If your morning routine is often riddled with rushed movements, a slight shift in how you start your day may be the solution. Those first moments of your day are so important because they set the tone for how the rest of your day will turn out. If you’re jumping out of bed and rushing to brush your teeth, shower, and head out the door before you miss the train or — even worse — sit in traffic consumed in road rage, imagine how the rest of your day will be.
On the flip side, if you move with intention in the morning, taking time to care for yourself even if for only 10 minutes, you can change the whole trajectory of your day. It could have a positive impact on how you work, your interactions with others, and how you feel about yourself. Having a good morning routine can help you feel less stressed, anxious, and moody throughout the day. Overall, morning spirituality routines help to put that extra pep in your step so you’re not harping on the things that don’t matter much.
If you’ve never had a morning spirituality routine, you might not know how to begin. First things first, do not overwhelm yourself thinking your routine has to include things like sitting silently in meditation for long periods of time, especially if that is challenging for you. Ease into it by standing in silence for even as little as one minute in the shower with your hands over your heart chakra, eyes closed, and simply giving thanks for a new day. This isn’t something you want to do in hasty, rushed movements or with stress looming in the background. A morning spirituality routine is something to incorporate into your daily life that will help elevate your spirit, brighten your light, and make you feel good mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Interested in giving it a try? Check out these five easy tips that can help you incorporate spirituality into your morning routine!
1. Slow Morning Movement
If you’re used to jumping out of bed when you hear the loud sound of a harshly ringing alarm, consider shifting these first precious seconds of your day. Look for a gentle-sounding alarm clock. You can even find an app to download to your phone. Just keep the phone across the room as you sleep. When the gentle sound nudges you out of your sleep in the morning, do not jump up to shut it off. Take your time. Stretch in bed. Rub your eyes. Maybe even hug yourself. If negative thoughts begin flooding your mind, notice them, check them, and think instead of something or someone who makes you smile. Say something like, “Thank you, Great Spirit, for another day,” before slowly getting up out of bed. Stretch your arms overhead as you inhale, exhaling as you bring them back down to the sides of your body. Repeat this three times before doing a forward fold, bringing your hands to meet the ground. If you can’t touch the ground, it’s OK. Simply rest your hands wherever they do reach and hang out there for a moment before deeply inhaling and slowly standing upright again. You may want to include a few side bends and rotating your wrists, ankles, hips, and shoulders. This little morning stretch can take about five minutes.
2. Blessed Water
Many Indigenous traditions include the power of drinking blessed water. Including this in your morning spirituality routine can be quite powerful. Before consuming anything else, pour yourself a glass of water, hold the glass in your hands, bow your head, and say a prayer over the water. For example, “May this water be blessed so that as I consume it, the purifying water cleanses any negativity or stagnant energy, and any disease or illness that may be present.” Then slowly and mindfully drink the water, believing that the words you speak have imprinted in the memory of the water and that as you swallow, it delivers that message to your body. After you’re done, go about your morning routine of getting ready for your day and take note of how you feel.
3. Show of Gratitude
Ease into your morning with a gratitude practice. With a nice cup of tea or coffee, sit down with your journal and write 10 things you are grateful for, which could include everyday things like having a toothbrush or a hot shower, or bigger life occurrences like having a baby or beating cancer. After you write your list, read each one out loud, place your hands on your heart chakra, and give thanks. After you’ve read your entire list, simply sit for a moment, even if for only one minute, and smile, acknowledging all you have to be grateful for. If you do this practice for long enough, it’s quite beautiful to see the collection of journals you will have filled with all the things you are grateful for, which puts things into perspective on challenging days.
4. Meditation à la Carte
Meditation is a powerful way to align your spirit body and your physical body so you can move through life with more ease. However, meditation practice does not have to be a one-size-fits-all approach. What works for you may not work for someone else. Some people enjoy sitting in stillness for 10 minutes or more. Others find that to be extremely difficult. If that is the case, opt for other ways to quiet the mind and bring yourself to the present moment. Meditating in the shower for as little as three minutes could be just what you need to get your day started right. Simply pause for a moment, place your hands over your heart’s center, lower your head slightly, and say a prayer. It could be something different each day, or something you say every day. For example, “Thank you, God, for a new day. Every day that I open my eyes to witness life is a blessing. I do not take it for granted. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Then stand for a moment and simply focus on your breath. If your mind begins to wander during this meditation – you begin thinking about what you’re going to wear or what to eat for lunch – simply bring it back to the present moment by silently saying “just” on the inhale and “breathe” on the exhale. The more you practice this, the longer you will be able to comfortably be in silence, aligned with Spirit, and open to receiving messages of guidance.
5. Protect Your Energy
Before you head out the door in the morning, protect your energy. This is a quick morning spirituality routine that can change how you feel overall throughout the day and when you return home. One way to protect your energy is by using Florida Water. You can fill a small spray bottle with the spiritual cologne and, before stepping out for the day, spray some in the palms of your hands. With your hands in front of your face, gently inhale the calming fragrance and softly brush your hands over your head before sweeping your body from top to bottom. Cross your hands as you sweep down your body, beginning at your shoulders and down to your feet. Imagine this forming a protective shield around you. You can now walk around confident that no one else’s energy will impact you throughout the day and when you return home.
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