A quick reminder that the Full Moon is on Tuesday, 12-21-2010. This is a very special day as it is also the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year and first day of winter) and there is a full lunar eclipse! What a BIG day!!
Join us for a Full Moon Group Abundance Meditation @ 11 am and 11 pm EST~ It promises to wield tremendous power in the coming year!!
One of the things on my list for the new year is to expand and write about my morning routine.
I want to start by talking about the importance of how you start your day.
When someone is really cranky, it is often said that they got up on the wrong side of the bed. This is because we’ve always known that your day starts before your feet even touch the floor. The thoughts that flood your mind upon waking are the thoughts that are going to shape your entire day.
How I used to start my day~
*Smack* down onto the alarm clock. Sit up. If I don’t, I’ll go back to sleep.
Fumble around for my clothes. Brrrrr is it cold. Wrap in thick cotton ANYTHING I can find, and zombie walk to the kitchen.
Put the tea kettle on the stove and add coffee grounds to my french press. Zombie walk over to let the dogs out.
Zombie walk back to the kitchen, silently grumbling in my head about how stiff I feel and how cold it is and how dark it is and how damn early it is.
Pour the water, then the fresh coffee. Zombie walk to my chair and open my laptop.
Squint. Sip. Sigh.
How I want to start my morning~
Reach up and click my alarm off before it even sounds because my internal clock is spot on.
Deep stretch and a moment of complete appreciation for my body, my bed, my husband, a new day.
Rise, dress and head to the kitchen for a glass of cool, fresh water.
Roll out my yoga mat and actually DO some yoga.
Sit on my yoga mat and meditate/morning prayer for a few minutes when I’m finished with my yoga.
Brew up some righteously wonderful coffee…
Post my quote and Spiritual ponderings for the day on Lilypad Paradise.
You have the most say in how your day is going to go when you first open your eyes in the morning.
About three months ago, I started taking a more active role in my waking moments. As soon as I realize I’m awake every morning, the first thing I do is stretch my body out in a huuuuge stretch, and then I contract my body back into a little ball.
Then I feel my bed.
Not with my hands, but with my entire being. I notice the warm, softness of my sheets against my skin, and the weight of the heavy, cotton comforter that covers me.
I notice the hairy leg next to me and smile in acknowledgment.
I notice the smell of my sheets.
I notice everything I can become aware of.
This whole routine takes me less than two minutes. It’s quick and easy and it puts a huge smile on my face before my feet even hit the floor. I love it.
There was less zombie walk and grumbles. When I got up, I had an appreciative thought on my mind so there was less room for complaints.
After about a month and a half of actively directing my thoughts upon waking, I decided to add onto this routine so I was also directing my thoughts after my feet were floor bound. I was having such great success with just directing my thoughts for two minutes before rising, I knew that it could get even better.
Then on November 9th, I began choosing a quote to start my morning with on Lilypad Paradise. It’s been a month and a half that I’ve been at that now and I am really loving it a lot. When I get up in the morning, I actually look forward to the moment that I’ll be able to sit down and start my daily post.
Now, there’s almost NO zombie walk or grumbles. By the time I’ve spent a few minutes in bed, basking in the beauty that is my life, and then headed toward my laptop where I get to ponder my favorite subject, I’m high on life, and ready for the day to unfold for me.
I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who wakes up in the morning happy.
You know, one of those God awful morning people. One of those people who don’t need an IV drip of coffee strong enough to stand a spoon in to feel human in the morning.
I’ve realized recently that the main things that stands between me and them is that I believe it’s a pain in the ass to be like them, and I believe that a zombie walk to the coffee is the only way I can function in the morning.
I know these things are true for me only because I believe them to be. It just never really occurred to me that I believed that, really. It’s something that I’ve done for SO long. A behavior that I have participated in for SO long… I just accepted it as the way it is. It never occurred to me that I had actual beliefs around it or that it could be different. That *I* could be different.
I suppose it’s because the zombie walk has always worked for me, so I never questioned it. I had no need or desire to be any different.
Now, I have a desire.
I’ve nearly become a morning person just from the two small, regular practices I’ve been doing for the past three months, now I want to work on some morning meditation and some morning yoga…. PRE coffee.
Such a daunting idea for me. I know I want it though. It puts a smile on my face to imagine being up in the dark of the pre-dawn hours with my yoga mat, stretching my body out and warming and waking it up more naturally than just a quick jolt of caffeine.
I want to replace that first thing, cup of coffee with a nice cool glass of water. Our bodies go into detox in the night as we slumber, and one great way to flush all the toxin buildup away is to drink a glass of pure water first thing in the morning. This also gets your organs fired up for the day and gets your bowels moving (not the most pleasant topic, but certainly one that’s appreciated in the morning).
After putting a glass of water in my system to get things fired up, I want to spend some time stretching out and doing some yoga. Not a heavy, sweaty routine of poses. Just something fairly short and simple to get my muscles warmed up and get my blood flowing freely.
I was looking around youtube for something I can start with and found this routine. It’s a very simple and basic routine and at only seven minutes in length, it’s perfect for a quick warm up in the morning. This will be my jumping off point.
Who knows, a few months from now, I might be doing a full, forty-five minute yoga routine, happily. But for now, I will start small and go with a glass of water and a seven minute stretch.
And as a final expansion of my routine, I want to have a seat on my yoga mat when I’ve finished my morning stretches and meditate. I’ll start with five minutes. I try to remember to say a morning prayer, but I often forget. I want to add it right into my routine.
The solstice is only two days away now, so I’m trying to get all my changes organized so I’m ready to strike. I’m a big believer in planning less and getting to it, more… but some things just need a little scheduling and planning, and this is one of them. I need a few days of knowing what’s coming and mentally preparing for such a big shift.
I am really looking forward to it though. Maybe a dry run on Monday morning….
