Keep Your Love Relationship Alive, Hot and Fun!

My book, “Love From Both Sides – A True Story of Soul Survival and Sacred Sexuality,” tells the story of my husband dying in my arms and “coming back” to chat. Now you may be wondering, and how does that relate to “Rituals for Healthy Living?”

It does, because during my own marriage, I insisted on creating lots of simple rituals. For instance, even though my husband and I were both busy, (Dan was a lawyer and I was a screenwriter), we tried to eat dinner together whenever we could. I cooked, set the table and lit candles. I insisted that we enjoy the small moments. I also insisted that we actually set aside time to “be together.” We made dates to sit on the couch, light a fire, share a glass of wine. We talked, sometimes we even read poetry. In those quiet moments, we remembered why we got married.

And if I was lucky? I got a massage from his wonderful, blacksmith hands, and then we’d make love. And taking time to make “love” a ritual, rather than something that happened at the end of an exhausting day, or worse… something that didn’t happen because we just had no energy left, kept our love alive and the sex hot!

And what was amazing? Even though Dan would sometimes make fun of my fussiness, after he died, he thanked me for insisting that we “honor” what we had together. So ladies? You’ll love my book, because I got an apology! And appreciation. Better late, than never, right?

Creating a sacred ritual of your own might help to keep your love relationship alive, hot and fun! And that in turn will help your own health. (And it might help you lose weight, because you need high levels serotonin to lose weight, and sex is an easy way to get it!) Also according to the new brain research, the more sex you have, the better your brain functions! That’s good news, yes?

So why not start thinking about fun, sexy rituals? According to a wonderful article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, (1/25/09), what really excites women (and creates lots of beneficial chemicals in her brain) … is being desired by her lover. So maybe dance for your lover… become a goddess, and create a fun sexy ritual that will help you live a healthy life!

~ Stephanie Riseley
www.stephanieriseley.com

Stephanie is participating in the WOW! Women On Writing Blog Tour for her book Love From Both Sides – A True Story of Soul Survival and Sacred Sexuality

A Beauty Walk Each Morning

I’ve been meeting once a week with a small group of friends as we are all wanting to find more balance in our lives and figure we can support each other in doing so. Each week we commit to one thing that will make a difference for us in the coming week.

Each week so far I have committed to the same thing, as I want to really embed it in my body and psyche as an unbreakable habit. Here’s what it is:

I commit to taking a beauty walk each morning, no matter how short, and most importantly I do NOT open ANY email, or even my computer, in the morning until I have at least stepped outside and taken several breaths of fresh air. That’s the bare minimum, but more usually it is a half hour to an hour and a half walk where I notice all the beauty around me and greet it with gratitude and awe.

Amy Lenzo
Beauty Dialogues
Photo by Amy

Exercise Nourishes My Mind, Body and Soul

The ritual that comes to mind most quickly is exercise. I truly believe that regular vigorous exercise nourishes my mind, body and soul. Not only is it wonderful for my body, but it provides me with a mind space that is very hard to find in an otherwise very busy life. The time I spend in the gym is sacrosanct. I place a very high priority on it. It gives me time for myself. It gives me time to think and mull things over when my mind is not distracted by every day stresses. Every day when I leave the gym, I feel ready to deal with all those stresses much more effectively. Exercise also lets me set goals, challenge myself and see progress in a very distinct way. All in all, it's a very important part of my life and writing this down has made me even more aware of that fact. Thanks for making me think about it!

Charles

photo source