5 Easy Spiritual Practices to Transform Your Life

Anytime someone offers up a list of easy things I can do to transform my life, I think 'sure.' How many times can you actually say that these lists have worked to create any meaningful change in your life? Likely, not often. If they do end up creating meaningful change, they seem to take forever to implement and to yield results. I spent years of my life trying every tip, hack, gimmick, and trick to bring more peace and harmony to my life. Sometimes these practices actually worked, but often they took a lot of commitment to see any meaningful benefits. Other times, I'd dedicate a lot of time to things that worked for a short time, but ultimately fell flat for the personal investment I'd spent utilizing them. There was a point where I thought I'd never be able to cultivate peace or healing as a busy wife, mom, and part-time earner.

However, the five easy practices I'm about to share with you really will transform your life and each one of them combined takes less than twenty minutes total to add into your daily routine. Since you also know that I've spent over a decade on everything from therapy, to reading books, to taking courses, to attending workshops and classes, you can trust that what I'm about to share with you will make a meaningful impact in your day to day life. Without further delay, here are 5 easy spiritual practices to transform your life:

Mindful Journaling

Mindful journaling has the ability to work out even the toughest of emotions, childhood traumas, and feelings of overwhelm or 'stuck-ness'. By incorporating just a few minutes of journaling either each morning as soon as you wake or each night before bed, you can create a record of your thoughts and emotions which unburdens your nervous system and allows you to tangibly process even the deepest of wounds at a later time, and in a way that makes more sense to your brain without taxing your nervous system.

Gratitude Practice

Incorporating a gratitude practice is critical to finding a life full of peace. Writing just three things per day in a journal dedicated solely to gratitude practice will radically transform the way that you live. Writing about even the simplest things we are grateful for, such as our morning tea, has a transformative effect on our perception of reality, enabling us to see that life is a grand, divine gift.

Mindful Body Movement

Using your body to express emotion, gratitude, or awareness each day is a physical game changer for the nervous system. Just five minutes a day can be beneficial. Longer times (typically 20 minutes+) are even more helpful to nervous system recovery. Just a few minutes spent in the present moment connected to the body strengthens our connection to inner peace. Examples of mindful body movement include gentle yoga, stretching, and sensual dance.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation

The vagus nerve regulates our autonomic nervous system which controls processes such as heart rate and respiration. When our vagus nerve is out of whack, it can cause a variety of symptoms. Rebalancing the nervous system through vagus nerve stimulation daily is critical in maintaining our health. Ways to balance the vagus nerve include vagus nerve massage, singing, chanting, humming, or cold-water immersion (Wim Hoff is an expert at this method). There's also some data (Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk) to suggest that yoga can help us re-integrate our nervous system as well.

Meditative Breathwork

Buddhist monks have been utilizing meditative breath work for many years. Meditation in the form of breath work has been around for thousands of years and is a tried and true practice for cultivating well-being. No one method of breath work is definitively better than another, but I personally like methods that are easy to use. One of my favorite techniques is to breathe in and count for five seconds, exhale and count for five seconds, then repeat. Do this for three to four minutes. Take note of how you feel and end the session with a simple 'thank you, body,' to acknowledge your body's efforts in preserving peace.

BONUS TECHNIQUES*

Prayer

I wanted to offer two bonus methods to you in case one of the other five just don't jive well with your mind or body. The first one is prayer. For years I was turned off by the notion of prayer because I was thinking in the terms of conventional deity worship. Once I began opening up my mind to new forms of prayer, it was much easier to incorporate into my daily routine. Saying short, simple, affirmative prayers acts as a declaration of gratitude in our lives. Simply thanking the source for our existence and acknowledging the gift of our presence here on earth is enough for incorporation of simple, effective prayer practice.

Grounding in Nature

Grounding is an important technique I learned in CBT therapy over the years. Grounding brings our body back to the present moment through the use of our five physical senses. Grounding techniques are helpful in combatting issues such as anxiety, depression, and overwhelm. By grounding ourselves in the present moment, we remember essentially that life doesn't have to be so complicated. Ground yourself in nature by walking barefoot through your yard or a meadow. Bend down and touch a water source like a lake, stream, or ocean wave. Lay in a hammock and listen to the birds sing. Be so present that you lose your thoughts to the vast inner-connectedness of nature.

In order to maintain a joyful, peaceful, fulfilling outlook on life be sure to utilize these five techniques daily by incorporating them into your morning or nightly routines. By spending three to five minutes practicing each one daily, you're paving the way to transformation in less than twenty-five minutes per day. Also, if one method doesn't work for you, swap it out with a bonus method. If you only have time to practice two or three techniques, do those. If you only have the ability to try one new thing at a time because that's what you're comfortable with, then do that. Remember: you can't really do healing wrong. Happy trails!