Daily Practices for Balance and Fulfillment
Understand Me – Break Free – Pause – Connect – Breathe – Move – Nourish – Create – Play – Vision – Appreciate
There are many different theories about how to live a balanced and happy life, and while I don’t claim to know what works for everyone, I can share the key elements that have made a profound difference in my own life. These practices form the foundation of my wellness journey, and I hope they inspire you to create your own version of balance and fulfillment.
1. Understand Me & Break Free
Understanding My Soul’s Unique Blueprint - my cosmic imprint, together with other practices like Ikigai and defined values and what success looks like, is the foundation from which everything else flows. Making choices for me (not for others, not for what I ‘should’ do) but aligned with what my soul is asking of me, helps me coming back into my essence and stay in alignment.
Overlaying that understanding with awareness of living on autopilot and intentionally choosing to break free from limiting self-beliefs and negative patterns and a recognition that I am more than my past, my thoughts, or any imposed expectations opens the door to self-compassion and self-acceptance.
This exploration isn’t about “fixing” yourself; instead, it’s about realizing and embracing the strengths, gifts, and potential that have always been within you. With this awareness, wecan step beyond the patterns that no longer serve us, aligning our life with the truth of our highest self and creating a path filled with purpose and freedom.
2. Pause & Connect
Consciously setting aside time to pause has been the biggest game changer. Whether it’s 2 very intentional minutes, or two hours, carving out time and a daily connection inward to myself and all aspects of my being is my highest daily priority and has been at the heart of my wellness practice ever since I first discovered my breath and the ability to still my mind back in 2008.
Prioritizing moments to pause reduces stress, clears the mind, and helps us gain perspective. The pause allows for mental clarity and fosters emotional resilience. Pausing provides an opportunity to reflect, connect with your breath, reset your intentions, and ensure your actions align with your values.
By incorporating regular pauses into your routine, you create space for mindfulness, self-awareness, and a deeper sense of peace and contentment. The practice of pausing is essential for living a balanced and fulfilling life. What you do in your pause depends on how much time you have. If you only have a few minutes, simply connecting to your breath can be enough. If you have more time, consider taking a meditative walk in nature or practicing intuitive journaling to let your inner messages emerge.
2. Breathe
I believe the breath is truly our superpower. It’s the only direct link we have to our autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls involuntary bodily functions like heart rate, digestion, and respiration. The ANS helps maintain homeostasis by automatically regulating these functions in response to internal and external stimuli, keeping our internal environment stable and balanced.
You’ve probably heard of the "fight or flight" response, controlled by our sympathetic nervous system. When someone stays in this mode due to chronic stress, detrimental chemical changes occur, affecting our ability to maintain balance and impacting our physical, mental, and emotional states over time. However, by simply slowing down our breath and extending our exhalations longer than our inhalations, we can signal the body to switch from the sympathetic (fight or flight) to the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
Our breath is the only part of our autonomic nervous system that we can consciously control—this is why I believe the breath is our superpower.
Breath practices offer numerous benefits for both mental and physical well-being:
Reduces stress and anxiety
Enhances focus and concentration
Promotes relaxation
Improves emotional regulation
Boosts lung capacity and respiratory health
Supports better sleep
Lowers blood pressure
Enhances self-awareness
Balances the nervous system
Improves Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
I encourage you to experiment with different breath practices. Try each one over the course of a week and see which resonates with you the most.
3. Move
Movement is essential to life, and it plays a significant role in my daily practice - whether it’s taking the dogs on a walk, playing tennis, or hitting the gym or going to yoga - I know the importance of moving my body every day to create more flow of energy.
But movement isn’t just about exercising for physical fitness, it’s also about moving through life’s constrictions.
Constriction—whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual—can show up as tension in the body, limited thinking, or restrictive behaviors.
Constriction can arise from life transitions, personal challenges, or disconnection from our inner selves. Sometimes it stems from physical injuries or illnesses, but often the constriction goes deeper than the physical layer.
We can move through constriction in three steps:
Awareness: Connect to your body, breath, and emotions.
Reflection: What is the constriction telling you? Listen to the messages from your physical, energetic, and emotional bodies.
Authentic Expression: Release the tension or stuck energy through expression.
Some practices I recommend for moving through constriction include:
Meditation
Breathwork
Journaling (or Svadhyaya, self-study)
Mindfulness practices
Art, creativity, and self-expression through music, dance, or drawing
Physical mind-body practices like yoga, Tai Chi, or Qi Gong
Connecting with nature and grounding yourself
Energy work (Reiki, acupuncture, chakra balancing)
Affirmations and mantras
Emotional release techniques (EFT/tapping, writing and burning, yelling, or using physical energy to release feelings of frustration)
Sharing with others and finding your voice in relationships
4. Nourish
Nourishment is not just about the food we eat, but how we feed our mind, body, and soul. This includes making conscious choices about what we consume in terms of food, information, and the energy of people around us. Ensuring that we nourish ourselves on all levels creates the foundation for health and vitality, allowing us to thrive. Moms, in particular, are great at nourishing others. But too rarely, gift that same time and energy back to themselves. Enough! You can’t give from an empty cup. If you aren’t your highest priority, this needs to change. There is no trophy for being a martyr - and indeed, if you aren’t giving to yourself first, you can’t give to others in the way you’d like. I know that first hand. It may feel counter intuitive, but give to yourself first.
5. Create
Creativity is a vital part of living a balanced and joyful life. There are two key forms of creativity: artistic/imaginative creativity and quantum creativity.
Artistic creativity involves expressing ourselves through writing, drawing, painting, singing, or problem-solving. Engaging in creative activities nurtures emotional well-being and provides an outlet for stress.
But quantum creativity refers to the power of thought and imagination to create our own reality. Every physical thing in the world began as a thought, and thoughts are a form of energy. As the saying goes, "Where attention goes, energy flows." By focusing our thoughts on what we want to create, we align with those outcomes and bring them into reality.
Both forms of creativity are essential, allowing us to express ourselves and shape the life we desire.
6. Play
Play is often overlooked in adult life, but it’s an essential part of maintaining joy, creativity, and emotional well-being. Whether through games, sports, or simply being silly, play offers a mental break and helps relieve stress. By tapping into our inner child and allowing ourselves to play, we can feel more free, spontaneous, and balanced. I personally love playing tennis… and boardgames. I love golf (but don’t play enough) and shooting the hoops in the backyard with my son. Indeed, during COVID, playing my online games with my friends on Friday nights was my highlight during lockdown. There is plenty of research that shows why play is so important for us. It’s certainly not just for kids!
7. Vision
Visioning is a powerful tool for manifesting your desired reality. When you create a clear and vivid mental image of the future you want, you align your energy with that vision. Your brain doesn’t differentiate between thought and reality, so when you vividly imagine your goals, you activate the same neural pathways as if they were already happening. This mental rehearsal builds confidence, helps reinforce positive behaviors, and provides a roadmap for achieving your aspirations.
By regularly visioning and focusing on your dreams, you can create a future that resonates with your deeper purpose.
8. Appreciation, Gratitude and Celebration
Appreciation, gratitude and celebration are life-changing practices. By intentionally focusing on what you appreciate, you shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance. Gratitude helps you recognize the blessings in your life and fosters a sense of contentment and joy. Celebration helps you remember your blessings and show the universe thanks for the abundance it provides in your life. Regularly practicing these three virtues helps rewire your brain to notice the good around you, enhance your relationships, and attract more positive experiences.
Final Thoughts
Incorporating these elements into my daily life helps keep me balanced, fulfilled, and happy. I encourage you to explore these practices and see how they can help you live a more heart-full, connected life.