Are you looking for a healthy wellness routine?

If you're realizing that it is time to focus on your health and wellness, to get rid of the stress, overwhelm, anxiety, and remove all those negative feelings then this video is for you. I’ll be walking you through 7 WAYS to build a healthy balanced wellness this year:

The first way I’ll be improving my wellness routine is Intention Setting in the morning.

What is Intention Setting?

Setting intentions is similar to setting goals, but they are usually more focused around how you’re going to choose to take action or in this case in a wellness routine, how you're going to take care of yourself.

Why is Intention Setting so important for a healthy wellness routine?

Whether you are doing intention setting or goal setting for the day, month, or year, it is a really great way to actually achieve something.

After all, if you don’t set your sights on achieving anything, it makes sense that you’ll feel aimless in your life. Making positive, healthy changes will require you to set goals and intentions for yourself. Goal setting is better for outcome based achievements, whereas intentions are centered around how you want to feel which is themed around that goal.

What does Intention Setting look like in a healthy routine for wellness?

Intention setting could be some things like:

• Today I intend to focus on being grateful.
• Today I’ll bring patience, and understanding to people.
• Today I’m going to set a good example for my kids.

How to start Intention Setting in a healthy routine for wellness

In order to start intention setting for a healthy wellness routine, the best place to start is to ask yourself why you value being healthy and why you want wellness for yourself.

The biggest value of using intentions when you’re trying to make positive impacts on your life is when they are actually rooted from asking yourself why you want to make a change in the first place.

Then from there, to set intentions you can do this at whichever frequency makes sense for you (for me I think daily is best). 

Do you set daily or weekly intentions for yourself? 

The second way I’ll be improving my wellness routine is using the Medicine Wheel to evaluate my state of being.

What is the Medicine Wheel?

The Medicine Wheel is a very important Indigenous symbol and system of teachings. The symbol is represented by a circle broken into four areas or quadrants. These four areas have four different colors assigned to them, most often yellow, red, black, and white.

Why is using the Medicine Wheel helpful for a healthy routine for wellness?

One of the most powerful teachings of the medicine wheel is the balance and connection between all four states of being - spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical.

What does using the Medicine Wheel look like in a healthy routine for wellness?

Using the medicine wheel to help you evaluate where you are focusing the most to least amount of energy, and how that is impacting your life is a very powerful thing to do.

How to start using the Medicine Wheel in a healthy routine for wellness

If you’re unfamiliar with the medicine wheel, you can learn more about it by watching this video. I’d love to know if you’ve heard of the medicine wheel.

The third way I’ll be improving my wellness routine is Smudging with Sage.

What is Smudging with Sage?

Smudging is a ceremonial cleanse to purify your mind, body, and spirit, and to give thanks to the creator. It is used to attract positive energy into your life. I use smudging to help me focus on gratitude and to send good thoughts of health and wellness to my friends and family, or those around me.

Why is Smudging with Sage helpful for a healthy routine for wellness?

It can increase your clarity, awareness and also improve your mood. Watch this video to see all of the benefits of smudging with sage

Smudging with intention deeply supports your intention, so setting a reminder to yourself to smudge once a week, or more will help you to keep the energy balanced in your home.

What does Smudging with Sage look like in a healthy routine for wellness?

There is no exact frequency for how often you should smudge with sage. If you’re a beginner I would recommend trying it once or twice and then deciding how often you'd like to incorporate it into your routine.

How to start Smudging with Sage in a healthy routine for wellness

First, start by acquiring your smudging bundle, or smudge kit.

Next, you can learn how to smudge alongside some of the video resources we have a Tribal Trade. We have a smudging guide, a personalized smudge prayer you can download, as well as our course called Smudge Circle that can help you learn about the Foundations of traditional Indigenous teachings and how to apply them to your daily life

Have you ever smudged with sage to help with your wellness routine?

The fourth way I’ll be improving my wellness routine is Self-awareness and Reflection with journaling, and meditation.

What is Self-awareness and Reflection?

Being self-aware means you are conscious of how you feel, you know yourself, and you know what you want and why.

Reflection is kind of how you get to know yourself, and be self-aware.

Why is Self-awareness and Reflection helpful for a healthy routine for wellness?

Self reflection is never done, because we are ever changing and growing as human beings.

As we perceive life, our spiritual being grows.

