How was the first week of the year for you?

I always find the first week to be a little rough, and this year seemed to be exceptionally intense for many people I've talked to, myself included.

Trying to transition back to working when everyone is trying to catch up in all areas of life after several weeks of vacation and/or the holidays plus all the things we chose to push into the New Year.

And even though the energy of our society goes from vacation mode to busy bee status overnight, it's still the season of rest and restore and our bodies desire to continue to move slowly and crave being in winter hibernation mode. (Did you know Jan. 2nd was National Introverts Day?? My sister and I decided it should be the whole month of January.)

I spent most of the past week slowly trying to get back into all of my routines.

Morning routine.

Eating routine.

Movement routine.

Self Care routine.

Work routine.

Bedtime routine.

As an entrepreneur where every day looks different on my schedule, having routines helps me to stay focused and productive.

And as someone who's constitution, according to the Indian science of Ayurveda, contains a lot of Vata, meaning air and ether, I can become anxious and ungrounded very easily and my routines help to keep me calm and rooted.

I am also very much a night owl and during this time of year when darkness descends so early in the days, I often find that I get a second wind later in the evenings and can struggle to settle down and stick to a regular routine.

So having practices that help me wind down and signal to my body that it is time to rest, are incredibly helpful for making sure I get the sleep that I need to feel rested and thrive.

If you’d like to incorporate some of my bedtime routine practices, use the practice below to check out some of the techniques that I use.