My simple morning ritual for grounding and calm.
For the last 2+ months, I’ve been implementing a very simple morning ritual that has had such a massive effect on my sense of grounding, stability peace and calm (don’t we all need a bit more of that in these times?!). I started sharing snippets of it over on my instagram account and I’ve had so many questions on it that I thought I would dedicate some blog space to sharing more about it as it’s such a simple “routine” but I’ve really felt such a positive benefit from doing it. (The effort to reward ratio is high!)
It’s also a routine for me, that has been so easy to establish (it’s not overly overwhelming!) that I have not missed a day since I started it. I do believe that consistency is key with these kinds of things – because at the end of the day it‘s about the habit of doing it, which comes down to discipline – (until the felt-benefit of doing it is what is keeping you going!)
4 steps to a simple morning ritual for peace and grounding.
- Consciousness Streaming – 3 pages.
I start every morning with 3 pages of consciousness streaming writing. Consciousness streaming is not a new concept by any means, but the idea of doing it as a routine first thing every morning was popularised by Julia Cameron – whose work I am big fan of (she writes a lot about the overlap between creativity and spirituality – which I’m a massive believer of!)
In consciousness streaming writing you do not censor yourself in any way, you simply let yourself write. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or if it makes sense. Because you are writing in this way, it should not take you too long. If you feel you have nothing to write then simply write “I have nothing to write, I have nothing to write…” over and over until either you do have something to write or until your 3 pages are up.
Doing this in the morning is when we are “clear” and the things we write about are the things that are deeper in the heart. If we do consciousness streaming at the end of the day – often we just end up writing commentary about the day that has happened. Doing it first thing in the morning allows you to tap into what is really going on for you in the moment. It is a great way to reconnect with your creativity/higher self/consciousness/intuition.
2. Gratitude – list of ten things.
Once I have finished my consciousness streaming, I write a list of ten things I am grateful for. When I first started doing this, it was a bit of a chore, but now it is truly something that I look forward to!
Ten things (as opposed to one or two) forces you to take a moment and actually think about it. It can become quite easy or rote to quickly ramble off 3 things to be grateful for: “my house, my bed, my friends”, but 10 things, you do really have to be active in the list creating, which I think is part of the work.
Often things repeat themselves in my lists and these for me are the things that are really important to me. Family, my husband, friends – but also surprisingly it is the very small and mundane things that I need to use to fill up the list of ten: my cup of coffee, having a Masterchef to watch, avocado on toast. Let the simple joys delight you. That is part of the point.
If you are unable to easily think of things that you are grateful for, then begin with the things that you do NOT have to deal: I’m grateful that I don’t have a leak in my roof, I’m grateful that my car didn’t run out of petrol yesterday, there are a LOT of these things we could add to our lists!
3. Reflective questions and self enquiry.
This is an optional, but often quite valuable step in my morning ritual. It is an opportunity to go deeper on anything that has come up in the consciousness streaming.
It is optional for either time-reasons (if I have to be off early to teach a class/client) or if I feel there is no real further inquiry that I feel necessary to dive into.
Without re-reading or going back over the pages that I have written, I generally have an idea of the kind of theme or concepts that have come up for me. If there is something that I feel is quite pressing that has come up, and if I have the time, I will usually ask myself a relevant question of self enquiry related to what has come up.
The quality of the answers you get through this process is largely dependent on the quality of the question you ask.
Through doing this for so long (and also long before this was my “routine”) I have become very good at asking very effective journaling prompts – which hit into the heart of it all. WHAT and HOW questions are usually a good start.
Once I’ve written out the question that resonates for me, I answer it as if I already know the answer. I let the intuition talk. If you feel you don’t quite have the hang of asking yourself pertinent questions or connecting to the intuition – the Move Breathe Create platform is jam packed with really insightful journal prompts (and an entire course on connecting to the intuition) to get you started on figuring out which questions work best for you.
4. Meditation.
This is another non-optional part of my day, and I can say for sure that a consistent meditation practice is incredibly grounding.
I generally don’t do anything fancy in meditation, I simply sit and watch my breath. Sometimes if there is a certain theme that has come up in my self enquiry or morning pages I sit with that emotion or the emotion I imagine I will have if those things were cleared or aligned. Sometimes I just sit with the feeling of gratitude.
(Gratitude list pro tip: if you’re struggling to find a gratitude list of 10 then just write, “This breath. This breath. This breath… ten times! And then sit in meditation and feel those breaths in and out.)
When I shared that I was on day 80+ of consecutive daily meditation, I got a lot of questions around what app I use. This is always a bit funny to me – because I can assure you, it’s not “the MAGIC app” that has magically got me to 80+ consecutive days, it’s the habit and discipline that I’ve cultivated in myself to do it. So just do it for yourself!
