Wake up, Sunshine! In the morning when you get out of bed, you use you mind-body muscles to get up, as part of the daily, morning routine.
You know if you’re an early riser or a night owl. You’re usually wired one way or the other. Morning people are usually proud of how much they get done early on, while night people stay up and enjoy more leisure time.
I’m not a natural morning person and I honor that, as I do appreciate sleep. Similarly, if you’re a slow riser naturally, I have some suggestions below that can help get you moving…
Women need more sleep than men and children need more sleep than adults. Waking up adult energy changes and depends on many factors.
If you normally pop up, right out of bed, but find it difficult this season in your life, then you may have a Kapha imbalance (could be mind or body).
If it’s recurring every winter, then seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can be an added layer of mood tiredness. You can change your morning routine so it’s enjoyable, and you look forward to getting up.
Embrace Your Vata-ness and Why This Matters Even If You’re Another Dominant Dosha
While usual daily variance on waking up energy is a good indication that you’re a natural Vata, you may find your partner or friends seem to get up at the same time every day. They’re likely Pitta dominant people.
In true-Vata form, if that’s your natural way, one morning you could start off feeling energized, and then the next day, tired and groggy waking up, that doesn’t always have to do with what time you went to sleep.
Your eyes can open at the same time every morning naturally, that’s part of your natural circadian rhythm and internal clock, but you want to rest and snooze for a few more minutes before you drag yourself to get up. This is especially if you wake up to an artificial alarm clock.
Your level of mood tiredness and body functions are separate aspects and both affect the energy you have for a morning routine.
Since we all possess traces of all the dosha traits, you could be imbalanced in a dosha that you or may not be dominant in, and that’s what I want to help you with today to invigorate a healthy, wake up morning routine.
If you’re not sure which imbalances you currently have and want restoring suggestions on your specific body imbalance symptoms, then I encourage you to take the body balance quiz.
The results are revealing to what your body is trying to tell you at this moment without written or voice communication. Your non-verbal response can be simple, healthy behavior tweaks to prevent irritating symptoms from getting worse and so you can enjoy foods and activities you like.
In the same way, having an inspiring morning routine for your body is going to be better than a forced one. If you’re a learner you like to challenge yourself and that will help you to get going.
Easing Into Your Morning
So, while you’re starting your day drinking room temperature water (or a warm ginger tea is good) and visiting the bathroom, this is a good time to get mentally prepared about yoga stretching.
You may need or enjoy a cup of coffee or cappuccino to wake-up your mind, and that’s great.
As part of your morning routine, find a pause moment to be mindful, and think of something to be grateful for today, or that just happened recently.
You can find this mindful moment when you’re heating water for tea, straightening up along your path, or putting the clean dishes back in the cabinet. In America, we don’t usually stop reflecting on our busy lives and ambition. Living overwhelmed isn’t healthy.
And if you have a Vata imbalance, you easily move on to something else without finishing your current activity. Staying focused at least at the start of your day, and having a routine to stick to is especially helpful so anxious feelings don’t sink in.
So after getting mindful, and visiting the kitchen, a natural transition is to move onto stretching parts of your body that need just a little awakening and movement, from the wear and tear of yesterday and the day before. You can call this yoga or just stretching, it doesn’t matter.
This is a good way to ease into the morning even if you only have 10 minutes before someone or something needs you.
My stretch routine is below (and if you’re a yoga beginner or think you’re not-good at yoga because of body issues, I’ll explain how not to be intimidated). Continue reading “Healthy Stretch Morning Routine Start When Feeling Tired”