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.