5 Conscious Resolutions You Can Stick With For The New Year

By Fern Olivia Langham Often, the New Year brings with it an immense amount of pressure to shape up, perform, and “finally do things right.” This can lead us to be overly hard on ourselves when it comes to our resolutions. Let’s change that. This year, let’s do the best we can! The truth is it doesn’t take a whole year to create conscious and sustainable change, and it takes a lot less than a year to fall off the wagon and break the promises you made to yourself. Does that resonate with you? I’ve seen it happen time and again with myself - and my clients. My desire to change this habit, so we all can feel more empowered, led me to discover a new way to approach New Year’s resolutions. Here are five simple, easy-to-stick-to resolutions that will bring you back into alignment with who you really are - so you can start feeling empowered and powerful this year! Remember to revisit these resolutions every two weeks and each time to praise yourself for your growth and renewal.

1. Love yourself - This year, unapologetically accept yourself. No more berating, no more self-deprecation, no more self-judgement and self-loathing. The antidote for all the mean things you’ve been saying to yourself? 11 minutes of dancing in front of a mirror each day, naked. It’s intense - I know this because when this assignment was given to me during Kundalini training, it was two months into the course before I actually did it every day. If the thought of dancing naked in front of your mirror terrifies you, start in your bikini. Dance to a song or a mantra that makes you feel alive and beautiful. Be sure to look into your eyes and feel your soul. You may laugh. You may cry. Each day may bring up a new feeling - of appreciation, of understanding, of compassion. I promise you this will become your most powerful daily ritual.

2. Go au naturale - Say farewell to processed foods, refined sugars, and anything you can’t pronounce. This goes for foods and beauty products. Your body is your temple - treat it with respect, and it will respect you. The weight gain, the hormone imbalances, the weak digestion, and poor immunity are all tied to environmental toxins and chemical load on the body from the food we are eating and the products we are using. This is precisely why I love Sonäge. Sonäge has made a conscious decision to add minimal natural preservatives to superior paraben-free botanical ingredients in order to free your skin. If you wouldn’t eat it, why would you put it on your face?

3. Kiss Mother Earth - Our precious Mother Earth will not stick around forever if we don’t step up and treat her with more love. Let us all recycle, bring our own reusable bags to the market, and pick up trash on the beach. These are just a few of the very easy, conscious choices we can all make to kiss the ground we walk on, so she can kiss us back for generations to come.

4. Be your own alchemist - This past year, I began experimenting with essential oils to nourish and support my thyroid (I have the autoimmune condition, Hashimoto’s Hypothyroiditis) and as I learned more about the incredible healing potential of nature’s medicine cabinet, I began to create my own blends. I became empowered in my own self-healing, adapting holistic rituals to support my vitality. The simple self-care ritual of rolling lemongrass and peppermint on my neck every day while repeating a mantra has radically changed my life. I also created Grace Alchemy, a rose and patchouli blend that makes all men within a 10-foot radius swoon. It’s true! There are hundreds of powerful essential oils that can heal conditions ranging from thyroid dis-ease to chronic congestion, fatigue, weight gain, and hormonal imbalances. When choosing your essential oils, be sure to research the source - I swear by DoTerra CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade essential oils because, through co-impact sourcing, the organization strengthens economies in developing countries, improving the livelihoods of growers around the world.

5. Stay committed - Remember that change doesn’t happen overnight, and the longer we have been stuck in subconscious patterns - maybe even those that date back to our mothers or grandmothers - the longer it will take us to dig ourselves out. When you stray from the essence of your intention, don’t berate yourself. Instead, gently remind yourself of your commitment, and at the same time, stay firm in your resolve. What works for me is writing down my self-care routine at the top of my daily action plan, so I do it before checking social media or emails - because we all know where that leads…. Stay committed to yourself, because you are worth it. So this New Year's Eve, I urge you to get cozy with a cup of tea and look at where you can find more creativity in your life, where you can be more mindful, where you can become your own alchemist, and where you can offer yourself more self-love. Fern Olivia Langham, located in Los Angeles, is the founder of Thyroid.Yoga™, a unique method designed to empower women to say goodbye to survival mode and embody conscious confidence. Fern's work has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine, Charlotte's Book, Well & Good and Mind Body Green.