Mindful Morning Method

This week, invite in a peaceful beginning to your day and see how much more calm and present you can become throughout the day. The fact is that when we start our day with putting our personal space and time at the top of our priority list, we fill our cup before our daily responsibilities begin to drain from it. Essentially we are giving ourselves the capacity to be able to give more love and attention to our family, our work and our creative projects.

I have adapted a version of Robin Sharma’s 20-20-20 method from his book, “The 5am Club” and it truly makes the biggest difference in my overall mental wellness. Essentially this mindful morning method is made of 3 activities in equal blocks of time that will begin your day feeling connected and inspired. This will allow you to go through your day in a way that is most aligned with what is in your heart.

Before you protest the idea of getting up earlier than you already do, you need to know that I am not and have never been a morning person. So if you too prefer the coziness of your covers over getting out of bed before the sun rises, just trust me when I say, the peace is worth it and not only can you apply this to your mornings, but after some time you won’t want to start your day any other way! Plus, now without the hinderance on your sleep quality from having applied the 3-2-1 night time routine introduced last week, your body and mind will be ready to rise earlier.

We will start with rising just 15 minutes earlier for the first week, with the option of adding another 15 minutes each week until we are waking an hour earlier, if you are able to. The first week’s 15 extra minutes will allow you a 5-5-5 morning. 5 minutes in movement, 5 minutes in meditation, and 5 minutes on a mindfulness task. These are simple things, and they should be things bring you joy, so you are excited to rise and begin your day! One more thing to make it ultimately peaceful…prolong looking at your phone or watching any tv until after you’ve completed your mindful morning method.

MOVEMENT

This is simple movement to get your blood flowing in the morning, not your daily exercise. Go for a walk, outside air first thing in the morning will do wonders for your mind and body. You could also do a short yoga flow, or hop on your bike. Set out your favorite exercise outfit the night before so your ready first thing. Start with just 5 min the first week, with the potential of adding 5 minutes each week until you get to 20min.

MEDITATION

Just a few minutes in the morning set aside for stillness will connect you to the essential being within and set you up to stay aligned with your heart throughout the day. Maybe this is prayer for you, intention setting, or listening to a guided meditation. It can also be fun to spend this time imagining your day unfolding in the best way. It doesn’t have to be long and it doesn’t have to be complicated, just begin.

MINDFULNESS

The last part of the mindful morning method is the either the planning of your day (if we know what our top priorities are for the day and we write them down, we are more likely to be ‘successful’). or taking time for your creative projects, journaling anything that may have come up in meditation or reading something inspirational! You can also switch between them depending on what you’re in the mood for that day! For me it’s typically self help book reading and journaling combo.