Hello beautiful human! Hope this post finds you well and happy, and that you’re day/evening is off to a great start. ✨ 💗
A few days ago I made a post about some things that I highly recommend, and one of those things was to create a morning ritual for yourself. I believe that creating a morning routine is one of the best ways to activate the highest version of yourself, and enable yourself to start each day on the best foot. Check out the full post here.
Today I thought I would speak more in depth about the benefits of a daily morning routine, and tell you about my personal practice.
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🌟 How I first learned about morning routines 🌟
It wasn’t too long ago that I had absolutely no morning rituals in place at all. I’ve been living in Thailand the past three years, and I haven’t been working a regular job this whole time. I actually teach English online, and I set my own schedule, so there is no need to wake up early or get ready for work each day. Because of that, I have been able to sleep in as long as I want, and take my sweet, sweet time in the mornings. But, about two years ago, I found that I was wasting way too much time in the mornings, not really doing much of anything. Before I knew it, it would be 4 pm, and time to start teaching and entering the evening. And what did I have to show for the day? Often, not much.
Then, in late December of 2016, I went of my first silent meditation retreat through the Mahasiddha Tantra Yoga School here in Chiangmai. 7 days of silence during the last week of December, the last week of the year. We even meditated through to the New Year from 11 pm on December 31 until 12:30 am January 1, making this my first New Year’s Eve without being completely intoxicated (and one of the best New Year’s of my life).
During the retreat we had a pretty regular daily schedule -- waking early, practicing yoga every day, enjoying a few healthy meals and tea, a discourse, and multiple meditation sessions each day, including a meditation first thing in the morning, all while holding silence. It was one of the most beautiful, transformative, and beneficial experiences of my life, and one the best things I have ever done for myself.
During the last couple days of the retreat, they began to prepare us for leaving the retreat center, and re-entering the regular world -- the world of chaos and noise and commotion. And one of the ways they helped us to prepare, is by giving us time to create a daily ritual or routine that we could stick to so that we could keep the practices and the lessons we learned going strong into our everyday lives. I created a plan for a routine that included most of the practices from the retreat - silence, time away from my devices (phone/computer), meditation, and asana (stretching).
To be honest, I set quite lofty goals for myself. I planned on avoiding electronics and practicing silence for the first hour of each day. I planned on sitting in meditation for 30 minutes each morning, followed by 30 minutes of stretching. Ending my practice with 3 ohms, as a way to break the silence and complete the routine.
I kept it going for a few days, but then I quickly found that I wasn’t always able to avoid my phone, and I didn’t always wake up in time to have a full hour practice, and since I wasn’t living alone, I wasn’t always able to remain completely silent for the full hour, and to be honest, I just got kinda lazy.
Over the course of that year, 2017, I played around with a number of different practices -- mediations, breathing techniques, journaling exercises, different forms of exercise -- and it took time and lots of experimenting and adjusting to find the perfect routine that works for me. What I have found, is that a short and simple routine works best for my lifestyle and my needs. I have also found, that because my morning practice is short, only 20 minutes, I ALWAYS find time to do it. And what’s more, is that I often go longer and add more to it, depending on how I feel each day. So, rather than setting a lofty goal of an hour long practice each day, and often being disappointed in myself for not completing it, instead I now get to celebrate myself each morning by completing my 20 minutes, and often take pride in myself and rejoice when I do even more.
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🌟 My Personal Morning Practice 🌟
These days, my morning routine is small and simple, and takes just 20 minutes (but I often choose to do more, because it feels so good!).
I begin with warming up my body by doing a few neck rolls and stretches, just to loosen up my neck and spine. I then set my Insight Timer to ring continuously every 5 minutes.
My daily practice include 3 main parts - Pranayama (breathwork), Chanting/Sound, and Gratitude.
Once I set the timer, I begin with some form of breathwork. Breathwork is one of the most powerful tools that we ALL have access to. It is a wonderful way to help wake up your body, by bringing more energy and life force into it. It is also a great way to even out your nasal passages and your flow of breath through your lungs if you got congested or off-balance while you slept. It's also a fantastic way to relieve stress, tension, and pain in the body, and a great way to quiet the mind.
