3 Simple Acts of Wellness You Can Start Today!

Here are 3 simple acts of wellness to begin today!

1. Start a Meditation Practice : This doesn’t have to be big or long or euphoric or enlightening. It just has to BE. Begin with 5 minutes a day. Morning is the best time because your mind is clear, but evening meditation is also a great way to settle the mind before a good nights rest.

   1. Make a space : this can be a whole room, the corner of a room, a chair, just some place you can go consistently and not be disturbed (ha!). In this space, make it yours. Maybe you’ve seen a puja table, like the one at the front at Dharma, with incense, malas & statues of dieties, etc. but it doesn’t have to be anything that you are not. Simply things that make you smile. A candle and some flowers, a picture of your favorite place, anything at all.

   2. Set a timer : begin with 5 minutes and grow this length as you are comforatble sitting for that amount of time, and give yourself grace if there are busy days that it has to stay at 5 minutes, but let that be a non-negotiable time for yourself, you’ll be amazed.

   3. Release Expectations : don’t look for the experience to be anything in particular. Approach with that beginners mindset, observe your thoughts, your breath, stare at the candle, just be - for 5 min.

2. Get good sleep : Sleep is when our bodies recover from all of the stress put on our systems throughout the day. Make it a priority by getting to bed early enough to get a full 7-8 hours. I love following Brendon Bruchard’s “3-2-1” method. And in addition, set your bedroom environment to invite energy of rest. Clean, dark, and cool (we sleep better in cooler temp)

   1. NO FOOD 3 hours before bed : If your body is digesting your meal while you are trying to sleep your systems are being robbed of their time to replenish.

   2. NO WORK 2 hours before bed : you’ve done what you could, now it’s time to let the mind wind down.

   3. NO SCREENS 1 hour before bed : zero! No phones, computers, tablets, or television. Instead this is great time to set up your things for the next day, stretch out, or read that book you’ve been trying to get into!

3. Replace ONE unhealthy habit with ONE healthy habit.

   We are removing alcohol together for this first month. If you use alcohol to help relax in the evening, replacing that with chamomile tea, golden milk, or adaptogen beverage that helps to promote sleep can be a great way to ease this transition. Make sure you follow us on social media as I’ll be posting my fav recipe for golden milk this week, and check out Gem Life + Bar to get your optimal replacement beverages.

…The Mythology Of Beginnings

Welcome to a new chapter in your journey of life. What a blessed opportunity to turn the page, begin a new chapter, and in this group of wellness focused individual, its sure to begin in a positive light! We are truly looking forward to being on this journey together.

A fresh start always invites the energy of Beginnings! The deity Ganesh, also referred to as Ganesha or Ganapate, is known as the Remover of Obstacles, the Guard of the Threshold. His Mother literally placed him at the threshold of her home to guard her while his father was away at war. This elephant headed god is the son of Shiva and Parviti who was beheaded by his own father and his head had to be replaced, hence the human body and elephant head. Ganesha is who we turn to when we are at the Beginning of things, as we must cross a new threshold in order to begin, and ideally we’d like to do so without any obstacles; and so we ask him to remove them for us.

As in all yogic myths, we learn that we are all the characters in all of the stories and so his journey is a symbol for our own. In order to move through a new threshold without obstacles we must remove them ourselves. We are asked to cut off our own heads, so to speak. We are asked to detach from ego, connect to our true Selves, and take the journey one step at a time. We know where there are obstacles, we cannot go around, we must go through. In removing our ego selves, we make space for our true Self to grow into what and who we aspire to be.

There are many wellness practices to keep you connected to your highest Self, some will be right for you, maybe some won’t; some will require dedication and work and practice, and it’s here when you reconnect with your WHY and forge on. The most important thing to remember is there is no Right Way for ALL, there are many paths to the same destination, and it IS THE PATH that is the most rewarding. We are here because there is some ideal goal, version of ourselves that we are seeking, and we will reach that, if we remember that the path may not be a straight line, that we spiral along this life picking up small healthy habits along the way.

Celebrate each step along the way, you’ve already come so far. Right now you are in the in-between and it’s a beautiful place to be.

“Make room for the paradoxical act of acknowledging the past as a path to the future… mark the crossings of thresholds…that allow us to migrate from one phase of our lives to another…show(ing) us a way to honor the space between no longer and not yet” - Suleika Jaouad