Mornings

I’m one of those people who hates mornings. For as long as I can remember I’ve always had this sense of dread around waking up. When I wake up, it’s like all my anxiety surfaces and I’m left drowsy, afraid and simply unmotivated to get out of bed. Naturally, I love anything that will help me grow out of my own limitations. So, when the whole morning routine craze came around, I was intrigued. I read so many blog posts and articles about the benefits of having a morning routine. I truly believe in these benefits but I somehow was never able to integrate them into my own life. It worked for a few days or a few weeks, but the rigidity of it would leave me feeling frustrated rather than relaxed and fresh to start my day like those articles claimed. That being said, I still practice a lot of the wellness modalities mentioned in those articles, just not first thing in the morning. Something about having to take action and access my emotions first thing in the morning is just overwhelming to me. I never thought I’d be writing these words, but about a year and a half ago I started doing this super simple morning ritual and my anxiety around mornings is now almost non-existent.

This practice is SO simple it almost seems like a joke but it’s one of the most impactful components of my personal practice. I can do it consistently every single morning, without a doubt and most importantly it helps me feel peaceful, calm and powerful all at once. 

So, here it is: 

My alarm rings, I hit snooze, I turn over on my back, I place both hands on my heart (palm to skin, one hand over the other.) I make sure my spine is nice and straight on my mattress and I simply connect to my breath. The most important part is to have your hands firmly on your heart space. Palm to Heart. Connecting to this space energetically is very powerful. (Look it up) I believe the most honest version of yourself lives inside your heart. By using touch, you acknowledge the physical space of your body which helps ground you. For those of us who easily dissociate from our bodies, grounding our energy is super important, especially first thing in the morning. So, I end up in some kind of intentional snooze-meditation. I stay there until my snooze alarm goes off again, and depending on how much time I have, I’ll do a few rounds. Breathing, feeling slowly and mindfully without constraint, rules or goals to accomplish. (p.s. Make sure your snooze alarm is chill music that wakes you up softly. Nothing breaks a vibe like a loud, aggressive alarm!) This practice is powerful because of its simplicity. It doesn’t cost a thing. All it requires is intention and physical touch. 

Try it for yourself. I noticed it’s harder for me to do when I’m going through periods of stress or high emotion because I naturally just want to curl up in a ball and protect my heart. So like any practice, it does require a level of discipline. But this is soft discipline. There’s plenty of high energy action waiting for us out there in the world. Sometimes a bit of softness is all we need in order to set the foundation for bigger things. I like my mornings mellow.