I play around with a number of different breathing practices depending on how I feel. I often use Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) which is great for creating balance in the body and clearing out nasal passages. I also often use Kundalini breathing practices, like Breath of Fire, if I’m feeling especially sleepy or heavy because these practices energize the body and create heat. I also sometime use the Wim Hof breathing method, and a new “didjeridoo” breathwork technique I learned through my partner 
Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post where I discuss all of these breathing techniques in detail.
The Pranayama technique I use most often is Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing). Covering one nostril with your thumb, and taking one full breath in, and slowly letting one full breath out. Then switching your hand to cover the other nostril, and taking another slow, full breath in and out, then switching again. Repeating this process for 5-10 minutes can help even out the airflow in your lungs, and can often help to unclog your nostrils if you got stuffy while you slept.
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After my breathwork, I move onto the Chanting/Sound portion of my practice. I find that chanting in the morning is one of the best ways to activate and turn on your throat chakra. I also love that the sound of “Ohm” is often the first word I say each morning, aside from saying good morning to my beloved Michel.
I like to chant “ohm”, and visualize each of my chakras as I do so. I begin by imagining my root chakra, and picturing the color red while I chant my first ohm. I then move up the body through the chakras, visualizing each color as I repeatedly chant ohm (root - red; sacral - orange; solar plexus - yellow; heart - green; throat - blue; third eye - indigo/dark blue/purple; crown - lavender/white). Once I cycle through the chakras, I keep chanting, allowing my focus to go wherever it falls naturally. I often find that my focus falls on different parts of the body, and take this a sign that certain places in my body need more love or attention. I continuing chanting until my Insight Timer rings, indicated 5 minutes is up.
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After the Sound portion or my routine, I focus on Gratitude for 5 minutes. I sit in silence for a while, allowing my body to feel the effects and the vibrations and the healing from the breathwork and the chanting. I take this time to silently give thanks to my Spirit Guides and guardians who are watching over me, inviting them to be with me to guide me and support me throughout the day. Giving thanks to myself for taking the time to do a daily practice. Silently sending out love and gratitude to my loved ones around the world. Sending gratitude to the cushion and yoga mat upon which I sit, to the kettle in the kitchen which will soon provide me with hot water to make my morning cup of tea, to the bed in which I slept, to the fresh drinking water in my tap, to the electricity and the plumping, to the sky, the sun, the moon, and the Earth, grateful for the air flowing into and out of my lungs.... I could keep going here forever, and I find that 5 minutes is often not enough time to send gratitude out to all the deserving places.
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I let my mind wander and I allow myself to feel fully grateful for all the amazing things in my life. I also take this time to send out prayers and wishes and to announce my desires to the Universe (because the Universe is always listening….). This practice of gratitude always makes me feel amazing. By taking the time to feel grateful for this life and all the things in it sets me up to be incredibly thankful and positive all day long.
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After I spread gratitude, I often just sit in silence for a while and quiet my mind. I also often like to say some positive affirmations out loud, such as “Everything is always working out for me.” “I am divinely guided and protected.” “I am love.” “I am light.” “Today is going to be a great day.” "Wealth is constantly flowing to me." "I love money, and money loves me." “I am focused. I am determined. I am strong. I am growing. I am full of vitality.”....
Affirmations always help bring me more positivity and help me relax into the knowing that everything is working out, and everything will be OK.
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I allow myself to spend as much time here as needed, but it’s usually between 5 and 15 minutes.
I then close my practice my chanting “ohm” one last time, followed by “Shanti, Shanti, Shanti”, and a few “hari ohms”, just to close the practice and give thanks to the practice itself.
I then rub my hands together, create some heat, place my warm hands over my eyes, and open my eyes into my hands, slowly returning the room -- FULL of love and positivity, and a readiness to take on the INCREDIBLE day ahead.
