The Ritual Nurse
Join our journey where nurses learn to heal themselves first, combining holistic rituals with practical strategies to thrive in their demanding careers. We mix that with stories and humor in first of its kind short form, perfect for nurses busy schedules. Each episode has our favorite coffee and crystals segment that everyone raves about. Curl up with your cat, or pop an earbud in during a ten minute break, and during the commute - this podcast is exactly what you need.
TLDR: This podcast offers short, impactful episodes filled with transformative tools, real-life stories, and a touch of magic to help nurses reclaim their well-being.
The Ritual Nurse
Building a Bridge, maybe demure? definitely mindful.
TXT us your feedback!! <3 your fayce!
Discover how to turn stress into serenity with mindful practices designed for nurses. Join me as we embrace the healing journey of self-care with a blend of humor, science, and a touch of magic. We continue the empowering series "Debriefing Yourself," where we master the art of non-judgmental observation and description, and level it up into mindfulness and balance. Our recent self-care challenge has been a triumph, elevating habitual acts of mindfulness into cherished daily rituals. Find it on our socials, on The Code Team Instagram and Facebook.
Move from awareness to action with practical breathing techniques that promise to transform your emotional landscape. Learn how box breathing and the 4-7-8 method can activate your parasympathetic nervous system, offering relaxation and mental clarity in moments of stress. These simple yet powerful practices provide the tools needed to ground yourself physically and emotionally, ensuring you stay calm and collected amidst the chaos of nursing.
Celebrate the magic of mindful rituals, where even sipping a cup of coffee becomes a healing experience. We delve into the practice of integrating physical techniques with emotional debriefing, enhancing resilience and intentionality. I also share my enthusiasm for the artistry behind the Salty Siren coffee by Bones Coffee Company and the captivating Crystal Oracle deck from Moonstruck Crystals. Remember, self-care is not an indulgence but a necessity. Stay connected with the Ritual Nurse Podcast for more of the humor, more of the happy, plus educational insights and resources to support you.
Hey! Make sure you subscribe to stay connected. Love a nurse? Who doesn't! Share with all the nurses you know. The more we reach, the more we help. We feel like no one deserves center stage focus more than nurses and our mission is to reach the millions of superstars out there. We'd love to hear your stories, your adventures, your wins, and especially your needs and questions! Email us at hello@ritualnurse (dot) com. Also, you can send us fan mail! Use the link at the beginning of the show notes. Resources, classes, blogs, and podcast info can be found on our home site at TCTH.org. The Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of The Code Team educational platform.
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Welcome to the Ritual Nurse, where healing meets humor, science and a touch of magic. Hi, welcome back to the Ritual Nurse podcast. I'm your host, reva, and this is episode three, and I am so excited to have you here. For those just tuning in, this podcast is about healing, holistic practices and humor with a little touch of magic, crafted especially for nurses that are navigating the highs and lows of our profession. So in series one of Debriefing Yourself, we focused on creating a personal ritual to process your day. Now series one we covered in episode two, which was last week. So at its core, the series introduced two foundational skills observe and describe. Observing means noticing what's happening around you and within you, and describing involves putting those observations into words. But here's the catch no judgment is allowed. You're not labeling anything as good or bad, you're just acknowledging it for its presence, just acknowledging it for what it is. This simple yet powerful practice helps you unpack emotions, reflect on experiences and make space for growth. So if you missed it, go back and listen to episode two to dive deeper into how this process can transform your self-care routine. There were specific instructions on how to do it, how to work through the process and some somatic techniques that could aid you in being successful, while practicing the technique of observing and describing, also over on our social media. The first week of January and last week, we launched a self-care challenge to create intentional space for mindfulness. The goal was simple but profound Incorporate small daily acts of self-care into your routine. So, from taking five minutes to breathe deeply to sipping on your favorite tea, taking a walk outside in nature, cooking an intentional, healthy crafted dinner for yourself, a self-hosted spa day in your house, the idea was to make self-care a ritual, not an afterthought. So being intentional was the entire point of the exercises from last week. So, if you participated, thank you so much for sharing your moments with us. If not, it's never too late to start. You can find the post on our Facebook socials and our Instagram socials at the Code Team. So the Code Team is the educational platform that the Ritual Nurse Podcast is part of. So on the Code Team socials at the code team. So the code team is the educational platform that the ritual nurse podcast is part of. So on the code team socials, you can find the post with super fun bingo cards and either the seven day self care challenge layout or the five day Our participants chose to do the seven day or five day first, and then, when episode two launched, they switched and did whichever version they hadn't done yet.
