Creating a morning ritual is one of the best things you can do to enhance your day! We are not talking about getting up, brushing your teeth, making coffee in the same way. We are talking about a ritual that gives you time to breathe, relax and set up a positive start to your day so that, whatever happens, you are able to handle it with ease.
Here are some morning rituals that take only ten minutes and can be done on even the most busy days.
Journaling / Morning Pages – when you first wake up in the morning, before you even get out of bed, grab your journal and write three pages of whatever is in your head. It may be the worries you have for the day, how beautiful the birds sound outside your bedroom window, or an idea you have for your business but are not ready to tell anyone yet.
Take the time to write three full pages. Once the pages are finished (write no more, no less) put your journal back and start your day. Do not reread your pages. Just let it be!
Another way is to journal using five focused questions that you answer such as: how am I feeling today? What is one thing I am grateful for? What is one thing I am looking forward to today? You can even buy journals that already have journal prompts to help you, or look online for some journal questions that you like.
Ten yoga stretches in ten minutes – this can be done using a YouTube clip (there are many yoga instructors who have ten minute morning yoga routines) or finding ten stretches that work for you (downward dog, child’s pose, spinal twist, happy baby, forward fold, thread the needle, etc ). Do this first thing in the morning as soon as you get out of bed! Commit to your stretches and be present in the movements. Notice how the movements feel in your body! For those of us who have jobs where we are sitting all day you can also take some of your stretches to work to do.
A solitary mindful cup of tea – a simple yet effective morning ritual is a solitary mindful cup of tea. When you first wake up in the morning, boil the jug and mindfully make your cup of tea. Notice how the water changes colour from the tea.
Find a quiet space in or outside your house and sit for ten minutes, drinking your cup of tea, trying to clear your mind and focus only on the taste, smell and other things that are around you. This moment of solitude may be the only one you get in your day!
Morning Meditation – one of my favourites is a ten minute morning meditation. I even manage to do this when the kids are home. After you have showered and dressed take yourself away and commit to a ten minute morning meditation.
Begin by focusing on the breath and then take yourself through a simple body scan. After this call on the five elements and try to clear your mind. If you struggle to come up with your own meditations to use check out our website for my water meditation and elemental calling – or you can find some on YouTube that focus on different topics such as affirmations, or clearing negative thoughts.
