Morning is when we set the tone for our day.
Often we don’t consider the early wee hours as part of the morning.
If you wake up at 3 am and can’t fall back asleep easily, you can wisely use that awake time to think of solutions to your worry, and what’s on your mind or eating at you.
…But will you?
The ego can murky the waters instead of focusing on finding answers and reframing early awakening to the positive.
And if you can remind yourself of the positive way (as minutes can turn into an hour), then you create a special occasion healthy morning ritual that’s a personal growth reflection session.
Because unless it’s our job, we’re asked, or on relaxing vacations, most of don’t sit around during the busy day or waking hours to idly come up with creative solutions.
We’re focused with the task-at-hand.
But this little extra bit of carved out early morning time brings out ideas and may just be what you need.
And as far as losing sleep, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Because the fact is you’ve already slept a few hours in the earlier part of the night (in Part 1 of your sleep), so your body has done its needed reset for survival for the next day.
In Part 2 of sleep in the morning, mostly you’re missing out on REM sleep or dreams.
And if you consider it, coming up with real-life solutions is more productive than meaningless dream movies.
So when you reframe your lack of sleep hours to productive self-time, your calm helps the day you’re entering.
…And often that is why busy, inspired people on a mission don’t need more than a few hours of sleep-a-night.
The last few morning hours are slightly optional.
It’s not a good regular sleep habit to get into, but sporadically or for a short season is not going to hurt you.
It’s like when you pull several all-nighters to cram for an exam or take a red-eye flight.
Because if you’re excited to wake up for a purpose, your enthusiasm or excitement makes up for the lack of total sleep hours.
…Ok, so now you can sleep better tonight even if you don’t get the 7-9 hours. 😊 🛌 💤
And below are some healthy reminders and yoga moves when the sun rises for your best day.
…So wake up, Sunshine! Rise and shine.
In the morning when you get out of bed, you use you mind-body muscles to get you up as part of the daily, morning human routine.
Sitting up and standing helps to clear your mind and passages that get stuffy from laying down in resting pose.
Morning is a great time to start deep breathing to clear the air waves for more oxygen… a natural way to get more immediate energy circulating. ⚡️
Eyes open, you can focus on the best morning light.
That will be the eastern exposure windows in your home or if you have indoor/outdoor living where you can step outside.
Be sure to let light into your eyes for at least 30 seconds to invigorate Vitamin D production.
Just think, you’re your own vitamin supplement factory. 🏭
[But remember, wearing blue glasses to protect eyes from digital screens and outdoor shades during the rest of the day is a good idea! 😎 Too much sunlight is not a good thing.]
In the morning with the naked eye when it’s not direct sunlight like it is at noon, you can see what’s happening in your natural environment while you enjoy your morning water, smoothie, or coffee beverage.
Scan and enjoy the horizon if you’re up early enough. 🌅
If you’re not naturally a morning person, creating good morning practices like these help to wake you up.
And if you’re prone to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that’s typical in winter, healthy practices can be the game changer.
Women need more sleep than men and children need more sleep than adults, so that can help you be sympathetic to those sleepyheads still in bed while you’ve run circles around the neighborhood. 😊
Natural Kaphas also tend to be more tired than Pitta counterparts.
And Vatas are more inconsistent waking up at different times each day. It is a brand new day experience for these folks!
And for anyone, these tendencies can easily drift with a gradual seasonal imbalance.
You can get tips on how to restore your Ayurvedic imbalance with the body balance quiz.
Morning Yoga 🧘🏻♀️
Morning yoga for even 5-minutes is worth the effort!
Everyone has 5 minutes they can sneak in as a habit stack to a water or bathroom break.
Getting into Table Top pose and doing a few Cat/Cows can change your day because mostly your calm mood is improved.
With yoga, your Ayurvedic routine can include ginger and water or herbal tea that are good for the body.
Like finding gaps in the wee hours of the morning (if you’re awake), finding your regular morning imbalances and self-restoring is going to help your healthy, happy day.
One easy practice to do would be to use mood-feeling clues to discover what is dominant:
If you’re super tired or withdrawn, Kapha is dominant.
If you’re feeling hard charging or opinionated, Pitta is dominant.
If you’re feeling scattered or anxious, Vata is dominant.
And if you feel a little this-and-that throughout the day, know that Vata runs the show so restoring that energy first will do you good!
And restoring each mood as it appears will help you feel better than letting the hodge podge of feelings take over.
Welcome in the feelings and assess each one to restore separately is a good way to start the morning and invite in the day.
Do you need to calm from worry (Vata)? Are you thinking-feeling critical of others (Pitta)? Are you feeling disengaged or the needy opposite (also Kapha)?
Getting on your yoga mat to assess can change the trajectory of your day.
Deep breathing in and out on your mat is one helpful cure-all to help restore… calming anxiety/worry, lowering blood pressure, and breathing in oxygen for energy and love.
This is a good way to ease into the morning or Vinyasa flow to the next part of the day you’re called into.
And here’s a simple daily yoga morning practice that you can use and tweak up…
Do your standing Sun Salutations.
Rise up slowly and as controlled as you can like one spinal vertebrae at a time, into a standing Mountain pose position.
Then sit or lay down.
Feel and test your body for any kinks and tightness.
Cracking joint sounds are more common in the morning or sharp changes in temperature.
Seated, do a Seated Spinal Twist to see if your sides are tight. This was one we did as kids (…maybe, hoopla hooping or Sit-n-Spin twistering).
Check your back too.
Lay down. Do a Bridge pose. See if and where there’s tension in your bridge that you can restore.
Easy Yoga for Beginners
If you’re intimidated by the idea of yoga and doing poses wrong, don’t be…
I’ve been in morning yoga classes before where I would hear people say they’re “not good at yoga.”
Re-framing your yoga ability thoughts to encouraging messages help you and then you’re better at yoga!
It’s a good metaphor for being a lifelong learner.
We all start as yoga move beginners and each morning is a re-start, so your body feels different than the day before. You get to try something new.
Laying down flat on your back or Corpse pose is a fancy name for just being.
You’re connected or in union with yourself. 🔌
In a class, everyone is busy concentrating and looking at their own body parts and poses.
It’s a non-competitive, individual sport and pursuit.
You get a chance to look inward and see yourself like when you look in a mirror.
If you’re self-conscious, yoga can help you break away from judgmental feelings about yourself or others.
When I attended my first class I felt disassociated because I didn’t know what I was doing. And there was no home yoga back then…
But today years later, practicing yoga at home is accessible and can help give you the confidence you need.
Have fun with getting to know your body and mind as part of your you-uniqueness in the mind-body connection.
Trust the process of showing up and taking baby steps, and the rest will work itself out.
Having a morning yoga routine can reset your life balance and centering priority.
I hope my tips help your morning jam! 🌅
