GOOD MORNING!

 Hello Loves…. How did it go last week?! Were you able to get curious about your worth?

  Do you know what I did today? I got up and moved through my morning ritual, and then paused and smiled and gave myself a little “Mel Robbin’s hi-five”!

 “What is this magical morning ritual?” I am so glad you asked!

 A silent cup of coffee

Gratitude

Read

Move

Make my bed!

 “How long does that take?!”

On the mornings I have more time it takes more time, on the mornings I have less time it takes less time. The key is I have 5 things that are NON-NEGOTIABLE to start my day. Much like brushing my teeth….and if you know me in real life,  you know that I NEVER skip brushing my teeth… I may not brush/floss/rinse for an extended period, but I never skip it entirely. Once I identified the components (body. mind, & spirit), I needed to connect with to start my day and then gave myself the grace to be flexible with the length of time, but consistent with the components it has helped to shift how I enter each day and move through it. So much of what we do is for others. This is a way to put your own oxygen mask on FIRST and even if it means you wake up 15 minutes before your family or have to tap your partner to make this time, I promise you, YOU ARE WORTH IT!  

 “What are your 5 things and why?!”

1 – A silent cup of coffee…. I am not by nature “a morning person” and when I can have a cup of coffee in silence and be present it allows me to ease into being and start my day from a place of love and peace and not chaos that is what happens on my insides when people talk to me in the morning. 

2 – Gratitude practice – Sometimes it is 3-5 things from the day before that I am grateful for written down. Sometimes it is a journal prompt. Sometimes it is just me breathing and reflecting on a challenge ahead and how I can approach it from a place of gratitude. A gratitude practice really shifts your perspective in a real and tangible way. If you know in the morning you are going to have to write down three things you are grateful for in your day, you start to look for them. You orient yourself to find them and we know where our mind goes, our energy flows so you also start to attract more of the things you are grateful for! 

3 – Read – This can be 5 minutes or 5 pages or 5 chapters…. I wanted to read more, but kept saying “I don’t have time”, and truth was, I wasn’t making the time and by the end of the day I was trying to cram it in and not enjoying it! So for you it may not be reading, it may be writing or dancing or painting or sewing or drawing or knitting or tarot or masturbating…it can be anything that you are wanting to have that is just for you, that you want to make part of your daily life that you need to create some space for. 

4 – Move – So this gets interesting. I set a minimum of 15 minutes and move my body…It can be 15 minutes of yoga, it can be a full blown hot and sweaty workout, it can be a few rounds of Sun Salutations, or a walk with Winston, or a quick ride on my bike or a full Curious Movement session! With whatever amount of time I have, I move my body in an intentional and CURIOUS way!

5- Make my bed – The final step in my routine is to make my bed. There have been all kinds of things said about this as a practice and here is my take…this is a natural conclusion to my morning and sending me forward into my day. It is a task completed that does nothing except make my space nicer. It is a little gift to myself and a reminder that I can treat myself kindly and AM WORTH the effort of something just because it brings me joy. When I am done, I take ONE moment and look at my bed and appreciate the effort…. I get it, this is not particularly difficult, but it was time and effort that was for nothing else than to bring me a little joy, a sense of accomplishment and that gives me a great place to step off from and into my day.

 “Um…. seems kind of like a standard start to the day, not much magical about it.”

 Yes… you may do all these components in some form already. MAGIC is when you do these with intention. When you do these with an attitude of creating a beautiful day ahead. When you shift from mindless going through tasks and checklist and instead infuse your actions with value and love and light and the woo-woo stuff that makes “making your bed” into a sacred act of beauty….and when we do that we are connected to our JOY and I can’t think of a better way to start any day than being connected to my joy. 

I am curious…do you have a morning routine and what is it? Has your morning routine turned into a space for you to care about everyone else and not you? Where are you creating the magic and fun and joy in your day? Have a great week and let me know if you found something here today to help you create your own morning ritual? XO Lulu