Five Ways to Nourish Your Soul Each And Every Day

What is soul nourishment? For me, it's a feeling. A feeling of goodness, expansion, and inspiration. Nourishment provides a deep sense of peace, is beneficial, and brings forth joy into your life. I believe we each deserve to feel this level of nourishment day by day. And if our collective goal was nourishment, the world would be a very beautiful, fruitful, and loving place to be.

Try adding these 5 ways to nourish your soul each and every day into your routine to cultivate nourishment in your life.

1. Wake up right. If you aren't happy, your initial thoughts each and every morning won't be either. Choose a morning ritual to start your day off on a positive vibe! Suggestions are - morning affirmations, listening to uplifting music, meditation, chanting, or exercising. We all have different obligations and routines, the key here is choose something that works for you! I enjoy leisurely mornings - I'm a no alarm setting, wake up with the sunlight and birds chirping kind of a gal. Then I'd stretch in bed for a little, take the dog on a walk, and come home to make a hot lemon/ginger/honey water. Oh, but wait ... I have kids and am a single mom! ;) So, during the week when I need to be up by a certain time and am responsible for others, putting on music is my magic! I sing, dance, and chant around the kitchen, make my hot lemon/ginger/honey water, and find time later in the day to walk the dog or do something for myself like kundalini yoga or grab an acai bowl with a friend. This same idea leads me through the rest of my day. I fit what makes me feel good into my responsibilities. After finishing work and picking up the kids, I like a good sweaty afternoon workout while the kids have some down time. It's important for others to know that you need to take care of yourself. And for the family unit to respect each others' needs and individuality. Whatever it is for you, wake up with intention. Look at your day, week, life, and ensure you are working within your realm to enhance your life by choosing life affirming elements to bookend your real world stuff. And always stay present, your desires may change season by season or day by day. We each have unique natural rhythms.

2. Honor your body, mind, and spirit. Just like your first thoughts impact the energy of your day, so do the first things you put into your body. Nourishment feels good, remember! It uplifts, inspires, and energizes. Before you choose to drink or eat something, ask if it will nourish you. How will it make you feel? If it's not nourishing, ask why you are choosing it? Same with your words. Are you saying things that make you feel good? That support others in feeling good? Same with your actions. Are you choosing things that you want to do? That you have to do? That you are forced to do? What lies beneath these choices? A lot of unconscious patterns, perhaps? Deep rooted belief systems? Simply agree to ask yourself, does this feel good? And if not, open to the possibility that it could feel better and intend for your life to move in that direction. The farther you feel away from nourished, the more effort you are going to have to make to get there and the more patient you are going to have to be. It's the truth. Health and nutrition are really charged subjects in our culture. Don't approach them with judgement and try to make your choices based on feelings within you, not on external factors, practicalities, or logistics.

3. Develop your intuition. Your intuition is your internal compass. A compass that may need quite a bit of dusting. From a young age most of us are taught to override this innate guidance system by leading us to look externally rather than internally for confirmation. Then you get so used to giving away your power that you can't rely on yourself, feel completely lost, and have no way of finding your way home. Home = your heart = your soul. All day long, you can strengthen your intuition. Before you do anything, simply check in with your heart. What messages do you receive? How does it make you feel? What would you truly want to do? Does it turn out like you thought it would? What can you learn? Love and warmth indicate a correlation with your heart. Fear and cold indicate a correlation with your ego. If you are lost, never be afraid to ask for help. This is the beauty and power of community - we share wounds and need each other to heal. Developing your intuition will yield confidence, strength, and health. Please join our online community to get guidance on developing your intuition!

4. Choose joy. There are things in life that are necessary. If you want to be a human being living in the modern world, you will need to do things like pay bills, go to school or work, and take out the trash. These humble real world tasks are similar to the basic bodily functions - like breathing. And within these tasks and basic bodily functions is a reflection of you as a whole. They become a big deal when things are difficult. But, when things are easy, they barely get a second thought. Always be willing to look at what makes up your life and ask, is this necessary? And beyond that which is necessary, there are also lots of opportunities to be creative and tailor your life to fit your desires. If you have a true desire in your heart, never accept anything less. Remember how it felt as a kid to fall totally in love with the most simple thing? Remind yourself what that feels like. Allow yourself to bring wonder and curiosity back into your life. Keep asking yourself what would totally bring me joy until you get an answer. And then ask again. And again. And create more and more of it.

5. End your day right. Do you remember being a kid and the beautiful feeling of getting in bed after a long and fulfilling day? The feeling of your covers and soft pillow? You pass out without a worry or thought. When was the last time you got into bed like that? If you aren't, it's time to create a new bedtime routine. I love to journal before bed. It's an opportunity to reflect, learn, and look forward. And I almost always fall asleep to a guided meditation or hypnosis. It totally aligns my energy and sets my compass to inspired before I sleep! That means that all night long, my body has an amazing opportunity to repair, renew, and relax in a heightened state. This momentum builds over time. In fact, all of these ways to nourish your soul build over time. Each day is an opportunity to build from morning to night and from night to morning, and before you know it...you are living a fully nourished life! :)