Photography by Tanya Pro (@tannnpro) from Unsplash
Whether we know it or not, our day-to-day living probably has a ritual in place.
At first, the initial thought when we hear about rituals is that they're interchangeable with routines. While they're similar and more related than synonymous, "rituals" comprise habits and routines under one thought or purpose— the big picture made of significant, smaller ones.
Let's say that you built your routine to a tee. You wake up every morning, fix your bed and head straight to breakfast to get you started for the day. What will make those chronological actions into a ritual is adding a little more mindfulness and purpose. It doesn't have to be big but they can be personalized to what you value the most. Perhaps you enjoy having your mind engaged in the morning. Your ritual could be fully-focusing on your bed, having a quick podcast ready as you wait for your water to boil, and then mindfully nourishing your body with breakfast.
Because we know routines vary from one Woman in Progress to another, here are a few personalizable actions you can add to turn whatever routines you already have in place into rituals you'd love. Take what you need:
For mindful mornings
Your favorite breakfast drink + a playlist (or podcast) to put you on the right track
Photography by Inés (@taaarde) from Unsplash
Practicing mindfulness is one thing we'd love to continue developing. While the word seems like it takes heavy work, we learned that it's possible to practice it through our everyday activities.
Try to think of the last time you made your favorite morning drink. Since we've done it every day, we don't put our one-hundred percent focus on each step. If we did, we would take notice of scents and temperatures— the very practice of having our favorite cup could surprisingly give us a moment of peace and focus that could make a change in putting us in the right headspace. Paired with a podcast or playlist we'd love to immerse ourselves in, we're ready for what the day has for us!
For afternoons made better
The treat made especially for you + the experience shared
Photography by Simply Skin
Ensuring that your routines-turned-rituals revolve around your goals is one way we can elevate our journey to progress. That is something we can do from within to skin.
Often, we get allured by what we see online and what we think we need for our skin. With the numerous new lines of products thrown at our face and treatments that claim to do all and in no time, it's easy to get caught up in all of it, even when our intentions are to find out what's best for us. At Simply Skin, we make sure your good skin intentions bring out your skin's potential.
With a skincare experience made expertly and mindfully for the Woman in Progress, we ensure that what you get in every visit is progress seen and felt paired with sessions personalized to you. In three simple steps formulated to take care of your skin from start to finish, you're sure that your specific skin goals pair with specific facial treatments that'll slowly but surely get you to where you want your skin to be.
The best part, especially if we're looking to connect with people that mean the most to us, is that you can share sessions through Progress Plans. Staying on track with our skin and mindfully connecting, all in one simple, effective package.
For even better evenings
A lengthier moment to wind down + your favorite act of gratitude
Photography from Simply Skin
Usually, evening routines could consist of us stepping away from our desks and making sure to shake off the day before we head back to bed. While this sounds like a sure-fire way to end the day, try to squeeze in a lengthier wind-down session!
That can look like anything from taking our time to fix whatever was left from our desks to get ready for the next morning, indulging ourselves in a quick yoga session, or cozying up in a corner with a book or a podcast. With a longer wind-down, you're squeezing off residual energy that may have come from a day's work (also, goodbye midnight revenge-procrastination), leaving you with not just extended me-time but a mind set on resting right after. To make your day's end even more meaningful, try to cap it off with a quick gratitude exercise of your choosing!
Although these may seem like small changes to your routines, they may make the most impact on how we approach our goals. Our advice: be flexible with how you want to apply these changes and make sure you spend time intentionally dabbling into the in-betweens of routines (great for ideas and curiosities to take place!) Customizing and learning what works for you as you go may be challenging, but it's all worth it when we look back at how far we've come and what else is up ahead in our journey to progress.
Thumbnail by Daniel Mingook Kim (@danielmingookkim) and Tanya Pro (@tannnpro) from Unsplash