Speaker 1:So, before we kind of get into series two of debriefing yourself, I want to talk about my students. Many of you know that I am currently a nursing instructor, and I want to talk about my nursing students because there's a lot of chatter in online nursing communities and social media about students being entitled or lazy or unprepared, a lot of negativity circling, a lot of sweeping generalizations being made about nursing students, and I'm here to tell you that is not my experience. Now, I'm not going to say that all nursing students are perfect, although, let's be real, we know mine are Just kidding. My students, however, are earnest and hardworking and compassionate. They show up every day ready to learn and they inspire me constantly. One thing that I have noticed is how naturally my students embrace intersectionality. They challenge the divisions that healthcare often reinforces, divisions that are rooted in systemic racism and inequality. I teach my students, every single class, that equality without equity is meaningless. Healthcare must center marginalized and impacted groups to truly provide equitable care and access. But my students didn't need me to instill these values. They already had them before they walked in the door of my classroom. So to my students that might be listening, I see you, I appreciate you and I am so proud of you. Teaching you gives me so much hope for the future of nursing. You will make incredible colleagues one day, and the profession is so lucky to have you so continuing on in our journey.
Speaker 1:In part two, or series two, of Debriefing Yourself, we are going to be building on the foundation we laid in series one. So this time we're going to explore the practical tools for deeper excuse me self-reflection. How do you acknowledge your emotions while staying grounded? How can you create a safe mental space for processing the tough moments? These are questions that we're going to tackle today. So when you're building the bridge to mindfulness, our focus is transitioning from awareness to mindful presence. So last week we looked at the skill set of being self-aware and we laid the groundwork for developing that skill set. Self-awareness creates the foundation for mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present, even amidst chaos.
Speaker 1:Some of the practical techniques that we're going to look at right now have to do with breath work. So last week we introduced box breathing and if you've been practicing it, we're going to level it up now. If you haven't, that's okay. Start with box breathing first, though, before you move on to the next level. If you regularly meditate or incorporate a yoga practice or other somatic work, you most likely are very familiar with the use of breath work. So please adjust these things as needed to fit where you're at. But if you're new to doing breath work, start with box breathing. The regular, balanced cadence of the 4-4-4 rhythm is easy to assimilate and is very helpful to begin the work of controlling your breath and your thought at the same time and also improving oxygenation, before leveling up breath work into the 478 method. So if you're ready to level up now, let's start working with the 4-7-8 method to reduce stress and center the mind using breath work.
Speaker 1:So first you're going to find a comfortable position. You can sit or lie down. Make sure that you're comfortable. You can bend your knees so that your lower back is flat on the floor floor. You can lay in a position that's comfortable for you, but it needs to be laying on your back without any type of weight or torsion in the torso that might inhibit breathing. So keep your back straight. If you're sitting shoulders over your hips, keep your core engaged but relaxed. So you're going to rest the tip of your tongue gently against the palatine rugae which is the ridge of tissue behind your upper front teeth. You're going to keep it there.
Speaker 1:Throughout the exercise you may push your lips slightly if that makes exhaling through your mouth feel easier or if it reminds you to exhale through your mouth. And then you're going to follow the breathing pattern. So you're going to inhale, breathing quietly through your nose, for four seconds and then you're going to hold. You're going to hold your breath for seven seconds and then you're going to exhale. You're going to exhale completely through your mouth, making a soft whooshing sound or breathing sound, for eight seconds and you're going to repeat that cycle a total of four times. So over time you can increase to eight cycles as your comfort and experience grow. To kind of give you an example of what that's like, I'm going to do a four, seven, eight count and you can give it a try while I'm counting. So you're going to sit up straight If you're sitting, try while I'm counting. So you're going to sit up straight If you're sitting, engage your core, but keep it relaxed. With that core engaged, take a nice deep breath in and out just to get ready and relax yourself.
Speaker 2:And here we go. So we're going to inhale one, two, four. Hold two, three, four, five, six, seven. Exhale two, three, four, five five, six, seven, eight done.