However, the app that I use is insight timer – but I hardly ever actually use any of the guided meditations (as you can see from the graph image above!) – I basically use it as a glorified timer and tracker. (Which is probably a very expensive way of using it!) I have used Headspace in the past which is also good. (I would say that Headspace is slightly more ‘quality-controlled’ and Insight Timer is more ‘open-source’ – as in anyone can load up a meditation. If you specifically are looking for guided meditations then Insight Timer has a WHOLE variety of voices to hear from – the downside for this is that sometimes you can wade for hours to find a meditation that you resonate with, or you find one you like the sound of and then switch it on and realise the voice/music/style really does not connect for you!) I know there are other great meditation apps out there – but I don’t have any experience of those.
I do quite like using some of the guided meditations for Yoga Nidra and for relaxation for going to bed. I’ve also done a short 10 day birth prep course on the Insight Timer app too. (Separately, I’m currently also part of a research study on managing labour pain – which has a separate app (“GentleBirth app”) with many guided meditations/hypnobirthing techniques which I have been working my way through too.)
As before, if you are looking for guided meditations – there are a whole host of meditations up on Move Breathe Create.
Those are my 4 simple steps to a really grounded and peaceful state of being. I have two more extra steps that I wanted to share once I’ve shared some of my other tools!
Similar to the questions on the app I use, I’ve also had questions about the journals/pens I use. And as before, it’s not about the pen or the journal that is magically going to bring you this habit. (It’s YOU that is going to do that!) BUT, I will say that having a journal and pen that you LOVE using does really help! If you wake up and have a scratchy horrible pen on a journal that you don’t really love then it’s not a very soul-nourishing experience!
I’m a “stationery” kinda gal, and I don’t mind spending a bit more on a journal as it brings me absolute JOY! The journal that I have used for this while is an A5 Leuchtturm journal. I went for a dotted journal for fun and I really love it! I love that this has a pocket at the back, and a double ribbon. I’ve also used moleskin journals in the past as well as journals that have been gifted to me and journals with pretty covers. Pick a journal that makes your heart sing so that you feel excited to reach for it and fill it every morning!
This habit has been so diligently cultivated that this is the quickest journal I’ve ever been through!
Pens – now pens are a hugely personal choice! And I’ve loved different pens at different times in my life! #aloveaffair (Unipin Fineliners were my first choice a little while ago!) Right now I’m really loving the Pilot Range of pens – and I have them in 0.5mm, 0.4mm and 0.25mm (which is super skinny!). The 0.4mm ones (linked above) are the ones I use mainly – they are very glidey and delicious. Again, I think choose a pen that makes it a joy to write/glide your way across the page! I think different pens affect our handwriting in different ways – so experiment!
FAQs & troubleshooting on the morning routine.
Most common thing (excuse) is: “I’m not a morning person”
Good news, neither am I!
So, 3 options for you:
* Change your narrative
* Change your bed time
* Decide that actually it’s just too hard for you to do this, and forfeit the profound benefits.
What if life gets in the way?
Obviously, there are times when life is pretty overwhelming (I would argue that it’s in these times when we need these grounding practices the most!), but say for instance you have a night shift, or an early start or a terrible night with children/babies not sleeping or you are unable to do this in the morning – is there another time in your day when you can fit in these moments for yourself?
When I think of my own experience of this, I can imagine that come the time of having a new born (holler 8 weeks to go!) my idea of a “morning routine” is going to be flipped on it’s head, as in, it’s probably unlikely that I am going to know day from night. BUT, having said that, I do feel that this practice now is enough ingrained in my system (like eating or drinking) and that I can truly FEEL the benefits of it, that it will be something that I just carve out time for. I will keep you posted on this!
I wanted to share 2 other things that I aim to include in my morning. Again – these are time dependent (if I have to head off early, I either eliminate or shift to later in the day!)
If I have a moment to spare in the morning then I may do some reading. I don’t read for long in the morning and if I do it’s non-fiction. I am currently reading “Blessed are the Weird” which I am just LOVING.
I like to try and do my movement (yoga/workout) in the morning as I have noticed that when I do, my day just ends up being way more productive than if I leave it until later in the day. I also find that if I workout in the morning – my food choices in the day are also more high-vibe! I went through a phase in pregnancy where it was impossible to not eat before moving/working out.
Sometimes still I might feel I need a snack or something small before moving my body. Often, I will get up make a cup of coffee for Warren and I (or sometimes he makes it for me! Decaf for me at the moment!) and then I do my journaling/meditation etc whilst having my coffee. Once that is finished usually I’m ready for movement!
So there you have it – a quick summary of how I start my days:
1. 3 Pages consciousness streaming
2. Gratitude list of 10 things
3. Self enquiry/reflective questions (optional)
4. Meditation
Optional/Time dependent:
5. Reading (Non-fiction)
6. Movement
I hope that is helpful and inspiring to you to get started with cultivating a morning that is sacred and beautiful and just for you.
If you have any other questions leave a comment below!