit, mind and body. They are simple and very beneficial. What a beautiful new list of habits to incorporate into your daily life!
Yoga/Exercise. I start every morning with yoga. I’ve only been practicing for about 10 months but I do it every morning. I do it alone and at home with the help of a free yoga video from youtube. I highly recommend this to anyone in any level of yoga. Daily yoga practice strengthens the body and eases the mind. It’s a great stress buster and once you learn the breathing patterns it will help you in all aspects of life when you need to learn to control your breath. At the very least everyone should be getting 30 minutes of exercise a day. Take an early morning walk or jog or during your lunch hour, find a nearby park or just walk a couple blocks. Make exercise a family event and exercise together!
Journaling. Write in your journal at least once a day. If you have writers block, doodle in it or draw a picture! There are so many benefits to journaling! It’s wonderful for getting focused on what is negative or positive in your life. Writing down your feelings and emotions help you process these things and it might even help you solve the problem or issue you are having trouble with. You might even become more aware of the true person inside you as you begin to record your life. You might find things that you need to work on, figure out the root of a problem or see your self in a new light.
Meditation. Seek out a great meditation tape. There are so many different meditation cd’s out there that target a variety of issues that plague us. To take 20-30 minutes alone to meditate daily is a great stress reducer but just as important, it enables us to get in touch with the inner self. To breathe and concentrate on a single thing. To relax and find answers in the silence. From within.
Straighten up. Yes, I actually mean cleaning! Tidy up your home or personal space. Removing clutter is wonderful because you’ll feel an instant feeling of accomplishment when you’re done. While your doing this you can try a little organization. Instead of putting things in piles to do later…get some boxes or laundry baskets and start making to do piles. Whether it’s bills or filing or pictures to put in albums, clothes to donate or whatever. Don’t let it pile up, sort it, store it, put it away or get rid of it.
Massage. Treat your body to relaxation with a body massage. Have your partner do it, or just massage your head and temples yourself.
Eat right. Stay away from junk food as much as possible. Select water (and lower sugar drinks if you must) over soda. Eat greens and veggies and fruits (early in the day for fruits). Try hard to eat balanced meals and limit snacking. It’s easy once you get started.
Laugh, smile, giggle!
Affirmations. This is something I learned only recently but have incorporated them into my life. For more on affirmations, I highly suggest visiting Nancy over at AffirmingSpirit. Nancy explains all about affirmations. Creating them, understanding them and incorporating them into your life.
Random acts of kindness! Give someone a compliment, lend a hand or share a hug. Make sure that at some point during your day you take the time to do something nice. It will make someone feel wonderful and will make you feel wonderful too!
Think positive and let go of the negative! You know that positive energy creates positive energy! You know that when you are in a room full of laughter, you too will laugh. You mood is light and happy. You feel the blood circulating, you are alive with positive energy!
What a nice read, It came at the perfect time!
I have been so busy lately, that days seem hours and hours minutes. So much to accomplish and many tabs open with “to do lists” it can get overwhelming.
I was looking for something to help me figure out sort of all of this out. And then I found your post. Aha! I have been neglecting to care for myself and have ME time.
Definitely going back to my affirmations (many from the wellness universe members:) meditation, (exercise still comes first most days), and of course decluttering the mind and work area.
Thanks for the reminders I feel better already.