Charles Dickens took a 3-hr walk every afternoon. Maya Angelou hired hotel rooms to write in, keeping them as sparse as possible. Rituals are specific and sometimes arbitrarily structured; the magic comes from your own interpretation, the meaning you take away.

Ayurveda (“life knowledge” in Sanskrit) is the sister science of yoga, and it’s believed to be the oldest continually-practiced health system in the world. Built on establishing harmony in the body this very life knowledge that encourages a shift from living habitually to living intentionally.

Like yoga, Ayurveda recognizes human beings are a microcosm of the macrocosm. Our bodies are made of the same elements that make up the world around us—which means we’re moved by the same energies/forces that move the oceans, the winds, the stars and the planets. Like the sun/moon cycles, tides, seasons, we too move in rhythm. When these natural rhythms are disrupted, it leads to an imbalance that (if not addressed) can result in illness and disease.

Rituals refine our ability to see greatness in small things.

There are two traditional elements of ritual in Ayurveda: Dinacharya (“daily regimen”) and Ritucharya (“seasonal regimen”). Once your daily practices are established, seasonal variations can be woven in as a natural complement. The effect seasonal variations have on the body is so important it’s named as one of the three main causes of imbalance!

Rituals empower us to create space, these precious pockets of time–from the start all the way through to the end of each day–just for ourselves. The combination of repetition and intent is what gives it potency. It’s a way to remember our natural rhythms, so we can flow through life with greater harmony and ease.

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