How to Start Building a Morning Practice

Start your day the right way for you!

Why is it so important to have a morning routine? Because how we start our day will set the tone for the rest of our experience until we start again tomorrow. This will help with focus and clarity and shift our energy to a higher state.

Gratitude practice

Each morning, list 5 things you are grateful for. Be it the success of your current project, the people in your life or the new purchase you have just made. On the days you may find this harder, start with the basics. Be grateful for the roof over your head, the food you eat and the fresh, clean running water you have access to. By being grateful you are saying thank you for what you have, feeding the positivity inside you and the universe will immediately start to provide you with more.

Move

It is so important to move your body each day. Be it a workout at the gym/at home, stretching, having a dance to your favourite songs, whatever works for you just move. Your body is serving you day in and day out and this is your time to say thank you and appreciate what your body does for you. Move to see what your body can do for you, not for any kind of punishment. Your body will be grateful and you will feel the benefits of pumping out toxins and feeding your red blood cells oxygen to energise you and set you up for the day ahead. My daily practice includes the 5 Tibetan rites which takes me less than 10 minutes a day. I will send details of this practice in a later email but you can google it in the meanwhile.

Breathe & Meditate

Take a few minutes a day, start with 1 and build up to 5 then to 15 if you can. Sit comfortably with your back supported, close your eyes, relax your jaw and place your hands on your belly and just breathe. Inhale and feel your belly expand, exhaleand release any tension. Continue breathing in a connected, circular way with no pauses. Repeat for a few minutes using a song or timer to guide you, then complete the breath practice, still your mind and tune in to listen for your daily guidance from within. It is not easy to clear our mind of daily thoughts but that’s ok, you will learn to let those thoughts be there but not let them distract you, this takes practice and you will get there. Guided breath work & meditation is coming from me soon so keep an eye on your emails.

Hydrate

It’s so important to keep hydrated to keep our minds and bodies functioning at their optimum, we are after all 70% water so we must keep topped up! I like to drink water first thing after waking up, followed later by some warm water with a little apple cider vinegar and turmeric. Another favourite is honey and lemon water, again with some turmeric. Following this I will try to have a fresh green juice everyday, giving my body a healthy kick start each morning and getting some greens in first thing.

Set your goals for the day

Ideally this should be done the night before but if not then make sure you write a list first thing. This will help you focus your time and energy in the day and you will be less distracted by what else comes up. As a general rule, the harder the task or more resistance you have to completing it, should be addressed first. Make these realistic and non-negotiable, even if the task is only 1 item that’s ok as long as it’s achievable. I usually have 3 things I must do that day and ideally will try to complete them before lunch if possible.

Give it a try – whatever works for you, just play with it!

Have a go and see how this feels for you. I always say that you need to find what works for you otherwise you won’t do it. When I first started almost 3 years ago whilst living in Rio, I used to include a morning beach swim and journaling to my morning practice so it was 1.5 hours! I realized I needed to cut this down a little but instead of cutting anything out I played with the time spent on each. Also, there are some days I will struggle to get up so do what I like to call a ‘beditation’ Where I will practice my gratitude, breathe and meditate in bed before getting up to move. This suits me some days and others I will breathe for 20 minutes and meditate for 30minutes. Just start and give it a try, if you don’t do it all one day that’s ok, try again tomorrow. You’ll find your own rhythm once you get started. Good luck and let me know how you get on! I’m always contactable by email if you have any questions or feedback at all.

Have a wonderful day you beauties x