Spiritual routine: why, which one and when?
Why a ritual?
It was at the end of his life that I realized my father's exceptional health, his iron mind and his courage despite his advanced 80s. I then looked at his habits. Of Indian origin, from Kolkata, my father always practiced prayer in the morning, generally after his shower and before breakfast. I always watched him out of the corner of my eye, reproducing these gestures that I knew by heart, in my childhood room. He worshiped Ganesh (the God of business and businessmen) while I was under the spell of Krishna, the cowboy with the peacock feather and the flute who seemed to have a lot more fun.
In adolescence and adulthood, I let go of these practices which represented my childhood. Far be it from me that this was a whole lifestyle.
Later I observed my husband who had also tried to establish rituals in his daily life (some interesting like reading the newspaper, others less so, like smoking a cigarette after his morning coffee - yuck!) but each one has his own ritual.
It is proven in psychology, that the ritual helps humans to find stability in this chaotic daily life on earth. What unforeseen events in the course of a day and a lifetime! Some celebrities and coaches go so far as to say that making your bed in the morning is the first healthy ritual you can incorporate and teach your children. (I do too ;)
What ritual?
To choose a good ritual, it is important to take a step back, look your life in the eye and ask yourself what we would like to bring to it. So choose a ritual that suits you, that goes well with your lifestyle or the one you would like to have. For my part, I wanted the assurance of good physical shape to carry out all my projects and take life to the fullest. As I manage 3 projects at the same time, as I raise my children alone, and as I juggle a schedule of friends and lovers in order to satisfy my emotional and physical needs, I needed a fairly complete routine that meets several needs if possible. For this I chose the Kundalini. It's a school of thought that allows me to do 5 activities in one while only consuming an hour of my time. So I meditate, I reconnect with my essence, I move my body, I make it sweat, I stimulate flexibility, I realign and reactivate my chakras, and I sing, praying and focusing on my goals. Without it I'm like a headless hen. But that's me (and my Aquarian brothers and sisters).
Some get organized by mindmapping* (I do it too, once a month or quarterly I put my life down on paper to reorganize the messed up corners), others by having a coffee, still others by going to the room. It's all good as long as you feel aligned and fit afterwards, and it doesn't take too long to make sure you do it every day. Regularity is really an important component of the routine because it is much more difficult to resume a good habit than to practice it (even moderately) every day.
When ?
So you have found a routine (spiritual or not) that appeals to you or a challenge that appeals to you? Typically, the challenges are 21, 40 or 90 days - each having its impact on our lives. 21 days to learn a new practice
40 days to adopt a new habit
90 days to observe the path traveled, transcend the practice and rise beyond the first day.
I noticed that it was more effective to practice your daily routine at the same time. Whether it's before going to work for those who have a job, whether it's before the lunch break for those who work at home, whether it's coming home in the evening before dinner, before starting to prepare the dinner for the working people out there. Several times I found myself saying to myself "oh you will do it later, it's Saturday, take your time" and I find myself at 11:45 p.m. quickly doing a routine in shorts to accomplish it dare dare before the next day. Ok I'm very "straight edge" but hey, I don't like to skip a day because in my school we start again at day 1.
It is more difficult to resume a daily practice after a break of one or two days, or even a week or a month, than to force yourself to practice five to ten minutes every day.
As Yoga Bhajan (ambassador of Kundalini Yoga in the West) said, the most important thing is to persevere in continuity. Whether you practice (the Mantra or the Krya in this case) 1min 3min 5min 11min or 21 min the important thing is to practice daily and not miss a day. Moreover, even within the practice, you are invited to take short breaks rather than completely stopping the training or the routine.
You are free to add one or the other additional exercise, such as pilates, bodybuilding, jumping rope or other. For my part, I like to have an outdoor cardiovascular activity in addition: cycling, running or swimming at least once a week tells me my Astro Birth Chart (Moon and Mars in Aries!) . Golf is incidental but it remains an outdoor activity that instantly forces us to refocus - but that will be the subject of another article. ^^
PS: If you want to know your Birth chart, and know where your Mars is (the God of action, the planet that sets us in motion) and your Moon (our instinct, inner child and sense of intimate life, our intimacy) and your Jupiter (the God of abundance, through which our fluxus passes, through which we "grow") send me an email: jadesboudoir@gmail.com
*mindmapping: read this other article on this wonderful tool for structuring the mind