Morning Ritual Day 26

What I’ve learned, when I focus on doing one thing every day, it brings my life into focus.

I see that what started out as another thing on my to-do list, has become my grounding for the day. I notice how so much else in my day is my energy going out - answering questions for employees, customers in need of attention, family that needs support. This golden hour in the morning is just for me. And part of the reason it works is that it’s before I hit the start button on everything else. Yes, there are times when I pick up my phone before, but in general, I have been using this time to be centered and to reflect. With sleep in my eyes.

Meditation is a constant experiment. Guided or no. I tend to wake up and meditate. In bed. Hey, my meditation, my rules, right? I figure it’s better to meditate in bed than not to meditate at all!

Water first thing in the morning is a boon. Fewer headaches. As I’ve said before, I love to imagine a parched landscape, being watered and turning lushly green. That’s me!

Yoga. Once I’ve hydrated, I’m ready to get flexible. I love this part. Having favorite teachers and classes on Gaia makes this easy. No classes to attend. I just get up and do it in my jammies. Yeah, sorry for that mental image.

Exercise. Whole Life Challenge Living Room Workouts. Godsend. 10-15 minutes. And they are challenging. Plus my YouTube fitness guru, Jeff Cavaliere - physical therapist turned fitness pro. Love!

The journal. So, on the days when I have to be at work at 7, or if I don’t get up in time to do the whole program, I never skip meditation or water or the journal. The journalling is also sans rules. Sometimes I list my top three things for the day, sometimes I reflect on the previous day, sometimes its gratitudes, sometimes … well you get the picture, it’s pretty random. But I enjoy putting on the timer for 10 minutes that I spend with myself, uninterrupted to think and reflect in whatever way works for me in the moment.

If anybody else is out there listening, I’d love to hear about your morning ritual and how you came to it, why it works. If anything, I’m starting to realize that one hour in the morning may not be enough for me! I may have created a monster!