Morning Ritual

As a sufferer of bipolar disorder I know how hard it is to drag yourself out of bed and face the day. I was one of those who would snooze the alarm 15 times, then lay there huffing and puffing before slowly dragging myself out of bed all hunched over and feeling heavy and depressed. This would set the tone for the rest of my day. Spilling the milk when I make my tea, running late for work and generally feeling like life is a bit mundane and rubbish and this is how it will be, day in and day out.

I had a reality check, I realised that I was causing this crappy feeling every morning and I decided to change the way I woke up. I set my alarm earlier and as soon as it went off I stretched my arms above my head, took a deep full breath and jumped up out of bed. This small change makes a HUGE difference. Trust me, Please try this. The way you get out of bed really affects the way you feel in the morning.

After getting up I would take myself to the living room and meditate for 15 minutes. For me meditation works best in the morning, I can connect with my inner consciousness more easily and it sets a positive and loving tone for the rest of the day.

When I open my eyes I sit there a moment longer taking deep full breaths and think of everything I am grateful for in my life. It doesn't have to be big things. I make the effort to think of 3 things I am grateful for every morning.  For example: The energy to practice yoga, the sun beaming through my window or the sleep I have just enjoyed in my safe warm bed. Practicing gratitude will help you to notice all the wonderful things you actually have going on in your life, it will also attract more things for you to be grateful about.

If I have time before work, after my meditation, I will do some yoga. Sometimes just 15 minutes, other times I can do an hour. Yoga will fill you with energy, wake up your whole body and get breath into stagnant areas of you body where the energy isn't flowing. I will dedicate a post to yoga in the future but I highly recommend it. I love fitness and it is a massive benefit to my mental health. Of all the fitness I do, yoga has made the biggest changes in my body, fitness and mind.
If there is no time to exercise, just do a few simple stretches to wake up the body and set your alarm 15 minutes earlier for the next day.

Finish off with a healthy breakfast and a detoxing herbal tea or simply hot water with fresh lemon and ginger and congratulate yourself for the amazing thing you have just done for your body and mind. Starting your days like this will have  a big positive impact on the rest of you day.

So start now. Think of how you can create a simple and doable morning routine to make a positive difference to the rest of your day, Even if you just make one positive change it will make all the difference.

Guided Meditation

In addition to my post yesterday on meditation, I would like to share with you some nice guided meditations that you can try out. Guided meditation isn't the way to get complete stillness in your mind as your thoughts are following the voice and journey you are being guided on, but for a novice they are a lovely way to get started and create some peace and calmness in your mind.

Follow the simple steps on the meditation page, listen to the voice and let your mind get lost in the journey. Here are the links to a couple I really like.

Enjoy the journey.

Guided Meditation for healing

Guided Meditation for clearing negativity

Meditate

I'm choosing to kick off my blog with a post on meditation as this is where the journey for a more mindful way of living started for me.

The benefits of meditation are vast, they include eliminating stress, lowering blood pressure, decrease  in tension related pain, gain clarity and peace of mind, increase in happiness, sharpens the mind, intuition develops, improves the immune system, increases energy and more.

For someone who doesn't know anything about meditation other than people in orange robes crossing their legs and chanting for hours, the idea can seem a little strange. It did for me. I was first introduced to it in my early twenties. My mum was going through treatment for breast cancer and a friend of hers had given her a chakra balancing guided meditation to listen to. I walked in on her laying on the bed covered in rose quartz crystals listening to a soothing voice telling her to imagine she was walking through a beautiful green forest. I thought great, she's lost it. But I gave it a go. At the time I was struggling with chronic depression and wasn't feeling very hopeful.
I was pleasantly surprised, it took me away for 30 minutes and I came out of it with a sense of calm.

I began trying out different guided meditations, buying books and talking to others that practiced meditation. I took myself away on a Buddhist retreat where I meditated with monks for hours every day. It was there that my practice changed and I learned the true meaning of meditation. To find stillness in the mind.
Meditation rests the mind and helps you attain a state of consciousness that is very different from the normal waking state. In this state you will experience the centre of consciousness within.

Meditation is not a religious practice, anyone can do it. It is a truly loving and kind gift that you should allow yourself to enjoy daily. It has made huge changes to my state of mind and can do the same for you.

Take a look at my page on meditation where I give you an easy breakdown of how to meditate. There are 1,440 minutes in a day, take just 10 of them to dedicate to yourself.