How To Stay Present—And Go Slow—In A Noisy World
It’s not easy to take it easy—the world is loud and that can make it difficult to tune into our own needs and feelings. So, we partnered with WORD Agency and International Day of Rest founder Zoila Darton during STAY HOME CLUB to host a talk on The Rituals of Life. What does it look like to go slow, re-center and get a little breathing room?
In Darton’s talk, she took us through four reminders that help her find routine—and ground herself when life requires a little resilience.
Photo by Morgan Pansing.
ABOUT ZOILA DARTON
Zoila Darton is a passionate innovator and skilled connector with 10+ years of success in the business of entertainment and entertaining; starting in the music industry where she was the Director of Marketing and Artist Relations at boutique Latin Music Publishing and Distribution company Mayimba Music. After delivering dynamic digital campaigns and events in music, she parlayed her knowledge of relationship-building, cultural trends and conceptual ideation into launching the boutique agency WORD, where she builds meaningful marketing campaigns and consumer experiences from the ground up. She prides herself on being a master connector and excels at fostering community both online and off.
HERE ARE ZOILA’S FOUR SIMPLE KEYS TO GOING SLOW AND GETTING INTO THE RITUAL OF LIVING:
1.) BREATHE AND BE IN YOUR BODY.
Finding time to breathe and be in your body is a great and easy grounding exercise if you’re struggling to remain present without responding to the world’s noise.
2.) MIND YOUR BUSINESS.
This is easy to say, but difficult in practice. If you’re struggling to remain present or find yourself losing ground, Zoila recommends redirecting your mind toward your own needs.
3.) DO ONE THING AT A TIME.
From making coffee to making your bed, anything can be a ritual—it all comes down to the way you do things, and the attention you give your routines. Zoila says that resisting the pressure to multi-task and focusing on one thing at a time, whether hanging out at home or at work, helps her slow down and get creative about the problem or task at-hand.
4.) SET MORNING AND EVENING ROUTINES.
To feel grounded—in just about anything—we need a clear start and finish. Instead of waking up or going to bed with a social media scroll or inbox check, Zoila recommends bookending your day with a morning and evening routine that provides time to clear your head and explore what brings you comfort. Eventually, if you stick to these routines long enough, you’ll establish daily rituals that prioritize rest and help you disconnect from a stressful day.
If you’re looking for new morning rituals, here are some things Zoila recommends giving a try:
Wake up at the same time everyday.
Meditate (or another exercise that clears your head).
Engage in some type of movement (yoga, stretching, running, dancing, etc.)
Do some breathwork.
Journal.
Read.
Pull cards, do some candle magic.
Set affirmations.
Have a beauty routine or some sort of get-ready routine.
If you’re looking to improve your evening-time routine, Zoila recommends the following:
Have a tea ceremony.
Engage in ritualistic cleansing (clean your house, light a candle—whatever that looks like for you!).
Moisturize—rub oils, cream and/or lotion into your skin.
Or dry brush!
Put on a face mask.
Take a bath.
Step away from your screens! Try to lessen time in front of the TV, on your computer and on your phone before going to bed.
You could also try grounding techniques mentioned in her morning ritual recs, like going to bed at the same time daily, breathwork, meditation, reading or journaling.
At the end of the day, Zoila says to “remember to enjoy the experience of life—don’t just look for the rewards.”
ZOILA ALSO RECOMMENDS:
Devi Brown’s Divine Timeout - great for deepening your inner work.
Melanie Santos Instagram account is great to follow for guidance!
Download the Calm App. Zoila especially loves and highly recommends the sleep stories. :)
Zoila’s a big fan of a new meditation app called Balance, and suggests to check it out.
Reading Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear—the title speaks for itself. :)
LOOKING FOR MORE?
Keep up with what we’re up to at bbatx—from virtual events to membership—here.
If you’d like to keep up with Zoila, you can follow her on Instagram, check out her new editorial online destination Our House, and find out more about her WOC-owned LA-based creative house, WORD, here.