I think it’s fair to say that many people tend to stray from their usual routine when they’re in a new relationship. All of a sudden it’s very exciting to be able to turn those lonely nights watching back to back Netflix into evenings out at the pub, date nights drinking cocktails, showing off all your favourite restaurants and sinking a bottle of wine on a Sunday afternoon in that cute little bar you found whilst out on a walk. Your strict bedtime routine disappears in favour of sitting up chatting until the early hours or watching one last episode of that box set you started together, and your meal planning goes from organised deliveries bringing ingredients for healthy dinners, to the Dominos Pizza branch knowing you by name.
Oh dear.
These last few weeks have been strangely conflicting – on the one hand I feel happier than I have in years, and on the other hand I feel sluggish, jaded and constantly on the back foot. One of the things I did a long time ago was to make a simple list of things that ‘make me feel good’ – make me feel connected, grounded, and more in tune with myself.
// credit: photo by Soulful Stock on Unsplash
Some of these things are:
- A regular yoga practice
- Time spent getting my heart rate up – e.g. gym, running, cycling etc.
- Fresh air and being in nature
- A regular meditation practice
- Nourishing food, especially veggies
- Time with friends and family
- Reading and listening to inspiring podcasts
- Using essential oils
- Having a gratitude practice – usually through my journal
- Exploring spirituality through tools like tarot, crystals, oracle cards etc.
- Having a bedtime routine
- Having a morning routine that includes physical activity e.g gym or yoga
- Making or creating things – e.g. skincare, planting things, writing etc.
It’s no surprise given that I feel a little out of alignment, that I’ve been maintaining regularity with almost none of the things on this list. Now don’t get me wrong – I would always advocate an impromptu beer garden jaunt on a balmy evening over feeling like you have to tick off a gym session, but when the balance tips way in favour of the ciders and pub burgers and you can’t remember the last time you saw a vegetable, that’s when it’s time to gently nudge the balance in the other direction.
I can be a little ‘all or nothing’, and that’s why a gentle nudge is what I want to embrace now. There’s still a lot of room in my life to say yes to those exciting new adventures (getting dressed up and taxiing into town for 2-4-1 cocktails? Yes please!) – but I want to start introducing back in those things that make me feel in flow, connected and aligned. Even if that means one yoga class a week, spending just 10 minutes in nature every day and adding in one or two things to my bedtime routine, that’s enough for me.
Have you experienced occasions when you’ve felt out of alignment? What did you do to get back on track?