The Sneaky Secret to Breaking Bad Habits
The sneaky secret to breaking bad habits
What a gift.
The Habit Ayurveda
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It is WILD how hard it is to break certain habits.
It’s always the dumbest ones. The things that we KNOW make us feel worse, yet we just keep doing it day after day.
For me, it’s eating chips like they’re the answer to every problem in my life.
… while ignoring the puffy eyes and achy joints.
For others, it’s drinking coffee all day, pretending that’s a fine substitute for water.
… while ignoring the gut rot and dehydration.
And for many people (maybe it’s safe to say everyone), it’s scrolling on our devices in bed - wayyyyy past bedtime.
… while ignoring the middle-of-the-night insomnia, the groggy mornings, and the general feeling of overwhelm & anxiety.
Bazillions of studies have shown us how terrible screen time before bed is for health.
Quick summary >
blocks the production of melatonin (our sleepiness hormone)
leads to chronic insomnia (the inability to fall asleep/to stay asleep all night)
reduces REM sleep (this is when we process the day's events and commit them to memory, so if you feel like you can’t remember sh*t, that’s maybe why)
damages retinas (especially if staring at the screen in the dark)
leads to a loss of the ability to concentrate and difficulty performing daily tasks (#zombiemode)
Yet, even though we have this information, we be scrollin’ till 11:30.
It's the small things we do every day - not the big events - that make up a happy, healthy life.
Habit change isn't hard. We're just doing it the wrong way.Click here to join Everyday Ayurveda, and get the support you deserve in a life well-lived.
The professional recommendation is clear:
“Stop watching tv or using your phone at least 30 minutes before bedtime”
(national sleep foundation)
Seems easy enough.
Is it though??
If you’ve ever tried to drop screens at night, you know how UNeasy it is.
Why? Because:
“Just stop using it before bed”
and,
“Just put it in another room”
are suggestions that don’t cover the sticky emotions that keep us glued to screen time. (Also sidenote - beware of any suggestion that starts with the word “just”).
The reality is screen time fills a lot of holes.
It’s there when you feel lonely or anxious, your thoughts are all over the place or you can’t focus.
It’s there when you’re burned out and need a distraction from your mental to-do list (or when you want to “just check one more thing off” online),
And it’s there when you’re feeling depressed or unmotivated, and just can’t get up and get moving.
You’ll notice which one of these 👆👆👆 is your issue pretty quickly when you try to curb the habit.
So being asked not to use screens for comfort, at the HARDEST time of day (when you’re tired, spent, done with doing the things),
is basically like being asked to wake before sunrise and meditate for 2 hours every day (as in it sounds amazing, but it’s just not going to happen IRL).
In other words… we need a workaround.
Looking for simple tools to bring you back to balance?
The sneaky secret to breaking bad habits
Instead of going all-in like it’s Monday and your diet just started, Let's get curious about letting go of this habit in pieces.
Fortunately (?) bedtime isn’t the only time we’re glued to our screens. They’ve become the filler for absolutely every free moment we have.
🚽 Heading to the bathroom from your desk? Bring your phone.
🍎 In line at the grocery store? Checkit.
🍸 More than a 3-second break in conversation while you’re eating lunch with a friend? Now seems like a great time. (seriously wtf is wrong with us).
👆 These are the pockets of our days where it makes sense to start.
Get GOOD at being alone with your senses in the in-between moments of your life, and it will change your life.
Try leaving your phone in another room for parts of the day.
Let go of the urge to pull it out in the parking lot before you head home.
Leave it on DND when you’re with ppl IRL.
Look at the room around you.
Listen to the people, the birds, the sound of your own breath.
Touch your soft shirt or your own skin.
Smell your lunch, or your dogs paw (smells like fresh cut grass even in the winter how).
When you make a habit of doing these things, your screen becomes less of an appendage. You’re no longer carrying it around like it’s your precious screen-baby.
Suddenly you’ll find yourself living in the present. What a Gift. 🎁
And then suddenly, the idea of your phone being the last thing you see before you sleep and the first thing you see when you wake starts to feel less appealing (or gross even)…
And breaking the habit of taking your screen to bed with you feels so much easier.
Habit change isn’t hard.
We’ve just been going about it the wrong way.
Ready to break a few habits of your own, in favor of your happy, healthy, and present life? (***Remember, it doesn't have to be a big thing to make a big difference. Stopping the scroll, ditching impulse shopping, or quitting pressing the snooze button could all be life-changing for real).
I’ll help you.
Inside the 3 month Everyday Ayurveda program I’ll help you identify the habits that are keeping you stuck - WITHOUT making you feel guilty about it.
I’ll help you find what your unique mind + body really wants/needs instead, and give you simple tools for loving her the way she deserves to be loved, from the science of self-care that has endured for 5,000 years.
And I’ll help you make changes that last a lifetime - no ripping off the bandaid, diet starts Monday mentality required.
It'll feel something like this 👇👇:
"This was such a WONDERFUL experience! I literally enjoyed EVERY SINGLE MINUTE. It's the subtle things that you begin to recognize that lead to the life change. These things are small, the changes feel so simple but extremely impactful! Totally life-changing."
- Tracey Williamson, Everyday Ayurveda student
Carly at The Habit Ayurveda
p.s - Ayurvedically speaking,
Loneliness, anxiety, lack of focus = VATA imbalance
Burn out, over-working, inability to put down the mental list = PITTA imbalance
Depression, heaviness, lack of motivation = KAPHA imbalance
(not totally sure what I’m talking about? Take this quiz to find your Ayurvedic mind/body type)
There are oh so many ways to approach healing, with an Ayurvedic lifestyle custom designed for your current imbalances, needs, and lifestyle.Join Everyday Ayurveda today to get to the root of your discomfort, and heal your whole body.
