Upping My Daily Practice

I’ve had a daily practice that includes meditation for many years. I often do other things on a regular basis to improve my quality of life. However, in times of stress, those self-care practices are among the first things to fall by the wayside.

At my lowest moments, even my meditation practice falls away. That’s one way I know that I’m depressed – I sleep in instead of meditate. And for a good part of this year (read: most of the pandemic), that was the case. Healthy habits were replaced with sleeping and mindlessly playing games, scrolling through social media, or binge-watching shows.

Then, a few months ago, I started coming out of the funk. I played fewer games, and started meditating again every morning, as well as stretching my body. Sure, both of those are partly to deal with physical pain. They also help mental health. While I stretch, I listen to audio books or podcasts. Always learning helps mental health as well.

Several weeks ago, I participated in a transformative ceremony. When I got home, I wrote in my journal for the first time in many, many months. Even before the last time, my writing had been pretty sporadic. However, I’ve written every night since. And then I read at least a few pages before I fall asleep.

One of the podcasts I listened to last week featured Sonya Renee Taylor, who wrote the book The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. She talked about removing the toxicity in our lives to help lower anxiety and depression. Some of the major sources of toxicity are social media and the news.

I was talking with a friend this week, and we were discussing our schedules and routines. Her morning begins with those two sources of toxicity, and she experiences quite a bit of anxiety. To be fair, news and social media are not the whole source of that anxiety, though they definitely contribute.

I have deliberately chosen NOT to look at Facebook first thing in the morning, mostly because I lose track of time and end up being late for work, and also because I just don’t need bad news before my day really gets started.

One of my mentors once told me that if one really wants to grow – spiritually, mentally, and/or physically – one must have a daily practice. My days flow SO much better with the bookends of meditation and stretching in the morning, and journal and reading before bed. What is your daily practice? How does it serve you?

Blessings,
Mary