Creating Daily Rituals

Daily rituals help improve your wellbeing and health. I am talking about basic good health. We can’t always do what we are supposed to do. My problem having sickle cell is I don’t feel great all the time.

I am tired, and I don’t always work out like I should. Life is about balance. Our schedule and our health don’t always permit everything to always be in balance.

I learned a long time ago to balance half the scale. I decided that nutrition was extremely important to my health. Can you imagine if you did not work out and you did not eat well? Both together would be a time bomb. Some of you are living the time bomb. It’s not to late to change. Here’s how.

You have to make time to develop your personal rituals. Track your mood and your stress level by keeping a notebook. Track your food. Keep a record of what you eat and how much. Record how much you sleep and how you feel. Once you start tracking you can identify your stressors. Make a list of the things that stress you out and figure out how to avoid or change the stressful situation. Then decide what the most important ritual is for you, then pick a second ritual. Work on these two only. After a month if you continue, add another until it becomes a habit.

I made the decision to eat well all the time. Even if I don’t feel well. I eat well. I think it has kept me healthier than most people with sickle cell. I can’t prove it, however I see other patients hospitalized more, with more problems than I have and they are 20 years younger than me. I think it works. What I encourage is that you try it for yourself. You do the work. If you feel better keep it up.

Exercise in some way, I do yoga, sometimes when I don’t feel well I do a restorative practice. When I feel good I do P90X. (I have to feel really good). Meditate or start a breathing relaxation practice.

Adopt meatless Mondays. On Meatless Mondays, eat no meat. Every other day, eat less meat, and have a vegetarian day or two each week. Get the best nutrition you can get. Eat your veggies and fruits. Don’t eat fried food or fast food. Eat antioxidants, and super foods. (Green tea, blueberries, gogi berries in your oatmeal), reduce sugar, juice or make smoothies. Take a multivitamin.

I will give some smoothie and juice recipes soon. Eat healthier versions of the foods you already eat. If you like yogurt eat plain Greek yogurt and you add some a superfood to it (strawberries) and granola to it. That way you have cut out the sugar in fruit added yogurt. Eat more salads. Switch from cream based soups to vegetable based soups.  You be the judge you should feel as good as you can. Improving your nutrition and adding some new rituals will really help.