Morning rituals are important. As humans, we often thrive on routine and ritual. Some of us may enjoy spontaneity in certain contexts but overall there is a comfort in our own patterns and habits. We can see the natural inclination towards routine and ritual in how we form habits. 

Take a moment and think about what you currently do when you first wake up.  Do you wake up with an alarm? How many times do you hit the snooze button? What is your next step? Write down what you did this morning, step by step from waking up, to brushing your teeth, to coffee/tea, breakfast or no breakfast etc.

Now take a moment to reflect, is this a typical morning for you? Think back over the last month, did you follow these steps almost exactly each morning? Did you have a day where your usual start was interrupted or changed by an outside factor? How did that affect your mood?

How do you feel in the mornings? Do you feel rushed? Sluggish? Clear headed or jumbled thoughts? Excited for the day? 

There is no right or wrong answer, but it is important to check in with ourselves to understand if our morning habits and unconscious routines are truly serving us in our day. In my personal practice, I take time at the end of the month to review my morning ritual and check in with it to ensure that it is still serving me and making adjustments in the area’s that feel like they just are not quite as fulfilling or supportive for setting me up for the day. 

One thing that the COVID19 pandemic taught me was just how much my daily routine was ingrained in both my mind and my body. At the start of the pandemic, I was laid-off from my full time job and that created a very abrupt change to my daily routine. It affected my mental health and my physical health, I was so used to the daily routine of knowing what my day would look like and suddenly my calendar was empty- I just didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt guilty, lazy and ungrounded because it was all mapped out one minute and gone the next. It was my little daily rituals that helped anchor me back into the world and it was this experience that highlighted to me the importance of taking time to routinely check with yourself, your routines and make adjustments as you go to help maintain mindfulness in daily life as well as work the “muscles” of flexibility for when routines are changed or shifted.

Benefits of a Morning Routine or Ritual: 

1.    Prepares your mindset for the day. If you wake up feeling overwhelmed it can be difficult to get on track and complete that to-do list. Increased Productivity. A morning ritual can help clear the cobwebs and set up your priorities for the day. 

2.    Self-Care. A morning ritual is an easy way to add a small dose of self-care into your daily life. Why is self-care important?  It supports your self-empowerment and ability to maintain positive boundaries in your life.

3.    Develop Healthy Habits. When you start your day mindfully it becomes a foundation that helps you bring that into the rest of your day and other aspects of your life. 

4.    Increased Energy. When we dedicate to a morning ritual it helps shake out the cobwebs of sleep and gets everything moving. Having a ritual that you look forward to helps to motivate you to get started so you don't feel sluggish through the day

Need a little morning inspiration? 

Join a morning Yoga class! Atlas Studio has early morning practice options that will help get your motivated and clear your mind for the day. Check out the class schedule and options available - Morning Schedule at Atlas Studio

For mornings when you are short on time, check out my Morning Ritual Blueprint:

Breathwork: Connect and Centre with your Breath ~ 5 mins

Meditation/Self Reiki: Get clear and grounded with your favourite style of meditation or self healing energy practices ~ 10 mins

Sacred Movement: Move and stretch your body to work out the "fuzz" from the night before. ~5-10 mins

Self Care: Care for your body with self-massage, acupressure or tapping! ~5 mins

Journal/Intention Setting: Centre your mind and gain clarity to what is important for the day ~5-10 mins

 Danielle Hughes, 200hr Yoga Teacher, Holistic Health Practitioner.