Speaker 1:Now, as you can see, there's definitely a difference between box breathing and the four, seven, eight method. So holding one's breath for seven seconds and then gradually exhaling over that eight second period can be a little bit tough, especially if you're in a heightened emotional state. So when you go through the initial steps of awareness and grounding yourself and then progress into mindfulness, sometimes your emotional state can really affect your ability to slow your breathing down. And that's why the physical techniques of either box breathing or 478 breathing can help you begin to slow your physical state down so that you can be mindful about the emotional state that you're in. So why does this work so slowing your breathing? The extended exhalation activates the parasympathetic nervous system and that signals your body to relax. It's letting your body know that you're not in fight or flight mode and that you're not needing to run from danger and that you're actually in a safe space. Oxygenation so holding the breath allows oxygen to saturate your bloodstream, while the controlled exhale helps expel more carbon dioxide. Now why does it do that and how? So pursed lip breathing effectively increases your positive end expiratory pressure, aka PEEP, by creating a small amount of back pressure during exhalation and this helps keep your airways open and it allows for better air expulsion from the lungs. The focus of this, the structured pattern, directs your attention. That helps you to quiet racing thoughts. It helps you to slow your heart rate down and lower your blood pressure. The increased oxygenation adds to mental clarity. Oftentimes, when you're in a heightened emotional state, you're actually not breathing very deeply, you're breathing shallowly, which increases a hypoxic condition as you have less oxygenation, and that can affect your mentation. That can further increase the heightened emotional state that you have. It's kind of like a negative feedback loop. So the focus, the oxygenation and the slower breathing really effectively work together to help you maintain balance in your physiological state so that you can address your emotional state.
Speaker 1:When could you use the-8 breathing? You could use it before bed to improve sleep. You can use it during stressful moments to reduce anxiety. You can most certainly use it as part of a mindfulness or meditation practice. You can use it really any time that you feel overwhelmed and need to refocus. This technique is highly adaptable, making it perfect for busy professionals like nurses that need quick and effective ways to manage stress without having to carry something extra or remember to bring something. Your lungs don't go anywhere that you don't go, so you always have them. So you can always do box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing to help you get into this balanced state.
Speaker 1:Help you get into this balanced state and simple exercises like we discussed last week, like the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method, really helps you connect in the present moment using your five senses. If you didn't listen to last week's podcast, I suggest that you do. The explanations are very simple and the skill sets are something that you can practice so that they become muscle memory. But just for a quick recap, the grounding practice, which is 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, is using each one of your five senses to identify something in that sense that is in context or around you, like what can I see, what can I smell, what can I taste, what do I hear, etc. And this grounding technique forces your brain to stop the spiraling thoughts and focus on specific things outside of self, outside of that cognitive thought pattern, and helps you kind of regain control over those spiraling thoughts sometimes. So mindfulness of current emotions is really where we're going with this mindfulness exercise, because the exercises we learned last week you're simply pairing this exercise with so that your state or your ability of being self-aware informs you, as you head into mindfulness, of what your emotional state is in the context of the events happening around you. And mindfulness then gives you the tool to be able to deal with those emotions and react to them in that moment, to them in that moment, and basically we're allowing emotions to arise and pass, without attempting to suppress or amplify them. We're pairing mindful breathing with gentle movements like shoulder rolls or neck stretches to release stored tension. If you need to add some somatic movement to your breathing to connect, to kinesthetically connect a body sense with what you're doing. Mindfulness isn't about avoiding stress. It's about learning to meet it with clarity and calm and giving yourself the space and time to choose your reactions to it.
Speaker 1:So now it's about 15 minutes into the podcast and we're going to take that quick break. So if you are heading back to the floor, have a smooth shift and we will see you on the next one or after shift. For those that are hanging around, grab a coffee stretch, just take a moment to breathe. When we come back, we're going to dive into the somatic and mindful practices of debriefing yourself. Part two All right, so welcome back. In this segment.
Speaker 1:We've been diving deeper into the body-mind connection and exploring how physical practices can complement emotional debriefing. Grounding techniques that we mentioned earlier, such as focusing on the sensations of your feet against the floor or holding a textured object, can help anchor you in the present moment when emotions feel overwhelming. The reason that they do that is because when you have your spiraling thoughts happen, or overwhelming emotions, and you force your body to focus on something outside of that whether it is a textured object, whether it's cold ice or touching base with where your body is in space, at that moment you activate other centers of the brain and that stops the spiraling thoughts and the buildup of neurochemicals that are taking part in that feeling of emotional overwhelm. These practices are particularly useful after a tough shift in like events surrounding a very heightened emotional state, like post-code debriefing or some kind of traumatic event with patient family members or loved ones and progressive muscle relaxation, which involves tensing and then releasing each muscle group, can allow you to physically let go of tension, while also bringing awareness to how and where your body holds stress. So these practices offer a tangible way for you to be able to reset and find a point of balance that gives you that mindful space to choose how you're going to react to your body's emotions in the given context of what's happening.
