Positive Living > Motivational Mondays

I LOVE Mondays!

After an invariably fun and busy weekend I look forward to Monday mornings. While everyone in my family gets back to their routine {work or school} it leaves me free for some nourishing detox and de-cluttering. Yes, it is one of the many advantages of working from home. This also means no #MondayBlues for me! 

Over the last six months or so I have found myself buoyant with happy energy on Mondays. Only recently I realised that I inadvertently follow some rituals to start the week on a positive note. Here are some of the activities that I enjoy indulging in, especially on Mondays:

•     Expressing Gratitude

I am blessed with a beautiful family and wonderful friends with whom we love hanging out. As a result my weekends turn out to be rather hectic between spending time with the kids, cooking fun meals, going out for meals with friends or family, a couple of late nights or maybe catch a movie.. you get the drift? My husband and I believe in maximizing funfilled moments, especially on weekends. And since I don't take anyone or anything for granted, when I switch on my laptop on Monday morning I invariably open my Gratitude journal and express thankfulness for all the wonderful people and happenings in my life.

•      Mental Cleansing

I don’t know whether you’ve noticed but we all have a non-stop internal dialogue going on within our heads. It is like a commentary about all that is happening around you {and may also drift off on different tangents of the present moment, the past or an imaginary future}. It is usually pressed into the back corners of the mind, but it does exist. I find it very helpful and immensely cleansing to pour these random thoughts on to paper. Well, I started this practice almost two decades ago when I used to write with a free hand on paper but now I just prefer to type non-stop, without conscious thought about all that’s going on in my head. This practice not only frees up space in my mind {much like deleting cache files on your computer} but it also brings to fore some desires and goals as well as some negative thoughts may be holding me down. I feel much lighter and energized after this practice. (If you choose to try it do share with me your experience.)

•      Physical Cleansing

As you may have noticed, “good food” forms an important part of my weekends (as with most other days). I thus enjoy a bit of physical detox on Monday mornings. I don’t stick to a particular practice for this but simply follow my gut {pun intended :)} I choose between the yogic kunjal kriya, a hot towel scrub, or a sesame oil body massage followed by a cleansing scrub made with natural ingredients. The idea is to remove excess toxins either from the gut or through the skin, which is one of the largest detoxifying organs of our body. {You can read up more about these practices as well as others that I have written about under the “healthy practice” link of “follow your path” on this blog.}

•      Organising my Surroundings

Although the routine cleaning and dusting of my home is done even on weekends, Monday mornings see me putting most things back into their designated spaces and I do try to de-clutter and get rid of at least a few items that we no longer require. With two kids at home it is mind-blowing how fast stuff accumulates – school papers, party favours, the non-ending list of clothes and accessories according to the seasons and of course games and toys. So be it cleansing the refrigerator or kids’ cupboards or even the accumulated mail of the previous week – I like to declutter, even if it’s only a little.

•       Goal Setting

After all the cleansing and de-cluttering I am ready to focus on the tasks at hand, set my goals, and even outline my desires. I enjoy writing affirmations and feel that just being clear about exactly what I want makes it possible for me to achieve it! {Read more about Affirmations and how they work here: http://www.eatlivedoyoga.com/2016/01/live-your-greatest-life.html }

So, cheers to the beginning of a brand new week and remember: Today is the First day of the Rest of Your Life! Hope you make the best of it.