What does the first hour of your day look like? A slow and gentle yoga session? A morning run? Rushing around making breakfasts and organising the kids?
How we spend the morning can have a profound effect on how we feel for the whole day. It can put us in a frazzled and frantic state of mind, or an empowered and calm one. So it pays off to create your own optimal morning ritual: your ‘power hour’ plan!
Whilst you may not have a whole hour to yourself (let’s be realistic – it could be more like 10 minutes), the overall principle of adopting a ‘power hour’ morning comes down to including three things in your routine:
- something that gives you energy
- something that settles your mind
- and something that sets the tone for how you want to feel for the rest of the day.
Before we dive into your power hour morning plan, we’ll explore the slightly geeky side of circadian rhythms and ATP production, as well as a more traditional Ayurvedic approach. Ready to power-up your mornings? Read on!
Dinacharya
Yoga’s sister science of Ayurveda has a rich and ancient history and a lot of useful advice we can use in modern life. One of the key aspects of an Ayurvedic lifestyle is rhythm. Ayurveda suggests cultivating a daily routine, known as a dinacharya. A dinacharya aligns with the energetic shifts throughout the day. It leans into the lightness of Vata in the early mornings, the steadiness of Kapha throughout the later morning hours, and the focus and fire of Pitta in the middle of the day.
These changes of energy throughout the day support different actions ; there’s an optimal time to wake, eat, work, play and sleep, and it’s all based upon circadian rhythms.
hen firmly decide to set just one alarm, giving yourself enough sleep, and a specific time to wake up. If you can wake up at the same time each morning too, this will further support a healthy sleep-wake cycle.
Your morning Power Hour plan: What to do
Remember that whether you have an hour or a few minutes, your morning is about empowering you, so adapt it to suit what truly powers you up. The following plan can be tweaked to suit your lifestyle, and the amount of time you have. Use a guided meditation if it helps you commit to the practice.
- Wake up at sunrise or just before, and take three slow, deep breaths. Check in with how you’re feeling in your mind and body.
- After a trip to the bathroom (where you could practice Ayurvedic tongue-scraping and oil pulling) it’s time to step outside. When you’re outside, power-up your energy levels with a breathwork practice like Kappalabhati pranayama or try the Wim Hof Method.
- To wake up your digestive system, sip warm water with lemon. Choose lime juice instead if you feel like you’re holding a lot of internal heat.
- Spend a few minutes journaling, either with a gratitude list, stream of consciousness, or with prompts. Use these questions to journal with if they resonate with you: ‘What feeling do I intend to bring into today?’, ‘How do I feel right now? What can I do today to support my mental health?’, ‘What can I do today to support my physical health?’, ‘Who can I help today?’, ‘What can I do to make the world a better place today?’.
- Next, it’s time to move! Choose a yoga class – or if running, swimming or walking is more your thing, go for it.
So there you have it, your morning power hour! Remember that your morning is for you, so switch and swap what resonates with you, and if you have a very short amount of time. The good news is that even picking one thing off the list will help set you up for a great day ahead.
Original Post ekhartyoga.com
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