As we move around, our physical being changes.

As we feel the world around us, our emotional state of being grows.

As we learn, our mental being evolves too.

What does Self-awareness and Reflection look like in a healthy routine for wellness?

Self awareness and reflection on our life can be in the form of journaling, meditation, writing, therapy, creative expression, or all of these are applications.

How to start Self-awareness and Reflection in a healthy routine for wellness

Start by choosing which method you want to try first, and you can tackle that given exercise daily, or weekly. I find daily for journaling is the best habit to try to set, and maintain, even if its just a few sentences each day.

The fifth way I’ll be improving my wellness routine is drinking more water.

Why is drinking more water helpful for a healthy routine for wellness?

Any time I’m asked what i can do to be more healthier, my answer is this - drink more water!

Hydration is everything. Drinking water helps:

• energize your muscles
• keep your skin looking fresh
• control unnecessary and unhealthy snacking
• prevent dehydration, a condition that can cause unclear thinking, result in mood changes, cause your body to overheat, and lead to constipation and kidney stones

What does drinking more water look like in a healthy routine for wellness?

In short, drink as much as you can so that you’re always having to get up and go to the washroom.

What I've realized due to the nature of my work, is that I don't move around enough. My work requires me to be at my desk so much of the time that there is not too much I can do about that so drinking water encourages me to keep moving.

How to start drinking more water in a healthy routine for wellness

Start by finding lots of options for consuming water, to create variety and fun in what you're doing. For example - regular tap water, sparkly water, tea, hot water with lemon - these are all things to have at your disposal to keep drinking water.

Get a big bottle or cup, and have several cups with you if necessary so that you're never looking for it, or without it.  Make a habit of taking your water bottle with you everywhere.

Do you drink a lot of water? Or is this something that you want to do to improve your wellness routine? 

The sixth way I’ll be improving my wellness routine is reminding myself to do the 7 Grandfather Teachings every week.

What are the 7 Grandfather Teachings?

The teaching of the Seven Grandfathers is an important part of the Ojibwe culture, and is used as a guide for both community survival and unity as well as personal growth and development.

The 7 gifts of the seven grandfathers are: Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth.

Why are the 7 Grandfather Teachings helpful for a healthy routine for wellness?

Balance and harmony are core tenets of Indigenous culture, and these values can be found in many other rituals, symbols, teachings, and beliefs. The seven teachings are not complete without one another, and must be used simultaneously in order to achieve a balanced spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental life.

What do the 7 Grandfather Teachings look like in a healthy routine for wellness?

You can use this teaching to ask yourself which teaching you need to focus more on, or which teaching is one that you have a great deal of strength in, and can use that strength to do good.

How to start the 7 Grandfather Teachings in a healthy routine for wellness

Start by learning about the 7 grandfathers - you can watch this video HERE.

You can take the Spirit Animal Quiz to find out which of the teachings is most aligned with your answers, and your spirit animal can change based on what your situation or feelings are at the current moment.

You can remind yourself of the 7 Grandfather Teachings every week or month. It is an amazing teaching tool for kids, and adults to be a better person and to live a good life.

The seventh way I’ll be improving my wellness routine is starting my day with Gratitude.

What is gratitude really?

It means being thankful for people, places, or possessions in your life!

Why is starting your day with gratitude helpful for a healthy routine for wellness?

Gratitude is the highest positive emotion that one can embody. It is impossible to feel negative emotions at the same time that you are having complete feelings of gratefulness.

Whenever you fully focus on gratitude, and then dig deeper into why you are grateful, and why that is worthy of being grateful, feeling good will come naturally and automatically.

Gratitude is the best way to start your day if you want to have a more positive outlook, feel more empowered, and feel happier overall.

What does starting my day with Gratitude look like in a healthy routine for wellness?

This can be as simple as listing off three quick things in the morning that you are grateful for when you first get up, when you're making coffee.

How do you to start my day with Gratitude in a healthy routine for wellness

A good way to start your day with gratitude is by pairing it with smudging routine, or another positive routine that comes naturally to you, such as having a shower, having your morning coffee, or performing your morning skincare ritual.

Whichever routine you have, piggyback off of it at routine by adding your feelings of gratitude to it, which will be the quickest and easiest way to start implementing the power of gratitude straight away.

I hope you found this helpful for setting new goals for whatever positive health and wellness routine you want to try.