Speaker 1:So when we pair these physical techniques with emotional debriefing, they create a foundation for intentionality. By grounding ourselves physically, we can process emotions more clearly without being swept away by them. This allows us to observe our emotional responses and reactions from a place of balance, making it easier to identify what triggered the emotion and how it aligns with the events we've experienced. When we approach emotions with this equilibrium, we create the space to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively. It enhances our ability to make decisions and take actions that reflect our values, our priorities and our actual needs in the moment, rather than being driven by a heightened stress or reactivity. This intentionality not only improves our self-awareness, but it also empowers us to navigate the challenges of our work with greater resilience and compassion for ourselves. Mindful techniques like deep breathing or the 5-4-3-2-1 method further support this process. By helping us stay grounded in the present. It reduces the overwhelm of spiraling thoughts and redirects our focus to what truly matters in the moment. That needs to be addressed.
Speaker 1:So I encourage you to listen to episode two, if you haven't already, and practice both what we discussed in series one and then add what we've just discussed now in series two when you're ready. I did talk in episode two about the fact that these practices, these methods, they're not going to be perfect and I know a lot of us nurses, neuro, spicy or not, we function on a type A wavelength. That is also part of being mindful and removing judgment. Don't judge how you're doing it and whether you're doing it perfectly or not. Just do it. But just do it. Just give yourself the chance to practice it and to be mindful and observe where you're at and what you're doing in the given context of what's happening around you, without judgment. So don't judge, don't aim for perfection, because it doesn't exist. Just try it.
Speaker 1:So, on that note, it's time for our favorite segment crystals, coffee and divination. I, if you can't tell by now in episode three, I absolutely love doing this segment. It focuses on some of my favorite things. In fact, the only thing I think that's missing is cats, but this week for coffee, it's the Salty Siren. So this is by the Bones Coffee Company, why? Well, if you know me in person, I'm basically a mermaid. I have a mermaid jeep named Siren, that is bikini blue, and I'm totally a shapeshifter Black cat, sultry siren. It just depends on the day and the mood. So this coffee has a mermaid on the front, which, of course, is immediately what caught my eye. And now, normally I don't go for flavored coffee, but this one is really good Sea salt, caramel, medium roast. It's also rainforest alliance certified, so Bones Coffee has a ton of great choices and the aesthetic fits my coffee shop vibe perfectly. The taste is really good, so it's a win all around. The rich aroma and complex flavors remind me of resilience, so they're perfectly fitting for this week. It's a rich depth that's both energizing and grounding.
Speaker 1:I encourage you to take a moment to savor your coffee or tea of your choice this week. Don't just gulp it down on your way to work. Sit with it, breathe in the aromas and let it be part of your mindfulness practice. Small rituals like this can transform the mundane into something intentional and healing. For those who don't drink coffee, I suggest a rich chai tea or, for those that don't want caffeine either, a spicy herbal blend that you can inhale and sit with for a moment and just enjoy it. That's a great time to practice the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise or to practice the self-awareness exercise and be able to see how, inhaling the aroma, what that does for your body. Does your heart rate slow, does it invigorate you, does it calm you, does it relax you, does it change your mood or your affect? These are great things to notice and make this moment a mindful moment, and it's also giving yourself a moment of rest.
Speaker 1:So this week I am using the Crystal Oracle deck and the Crystal Struck Tarot by Moonstruck Crystals. So these decks are absolutely stunning. The artistry is unmatched. They're stunning. They're super fun. They're a little sassy. They are a little sassy. The Crystal Struck Tarot, I swear, called me a peasant in one reading. Very sassy, but very fun and super fitting. The deck absolutely belongs to me.
Speaker 1:If you want to grab your own, please do support the artist directly through her website. So on our socials on the code team socials, both Instagram and it'll repost to Facebook I will feature the decks so that you can see the artwork and what they look like, and I will also tag the creator. Nothing that I mentioned in this podcast am I sponsored by or affiliated with in any way whatsoever. These are things that I personally own, that I personally spent money on. I was not gifted or given as any kind of promotional item. I only recommend things that I personally have had myself and believe in myself, because otherwise I would feel like a fraud if I was doing it any other way. So if you look on socials, you can see Moonstruck Crystals and I'll tag them.
Speaker 1:Please, please, please, support the artist directly through her website. Please avoid the clock app knockoffs. Avoid Timu Shane, amazon. She's had her designs stolen and counterfeits produced and it's just heartbreaking. So please, please, uplift artists and shop responsibly. I know that sometimes these things can be expensive, but when you consider the amount of time that the artists have put into creating them, their time is worth money. Their experience is worth money. Please do not buy the knockoffs. If you can't buy it immediately, then that could be part of your self-care bingo routine in your card. Every time that you successfully complete one of those bingo cards, you set five bucks aside or 10 bucks aside, and then, before you know it, you'll have saved the money needed to buy the deck straight from the artist and support them responsibly.
