This week, during The Wellness Experience, we are focusing on restoration and calm. We'll have everything from expert-recommended mindfulness practices to tips and tricks to implement into your daily routine to provide a little extra zen in your days. Ally Love, the Netflix Dance 100 host, professional dancer, and Peloton fitness instructor, often wears many hats in a single day. Because of this, she's becoming intentional on creating space for herself and her mental health with several self-curated methods for calm, including a meditation routine.

Meditation is a powerful tool that can be utilized in many ways. From helping you get a more restful sleep or providing clarity when you encounter brain fog during a busy and demanding workday.

"What I found in the last few years, was that I had hit a limit when it came to recognizing the things that I was doing for myself were no longer servicing me. We get stuck on self-care routines and thinking that they should last forever and yield the same results. But, what I found was that the things I was doing in the morning or the things that I was doing to help me wind down at night were no longer filling me back up, I wasn't finding any relaxation. So, I made some edits," shares the celebrity fitness coaching dancer.

The multifaceted talent has implemented what she calls "taking a beat," throughout her day. With this ritual, Love stops wherever she is and takes 30–90 seconds for herself to just breathe. Placing her hand over her heart in the process, this allows her to reconnect inward and reset or refocus for the next part of her day.

"It allows me to check in with myself," shares Love. "I let that inform how I show up in meetings or throughout the rest of my day."

For her morning routine, she wakes up between 4:30 am and 6:00 am, and asks herself how she wants to feel that day. It allows her to be active, in the sense of deciding how she wants to engage with people that day. She takes time to anchor herself and then uses that as her guiding force. At night, she is intentional about taking a hard stop on all things work-related once dinner time rolls around.

"I put everything away from me, so that I’m not tempted to look at my phone or computer. I use that time to talk with my husband, and we catch up on our shows. Once it's time to eat, it's truly my time of gratitude for the fruits of my labor that day," explains Love.

The Love Squad founder shared her favorite breathwork routine. She says it's helped her in times when she's felt anxious within her day. Check it out below, and see if it works for you as well.

The 4-5-6 breathing routine

  • Find a comfortable sitting position free of distractions.
    • Close your eyes or focus them on a fixed point in the room.
      • Begin by slowly breathing in for a count of four.
        • Hold the inhale for a slow count of five.
    • Then release the breath slowly for six counts.
      • Repeat as many times as needed to calm any anxious thoughts or feelings.