Cultivating Joy & Contentedness
We are what we think 💭 🙌🏻
“As you think, so shall you become.” - Bruce Lee
Cultivating Joy & Contentedness
I don't know about ya'll, but summer absolutely lights me up!
With it now being June, it feels like divine timing to be stepping into our fullest power, potential and best version of ourselves. Out with the old and in with the new (or actually what's always been there but has just been needing a little encouragement...a gentle breath to the lingering flame).
In order for us to feel like we're living our best life, it's so so important to follow our joy. I encourage you all to take some time to think about: what lights you up, what makes your heart sing, what makes you feel nurtured, what helps you to feel centered, what needs letting go of mentally and physically, etc. I'm sure that's stirred some thoughts for you...
Bellow are some life-changing suggestions for you to pick and choose from, mutter around with and see what helps you to feel most like YOU, again!
Remember, it's our absolute birthright to feel happy and healthy, so go on...jump in the drivers seat and live your life by design. It's a beautiful thing! Play around and shine your light. It's what you're meant to do!
Read on for my top 10 feel good game changers!
1. Make Self-Care / Self-Love a Part of Your Regular Routine:
Schedule your self-care time in if you have to! An appointment to yourself, for yourself!
Step 1: put yourself first and ask yourself, what would fill my cup right now in this moment?
OMG, Morgan! I’m a mom. What about my job? If only you saw my list to do. What about my kids?!?
Slow down. I never said drop EVERYTHING, pack your bags and go. I just want you to take some time for yourself. Reconnect. Find peace and stillness. Rest. Restore.
2. Do Something That You LOVE
You want to feel like your best self? Find that thing – your niche – that makes time nonexistent. When you’re doing this activity or job that you love, hobbies don’t feel like hobbies and jobs don’t feel like jobs. It feels like you’re just doing what you’re meant to be doing. You’re in alignment. You are your best self or stepping into your higher purpose.
3. Adopt a Calming Spiritual Practice
Move. Breathe. Rest. Clear your mind.
Practicing yoga, meditating, prayer, etc. is so much more than self-care. It can give you that time you need to just be with yourself. Nothing else to focus on other than that moment that you’re in. It can provide you wisdom and guidance. Tone and suppleness to your body.
In yoga, what we learn on the mat we can take into our everyday lives. We can begin to see the thoughts and stories that we play in our mind, and how they are affecting our lives, holding us back, and/or creating bad habits.
We are not defined by our thoughts nor do we have to believe them or let them rule our life. AKA THOUGHTS ARE NOT FACTS! Yoga and meditation can bring us back to just being in the present moment rather than being wrapped up in the chatter of our mind.
Yoga and meditation can take us into much needed deep states of rest. In rest, our sympathetic nervous system (our fight or flight receptor) can relax and our parasympathetic nervous system (rest, heal, grow part of our brain) can jump in and help mend our wounds mentally and physically. Mindful resting and relaxing will AMPLIFY everything that you’re already doing to do heal your body and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Stress is a powerful trigger for illness mentally and physically, and rest/finding peace within is the best antidote.
4. Move + Get Some Fresh Air!
Nature is healing. Period. It rejuvenates our mind body and soul. When we move, we not only benefit physically, we benefit mentally. It's a movement of energy, which can mean freeing the blockages that lie within us. Stress, guilt, fear, anxiety, or whatever pent up energy is within us can freely move and be released.
Be sure to move your body in ways that bring you joy! Exercise shouldn't feel like a "I have to do this", "If I don't lift weights / do x amount of cardio I will gain weight"...bottom line, how we move our bodies should feel joyous and like something we want to do (regardless of the "results").
5. Lay Off the Technology!
Nuff said!
I love leaving my phone off for an hour or two in the morning and before bed. It allows us to check in with ourselves first before we are involved in the outside world. Check in with your inner technology before checking in with your outer technology!
6. Find Balance & Nurture Your Soul
Finding balance in your life can feel so tricky, but I’ve touched on this already. It’s not a matter of you CAN’T make time for yourself. It’s a matter of not being willing to prioritize time for yourself. Put it at the top of your list to find balance and to nurture your soul. You and those around you will all benefit.
Find something that makes your heart sing, helps you shed feelings of overwhelm, fills your cup and energizes you. You won't regret it!
Suggestions:
o Taking time for self-care (see #1 in this article)
o Find someone to talk to/help you move through your struggles and step into your best self/help you achieve your dreams.
See www.seekerwellness.com for support in southern SK/Carlyle, SK.
o Start a gratitude journal.
See this article for Ways to Express Gratitude and check out below for gratitude journal prompts. Pinterest is a great resource for these!
o Do something that you love
o Try a new yoga class
o Join a meditation group
o Try something new to find something you love/are passionate about
7. Treat Yourself Like a Kid
Question: what are adults?
Answer: grown up kids!
