Take some time to pick yourself up.

Morning Ritual

The beginning of the day is the most important part of the day for me. It’s the time where we set ourselves up for the day. And we have the choice of how we do that. We can either wake up and look straight at our phones and start to get involved in all the external distractions that the outside world brings or we can wake up and go inwards to notice how we are feeling that day and how to move forwards in our day to best serve our health and well being.

I, like most of us, am very easily distracted and as soon as I look at my phone in the morning, that’s it everything else goes out the window! I have noticed this doesn’t make me feel good, I start the day unfocused and unclear of my intentions for the day and as a result my time is not spent productively.

However, on the days where I don’t allow the outside distractions in and I cultivate the practices that serve me best (meditation, gratitude, yoga) it makes the world of difference to my day and how I am able to respond to the things that are handed to me that day.

Everything starts with an intention and I think its really important for us to get clear on how we intend to live our lives that day, coming from a place of self awareness of what’s going on with us that day as we wake. And we will wake up feeling different every single day, so it’s really important to become present so we really allow ourselves to live from the moment we are in and the only moment we can control.

Here are a few tips and tools of how to start of your day with present moment and self awareness that I have found really work:

Meditation: Before looking at your phone or eating/drinking caffeine, come to a comfortable seated position with a nice long spine, close your eyes and do a 3 stage check in. Firstly check in with how your feeling in your physical body for a few moments, secondly notice what emotions are present and where they are located in the body, and thirdly, what mental patterns have you woken up with that day. Just observe without analysis or judgement. Then watch your breath as it flows in and out to allow you to stay present and when the mind wanders off (which it will, try not to get frustrated) then bring it back to the breath. Do this for 5/10 minutes.

Journalling: Set a timer for 10 minutes and take your pen to you paper and just write! Without overthinking it, just allow your thoughts to flow, you’ll be surprised the things that come up that you didn’t even realise you felt! This is a great way for you to just see what’s coming up for you
that day and maybe what you can let go of.

Move your body: from this place of self awareness, start to move your body in whichever way feels best in the moment. If you’re feeling tired you may to do something less intense such as walking or yoga, or if you’re feeling energised maybe so something with a higher intensity! But notice everyday you will feel different so don’t expect to want to or be able to do the same form of exercise for the same amount of time everyday

And this is the beauty of finding present moment and self awareness first thing in the morning, it allows us to listen to our bodies, hearts and minds and act from a place which best serves us in that moment and throughout our day.

Try it! You won’t regret it!

Erin

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