What is spirituality? What does it mean to practice it? In this article we explore putting spirituality and practice together in ways that can benefit you daily and uplift your life.
Spirituality is a word that is often spoken about but for many folks it is still extremely confusing as to its exact meaning. What does it mean to be spiritual? What does spirituality encompass? And what is a spiritual practice? And if you are cultivating your spirituality, do you have to have a practice to go along with it?
There are a lot of things to figure out as it relates to spirituality and practice. Read on to find out more about spirituality and practice to develop a deeper understanding of the subject. Learn how engaging with both of these elements can benefit your life.
What Do Spirituality and Practice Mean?
What is spirituality and practice? Do they always have to be done together? And if, so what does this all even mean?
So first we will begin by defining a few terms like spirituality. If you are new to spirituality, or kind of vague about the whole idea, you can read further about what spirituality is here in a previous article I wrote. In this article, I offer a very simplified explanation that can clarify things for you. And if you feel like you need a little bit more, then this article from Very Well Mind offers another easy to understand but in depth explanation.
To put it simply, spirituality is the personal and intimate relationship that you have with your higher power. This relationship is individual and unique to you. It is not based on religion. You do not need to have a religion to be spiritual or leave your religion to be spiritual. It is a relationship with your higher power that is truly only defined by you.
A practice are the things that you do to strengthen your relationship with your higher power. This can vary for a lot of people depending on what they connect with and what’s important to them. Again there is no one particular thing that you need to do. It is solely individualistic based on where your heart and spirit guide you.
So, what are some ways that you can practice your spirituality in your daily life? I have some suggestions below.
5 Simple Spiritual Practices You Can Use Daily
1: Prayer as a spiritual practice
The most simple and common spiritual practice that you can engage in is prayer. Everyone knows about prayer. While prayer is the simplest thing to do, a lot of people are quietly frustrated by it. They’ve become disillusioned because they don’t think it works. They don’t feel that their prayers are being answered or feel fulfilled by the experience.
So, many folks stop praying thinking they are talking to thin air.
If you are frustrated or feeling like you just are not connected during your prayer process, I would encourage you to begin by being silent. Begin your prayer time by being silent. Don’t launch into any mental dialogue just be still.
Then if something wants to spring up organically from there allow that process to flow. Another wonderful practice is…
2: Meditation as a spiritual practice
Meditation has been an important spiritual practice since ancient times. It is renowned for its therapeutic and holistic benefits. People often get discouraged because they think they can’t make their mind be quiet so they become disillusioned and give up.
You don’t have to make your mind be quiet to meditate. That is a misunderstanding many people continue to hold.
When you are meditating you are going within to connect and you can do this in several different ways. You can focus on your breath. You can also focus on a feeling or sensation that you feel within your body.
During this entire process you don’t have to make your mind be quiet. Just let the mind do what it does. You focus on what you have chosen to focus on during your meditation time. If you find yourself being pulled away from your focus just breathe or focus on the feeling or sensation in your body. This will refocus your attention so you can keep going.
See if you can do this for five minutes initially. Then increase the length of time by five minutes week to week. Again it is about consistency and developing the ability to become still enough inside yourself so that you can focus.
Another spiritual practice that can help take you into a meditative state is…
3: Mantra as a spiritual practice
Mantra is a spiritual practice that is as old as meditation but not mentioned as much. A mantra is a word or phrase that is said repeatedly in order to bring you into a calm and relaxed meditative state. The focus on the word can give your mind something to focus on and calm its chatter. This allows you to slip into a deeper meditative state.
The word or words you use as a mantra don’t matter. You can pick something that has a meaning for you such as an affirmation. Or you can pick a word that doesn’t have a lot of meaning for you. This way your mind does not create stories around the word.
Do what feels right for you. You can always ask your higher power for a word that you resonate with and use that as your mantra. I would recommend using your mantra for 5-10 minutes daily and beginning to build your practice from there. If you can work up to a practice where you give yourself this for 15-20 minutes a day that would be wonderful for you.
You don’t have to go all in at one time. Begin with 5 minutes a day for a week. Then increase it to 10 minutes a day for a week. And continue to add 5 minutes to your practice until you are doing it for 20 minutes a day.
Once you reach 20 minutes stay there indefinitely and continue to build a consistent practice.
If you would like to read further on mantras please read this article by Yogapedia.
Another way to practice is by using your breath…
4: Breathwork as a spiritual practice
Breathwork is another spiritual practice that is easily available to you but is underutilized in this modern world. Connecting with your breath is so important. It can help you spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally. Your breath is such a nourishing resource that connects you to yourself in the deepest ways possible.
There are some simple breathing techniques that you can do daily that can enhance your life such as box breathing and the conscious connected breath. Here is an article by Healthline that gives a great explanation with clear examples, and cute little gifs, that explain the techniques. This article also explains when breathwork is not appropriate related to certain medical situations.
If this something you would like to explore, I would recommend the most simple breathing techniques possible. Remember, connecting with yourself and developing these practices are not supposed to be complicated in any way. They are meant to enhance your life, not make you feel more heavy and constricted.
5: Chakra Toning as a spiritual practice
Your voice is the most powerful healing instrument you have. It is easily available to you as part of your spiritual practice. But often you do not recognize it as the healing tool it can be for your life. Chakra Toning is the vocalization of a specific tone or note related to each of the seven chakras. This sound helps to balance and clear your chakras which supports your emotional, physical and spiritual health. Chakra Toning is a wonderful addition to your spiritual practice because it also provides energetic and sound healing. If you are not familiar with chakra toning, and the vowel sounds you can use to balance your chakras, this article can be very helpful.
Bonus Tip: Yoga as a spiritual practice
Fifteen to thirty minutes of yoga daily can be life changing. It is a practice that can help you deeply connect to your inner self.
Yoga helps to move stagnant energy out of your body, clear your energy field and balance your chakras. It also helps you to connect with your breath. This helps to clear your mind which helps to decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression.
It also helps to increase blood flow and circulation in your body and release trapped and stored emotions. It is good for trauma release and processing stored feelings and emotions.
I could go on and on about its benefits. Ancient texts and modern scientific journals all speak to the benefits that can be deeply profound and healing.
So I hope you enjoyed this article on spirituality and practice. I hope you will consider exploring the five practices I have recommended in order to build a healthy and robust spiritual practice that serves you well in your daily life.
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