Every Saturday morning, I wake up before the sunrise, drive down to the beach, and go for a barefoot beach run. All by myself. Rain or shine, hurricane on the way, people in town, feeling good or feeling like crap, I get up and go. It’s my once a week ritual. And I highly recommend finding one in this sort of genre that you can do too.
Get up, get outside, break a sweat and let your mind breathe. It does wonders for the soul.
It started the week we moved into our new home. I just wanted to see the sun rise and go for a run, and hopefully see some dolphins (Still have yet to see any during a run). So, I woke up while the rest of the house slept, made my ten minute drive down to the beach, stretched and went for a run. And I’ve done it every single week since. Ok, one week there were good waves so I got up and surfed. (If I could do that every morning I would.)
I just think of it as my grown up version of Saturday morning cartoons. You know, that event in the week you go to bed excited to jump out of bed for the next morning.
I alway run without headphones on, which helps clear my mind ( I definitely recommend it). Then, afterwards I’ll just stand in the surf and do a little breathing exercise where I breathe in for two waves, then out for two. So it’s like a cardio/meditation/relaxing/heart pumping session all in one. Score.
I see some familiar faces each week, and of course I give them a smile and a wave. Then I wonder if they do this every morning, or just Saturdays like me. I wonder if they ask themselves the same thing.
It’s just a quick 20 -30 minute interval run, but I feel like I can conquer the world, or at least the next six hours of life when I get back home.
So, the whole point of this isn’t to brag about my Saturday mornings, but to hopefully make you want to figure out a once a week ritual too. I’m certain that something like this really does help, in many different ways. It’s a mood booster, inspires creativity, wakes you up, helps clear your mind, be more present and grateful, and just breaks up the routine a bit. And also because in this crazy world full of crazier expectations, it’s more and more important to carve out a little time for yourself.
Ok, aside from a sunrise barefoot beach run, or dawn patrol surf/paddle (which I highly recommend if that’s possible for you), here are some other quick and easy options or ideas.
• If you have any sort of nature trails, paths around a lake, or fun short hikes, go check it out.
• If you have a dog (pups are GREAT for this kind of stuff), drive somewhere and take them on a walk somewhere other than your neighborhood.
• Buy a hammock, or sit in a cozy chair somewhere and spend 30 minutes reading/journaling/breathing/drinking something. NO PHONES ALLOWED.
• Do 20-30 minutes of yoga on your patio. Make up a routine, or do shavasana the whole time. I won’t judge.
• Go for a bike ride. Seriously anything you’d do as a kid, do now as an adult for a weekly ritual and it feels amazing. Exhibit A: swinging on a swing set at a park. (I do that all the time with Levi and could care less if people look at me weird)
• I get it, weather can suck, but walks or runs in the rain are pretty much therapy, same with snow. And if worse comes to worse (i.e. blizzards, etc.) I say make sure you crank up some tunes and dance around for 20 minutes once a week.
…you get the point. Doesn’t need to be anything huge and extravagant, just something that’s special for you.
Which is what my early morning, barefoot, say hello to the weekend, runs are for me.
Cheers to mixing it up, and feeling pretty darn fantastic, even for just a few minutes.
You need it.
Have a ritual or any ideas like this? I’d love to hear ‘em, so please share ‘em.
Pictured above: A few snaps from A few early Saturday Mornings (I run with my phone, use it as my stopwatch, and have it in case I see Dolphins. Plus it’s so darn gorgeous I just like taking pics sometimes. Guilty as charged.) …Those beauteous leggings are via Niyama Sol (Just in case anyone was wondering)
More health + fitness posts // And don’t miss any posts by subscribing to my newsletter here (That I promise to be starting up again next week.)