Habit and ritual are both strong influencers in our lives.
What’s the difference between a habit and a ritual? Why does it matter?
Habit = Something we do repeatedly, without thinking. For example, brushing my teeth is a habit. I do it every morning and every night before I go to bed—well, unless I fall asleep watching Netflix, in which case I might just crawl under the covers with chocolate-covered almonds stuck in between my teeth. 🤣
Ritual = Something we do repeatedly, with purpose and intention. For example, the burning bowl ceremony I perform with my yoga community members every month.
It’s what you do most of the time, not some of the time, that matters, and the more we ritualize our routines, the more meaningful they will be.
Literally burning the trash, like my grandparents used to do in Marion County, Iowa, would be a habit, or more aptly described, a chore.
A burning bowl ceremony, on the other hand, is a beautiful ritual used to energetically release something that no longer serves us.
Burning the trash gets rid of old newspapers and cereal boxes.
A burning bowl ceremony symbolically helps clear out negativity, resentment, hurt, grudges or suffering. You know, emotional garbage.
In addition to joining us for a burning bowl ceremony, how can you form beautiful rituals to help you get the life and the health that you want?
Start by ritualizing your morning and evening routines. I call them my Pillars, and they ebb and flow with the seasons and with other things going on in my life.
Morning Pillar—Most mornings I’m starting my day with:
An early wakeup
Silence
Lemon water
Cuddling with my poodle, Sylvie
Meditation
Yoga, strength workout or a walk
Bit of journaling with my coffee
THEN I start my day; check emails, look at my phone, etc.
Evening Pillar—Most winter evenings I end my day like this:
Walk with Sylvie & Rob
Catch up with Rob
Dinner prep
Dinner
TV show or movie
Power down hour
Tidy up the kitchen
Read in bed
Lights out early enough for eight hours sleep.
I’ve turned my habits into ritualized pillars of my day, and this is how I stay grounded, healthy and happy.
How about you?
If your habits and routines aren’t quite serving you the way you’d like, shoot me a message and let’s chat.