When you need to cry, cry. When you need to hydrate, hydrate. When you need to eat, eat. When you need to rest, rest. Just be you and do you in each moment that arises. It's that simple.
8. Go On a Drama Detox
Without realizing it, we all can have so much drama in our life that keeps us stuck, anxious and unhealthy. Go on a drama detox by abstaining from:
-Watching stressful TV shows or movies
-Reading stressful news stories-
-Interacting with stressful online social-media “friends”
-Associating with people who trigger drama near you
-Overspending
-Overfilling your schedule
-Abusing alcohol or drugs
-Playing violent video games
-Listening to aggressive music
-Consuming high-histamine foods and beverages
-Consuming caffeine, nicotine, or other anxiety-producing stimulants
-Saying yes when you really want to say no
-Procrastinating and getting behind schedule
-Reading celebrity gossip
9. Restore Your Body (Naturally)
I’m not 100% how the saying goes, but here’s my spin on it:
“Without the body, the soul cannot exist.”
With that being said, the healthier the body, the healthier the soul is and the healthier our soul is, the healthier our body is. Our wellness is so intertwined; that’s why it’s so important to focus on each component of our health: mind, emotions, body, and soul.
Things to try/explore:
o Work with a Naturopath to personalize/optimize your overall health. Naturopaths are amazing and always tailor supplements, exercise, diet and other suggestions to what YOU’RE needing. They can help you to get the proper nutrients that your body is needing so you can look and feel healthy (mentally and physically).
There’s a wonderful naturopath located right here in Carlyle, SK! Click here for more information/to book an appointment at Lotus Tree in Carlyle, SK.
o Adopt the other healthy habits in this newsletter to see the results in your physical body.
o Pamper yourself with a massage, acupuncture, or reflexology appointment. All of these sessions will help nurture your body and soul. Again, Lotus Tree in Carlyle has a wide array of amazing practitioners.
o Nutrition: in general, not consuming/overconsuming dairy, gluten, sugar, alcohol, toxins, and chemicals is ideal for everyone. Try adding in more leafy greens, fruits, probiotics, and kombucha (for some) for optimal nutritional health. Also, talk to your naturopath about healing your gut. So much of our health comes from our gut, and if we look after it, it can lead to less inflammation, brain fog, and achy joints. It also helps develop our intuition and ability to think more clearly.
o Essential Oils: okay, so not only are essential oils perfect for boosting our immune system, bringing in a totally natural scent to our homes, and targeting specific health conditions; they're AMAZING for providing emotional ease and support.
10. The Best for Last: SELF-LOVE
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Self-love and acceptance are the foundation for anything that we're in search of (joy, health, freedom, peace, etc.). Without the foundation of high self-worth and self-love, it is nearly impossible to enjoy our life NOW and create a glorious future.
The secret to your future lies in your daily routine. Developing your worth and love for yourself on a day-to-day basis will allow everything positive in your life to permeate through you and be a part of your inward and outward life experiences. After all, your outer world is merely a reflection of your inner world.
How do you create self-love? I developed my own self-love, confidence and contentment in my life through these practices:
-Working with a life-coach / spiritual teacher
- Yoga. True yoga. Yoga is not to be performed. It is to be lived. Yoga doesn't care about what your past or what you are becoming. True yoga is being with yourself in this moment. Moving with the ups and downs of life. Learning to bend so you don't break. Creating peace from the inside out.
- Reflection / Journaling
- Affirmations (Louis Hay is the guru of affirmations)
- Meditation
- Tapping
- Getting real about my own quirks. We all have them and your awareness and openness to them with help them shift if they need shift or give you permission to be yourself!
- Making time for what I love
-Allowing myself to shine bright and honour the whole truth of who I am
- Having a daily devotion to gratitude
- Celebrating my small successes
- Letting go of judgment of myself and others. This is still a work in progress, and I do have moments of digression, but I always come back to this so the moments are fewer and far between. In letting go of judgment, petty resentments will disappear, compassion will replace attack, energy of resistance will transform into freedom, and you'll feel more peace and happiness than you've ever known.
- Letting myself do nothing - guilt free! Try doing this by giving yourself three, five minute appointments this week if these is a leap for you! Remember, you don't need to wear busyness as a badge of honour / for external validation.
- Letting go of absolutes, jumping to conclusions and defeatist thinking
-Cleaning up my side of the street. Don't wait for others, or certain situations, to determine your happiness. Happiness is a state of mind.
- Neglecting my triggers
- Choosing my friendships wisely. How you feel after you've been around people says everything about whether they're a good addition to your life or not.
- Stopping negative self-talk
- Focusing on my strengths
- Setting boundaries
- Laughing
Bottom Line:
Feeling great comes back to self-love and self-care. Nurture yourself so much that your life and relationships have no choice but to flourish
Hugs and love, Seekers!
#vision #create #manifest #youarewhatyouthink#positivequotes #inspiration #seekerwellness#gratitude #lifequotes #uplift #goals #dreams