New Year's rituals | AmandaStansfield

I bet you have been asked or are wondering what your New Year’s resolution will be? How about transforming that sentence to “What are your New Year’s rituals? Rituals are practices we do with intention, love and look forward to. When you rethink resolution to ritual you adopt a growth mindset and create healthy sustainable practices you can realistically achieve.

Sticking to one, let alone multiple New Year’s resolutions is difficult! Sure, we start out enthusiastic about reaching our goals. Often diving in head first with such dedication we are overly confident and perhaps a little cocky. Then, we start to slip. We give ourselves a day off, then two, then exhaustion sets in and we begin to see that the expectations we’ve set are unrealistic. Some of us last a couple of weeks, while others only a couple of days, but we fail just the same.

The ChampagneYogi philosophy is a mantra you can commit to daily! Plus it’s so simple that it works! Nourish your mind, body and spirit! Are you ready to turn New Year’s resolutions into New Year’s rituals?

New beginnings

The beginning of a new year, or in this case a new decade is a special time. It’s a time to renew, refresh and to grow! The New Year symbolize’s a fresh start, but so does every new day we wake up. There is a deeper connection to starting fresh in a New Year, which is why I propose we commit to something much more powerful – a ritual.

Creating conscious daily rituals allows us to shift our view of medial tasks into actions of love. This outlook is where healthy habits can be sustained, and even the smallest moments can bring incredible happiness. No matter how lofty or small the goal is, when you establish a routine you set yourself up for success. This is something you can start any time, and there is no better time like the present.

Rituals

Stress Relief
Ideal body weight
Anti-aging

We’ll look at each of these 3 top topics in turn and I’ll give you 3 sustainable actions you can start today. These follow the ChampagneYogi pillars of health. Look good, Feel good and Be good. Looking good on the outside radiates from the inside out. Feeling good stems from the health of your mind, how you handle daily obstacles and bigger stressors. These start as simple thoughts and can quickly manifest into debilitating anxiety and/or depression. Being good are the actionable steps you take every day to be the very best person you can be.

Ask yourself these questions. Are you:

…of service to another individual?

…respecting and giving back to Momma Nature?

…educating your children with realistic views on the world?

…nurturing your temple (body) with whole foods and toxic free products?

Stress relief Rituals

Stress is a top contender for most common cause of disease. Too much stress impacts our hormones, can destroy friendships, careers, marriages and interrupts our focus and prevents us from living a healthy lifestyle. Stress is everywhere and while debilitating at times, you can both control how you respond to stress and how it controls you.

Meditation

The powerful healing benefits of meditation are known globally and in 2019 meditation has become one of the biggest growth wellness trends. It has been practiced for centuries as a way to reduce stress and for mental clarity.

Technique: Keep it simple –close your eyes and focus on your breathe. As your thoughts start to wander, simply return to your breathe.
Breath Work – If meditation sounds a little too woo woo or overly complicated, you can start with conscious breathe work. Sounds way too easy right? But it works. Proper breathing ensures our cells are nourished with fresh oxygen. Most people breathe very shallow (into their chest) and don’t utilize the full capacity of their lungs.
Technique: with or without your eyes closed, breathe slowly through your nose filling your belly, then expand into your upper abdomen and release. Aim to breathe into the back of your throat, creating an “ocean sound” and balance your inhale and exhale with the same timing. Example: inhale for the count of 4, hold for the count of 4 and exhale for the count of 4.

Gratitude Practice

Research has shown that practicing gratitude lowers depression, anger and can transform any ordinary event into an extraordinary and memorable moment.

Action: Start a gratitude journal and write first thing in the morning 3 things you are grateful for. Express gratitude throughout your day. Tell someone how much you appreciate them. Say thank you. Smile at a complete stranger. Slow down and notice your environment, and be grateful for what you have. At the end of your day, write in your gratitude journal 3 things which brought your joy. These can be small and honestly it’s these small moments where you’ll start to see beauty and feel happiness everywhere.

Maintain your ideal body weight rituals

Social media, Hollywood and entertainment in general has morphed our perception of what healthy is. We are teaching our children that skinny is beautiful, and overly photoshopped looking models are normal. What your ideal body weight is will differ from that of your bestie, sister or mom. Being healthy is easy to attain and choosing to live a healthy lifestyle in all areas will allow your ideal body weight to become a reality, and not where you have to spend unrealistic hours in the gym, or thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgery.

