I can tell you with confidence that what I'm about to tell you has changed my life. Tenfold. It has changed my mindset and my ability to have less anxiety and live in the present moment.
It has allowed me to reach chill levels envious of the Dude in the Big Lebowski. #ZenAF.
But like any life lesson we learn, this did not come to me without trial and error. Okay, lots of trial and error.
If you had told me just a few years ago that I would be sitting down to write how to have a peaceful, zen morning - let alone wake up before snoozing the alarm more times than I'd like to admit - I would have called you crazy.
Anyone from my past who has ever lived with me can attest to my incessant "snoozing" and strong dislike for mornings (sincerely sorry for the hardships I put you through!). I was a certified NIGHT OWL my entire life. "Just one more minute" was my favourite line as I tried to find my sounding alarm with my hand still half asleep. In university I would often stay up until 8 a.m. working on essays without sleep and go in to class the next morning probably resembling nothing short of a Zombie #notcute.
When I was living in the city, going to Fashion school, working, interning, raving, and everything else in between my motto was "sleep when your dead". Sleep was not on my priority list, in fact I saw it as an annoying necessity. You can probably guess what my mornings looked like. Rushed, panicked, disorganized, rushing out of bed, forgetting things at home, and generally showing up in just the nick of time or late. And breakfast? What the heck was that? What a way to enter your day. Tired, disheveled, and probably a little grumpy. I can remember a distinct memory of me rushing out of my apartment, sprinting to the subway, spilling my coffee all over myself as I entered the revolving door and thinking this is a very accurate description of how my life is going - and how I had been taking care of my life at that time. Self-care was at the bottom of my list, perhaps even non-existent.
I tell you this because if I can do this, you can too.
How it all turned around
After I graduated I had heard the phrase "Wake Up Slow" and really loved the philosophy. Something clicked. I thought I was winning by waking up just before I had to leave every morning. However, this philosophy showed me how our mornings really set the tone and mindset for the rest of the day. It is necessary to have moments of peace and stillness in the morning in order to continue on throughout the day in a more positive, aware presence. At first, I thought what lunatic gets up earlier than they need to just do essentially "nothing" in the morning? Turns out - those lunatics were onto something. When I started practicing this I was amazed at how calm I felt, zen, more positive, less stressed and anxious, and generally more present. I would get up and make a point of sitting at my kitchen table with my cereal, coffee, and read at leisure. Even if it was only for 10 minutes. Today my practice has evolved and dare I say it - the mornings are now my absolute favourite time of the day. I live for them.
I'd love to share with you my Mindful Morning Practice. And I'm going to be real - not every morning goes or looks this perfect. And I still spill coffee from time to time, but at least this time I've got the time - and patience to clean it up.
1. WAKE up early
I know, I know. Earlier? But I'm sooo tired! For years I was wondering why I was so tired waking up at 8 a.m. Well, probably because I was going to bed at 2 a.m. Try going to bed a little earlier so you feel more refreshed in the morning. Wake up a little earlier than usual with your desired amount of time before you have to leave (this could be 5 minutes to whatever you decide). Get up earlier than usual to set aside time to practice your Mindful Morning routine - I promise it's worth it and it gets easier.
2. Meditate
Quiet the mind, let the universe in. Meditation brings clarity, stillness, and better focus into our lives. It truly starts the day off right. Again, the beauty of meditation is you could set aside as little as 5 minutes each morning and still have a big impact.
3. Gratitude + Manifestation
Wake up with an attitude of gratitude. This is my favourite one! Set a journal beside your bed with a pen. Every morning I will fill one page (sometimes more) about everything I am grateful for in my life, perhaps anything that happened the day before, as well as expressing gratitude for the things I wish to manifest into my life. This is a powerful manifestation practice.
"What if we woke up with only the things we expressed gratitude for the day before?". Million dollar thought.
4. Yoga
Relaxing, good way to get the body moving and flowing, and amazing for staying in the present moment. The beautiful thing about Yoga is you could set as little as 5 minutes to as much as an hour in your mornings. Personally, I love Yoga with Adrienne - she is super down to earth, quirky, funny and no "holier-than-thou" kinda attitude. She has some great, quick morning practices on her YouTube channel and it's free.
5. Read/Podcast/Audiobook
The information we take in is ENERGY. The news, our Instagram feed, who is on our Facebook feed, the books we read, the things we listen to are all ENERGY. So if what you are currently feeding your mind with is not on the frequency you would like to operate on - change the channel. I may live in my own little bubble, but I find the news to be extremely energy draining. Instead I will fill my mornings with a positive mindset book, listen to a Podcast (love The Minimalists Podcast) or an Audiobook. This is seriously LIFE CHANGING. I think it's so important to do this everyday - never stop learning or building a great mindset. (At my office job I would get up roughly 1.5 hours before I had to leave. I would often use this time while getting ready to listen to Podcasts as well as Audiobooks on the commute into work. If you want to set a seriously amazing mindset, try this out).
6. Tidy
Take as little as 5 minutes to tidy up your room before leaving, it's always nice to come home to. If you are anything like me - every morning looks like a tornado went off. I'm amazed at how in as little as 5 minutes I can transform my space to look more organized. You can also do this before bed to set up your morning better.
Also check out the Miracle Morning - another great take on this. I'd LOVE to hear - how do you spend your mornings? Let me know if you try out any of these tips!