Recent Science Agrees Grounded Spiritual Practice is Your Most Fertile Source of Rejuvenation
Modern science is finally catching up with what sages of yesteryear have known for eternity: that spiritual practice is your most powerful source of rejuvenation.
Whereas pharmaceuticals have not had a lot of success in reducing depression levels, the 2018 Journal of Religion and Health revealed how prayer has been effective in reducing symptoms of depression. Several studies by the Iranian Journal of Psychiatry have demonstrated enhanced job satisfaction when there is greater spirituality infused into the workplace.
Dr. Emma Seppala, director of science at Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism and author of The Happiness Track has compiled a large body of research that demonstrates how spiritual people perform practices that demonstrate efficacy in stress reduction.
But how do you start the practice of having a spiritual practice, especially if you have never had one, struggle with changing your ways, or worse, don’t believe you deserve the rejuvenated feeling that comes from spiritual practice?
I went through this exact dilemma as I began my own spiritual journey. My spiritual practices ended up becoming the most powerful driving force of my life. I had no idea when I first decided to try doing some simple spiritual practices that they would become such an integral part of my now much more liberated and peaceful existence.
Here are some simple and efficient practices I love. I would encourage you to try one or two to take your own powerful first steps to embark upon feeling more grounded in the practice of having a rejuvenating spiritual practice.
1. Thank Mother Earth for before stepping foot onto the ground from your bed each morning.
Every morning, when I wake up, before I put my foot onto the floor, I mentally recite a special mantra of gratitude towards Mother Earth in Sanskrit. Mantras are like spiritual medicine. They help you powerfully overcome draining thoughts that tend to race in the mind on autopilot. Any time you think of a mantra, it stops your normal self-defeating thoughts from taking their usual course, and replaces your mental patterning with something more positive and uplifting.
You can create your own mantra to thank Mother Nature for all the abundant blessings she bestows upon you. Starting your day by feeling grateful to the earth helps you feel a lot more grounded and connected to nature and gives you a vibrant feeling to start each day with.
2. Stop and smell the marigolds for instant calm and stability.
Did you know that your sense of smell is connected with the grounded earth element, according to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda? Because of this inherent connection, simply ‘stopping to smell the roses’ has a very stabilizing effect on your mind. Roses, marigolds, and jasmine flowers have scents that soothe your mind and help you feel more clear, refreshed, and grounded, according to ancient Ayurvedic texts.
3. Root your feet into Mother Earth.
Simply spending time in nature has a very grounding and stabilizing effect on you anytime you feel powerless to your own mind, work, relationships, or any other triggering source of stress. If you can, it helps to take off your shoes and walk barefoot. If you can do so close to a body of water, like a river, ocean, lake or even a stream, it helps you feel instantly calmer, more connected to nature, and supported by the earth.
Even if the only place you can connect with nature is by walking on the grass in your backyard, try to slow down your movements. Doing so will be a great way to experience your true, grounded nature.
4. Go to sleep by 10pm and wake up by 6am.
Sleeping according to circadian rhythms not only helps you wake up each morning feeling clearheaded, refreshed, and creative. Doing so also enhances your digestion and affords you an easier elimination of your bowels, which makes this an ideal practice for relieving constipation. Sleep itself is described as the most powerful natural source of rejuvenation in ancient Ayurvedic texts. This is now being corroborated by modern research.
Wishing you lots of grounding and rejuvenation as you start your own journey of adopting the practice of having a powerful spiritual practice.
About Ananta
Ananta Ripa Ajmera is a spiritual teacher, 10-time international award-winning, best-selling author of The Way of the Goddess, founder of SoulWisdom Press & PR, and co-founder of The Ancient Way, an organization offering Powerful Soul Liberation programs, rooted in Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta's universal spirituality. She’s been featured in Forbes, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. She’s taught at Endeavor, Stanford, and UNICEF.