We all have our own little things which we do each and every day that make us feel a little more like ourselves. These rituals are personal and differ from person to person. These are the things that I do, day in and day (or should I say night) out, that make me feel refreshed, revitalized, alive and grounded!

MORNING RITUALS

1. I am entirely devoted to my body and my mind and making sure that in the first hour of my day everything starts with a positive is a MUST. Normally, Jesse wakes up at 6 am so he comes to snuggle in bed with me where I am spoilt with cuddles, laughs and giggles. The minute we are up, I quickly make my bed. No matter what, my bed is made within the first hour of my day.. if my bed is not made, I feel scattered, disorganized, and messy! I always want to start the day on a positive!

  I pop on the diffuser in my kitchen. Each day the scent is different -  today was lemongrass, eucalyptus and wild orange… Our sense of smell is massively underestimated! What we smell can completely trigger the way that we feel and ultimately affect our thoughts, which affect our emotions and therefore our energy. Aromatherapy is fascinating; I am no expert but I know enough to passionately push for the fact that scent can have an incredible impact on our mood, our emotional wellbeing and our health. So I take advantage of this daily and make this part of my morning ritual to ensure that there is productivity and energy in the way I face the morning.

3. I boil the kettle and pour myself hot lemon water. I am very lucky that I don’t have issues with my gut or stomach but I care very much about my health in terms of food and the one thing that I know is very beneficial to do is to have a glass of hot water with lemon every morning before eating breakfast, so I treat my body to this.

NIGHT TIME RITUALS

1. Richie and I love to cook together! Every night, after we put Jesse to sleep, we go straight to the kitchen to start chopping up some veggies for dinner. A sit-down meal is extremely important to us; we have a small veggie patch in which we grow kale, silverbeet, and an array of other herbs... Every night we pick something from our garden. I think this always grounds us and makes us mindful of where our food comes from… which is so easy to forget nowadays with readily accessible products that come nicely package and washed!

2. As my days are generally filled with a mixture of meetings, phone calls, emails to attend to and an 8-month-old, nights are really the only moment I get to sit down properly, take a breath and get my thoughts together before the next day. Once I have finished doing my writing or last-minute emails and work, I make it a ritual to take a nice warm shower and put lavender oil drops in the corner…this is so relaxing and I find myself looking forward to it every night.

After this, I make sure the lights are dimmed in the bedroom. We have side pendants from India which when turned on create an extremely moody and relaxing space.

3. I like to crawl into bed with tea, maybe sometimes even a dessert (who am I kidding.. I have dessert every night!) , and my iPad/book to relax and wind down. At the moment, I am watching ‘Girls’ and I am hooked! Tea in hand, a baby asleep and the lights dimmed low…It’s a moment that quite simply does not get old!

These practices, however small or insignificant they may seem, are little steps I take to ensure that I keep myself sane and happy! What are your favourite morning and evening rituals? I would love to hear all about them!