My Why,

To be really honest, this morning routine came from quite a difficult time. I was in a relationship where I felt stuck, not myself at all, I was going out and drinking a lot of alcohol, sleeping gin late, and each morning waking up felt really heavy and full of dread. I felt so far away from myself, like id forgotten who I was, and suddenly this yearning for a safe space to come to within myself sprouted. I read an incredible book by Hal Elrod called ‘The Miracle Morning’, and from there I started to practice meditation. I would set my alarm each day for earlier than I needed to be awake, and I set aside at least 5 minutes to sit in stillness. At first , I wasn’t quite sure if I was doing it right, but it felt calm, it felt nice to be there. I started to make a warm drink beforehand and sit with it whilst mindfully drinking each sip, light candles and incense, slowly creating the space for my meditation. Bye this point it felt like a ritual, one that I wanted to come to to feel a sense of connection with myself. I then started to add other elements like journalling, as I wanted to be able to share with someone how I felt and what was going on in my life. Then movement came, yoga, It felt like the perfect addition to what was already a really lovely moment for myself. I loved yoga, and it made me feel really connected to myself, so this fitted perfect for me. Affirmations came next, I started choosing an affirmation for that day or the week. Something to focus on that felt uplifting and encouraging, as I was still in a situation I didn’t feel fully relaxed in, but also didn’t know how life could be any different. Then visualisation, I started visualising where I wanted to be, sometimes who I wanted to be. My dreams and goals, and also how I wanted to feel in my day to day life. This felt like a huge shift, I was feeling in my bones, and seeing in my own mind movie almost, who I was and how I wanted to feel.

I slowly but surely started to connect to this internal power that I had never felt before. It came from within, not from what I was wearing, who what i was doing, or who I was with. I started to grow from within. And the people around me started to notice, commenting on my early mornings and my self assurance.

This became my new Mindful Morning routine. How could it not – I felt the internal shift as clear as anything, and there was no way I was going back to where I was before, This was the doorway to a new way of living for me. 

This Mindful Morning ritual has now become a  sacred service to myself, and the best thing, it can be adapted, switched round, things taken out and things put in, as many times as feels good. It’s not one size fits all, and over there last 8 years, I have changed and adapted it to fit what I need each day and how much time I have. 

I get so many people asking about my morning routine, and saying it looks so calm and peaceful, and the truth is, it is calm and peaceful, but only because I make it that way…and you can to. 🙂

This challenge is a way for me to share the Mindful Morning rituals that work really well for me. The ones that created that shift within, so that you can take from it what works for you, and then adapt it to make your own one that you cant wait to wake up to each day.