Exercise

Exercise, I’ll admit, I have an almost religious relationship to exercise and it’s purely because of how it makes me feel. When you move your body it feels good. You physically feel better because of the chemical release. But when you peel another layer you start to realise that movement is a way of examining the mind. A way in which we can experience coming closer to ourselves. Exercise brings you back to yourself, it’s not a competition despite being conditioned to terribly compete amongst one another, it’s not about wanting to be“more” in the way society makes us feel we’re not enough as we are. It’s JUST you with you. It’s about discovering a higher expression of yourself, to feel whole, to feel alive, to be inspired by your passion. Having a daily movement practice has kept me focused on myself, it’s pulled me out of self loathing to serve my soul, to honour my abilities and celebrate my strength - and that switch in priority is absolutely life changing.

Meditation

Most people presume that meditation is about stopping thoughts, but actually it’s about noticing thoughts without judgement. To sit with what comes up, instead of immediately reacting to it. Because I want to remind you that for a lot of us, our thoughts can be a fight.Positive thinking doesn’t just plant a seed and blossom into my brain.I have to water and tend to it every single day, relentlessly. And what’s what counts, that despite it all, we find ways to enjoy this beautiful one shot life. To cultivate joy. And we all know that true happiness only exists in the present moment. So we start there. Anchoring in your presence through mediation. It’s truly transformed my mind to see myself as I really am, it’s helped me tap into my creative flow, it’s strengthened my intuition beyond belief and opened all the doors to this inner knowing that lives so deep within each and everyone of us.

You are what you consume.

Everyday we are incessantly overwhelmed with visual content on social media. We hit follow with a casual click and then follow along on the journey of a thousand people’s lives who are actually absolute strangers to us. We don’t even consider how strange that is but what we really forget is that this stream of content we actively sign up for, has a huge impact on us. And it can make us feel absolutely unworthy and lacking. It wasn’t long ago I unfollowed everyone on instagram, my following count was at zero. I didn’t do it for any reason other I needed to just take a break of lapping up lives from afar and instead concentrate on mine. Social media is still mostly a bragging platform sadly and we’ve all bought into it and subsequently makes us feel less than enough. Be selective with who you follow online. Curate your social media feed in the same way you might decorate your house. I promise you’ll feel much better for it, more peaceful, less wondering why you aren’t like this or that. If a book annoyed you or made you feel terrible, you’d likely put it down – do the same with instagram accounts. Eliminate and save yourself a lot of pointless self doubt.

Cold Water Therapy

There are many, many benefits to cold water swimming . But for me, above all, is the effect it has on my mind and emotions. This past year initiated feelings of uncertainty and confinement at the very least. Cold water therapy became a catalytic embodiment practice for me to feel true freedom. “If we always choose comfort, we never learn the capabilities of our mind or body” - Wim Hof. I’ve learned that no matter where you are on any given day, when you show up for yourself and spend time in water it brings euphoric energy into the body, peace in the mind and presence in the heart.

Spirtuality — an exploration of the unknown

I once heard religion described as an explanation of the unknown, and spirituality as an exploration of it, and I choose to explore. I have explored theories about our souls or spirits coming to earth time and time again on a mission to evolve all of human consciousness; meaning that we aren’t separate from the universe, rather we are all collectively creating the grander plan. I can’t help but find some peace in that theory. Logic will limit you, but you have to learn to trust those things you cannot explain: the feelings that you cannot weigh or measure, but know to be true. The mind is limited to five simple senses, but the universe knows no bounds. There were too many “things” that happened after my dad died that felt like signs, signals, guides, even angels leading me down this path. I know for some it may sound a bit out there, but when you think of it life that way, it does make believe in a higher purpose. If souls are together for eternity and choose to come back for lifetimes to learn lessons, evolve, and share gifts, then this is truly a blink of the eye, so I may as well enjoy every moment of it. I hope you can learn to do the same too.

Journaling

Journaling is such a healthy outlet to release our inner dialogue. It’s a stream-of-consciousness writing that helps you purge your thoughts before you start your day and encourages to let go at the end of it. Through journaling we begin to offload rather than overwhelm ourselves with ALL the throes of life – joy, love, and even loss and the difficult times.

My morning pages include three questions:
What I need to let go of?
What I am grateful for (at least 3 things!)?
What I will focus on?

My evening pages include three questions:
What filled me with enthusiasm? What drained me?
What did I learn about myself?

But you can have your journal be about anything you want really. Give yourself permission to write. The more you practice, the more fluid it becomes.