I like to think I’m a little spiritual. I practise and teach yoga; I love crystals and put them out to restore in the full moon; I love dragonflys and dreamcatchers. I read self-development books and have a wonderful tribe of soul sistas who bring a vibe of love and connection to my life.

Spirituality is an individual practice and relates to having a sense of peace and purpose. It’s also connected to the process of developing beliefs around the meaning of life and connection with others.

I also love the idea of a morning ritual and fantasize about said morning ritual. Yes, fantasize. Because you know why? LIFE.

As well as facilitating a women’s group and health and wellness coaching, I teach group fitness classes as a freelance instructor, so can be asked to cover a class with less than two hours’ notice.

Here’s my ideal delightful goddess-like morning ritual –

Up at 6am – Morning ablutions; followed by meditation and yoga; then a delicious herbal tea whilst reading something lovely and inspiring and uplifting, or writing in a journal.

Here’s my reality –

Up at 6am – Morning ablutions; followed by a quick meditation; a few big gulps of water and on my bike or in the car to teach a group fitness class (and if I’m lucky, it might actually be yoga!). Most days I fit in ten minutes of writing in my Gratitude Diary and might even fit in 20 minutes of reading before lights out once a fortnight! (I currently have a pile of six books I want to read, and at least another three I want to add to that list – I can’t even keep up with my book club at the moment!).

I kept reading about and seeing on Instagram beautiful Bohemian Goddesses rising every morning to the sun and participating in blissful, soul-nurturing practises, and I sooooo wanted to be like them! I felt I would be more grounded and it would be the perfect way to start my day – all blissed out, relaxed and nurtured. Right? And what you think is what you become? And walk the walk, not just talk the talk. You get the drift…

Then I started getting frustrated coz I would plan said amazingly blissful ritual for the next morning and I’d either get a text asking me to work, or I’d have a shit night’s sleep thanks to good ol’ Meaniepause, so I’d change my alarm.

I started doubting my commitment to being all chill when I began my day. Felt maybe I wasn’t honouring my inner Goddess, and how could I possibly have a good day if I wasn’t practising my divine Morning Ritual every day? Was I failing myself, the sistahood, the delightful photographs of beautiful Bohemian Goddesses on my Instagram account?

STOP! WAIT JUST A MINUTE!

This is MY practise! My spirituality! My body! My life!

I should definitely NOT be beating myself up about the fact that I don’t often have time in the morning to linger over a delicious herbal tea and some soul-inspiring reading because I’m going through menopause and sometimes just struggle to get up for work in the morning, or my daily schedule changed at short notice.

I am human. I need to work to support myself. Like most people, I’m doing the best I can to get through day-to-day life. Along the way, I’m trying to shed some onion layers of self-discovery and be a decent human being, not only to myself and others, but to our planet, all whilst trying to pay my bills and put food on the table. Why on earth would I go and start freaking out because I can’t always practise a morning ritual?

Because I wasn’t being authentic. I was trying to be like all of those lovely gypsy girls in the images with the long hair, floating feminine dresses and raw crystal jewels. Yet again, it still comes down to me feeling not good enough. Too short. Too heavy. Short hair. Stubby nails. Over 50 years old. Not good enough.

Not good enough for what? To be a Bohemian Goddess? To spend an hour every morning over tea and writing?  I was in love with the romanticism of quiet nooks and crannies, soft cushions, hands cupping big mugs of steaming tea and wearing lovely feminine shawls, and I wanted to be like those girls because I thought it would make me more spiritual.

Pffffffft I say! I don’t need to practise my morning ritual daily to make me spiritual.  Of course it can contribute to and enhance one’s spiritual practise, but there are many other things that make ME spiritual.

Crystals, especially amethyst. People who know me know I LOVE purple, but what I like most about amethyst is that it is known to be cleansing, both physically and psychologically. It promotes internal balance and harmony, and brings stability to the individual. Amethysts are capable of raising one’s spirits,  and promoting self-assurance and confidence. They brighten the outlook on life and enhance the sense of humor. The virtues of amethyst include beauty, calm, fulfillment, humility, a loving demeanor, perfection, piety, sincerity, spiritual balance, tranquility and wisdom.

I have a lot of amethyst jewelry as well as a couple of crystals in my house that I charge every full moon.

Dragonflies. The metamorphic act of emergence from nymph to Dragonfly strips away our beliefs of containment of our actions, our limitations, our doubts, and self doubt. ‘The Spirit of the Dragonfly’ reminds us that everything is possible, we can achieve our dreams and our goals, and we learn to understand about ourselves, and our self belief. The Dragonfly Spirit is the keeper of our dreams, seeking out true potential and ability, giving us the capability to fulfill our birthright. The wings of the Dragonfly reflect the colours of our Universe and connects us to their energy.

I have two dragonfly tattoos and several dragonfly pieces of wall art, and jewelry pieces.

Dreamcatchers. The nature of the Dream Catcher will attract all sorts of dreams to its webs. When bad dreams come, they do not know the way through the web and get caught in the webbing where the first light of day causes them to melt away and dissipate. The good dreams knowing the way, go through the center of the web and slide down the feather to the sleeper below.

I have a few small ones that were gifts and a larger one above my bed.

Self-discovery. To me, this means finding my purpose in life, digging deep into my past and revealing the experiences that helped to shape me, both good and bad. Further, it’s discovering what my beliefs are and living by them. The effects of self-discovery may include happiness, fulfillment and clarity. The journey however is not always an easy road. For me, the journey has caused some anxiety, fear, confusion, misunderstanding, doubt and literally had me re-visiting  choices I’ve made in my life. I’m learning to allow myself to be vulnerable in order to begin to live my life as my true authentic Self.

I try to read lots of books, blogs and articles that help with my self-development. I also try to attend Workshops that contribute to my self-development. I hang out with a wonderfully compassionate, loving, supportive, intelligent group of women who talk my kinda talk and encourage me to be the best I can.