🌟 Benefits of a morning practice 🌟
Having a morning practice in place that you stick to each day can help you to start each day on a positive, productive note. A lot of people say that they “are not morning people”, and I know a lot of people have trouble getting their days started. If you’re anything like me, you move quite slowly in the mornings and it can take some time, and some caffeine, before you feel ready to “go get em!”. But by putting a morning routine in place that suits your needs and works FOR you, not against you, is one of the best ways to transition from “sleep mode” to “awake mode”. I no longer rely on caffeine to wake me up, either, which makes me very happy :) (But hey, we’re all different! Maybe your morning routine INCLUDES a cup of coffee or tea, and that’s great too. Do what works for you!)
Also, when we sleep, I believe that our spirits go on a journey; transcending this dimension and exploring the cosmos. We learn and we download information while we sleep, (even if you don’t remember it or realize it in your wake-state), and we integrate things from the previous day while we sleep as well. So, when we wake up, it is important to stay connected to this calm, quiet, peaceful state so that we can integrate all that we learned in our dream state. This is also the best time for meditation and contemplation because your mind is still and quiet and the stresses of the day haven’t yet begun. I also find that how you start your day is often how the rest of the day goes. When you wake up feeling “off”, the whole day can be a bust. And when you wake up feeling great, it often leads to wonderful, easy-going days. So this morning time can be crucial in setting the rest of your day up for success.
To read more about the importance of the morning time, and understanding your “internal clock” and energy cycle, check out this article about the Chi Clock.
Two quotes frrom the Chi Clock article:
One of the keys of the chi cycle is waking earlier, and the rituals we engage in during this more introspective and transformative time of the day. It is a time when we are open to Divine guidance and inspiration. So by working in harmony with our chi cycle we can create more inspiration and clarity in our lives.
-Azriel ReShel
“Also resist the temptation to wake and immediately check messages, emails or Facebook on your phone or some other communication device. The moment you do this (or read the paper, listen to the radio or watch TV) you are affirming that the mundane affairs of the physical world are more important than your purpose and destiny. You are confirming to the universe that other people’s ideas and /or gossip have priority over the evolution of your soul. You’ll feel scattered and off-path for the day ahead and drift away from happiness and towards misery.”
-Jost Sauer
It is important to create a morning routine that works for YOU. What makes you feel good? What could you do to create more positivity in your life? What HEALTHY things could you do to give yourself more energy? What could you do that will make you feel accomplished and proud all day long?
Maybe its going for a walk or a run, or taking your dog on a walk, maybe it’s writing in your journal, maybe it’s stretching, maybe it’s meditation, maybe it’s chanting or singing, maybe it’s turning on your favorite song and having a mini dance party. It will probably take some experimentation and some adjusting to find a routine that works for you.
And, I suggest that you don’t make it too BIG of a routine. Start small, and you can always add on. Try to avoid starting too big, because you may set yourself up for failure and disappointment which could set you back. But if you start small, you can always do more if you’re feeling extra spunky or energized that day.
For myself, I chose a few specific practices to put into my morning routine, because of how they make me feel. I find that breathwork always helps to energize me and wake me up. Chanting allows me to open my throat chakra and gives me good vibrations and feelings all throughout my body, and I also feel that I am most connected to spirit when I am chanting. Gratitude, for me, is the fastest way to propel myself into a state of positivity and happiness, which is the best way I can start my days.
When I’m done with my practice, I always feel proud, energized, connected to spirit, and ready to take on the day. Which is exactly what your morning practice should do for you!!!
Do you have a morning ritual? What do you do to start your day off on the right foot and activate your best self each morning? I would LOVE to hear about it in the comments below. Sharing what works for you is one of the best ways we can support each other and help each other grow into the best versions of ourselves.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my blog. I hope this blog can inspire you to create your own morning ritual that will help you access your highest self, and start each day on a more positive and productive note.
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Sending you love and light, and hoping you have a magical day.
Until next time...
🌈 Rachel
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