Starting your day in a positive and nurturing way that starts with self-care is the best way to ensure that the day before you unfolds in the same way. It means that you have your needs met since the very start of your day. The thing that you most importantly require is focus on connection with yourself, preferably at a time when you can access the unconscious part of you and benefit from that.
Do you currently have or practice a morning ritual? Is this something that you have considered and would like to do? Or is it possible that there are little things that you do habitually that are small and so part of you that you don’t realise how important they are, and they are in fact rituals you have not acknowledged? Perhaps it’s as simple a thing like a glass of water as soon as you wake or taking 5 minutes to stretch your body before you even get out of bed.
This awakening time can be such a special time, a sacred time of day and a great time to shape and create. What is important though is that you do what suits you, what resonates and serves you best.
Make sure that whatever you choose honours you and brings you joy. At the end of your routine or ritual you want to be able to answer ‘yes’ to the question ‘Do you feel better and have a better day as a result?’ If not then don’t do it.
By all means look at what others do and in doing so you will get ideas for yourself. Some people read something inspirational or pull oracle cards. If that speaks to you try it and then take time to play with it, test it out and see how it sits.
It’s okay to change things and you may find that there are different times of the year due to the seasons or other circumstances that affect your morning ritual structure.
I don’t know about you but in the longer days some things are easier. Getting up earlier is easier, getting out is easier. So early walks are easier in the spring and summer and once I come back, I do yoga in the garden.
As you can see my morning routine changes and has changed over the years. I have developed a shorter version which I can do if I need to be up and out early and I also have a variation that I use when travelling. Before I developed these, I used to beat myself up if I missed a morning.
The right ritual for you takes time to develop so don’t put yourself under pressure to get it done and get it right. You cannot rush these things.
Your routine has got to fit in with your life and with your family. Getting up early at 5.00am may not be your thing, so it doesn’t have to be, because that may also mean early nights which may also not work for you. But what about getting up 30 minutes early?
At the moment for me, it’s yoga first and then breakfast and a walk later. At one point though it was a walk first, but I find that the yoga is now a much better way to start my day and it has brought so much more flexibility, ease and flow.
While I am thinking about and preparing breakfast, I used to have a hot water and freshly squeezed lemon juice but now I love my green juice with cucumber, celery, lemon juice and ginger. As I savour it, I imagine that juice making its way down through my system and bringing all good things to me. So you see visualisation can also be part of your morning ritual. Green juice is not easy when I travel though so I return to the hot water and lemon or find another alternative.
Do you journal first thing? If you do, and this is something for me that is sometimes present and sometimes not, you may be aware of Julia Cameron and her ‘morning pages’.
In her book ‘The Artist’s Way’ part of her programme is writing three A4 pages first thing in the morning and just letting your subconscious flow. I did this for years and do sometimes wonder about doing it again but for me the time is not right…
Another book that you might find interesting is ‘Miracle Morning’ by Hal Elrod. There is so much in this programme. I did try it for a while but for me Miracle Morning could take over your day unless you could get up really early. I am not that early a riser so not for me in its entirety. I do love the idea of it though and there is a lot that I would love to be part of my morning routine but if I do all of it then it takes up too much time so I pick the best bits, the bits that really deliver the benefits and feelings I wish to have.
Know how long you need to get showered, dressed, made up, breakfast and travel if you have to. Then add the time onto that to be able to do what you want to do as part of your routine. With people not travelling into the office so much now perhaps there is some more flexibility. And remember that this morning ritual will put you in a better frame of mind, meet needs and energise you even if it’s only a habitual 10 mins to connect with your body.
One thing I have just started doing is to ask myself – what do I need today? I usually ask it before I get out of bed but if I don’t do it then I do it on my yoga mat. On my mat I also do my gratitude, another part of my morning ritual.
How could you use this morning routine creation to get rid of/bring to an end the bad habits, the habits that don’t serve you?
What do you need to change in your day so that your new morning routine is smoother? Is it organising things the night before? This could be clothes or breakfast.
You will find after a while that when you miss that routine then your day does not flow in the same way. You may feel out of sorts. That was why I developed a shortened form of my routine and also allowed myself to miss the odd day.
How do you want to feel in the morning?
If you start a morning ritual, or already have one established, I’d love to know how it’s working for you.
This is part of that holistic you and is one of the things we work on in our group programme Stepping into Freedom and also in the 1-2-1 programme Project YOU so if you’d like some help then email me on heather@1millionwomenwalking.com and let’s have a chat about how it could work for you.
