Staying Centered – steps for an enhanced daily routine

Take small steps for feeling calmer and more centered. Too much rapid change can actually aggravate us rather than balance us. Change your habits little by little allowing the new food/diet/exercise regime/meditation practice/waking up/going to bed ratio/[insert your own resolution here] to become a normal part of your routine and then you can enhance that choice by adding to it.
So if you are feeling stressed, worn out and exhausted you don’t want to add another stress factor to your daily life.

First step is to breathe.
I know I go on about breathing exercises a lot. This may be a byproducts of being a yoga teacher and ayurvedic practitioner, but I really can not stress the benefits enough (please look at the previous posts). We are a population too busy to actually take notice our own breath and we live in this constant agitated breathing pattern making us even more stressed. The exercise here is to just observe your breath. “I am breathing in – I am breathing out” the continuous flow of your own breath. Observe when the inhale becomes an exhale and when the exhale turns into an inhale. This is a simple breathing exercise and meditation – combined! You can do this at any time: In the morning as you wake, on the tube, in the office, before bed…

Relax at bedtime.
Take time to wind down by making a bedtime ritual. Give your feet a nighttime massage with either the slightly warming sesame oil or a cooler coconut oil. Warm the oil in your hands and enjoy massaging your feet, especially the soles of your feet and ankles. Our feet are connecting us to the Earth and grounding us. Bringing some attention to our feet can help us get out of our heads, into our body and create balance. Either leave the oil on overnight, wear some old socks to cover the feet, rub them dry or have a warm foot bath.
Incorporate these two steps into your daily routine allowing them to be a natural part of your life. They may seem very simple but that is usually the most effective too.

First published September 13, 2010