Healthy Start to Every Morning…

Whether you consider yourself a morning person or not, the moments of a fresh untouched day, bring a moment of sacredness. The experience of precious hours as the sun begins to rise and newness of all life begins once again, connects us to the Divine. Sleep is a symbol of death and entering another realm. After this realm of healing is passed through, you are given another chance, a sort of new birth or resurrection. There is always hope in the new day even if you feel burdened, because we create our reality.

Because God has given you a new day, with opportunities, you should hold it sacred. For many people it takes effort to make the routine of morning wake up and beginning a peaceful and intentional time. As you work towards this goal you are creating a whole life experience because your decisions at the dawn of the new day mark the path for the continuation of the day, ultimately making up your entire life.

Some people naturally wake up early, jump out of bed and feel immense joy in starting a new earth spinning cycle. Others often find it difficult and sometimes drudgery to make the transition. Now the reasons for this whether it be genetics, quality of sleep, health etc. will not be addressed here because we can spend many hours reading about each of these topics and healing them individually. So, for today’s purpose, we will simply look at how to improve the starting moments of your day so that other pieces of your health and life will fall easier into place. Whether you woke up feeling amazing and rested or completely anxious and exhausted your next actions will set the tone for your future.

Right after coming out of your state of unconsciousness, even if your eyes haven’t fully opened yet, begin with breath!! Your breath is what gives you life so start there. Begin to take deep full breaths through your nose completely filling your lungs. Sometimes I will do a Wim Hoff breathing exercise but more often I focus on listening to my body and how it needs breath to function properly at this moment. You may take 30 seconds of deep breathing or maybe even 10 or more minutes. Listen to your body and trust in its ability as you fill it with the life force of air.

The next thing I usually do it drink water!! I always fill my water bottle with ice water and keep it by my bed, so it is ready for when I wake up. Some of us will mouth breath at times during the night, leaving our bodies depleted of water. Either way we have gone a long time without the essential water so hydrating alone will bring a mental and physical clarity you cannot get with anything else. You may also feel inclined to make a cup of herbal tea or some lemon water as you proceed with your morning routine. Just remember to keep your drink healthy and pure so that your body can receive what it is craving.

Once you have provided yourself with the life-giving elements of air and water you can move into mindfulness. Take a couple minutes to sturdy the mind. I often begin with either plain silence and feelings of peace, Ho’oponopono phrases of love and repentance, poetry reading and studying verses of scripture. Whatever you use to bring light and energy to your mind will be a blessing to your intention for the rest of the day.

Next it is so important to physically prepare yourself. You may want to do some stretches or yoga even before you get out of bed. Maybe you want to do a few sun salutations by your bedside, or you may want to do a full-on yoga or work out session to begin your day. Each day may vary but I try and do something to give my muscles a chance to stretch out and release after being in one position for so long. Sleep is also a time of physical and emotional healing which can leave our bodies sometimes still storing the stresses that were released. It is important to allow movement for these to discharge from your body.

These four simple techniques can be life changing but just as it is very important to begin with these simple life elements it is equally important to avoid unhealthy morning habits. Often people don’t give themselves these basic life-giving forces and resort to other methods to resolve that can be negative to the body. For example, many will wake up and go straight for coffee instead of simply hydrating with the water that your body is craving. Not only does coffee further dehydrate you from your bodies need but it has an addictive nature which can eventually leave you in a state of chronic dehydration and exhaustion. Plenty of individuals also forget to breath, only taking the minimum shallow breaths to keep life going leaving them drained and full of exhaustion. They often resort to unhealthy food options such as refined sugar to begin the day. If you make the choice to give your body the simple air and water, it craves each morning you will have much higher energy and mental clarity levels and be able to choose a healing lemon tea and whole grain bread and eggs to begin your day instead of a cup of coffee and donut. Imagine the difference in your life as this is implemented day after day. I desire each of you to be filled with continual whole life mornings to bless your entire life.