The key is one day at a time

For today's post, I'm happy to welcome Rebel Tucker of Yoga Rebel as a guest blogger. Rebel is a yoga practitioner and teacher who radiates good health and vitality. Her enthusiasm for yoga, meditation and healing through naturopathy have helped many students and clients improve their wellbeing.

Here's Rebel:

There are so many tips and tricks for better health and wellbeing. It can be confusing. I like to keep it simple, because if it is too hard, I just don’t do it. What’s too hard for me may be easy for you, and what is easy for me may be too much to ask of you right now. We each have got to find something that suits us now.

I say start small. One step at a time. Don’t go making these grand, overwhelming plans to master ten new things at once...unless, you are confident you can. Just bring in one new thing at a time. Keep it simple, do-able and suitable to you.

After years of personal trial and error and having worked with so many people, I’ll share now with you three simple habits that make the most difference.

Simple yet powerful tips

1. Take three conscious breaths three times a day. This is so easy and when you actually do this, you’ll be glad you did! Set a reminder in your smart phone if you need to. Breathe in deeply through your nose and exhale with a gentle ‘Haaaaa’.

2. Start your day well. Design your perfect way to start your day. Begin by introducing a morning routine. This is what I have found to work well. Before you open your eyes bring to mind something for which you are grateful. Then stretch while still in bed before your feet even hit the ground.  Brush your teeth. Then scrape your tongue. Tongue scraping helps us get rid of some of the Ama (toxins) that build up in our body. Dedicate some time to do a self-massage with warm oil each day. Let the oils sink in for 10 minutes. I use this time to make myself a warm ginger, lemon and honey water. Grate ½ teaspoon fresh ginger and use ½ teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, add hot water, then top up with cool water to drinking temperature and add half a teaspoon of raw honey. This combination is said to destroy Ama and is said to gently boost circulation and metabolism and reduce inflammation. Then shower and get ready for your day.

3. Daily meditation has got to be the thing that makes the most difference in my life. These days I am a fan of Mantra-based meditation using Mala beads because I find this is the quickest way for me to concentrate and access that beautiful meditative state. ‘Om Shanti’ is an easy Mantra. Even if you only repeat it ten times (count on your fingers) once a day, you are well on your way to establishing a regular and deep mediation practice. You can slowly work your way up to twenty minutes a day.

Pick just one thing and add it to your day. Self-care starts with taking time to do just one caring thing for oneself. The way to create lasting healthy habits is taking one step at a time. Enjoy!