5 rituals to bring you back to your body and why you need them
WHAT IS A
“Ritual Practice”
For me this concept is simply establishing moments of grounding through intention and pause. Creating a habit of action or deliberate stillness before moving forward in your day, in a project, work, where ever it is that you are heading. In order to be more connected with the present and stay in alignment with your purpose/your reason. I get asked all the time how to create ritual practices in life and I am happy to share a few of my favorites today.
Some where along the way, we equated being busy with being successful and I feel in the deepest parts of me (probably because this is one of my personal greatest struggles) that we have to be SO intentional in stopping and checking in. Because we have not been trained to do so! Our brains are always thinking into the next thing and the next thing, and we are caught in this constant spiral of process. Rituals of grounding have been a big tool for me to bring myself back into my body, into the present, fully surrendered and prepared to go forward.
Here are my top 5 most practiced in my day to day.
1 : dry brushing + washing the day off
This is a ritual that I incorporated on a cleanse once and I haven’t stopped since. Dry brushing is meant to increase circulation in the lymphatic system. When activated, the lymphatic system transports waste from your tissues to your blood for elimination. The skin is the largest organ of the body and it’s important to remove the build up of bacteria and dead skin cells through this practice. I start on the tops of my hands and use light circular motions, brushing up towards the heart. Once I get the upper body, I do the same with the lower, starting with the tops of the feet, brushing up the legs. Being extra intentional in the armpits and groin areas as bacteria tends to accumulate faster here (gross, I know, but real life people). It feels like a flush in the body after 2-3 minutes.
Hop in the shower to rinse off the impurities. Washing the day off is probably my most practiced ritual. Sure, how can a shower be a ritual? It’s the intention remember! No matter how long, how stressful, or how fulfilling a day might have been, I can land back into my body right away by being submerged by the water. Sometimes I will do hydrotherapy if I need a little extra flush. During your shower, alternate 30 seconds cold water, 30 seconds hot water for a total of 3 rounds! This stimulates blood circulation by reversing it back and forth, flushing the body.
This ritual is one that I go to most nights of the week as it brings me back into my body and is a great form of detox physically and mentally.
Purchase your dry brush here.
2: forward fold
A good ol’ inversion! Getting the head below the heart has numerous benefits. I do a lot of work on the computer and inverting the body is the perfect reset at any time of the day. Inverting helps rejuvenate the brain by reversing the blood flow to move fresh oxygen through the blood stream.
“Inverted positions that are assumed in yoga alter the blood flow (including lymphatic drainage) and flow of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). If there is increased blood flow to the area, there will be increased bioavailability of oxygen and glucose—the two most important metabolic substrates for the brain. It follows then that cells bathed in a solution that is rich in factors required for the creation of neurotransmitters (like norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin) will be better able to produce these chemicals.”
Dr. Karen Koffler, medical director of Canyon Ranch Miami
Anytime I am feeling lethargic, or my eyes are burning from the computer screen, or I am craving that second cup of coffee late in the day, I try an inversion first instead. It usually always gives me the boost I need.
Stand tall, soften the jaw, close the eyes and soften the eyebrows, inhale circle the arms up over head, spreading the fingers, exhale out the mouth, as you hinge at the hip, leading with the heart all the way down. Grab opposite elbows and hang, allowing there to be no tension in the upper body, head is heavy, knees are soft. Continue to use the breath, tracing it in and out. Trying to stay here for 2-3 minutes is best! (I once did a forward fold for 11 minutes, it can be done lol).
3: scraping the tongue
There is nothing like this the first time you do this! It seems like a strange thing, and when you really think about it and see what you pull off your tongue, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start this sooner. Best if used in the morning before ingesting any food or liquid, the goal is to remove the plaque and bacteria that sits on the back of the tongue. Scraping from back to front using a tongue scraper pulls the cravings and undigested food out of the mouth. After you do this, your mouth with feel so clean, like you’ve never tasted anything. Its so strange, and so powerful! Noticing what has been sitting there all night, and extracting it to feel the difference. This is a great way to start the day with a clean palate (literally). Releasing the residue of the previous day, the build up through the night, and beginning fresh. Get your scraper here.
4: lighting palo santo
Palo is a terrific method of using aromatherapy to drive the senses back to a grounded space. Palo comes from a wild tree native to Peru. It is known as “holy wood”, where much like sage, has been used for cleansing during prayer, ceremonies, etc. It’s known to draw impurities out of the air as well.
For me I have always used it after cleaning my home or right before teaching, or after while people are in savasana. It’s always acted as something that seals a moment for me, and when I smell it I always go back to that grounded place. It feels very ceremonial lighting it before and after a class, like the bookends of transformation. Its also great for a pre-meditation grounding method as well.
Get your palo here.
5: tapping the heels
I recently listened to a very interesting podcast about movement and one of the most powerful things they talked about what how walking is one of the most therapeutic things you can do as medicine to your body. The thump against the earth literally drives fresh blood into the brain through the physical impact. I also go back to one of the parts in the Osho dynamic meditation and its literally 10 minutes straight of just tapping the heels. Its PAINFUL, but the mental process and surrender that you experience is incredibly renewing.
I love to incorporate different methods of tapping into my days, whether it be the heels into the ground, or the fingertips into the top of the head. I firmly believe there is a connection of mind + body release in this practice. A method of waking the nervous system and opening the body. Put a song on, tap, and bring yourself back.
As you aim to connect with you through ritual practice, sometimes it’s hard or takes some time to create the practice. Like any meditation practice, you must keep doing it, keep intention behind it, you must know why you are doing it, and allow grace to find your rhythm in it. The first couple times, it might feel strange or out of body. Close your eyes, give yourself permission to create the connection with the present moment. The more you do it, the easier + more organic it becomes. These are just a few of mine, what are some of yours? I’d love to hear or I’d love to help in any other way that I can to help you create these small moments in your life.
Why not live aware when you have the choice.
I love you.
xo