Healthy Choices

Your daily choices manifest into a lifelong journey of either health or dis-ease. When you sit and binge watch tv and eat an entire carton of ice cream how does that affect you? Sure, it might taste good in the moment and you might be think what’s wrong with just one more bite, but afterward you probably feel guilty and gross.

Action: be mindful of your actions and notice whether you are swayed by peer pressure. Make empowered and educated choices that are true to you and not what social media or your co-worker swears by.

Drink Water

Start your day with a glass of room temperature lemon water. Researchers are finding warm lemon water first thing in the morning can help maintain a healthy weight. Lemons are packed full of vitamins and antioxidants and they are natural cleansers. Lemon juice supports the body’s natural detoxification, boosts our immunity and cleanses our liver. Drinking room temperature water aids in digestion, helps prevent bloating and UTI’s. Supports relief from constipation and freshens bad breath.

Tip: carry a bottle of certified pure therapeutic grade essential oil with you and add a drop or two to your water. Aim to drink half you body weight in ounces. The more active you are the more you will need to drink.

Practice Intermittent Fasting

Studies are showing it can improve memory and brain health, reduce symptoms of asthma and assists with weight loss. Our digestion requires an incredible amount of energy. When we give our digestion a 12 hour break this energy can be applied toward other body functions, such as our endocrine system: hello hormones, adrenal fatigue, brain health, and our skin.

Action: Aim to have your last meal 3-4 hours before you go to sleep. When you wake, drink lemon water first and eat only when you are hungry. Aim for 12 hours overnight of fasting. Begin once a week and see how you feel. Speak with your doctor if you have any concerns and as always listen to your body.

Get your Healthy Habits Grocery List to make healthy eating easier, less stressful and bring the joy back into cooking again…

Anti-Aging Rituals

Eat Real Food

How simple is that? Start by obtaining your nutrients from whole foods. This is the fastest way to transform your health. A healthier exterior starts from the inside. To guarantee your produce has the most vital nutrients possible choose organic and purchase direct from your local farmers. Go to your local farmers market, or join a CSA, better yet start your own little garden in your back garden.

Action: Aim for 90% of your food to come from whole foods grown in momma nature by momma nature. Ditch packaged, processed and fake foods. Fill your plate with a rainbow of colours and don’t be scared of fruit. Fresh fruits are loaded with nutrient rich vitamins and minerals which provide a healthy glow. Eat your greens! Better yet, drink your greens, aim to drink a green smoothie every day. Add a handful of greens to your plate and try growing micro-greens, these gorgeous little gems are highly powerful superfoods.

Use Non Toxic products

Reduce the amount of chemicals and toxins in your home and work environment. This includes household cleaning products, candles, toiletries, makeup and skin care. Read more here.

Action: transform your home into a wellness sanctuary. Make small steps to crowd out toxic and potentially disease causing products. Get to know the most common toxic ingredients found in your personal care products.

Exercise

Move your Tush every single day. This ritual could be used for any of these 3 goals. Not only does exercise boost our mental health, it provides youthful energy and keeps you young.

Practice: a daily walk. One of my favourite daily rituals is my walk. No matter where you are in the world this simple, free practice can completely transform your health. You don’t need an expensive gym membership or fancy equipment. All you need is you! Try using the stairs vs an elevator, get off the subway a stop early and walk the remainder. Explore a new neighborhood in your city, head to your local park, beach or forest. Yoga is one of my favourite forms of exercise, I practice is almost daily. I love the balance of a physical workout (Asana), and the connection with my true self. Plus, I love the feeling of deep bliss when I leave mat.

For more wellness ritual tips read these top posts:

My secret to staying fabulously healthy

My secrets to creating healthy habits that stick

Why I am obsessed with essential oils

What is my body trying to tell me

How I keep stress and overwhelm at bay

Ok beautiful, which of these New Year’s rituals are you going to implement first? You don’t need to sweat over a resolution. These rituals are the foundation for a Happy New Year filled with improved health, empowerment and growth.