My Morning Practice

I’ve practiced yoga for about 15 years.  Sometimes my personal practice has been more consistent than others.  There are times when my practice is simply savasana.  Other times my personal practice is way more active.  Either way, each time that I step on my mat my body is in a different place.  I’ve slept or eaten differently.  I’ve been stressed more or less. I’ve been sick or healthy. The things that make up my daily life change my practice.  No matter what is going on in my life though, the daily habit of practicing yoga has sustained me.

In the past, I’ve fit my yoga practice into my day whenever I can. My schedule was more complicated and hard to control when my kids were at home & I had to take them back and forth to school and other activities. Now, that I’m an empty nester, I have a bit more say in my schedule. It’s been one of the benefits that I’ve really enjoyed.

In the last year, my practice has evolved to a consistent  morning practice.  I’m not a morning person and getting my kids out the door for school always took precedence over my practice. Now, that I don’t have to do that, I can structure my mornings in a way that works better for me. This means I get to start my day with a morning yoga practice.

Just as it’s always been, my practice still shifts based on how I’m feeling. In addition, some days I have more time than other days to spend on my morning practice. So, some mornings my practice is active and others very slow. Some days I practice asana for an hour and other days only 10 minutes.  No matter how my practice looks, I’m moving my body, checking in with it and giving myself the start to my day that I need.

Asana (yoga poses) is not the only thing I do as a part of my yoga practice.  It’s important and I value the movement that comes with asana, but just practicing asana is not a complete practice for me.  My morning practice always starts with at least 10 minutes of some sort of asana, but then I take the time to meditate and journal.

I’m a firm believer in the idea that my body has wisdom that it’s just waiting to share with me. So, each morning when I step on my mat, I ask my body what it has to tell me today. Sometimes, the wisdom is profound and other times it’s just a reminder of something that I already knew but was forgetting.

This has become one of the favorite parts of my morning practice. Giving my body the chance to share this wisdom can set the tone for my day. Often, the wisdom is just what I needed to hear to deal with what I’m facing.

After asana comes time for meditation.  In the mornings I usually do a form of Japa Meditation where I repeat a mantra over & over.  My mantra changes based on what is happening in my life.  Often, I’ll stay with one mantra for months.  Sometimes, I stay with a mantra for only a week.  Again, this depends on what is happening in my life.

After I meditate, I always write down whatever my body shared in my journal. It’s part of my daily journaling and when I look back on what I’ve written, then I can see how I’ve changed and grown in the past few months. It’s fun to do that.

When I journal, I also write down what I’m grateful for each morning. This gratitude practice helps me start the day in a more positive manner.

This whole process of moving my body, listening to my inner wisdom, meditating and journaling has become my favorite way to start my day. I rarely miss a day and when I do, I go back to the practice as soon as I can.

What does your morning routine look like? Does it support you throughout the day? Or do you need to tweak it to make it work better for you? I encourage you to find a way to start your day in a way that feeds you the rest of the day. Try moving your body & then asking it for some wisdom. You might just be surprised what your body has to say.

If you need help in learning to listen to the messages that your body is sending to you, then schedule a private session with me.  Together, we’ll begin to unlock all of the inner wisdom that can help you to heal from the inside out.