Last month I read The Power of Ritual (it was a Girls’ Night In/The Lounge book club pick) and it really got me thinking about what rituals I already have in my life and what rituals I want to re-focus on/create. The author (Casper ter Kuile) emphasizes that rituals don’t have to be big huge things or giant deviations from your regular life. Rather, they can be about bringing attention and intention to things that you already do–in particular, things you already do that bring you joy or care.
Casper believes that the three key pieces of creating and maintaining a ritual are intention, attention, and repetition. Seems easy enough, right? Or maybe it sounds really intimidating because the word ~ritual~ feels like strangely religious or intense or old fashioned? It brings up a little bit of all of that for me. But I do really want to bring more intention and focus into my life (especially with so much uncertainty and anxiety over COVID still). So here are some rituals that I’m practicing this year.
My evening ritual. I’ve touched on this before, but I’m trying to re-commit to my nighttime ritual. It starts with taking an Equilibria gel capsule (you can get $20 off your first purchase with REFJOSLINSCHULTZ) and starting to make my nighttea from Apothekary (sadly they don’t make this anymore–I’m going to launch a campaign for them to bring it back!) Then I do my bedtime skin care routine (more on that later, I promise) and brush my teeth. And by then my tea is done steeping so I take it to bed with me and read a novel. Reading a few chapters of fiction helps me decompress from the day and the tea and CBD capsule help quiet my mind. I’m also trying to focus my intention and attention on relaxing and focusing on each step.
My workout ritual. Most of my spark classes take place at a :15 time (aka 15 minutes past the hour). And I love this because on the hour I’ll change into my workout clothes and go get settled in my workout room. I take that time to stretch out and get mentally prepared for my workout. (Also I tend to be the first one in the Zoom room for the workouts which I also love because I get to catch up/get to know the instructors!) Allowing myself a moment to set my intentions for my workout is such a small ritual but I find it to be really truly helpful, especially when I’m stressed.
A bath ritual. One truly amazing thing about my new apartment is that it has a bathtub!! I haven’t had one since I lived in Pennsylvania so I’m very excited. And it’s allowing me to test drive a bath ritual. At least once a week I’ve been treating myself to a long, hot bath (usually right after a workout). I mix myself a fun cocktail, grab my book, and settle in. I alternate between using bubbles and bath bombs and I also add a sheet mask as well. Few things are better at quieting my mind than sitting in the bath with a face mask on reading a book. After I’m done I wrap myself in my huge fluffy robe and am just so relaxed. I think this is going to become my favorite ritual.
And finally, one that I’m trying so hard to work on is my morning ritual. I drink coffee with my Hearthstone Collective drops (more on that later I promise, but if you’re interested now you can use JOSLIN10 for 10% off) and then my Apothekary powders every morning. But I’m not great at taking a moment or two to slow down and appreciate it or to intention set for the day or journal or anything like that. So one of my goals for the year is to figure out how to bring some ritual into my morning coffee routine.
Do you have any rituals? Any that you’d like to start?
xoxo,
J
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