Speaker 1:So the tarot reading I'm actually going to do live while I'm recording Authenticity is a big thing for me and I get such a kick out of reading these live and what comes out of it that. I just can't help it. So we're going to see what jumps out at us for this week for our community, for the podcast podcast, and see what is coming up. Oh, and one fell out there. So it is the King of Cups, which is Amazonite. I wish I can't. They have metallic accents on the cards. There will be a picture of this on social so you can see it.
Speaker 1:So, the King of Cups, this is signifying a wise and compassionate and tolerant person. Hmm, odd, how fitting that is, considering that we were just discussing ways to have compassion for yourself. An Amazonite signifies compassion, integrity and truth. This card represents the perfect balance between the heart and the mind. The king offers wise advice when it comes to emotions and is very compassionate towards others. This card suggests that when faced with challenge, you should remain level-headed and try to keep your emotions in balance.
Speaker 1:You guys, I cannot plan this. If I tried, this is wild. I'm going to have to start doing this podcast on video, actually, because I know the naysayers are going to say that I planned this or or pulled this based on its meaning. I did not. I raw shuffled while talking to you guys and pulled this and it couldn't support or fit more with the podcast episode today, if possible. I just that's why I love doing this segment and why I love pulling these cards live while I'm recording. So, yes, I am going to have to. Once the studio is up and running because we just moved into a new studio I'm going to have to start recording these live so that the naysayers can see the live pull and nothing being done beforehand and be just as amazed as the rest of us that love this.
Speaker 1:So for our crystal prescription for this week, the crystal portal is the oracle deck that corresponds to the crystal struck tarot. So what I'm going to do is shuffle there and it's going to give us our crystal for the week and we'll talk a little bit about that crystal With the live pulling of these decks. I am not a geologist, so some of the geological information that I had for amethyst last week I may not for this one, and when I'm doing live polls like this, I will post it, if I can, in the social media. Post that features the deck or the poll, and that way the other science girlies out there that would love to know the Mohs scale, the molecular structure and all that other good science information will have that as well, if I can source it and get it from an science information. Um will have that as well, if I can source it and um get it from an actual geological site, alrighty.
Speaker 1:So what is our crystal for this week? It is Aura Quartz Euphoria. So Aura Quartz, um is a quartz that has been treated slightly with heat. So it's not that it's a fake crystal or anything like that. It is an absolutely real crystal. It just has been heat treated to give it that beautiful kind of angelic pearlized look. Aura quartz is soothing and confidence and cleansing. The presence of Aura Quartz signifies a powerful moment of revitalization and inner peace, as the soothing and calming energy of this crystal washes over you. The card invites you to invigorate your spirit and renew your sense of calmness. Just be still in this moment to revitalize your energy, release stress and connect with a deeper sense of peace within. Allow the gentle energy of aura quartz to cleanse your spirit, uplift your emotions and guide you towards a renewed sense of vitality and serenity Again. I could not have planned this if I tried so with our King of Cups Amazonite, and our Euphoria Aura Quartz. That is our crystals and divination prescriptions for this week. Aura Quartz can be found all over and again. Please support your small shops when you're purchasing these items and stay away from the larger, more commercial apps where you might just be getting colored glass instead of actual crystals.
Speaker 1:Before we wrap up, I'd love to hear your stories. So I got some really incredible comments after episode two launched from some colleagues of mine and friends of mine, and I would so love to hear your stories. In the upcoming weeks I'm going to be featuring some of these amazing colleagues. But whether it's a funny shift moment, a touching patient interaction or a time you felt the weight of the world on you as a nurse, we're here for it. Or a time you felt the weight of the world on you as a nurse, we're here for it. Email your stories to hello at ritualnursecom or use the text me link in the show notes at the very top. That's such a fun feature and I'm going to be so excited when I get my first fan mail.
Speaker 1:So thank you so much for joining me on the Ritual Nurse Podcast. Remember to prioritize your own health and healing podcast. Remember to prioritize your own health and healing. You deserve it. Until next time, take care of yourself so that we can take care of other people and love your faces. This is your Ritual Nurse, reva. Thanks for tuning in to the Ritual Nurse podcast. You can find us wherever you listen to podcasts, so don't forget to subscribe and stay connected for all our social links free education classes, blogs and podcast notes with resources head over to tcthorg. Until next time, love your faces.