What Practices Should Be a Part of Our Daily Routine?

Shweta Jain
Feb 4
6 min read

(Hint: It’s Like Cleaning Your Kitchen Countertop!)

Introduction: Why Daily Well-Being Needs More Than Just Exercise

A student once asked me, “What activities, according to you, should be a part of one's daily routine?” It’s a great question because our daily habits shape how we feel, move, and think. But more importantly, they determine whether we are maintaining balance or letting small imbalances pile up over time.

Most people focus only on physical health—exercise, diet, and sleep. While these are essential, they are only one layer of our well-being. What about the energy we use daily? The thoughts we process? The emotions we carry? These often go unnoticed unless someone is deeply involved in meditation or spiritual practices. Even then, some may focus on energy work and mindfulness but neglect their physical health, leading to its own set of imbalances.

So, let’s pause for a moment.

✔ Have you been taking care of your body but feeling mentally exhausted?

✔ Or maybe you've been working on your mindset but feeling sluggish in your body?

✔ Do you experience energy crashes, emotional ups and downs, or an overall feeling of imbalance?

That’s because true well-being is multi-dimensional—it involves working on:

✔ Physical movement for flexibility, strength, and mobility.

✔ Diet & nourishment to support gut health, immunity, and energy.

✔ Energy-balancing techniques to regulate vitality and emotional flow.

✔ Mindfulness & mental clarity to declutter thoughts and reduce stress.

✔ Social interactions & solitude in the right balance.

Neglecting any of these aspects can cause stress, burnout, and chronic health issues over time. That’s why a holistic daily routine is key to feeling energized, focused, and at ease.

The Kitchen Countertop Analogy: Why Daily Maintenance Matters

Imagine you walk into your kitchen to cook a meal. Would you rather start with a clean countertop where everything is organized, or a cluttered space with dirty dishes, vegetable scraps, and spills from previous meals?

A clean countertop makes cooking easier, faster, and even enjoyable. But if mess keeps accumulating, cooking becomes chaotic, frustrating, and exhausting.

This is exactly what happens with our body, energy, and mind. Every day, we use them. We sit, stand, walk, think, interact, feel, and process countless experiences. If we don’t take time to reset and bring things back to balance, over time, the mess builds up—stiffness in the body, exhaustion in the energy system, clutter in the mind.

The good news? Just like tidying up your kitchen every day prevents major cleaning disasters, small daily practices help prevent imbalances from piling up.

Let’s explore what these essential daily well-being practices are.

1. Your Body: The First Countertop to Keep Clear

Every single day, we use our body. And just like a kitchen countertop, if we don’t maintain it regularly, things get messy—except here, the mess shows up as stiffness, muscle tension, or chronic pain.

If you sit too much, some muscles tighten while others weaken.
If you move in repetitive ways, certain areas get overworked while others are neglected.
If you don’t move enough, your body starts feeling heavy, sluggish, and restricted.

A well-designed movement & relaxation routine helps bring your body back to balance so you feel mobile, strong, and pain-free. This doesn’t mean just exercising randomly, but moving (or not moving if you were on the move through the day), in a way that actually corrects the imbalances you’ve built up through daily habits.

The Role of Diet in Physical Well-Being

Diet also plays a huge role in bodily balance. The right nutrition supports energy levels, digestion, and even mental clarity. Just like you wouldn’t cook with expired or poor-quality ingredients, what you feed your body directly affects how it functions daily.

Where to Start?

If you are dealing with chronic pain, stiffness, weakness, digestive issues, or imbalances related to the musculoskeletal or internal systems, personalized therapy can help restore function and ease.

You can Click Here to explore personalized yoga therapy sessions with me.

2. Your Energy: Keeping the Flow Clear

Beyond our physical body, we are constantly using and exchanging energy. Every conversation, every task, every interaction affects our energy levels. Some things recharge us, while others drain us.

Ever had a long conversation that left you feeling completely exhausted? Or a situation where just being around someone felt overwhelming? That’s your energy system at play.

In many traditions, this energy is explained through chakras—specific centers in the body that regulate different aspects of our well-being. When some energy centers are overworked and others are neglected, we feel off-balance.

Simple Daily Energy Practices:

✔ Breathwork (Pranayama): Clears stagnant energy and restores flow.

✔ Yoga & movement: Helps align the body and energy channels.

✔ Mantras & meditation: Help release blockages and recharge energy.

If this concept is new to you, don’t worry! I’ll be writing a blog soon about chakras and energy balance—stay tuned! Meanwhile, if you want to explore these practices, you can Click Here to check out the energy-balancing techniques I offer.

3. Your Mind: Updating the Mental Software

Your mind is the software running your entire system. It determines how you react, how you interpret experiences, and even how you perceive yourself.

✔ Mindfulness & meditation help you observe and regulate your thoughts.

✔ Affirmations & cognitive reprogramming allow you to shift limiting beliefs.

✔ Gratitude & wisdom practices help you reset your mindset to a healthier place.

I offer an "Updating the Mind" workshop that helps people clear out mental clutter and create new, healthier thought patterns. You can Click Here to check it out!

Feeling Like You’ve Been Neglecting One or More of These Areas? That’s Okay.

Reading all this, are you realizing that you’ve been focusing on some layers of your well-being while unintentionally neglecting others?

If so, don’t worry. Life happens. We all go through phases where we prioritize certain areas and miss others. The good news? Once you recognize it, you can start making small changes to restore balance.

Now, think about the kitchen analogy again. If you’ve been cleaning your countertop daily, a simple wipe-down is enough to maintain it. But if you haven’t cleaned it for weeks, it’s not enough to just wipe the surface—you need a deep clean first. You might have to:

✔ Scrub off stubborn stains,

✔ Clear away clutter that has built up over time,

✔ Reorganize and reset everything before you can return to simple daily maintenance.

Your body, energy, and mind work the same way. If you’ve been neglecting movement, ignoring your energy system, or allowing mental stress to accumulate, the first step is not just maintenance but restoration. This is where yoga therapy comes in.

Yoga Therapy vs. General Yoga Instruction: Why It Matters

At this stage, my recommendation would be to start with a more structured, therapeutic approach before transitioning to regular instruction.

Yoga Therapy is like deep cleaning—it helps correct misalignments, restore function, and bring balance across all levels before you move into self-sustaining practices.
General Yoga Instruction is like regular maintenance—it’s about keeping things in check, strengthening what’s already in balance, and advancing your resilience over time.

For example, if you’re experiencing chronic pain, stiffness, emotional exhaustion, or unbalanced energy, jumping straight into a generic yoga class may not be the best approach. Instead, yoga therapy can provide:

✔ Personalized guidance tailored to your body, energy, and mind.

✔ A structured way to rebalance what has been overworked or neglected.

✔ Safe and effective practices that help you gradually transition into sustainable, long-term well-being.

Once your system is back in a state of balance, general yoga instruction helps you maintain, refine, and advance—so that you don’t have to start over again.

This is why I offer both personalized therapy and structured instruction. If you’re at a stage where you need to restore balance first, you can Click Here to explore therapy sessions with me.

If you’re already in balance and looking to deepen your practice, you can Click Here to explore my ongoing classes and workshops.

Final Thought: Keep Your Internal Kitchen Clean

Just like cooking is easier in a clean kitchen, life feels easier when your body, energy, and mind are in balance.

Want to explore more? Check out my website for mind work, body practices, energy balancing techniques, and personalized guidance.

And if you have a question you’d like me to share my perspective on, drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear what’s on your mind!