Make Space for What Matters

"Body Scan" Ritual 〰️

“If you think of your body as a house, the body scan is a way to throw open all the windows and doors and let the fresh air of awareness sweep it clean.” - Jon Kabat-Zinn

The body scan has proven to be an extremely powerful and healing form of meditation. It involves systematically sweeping through the body with the mind, bringing an affectionate, openhearted, interested-attention to its various regions. This ritual could be a great way to relax, get grounded and experience the liveliness and ever changing aspect of your body, section by section, from head to toe.

"10-Finger Gratitude" Ritual 〰️

You may already know this gratitude exercise, but we want to emphasize this again only because we believe these are the times we need this practice the most as we brutally experienced the fact that nothing is certain in life, everything can be long gone before we know it and appreciation for what we already have can be wonderful step toward present moment awareness.

"Slowness of Tea" Ritual 〰️

“Suppose you are offered a cup of tea, very fragrant, very good tea. If your mind is distracted, you cannot really enjoy the tea. You have to be mindful of the tea, you have to be concentrated on it, so the tea can reveal its fragrance and wonder to you.“ These are the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen master, poet and peace activist, revered around the world for his pioneering teachings on Mindfulness.

"Inner Monk Meditation" Ritual 〰️

If you can breathe, you can meditate as our teacher Sharon Salzberg has once said. You don’t need to be a monk to start meditating and see the benefits of it. Thus is like a muscle. You need to exercise on a regular basis to get the results. You keep doing it every day, even 20 minutes, 3 minutes or even 1 minute and soon you’ll see that this practice will bear fruit. Since it needs a little self-discipline, we called this “inner monk ritual” just to motivate ourselves to spare some time daily and do it regularly.

"Intention Setting" Ritual 〰️

We humbly suggest that you could do this intention-setting exercise at home, preferably sometime early in the morning as you get ready for your day. All you need is just five minutes. Setting an intention in the morning allows us to set the tone for the day. An intention is an expression of a mindful goal which is done on purpose.

"Self - Holding" Ritual 〰️

We love laying prone on the belly accompanied with deep breathe and a long exhales through our mouths when we feel anxious and overwhelmed. This movement provides so much immediate grounding and relaxation. We learned this technique from our yoga teacher Sri Dharma Mittra many years ago in New York City. @dharmayogacenter

"Body Awareness" Ritual 〰️

We can bring mindfulness practice into our home retreat. This would uplift our energy and mood especially in these unprecedented times where most of us are staying at home and working from home. Scientists repeatedly emphasize that movement in general is very beneficial to our health and wellness.

"Peace of Paper" Ritual 〰️

We all have anxiety, fear and worries. It is so normal to have so many anxious thoughts while going through these uncertain times. We just need to let go of some thoughts that doesn’t serve us any good.

Counterintuitive but, can you just say “thank you” to your worries for trying to protect you? It’s not easy but not a far-fetched idea either. It only requires a simple mindful practice.

"Mindful Shower" Ritual 〰️

This time, our humble suggestion for another home retreat ritual can be called “Mindful Shower Ritual”. . .

We believe, it is possible to turn our morning shower experience that we mostly perform in a hurry into a gentle morning ritual by keeping our awareness in the moment. Usually, while in the shower we automatically engage with a subject that got stuck in our heads, think what we’ll wear or do later or we just think about the next task.

"Doing Nothing" Ritual 〰️

Most of us have trouble

sitting alone, quietly,

doing nothing;

if you haven’t

cultivated the habit.

We have the need

to do something,

either to check our inboxes

or social media, to be productive. .

"Incense Listening" Ritual 〰️

h o m e r e t r e a t r i t u a l s | incense listening 〰️ Our first home retreat ritual suggestion is “Incense Listening Ritual.” You read it right! Listening, not smelling. Listening with heart and mind.

Our inspiration comes from a Japanese art form known as “Ancient Art of Listening Incense” where they don’t use their nostrils to smell it. You just need to be present. You can try this ritual every morning at home. It is all about watching and listening a burning incense while sitting quietly.

Let's call it: A Home Retreat

h o m e r e t r e a t | 🏠 Let’s call it a home retreat. Why not? Some call it home quarantine, some call it isolation. But maybe it’s all about shifting our perspective.

Don’t we experience and navigate the world around us through our attention or where ever we direct our attention forms the reality of our experience?

Home Retreat Rituals 〰️