With the holidays and cold weather right around the corner, we thought this would be the perfect time to slow down, unwind and reset life with your own wellness routine!
Creating the best daily routine checklist of a few key wellness habits is the first step to starting off your day on a positive trajectory. Sticking to a routine that works for you is the next step in being healthy, keeping the stress at bay and creating that inside-and-out glow. Here are some quick self-care tips on how to develop your own holistic approach to wellness routine:
1
Start the Day on the Right Foot
Kicking off your morning with an early start and an energizing yoga practice can set the tone for the day no matter how gloomy it is outside. Having a routine exercise forms the foundation of bringing the body and mind into balance. Try adding in short exercises like yoga asanas or a sun salutation pose right out of bed to start the day off on the right foot. Even a brisk walk around the block in the mornings can get the blood pumping and energy levels skyrocketing.
2
Get All Cozy with Your Digestive Fire
Maintaining a healthy diet is a key wellness tip to incorporate in your routine, especially when flu season and sweater weather comes around. Winter time is when your digestive fire, or agni, is often the strongest, as your body requires more energy to stay healthy and warm. Focus on eating warm, cooked foods and avoiding chilled drinks as part of your daily intake. A hot cup of tea with ginger, cumin seeds and cinnamon can be a great daily pick-me-up to promote mind-body wellness. Hearty vegetables like carrots, radishes or other root vegetables, and cooked grains are also fantastic staples.
Also See: Eating for Your Dosha To Optimize Health, Mood, Weight & More!
3
Try A Little Breathing Meditation
No matter what time of year, Stress management techniques can help when life can get pretty hectic at times. Meditation is a surefire step in reducing anxiety, alleviating stress and reestablishing balance. It does so by increasing grey-matter in the hippocampus, central for learning and memory, and reducing grey-matter in the amygdala, central for stress and anxiety. Even on your busiest days, make it a point to take a few minute, sit and clear your mind using stress management techniques. We have recently been loving Calm.com for some relaxing meditation music (and more!)
For the wellness gurus out there, try incorporating this breathing meditation technique exercise to build internal heat before stepping outside and combating winter’s chill. While we use the sitali breath, or the cooling breath, in the summer to reduce body heat, we use the ujjayi breath in the winter to warm the body from the inside out. Constrict the back of the throat, similar to the feeling made when whispering, and breath in and out through the nostrils with lips remaining closed. The friction of air passing through the lungs and throat generates internal body heat.
Also See: How to Meditate According To Your Dosha
4
Time To Tame Your Circadian Clock
Your circadian clock is the key to conducting a huge selection of biological processes within the human body, amongst which include optimizing tissue repair, metabolism and hormonal balances. Different hormones ebb and flow through your body throughout the day and impact every system in your body. Prioritizing a regular circadian clock not only helps to regulate the ups and downs of hormone cycles, but it also is necessary for health. If you’re wondering how to fix your circadian rhythm, prioritizing a regular sleep-wake cycle is key.
Properly regulated circadian rhythms mean a better night’s sleep, better moods, constant levels of energy throughout the day and a lower risk of chronic disease. Here are some quick tips to tame your crazy circadian clock:
- Put your phone down – most of our devices have a higher concentration of blue light, which affects levels of sleep-inducing melatonin. Tell your body it’s nighttime but putting your phone away and indulging in a quiet mediation before hitting the covers!
- Try a backward bends yoga pose or lie in child’s pose to help lower stress levels and calm the mind. Pro tip: Do these in bed for optimum comfort.
- Though cold weather makes staying in bed so much more appealing, try adding an early start to your wellness routine. Light and dark are the keys to setting your internal circadian clock. Staying in bed all day long on gloomy days throws off your circadian rhythm.
- Go to bed at a consistent time. If you’re having trouble getting that needed shut-eye, try these sleep remedies to develop a sleep routine.
