I like to think that everything we’ve already lived this year, from January to March, is just the warm-up. And that once the first signals of spring begin to arrive, that’s when the real movement starts.
Nature and animals tell us this all the time. Life literally rises from the earth.
This is the moment when everything blooms again. The weather changes and we can start shedding layers. A little shake, a little dusting off.
If winter was a time of pause, reflection, or even confusion, it doesn’t matter, because the cycle continues. And maybe this is the true moment to begin the year with whatever it may bring.
I like to imagine that around this time I step out of a little cave, ready and renewed. With lots of learning, a bit of baggage, and looking for the rays of the sun.
That energy and that state of mind make me feel ready for whatever the year brings. But they also make me look for rituals that truly help me step into that feeling and mark it in my calendar, in my notebooks, in my activities, in my room and in everything around me.
So I’m sharing these steps with you, in case you’d like to try one, or all of them, and join this beginning of the year.
May it be an incredible one.
Clean and open space
Spring always begins with cleaning.
Choose a morning, open the windows in your room and around the house. Look at your space and move things around. Do what you’ve always thought might work better. Maybe you move some furniture, maybe you reorganize your nightstand or change what’s inside a drawer.
It’s not just physical cleaning. It’s also symbolic. Preparing the space for what’s coming and aligning your energy with your environment.
This is exactly when I love to shake out and freshen up my sheets, besides washing them religiously every week of course. I like keeping this mist or this other one on my nightstand to spray over the sheets and pillows, in the morning and at night.
It truly changes the whole experience. Not only because of the science behind aromatherapy and what plants can do through scent, but as a way of caring for myself and bringing intention to the everyday things I do.
Oh, and this is the soap I use to wash my sheets so I’m not putting toxins on my pillow.
Care for the body
Just as the earth wakes up, the body does too.
Spring is a great moment to return to habits that make us feel good, you know, the most basic and simple things.
Walking more. Eating fresh food. Sleeping better. Taking care of ourselves with intention. Drinking water. So basic, but yes, hydration.
This oil here is new in the shop. And since everything that enters AlyRo passes through me and through my skin first, it’s my duty to tell you that my skin absorbed this serum in the most spectacular way. My soft morning skin came back. Truly deep hydration.
You’re going to love it. Oh and it has gold in it, which is very cute.
Plant intention
Every beginning needs a little seed.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect plan. A clear intention is enough. What we want to cultivate this year.
Write a lot about your processes and dedicate a little time each day to planning and giving rhythm to your paths.
Every spring I get two notebooks like these, portable and easy to carry anywhere.
One is for drawing and putting absolutely everything that passes through my mind. The other is for work. I don’t worry anymore if they’re messy or all over the place. That’s the point, as long as I get it onto paper.
Light something
Lighting a candle, preparing an infusion or cooking something special can be a way to mark the beginning of a cycle.
Small gestures that remind us we are starting again.
I like lighting palo santo, incense with these holders around the house, or a couple of candles. Fire, what ignites, helps me honor a beginning and bring intention and presence into it.
If you’re in Mexico City, stop by our shop and take home a bouquet of flowers that last a very long time. Yellow flowers that symbolize the arrival of spring.
Place them by the entrance in this little vase. They lift the whole house.
No matter how you choose to mark this beginning, do it in your own way and from a place of gratitude.
Happy, happy spring.
May the love you observe outside, in all the things that are happening and growing, reach straight into your soul and heart.
See you in the next one.