Do you know one of the best ways you can impact how you feel at the end of your day? It’s your morning routine! Starting off your day with mindfulness and intentional self-care truly sets the tone for a more spiritually grounded day. These days, we have so many distractions as soon as we open our eyes. We grab our phones or allow our minds to immediately drift to our to dos or stressors. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up with optimism and high vibrational thoughts? Before you call bullsh*t, read on for a few ways you can start to train your mind and body to wake up in self-care mode.
Morning Meditation
As soon as you are conscious, bring your awareness to your body. The same as you would after a meditation, begin with slight movements of your fingers and toes. Practice deep, intentional breaths as you expand your awareness to include your arms and legs. Bring your awareness now to the sense and choose a sound to focus on. Maybe you hear a bird, the wind, or the sound of a lawn mower. Maybe you smell the crisp air, fresh grass, your clean sheets, or someone cooking breakfast. Allow your mind and body to only experience being awake, feeling the bed beneath you, a simple smell or a soft sound.
After a few moments, maybe 5 minutes, give yourself a nice big stretch. Sit up and find a comfortable place to continue your morning meditation. Here, you can add meditation music, pull out your journal or connect with a crystal as you take a few more minutes of mindful breath work. Try a few different routines and see what sticks. If you’re a fire sign, like me, you may need to switch it up every day to keep things fresh. You can always keep a list of your favorite peaceful morning activities. Try out our Spiritual Practice Routine Tracker to keep up with what you try and keep notes on how it affects your day.
Write Down Your Thoughts
Have you heard of morning pages? I first learned of them from a book called The Artist’s Way by Julie Cameron. The concept is similar to free-writing, or writing without judgement. In the journal of your choice, every morning, allow any and every thought you have to flow from your mind directly onto paper. Perform this activity without judgement, without reading as you go along, and as soon after you awaken as possible. This way, you are dumping your subconscious mind onto paper so you can review the thoughts after. You can catch any patterns of negative thinking, discover hidden fears or desires or even realize you’ve healed some things simply by writing them out. Start with a goal of writing every morning for 2 pages or 5 minutes and go from there.
Yin Yoga
If a full morning yoga routine seems like a bit too much movement and focus to you, fair. Try yin yoga instead, which consists of a few simple poses held for longer counts. Think 20-30 breaths instead of the usual three to five. Of course, as with any yoga practice, shift or modify your pose if it is causing discomfort or pain. We’re going for energy that awakens and assists in the release of any stress or tightness. A few poses you can try are Child’s Pose, Happy Baby Pose, Spinal Twists, Pigeon Pose or Butterfly Pose.
Practicing Self-Gratitude
Speaking gratitude towards yourself is a powerfully mind altering exercise that has a compounding effect. As you build appreciation within, you will be more inclined to connect with the sentiment outside of yourself. Notice your gratitude amplify to include others, your lifestyle, your home and environment. Can you come up with 3-5 things you appreciate about yourself every morning? Start with this statement: “I am grateful that I ____.” With this practice, you are starting your day off with positive thoughts and feelings towards yourself first. When our self-love and confidence are strong, we radiate those energies throughout the day attracting experiences and people that match the vibrations. This effects how you process the energy of other people and situations you encounter. It’s much better to meet a potential stressor as your best self.
Practicing any one of the morning rituals above will for sure have an immediate and obvious affect on how you approach the day ahead. There are so many more things you can try, including listening to or reciting affirmations or pulling a tarot or oracle card of the day for self-reflection.