Roots and Rhythms #1

Roots to ground you. Rhythms to nourish you. Enriching your motherhood experience.

Nourishing yourself through the silly season.

Have you ever noticed when life gets a little “extra”, nourishing yourself falls away and you begin to go in “doing” mode constantly?

By the end of the day, you feel like you’ve been chasing your tail, your to do list has grown despite barely taking a moment to breathe?

What if, you could consciously bring  your awareness into how you’re spending your time and energy this season?

Society has completely normalised mothers being overwhelmed and overstretched by the expectation of providing your children with the most magical memories.

Whether you’re in the northern or southern hemisphere, what if feeling nourished was the greatest gift you could give yourself and your children as we close out the year?

I see so much going around about letting your children free of any routine through the holidays that they experience during the school term time. What if these extremes are a source of overwhelm for the whole family?

What if we can change the narrative on what the holidays can look like? Instead of letting go completely of rigid routine, we explore a nourishing rhythm for the whole family, filled with moments of connection and ritual that create the roots of our holiday season.

In honour of all else, the layers, the enormity of all that you’re likely navigating this season, Mumma, here is my recipe for a nourished festive break:

Connection to the elements.

According to Ayurveda, you and I, including all of nature are made of the same 5 elements. What makes us unique is the combination of all. The “doshas” in Ayurveda explain how the elements combine and how they behave. You may have heard of Vata, Pitta, Kapha. But there are as many doshas as there are humans in the world. We are all wholly unique built up of the same elements. When we look to the earth, the water, the fire, air and ethers in our environment, can you consider which element is dominant on the land in which you’re upon in this season? Connecting to which element feels soothing for you? Maybe there will be one, when in extreme that you find challenging. Honouring that experience within you can be largely supportive. If you’re heading into summer, taking extra moments to cool your system through water. Maybe you’re just stepping into the winter in the southern hemisphere and honouring the fire within you feels warming and supportive.

Keep mealtimes consistent

this time of year, can become a little “feast or famine”. Huge meals, followed by skipping meals etc. Where is it possible for you to set a regular eating schedule where you can sit, feel relaxed and really chew your food as the beginning of your digestive process?

Bedtimes consistent

I don’t know about you but a few too many late nights for me definitely do not feel good in my system. I believe the same is true for our children. If we can keep a consistent sleep and wake time as we move through the season, it can be hugely supportive to our overall wellbeing as we move through busier days. I recognise that this may sound good in theory and harder to navigate in practice. For me it may sound like, “I’d love to join you for dinner. Would you mind if we brought it forward half/an hour as I’d like to get home for a relaxing bedtime by *time”. Sometimes it’s not possible and slower mornings/days the next day can support our systems to process later nights but in general I find that it can become easeful once we begin to practice.

2pm rest

So according to the Ayurvedic times of day, at 2pm is when we shift from the Pitta (productive - fire) time of day to Vata (Creative - Air) time of day. Our modern world doesn’t really permit us to naturally shift gears at this time. We can however get creative in how we move through that transition. If you have autonomy over certain tasks and the times they are done, try to schedule the more “doing” tasks for before 2pm. Honouring that shift however my day looks feels deeply nourishing. I’m an ideal world, it would look like legs up the wall for 20mins. Sometimes, it’s simply a cup of yummy herbal tea to notice that shift.

If you’re travelling during the festive period, sticking to the time zones of the land in which you are upon but I also invite you to recognise the shift in timings of life. Despite the different times zones from WA to Wales. The days and their structure also seem largely different. If you’re crossing hemispheres, naturally, you’ll be crossing seasons which will play a significant role in your day but also the culture. Here in Wales, the day starts soooo much later to what I’m used to in Perth hence 2pm feels really, very different! I invite you to notice different rhythms not only between seasons but maybe between homes of your friends and family!

Oil on the soles of feet

Finally, but possibly, my favourite ritual. Before bed, can you take a minute to apply slightly warmed oil to the soles of your feet. To connect with your feet in gratitude, to notice your energy start to drop down. And as a signal of “the day is done, now it’s time for rest”. For me, it’s become a ritual that almost turns my brain off from considering the whole range of things running through it. Often, I will write a heap of things down and then rest.

I also wanted to share here that at 10pm we move through another doshic shift. This is the reason Ayurveda invites us to be asleep by 10pm. Beyond 10pm you’re likely to feel as though you have a “second wind”, you may start to feel hungry. I’d love to invite you to consider which dominant elements are shifting and what you notice if you’re not already asleep. I’ll share more on this in my next post.

I share all this is deep loving compassion for you and invite you to discern what you take in from this post. With all of the information we’re exposed to that needs to digest through our system, please only take with you one ingredient (or maybe none) to add to your recipe for a nourished festive period.

For full transparency I also want to share that I am on this journey with you and there are times when even the most simplest of choices to create roots and rhythms that are nourishing, feel out of reach. Having these tools, this recipe, and practicing them over and over feels deeply supportive at times of uncertainty and change and I hope that in reading this, you can find one thing that may support you towards steadiness this season.

If you have any questions or feel inclined to share with me anything that resonated (or not) with you, I would love to chat.

With deep love and gratitude,

Amie

💜