Ok, so maybe you now have become accustomed to waking at the same time every day. Today we will go over what you can do to ground yourself for all of the day’s activities.

I like to start my day with a prayer of gratitude before I get out of bed. Something as simple as: Thank you for a restful night’s sleep and please continue to guide and be with me so that I may shine love and light out into the world. Find whatever works for you or if this does not feel authentic to you, no worries, you can skip this.

Brushing teeth and scraping the tongue are every important to rid the body of all the gunk that accumulated while we were sleeping. This should be done before consuming anything, even a glass of water. Otherwise, according to Ayurveda, you are reintroducing the toxins that your body has worked hard all night to move so that they could be eliminated through the mouth.

Next gently wash your face and by now, you should be ready to have a bowel movement. If not, don’t worry. Over time, you will be able to regulate this through diet.

Now it is time for some gentle stretching ~ perhaps some sun salutations ~ nothing too strenuous, just enough to feel your muscles feel elongated and limber, maybe 10-15 minutes. (If you work sitting all day long, it would be beneficial to take a break during the day and stretch some more. Your back and hip flexors will thank you!)

Once you have stretched and still before you have eaten anything, it is now time for some grounding through meditation and pranayama. Pranayama is breathing exercises that can energize or calm the body. One of the first exercises that I give my clients is alternate nostril breathing, known as Anuloma Viloma Pranayama and here is how you do it:

1. Find a comfortable seat either sitting straight in a chair or cross-legged on the floor with an erect spine.
2. Completely exhale all the air from your lungs
3. Raise your right hand to your face. Your thumb should be by your right nostril and your ring and pinky fingers should be by your left nostril. Your index and middle fingers can either touch your third eye or curl into the palm of your hand.
4. Close your right nostril with your thumb of your right hand. Take a deep inhalation through your left nostril, deep into your lungs
5. Close your left nostril with your ring and pinky fingers of your right hand. Exhale completely through your right nostril
6. Inhale deeply through your right nostril. Close your right nostril with your thumb, release your ring and pinky from your left nostril and exhale completely
7. Repeat steps 4-6 several times and just focus on your breath

This pranayama recharges and rebalances the body by calming the mind and bringing fresh air to the cells of the body. Doing this is an act of meditation in itself as you are not focusing on anything besides the inhalation and exhalation of your breath.  This can also be repeated during the day if you need calming and uplifting energy to get you through your day.

Give yourself at least 10 minutes each day of being able to sit in absolute silence and just feel your breath without laundry listing all the things that you need to accomplish during the day.

Food should only be taken once we have bathed in the morning. According to Ayurveda, eating and then showering will cause the body to create toxins. You can think of it as the warning we use to receive from our grandmothers not to go swimming for at least an hour after we have eaten! The body needs its full energy to work on digesting our food.

Instead of starting the day with coffee, tea, or other caffeinated beverage, try starting your morning with plain hot water with some fresh ginger slices steeped in it or a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime. It will help rehydrate your tissues as well as help move the last of the toxins from your body.

Hey, are you now telling me that I need to give up coffee?? 

Never! I enjoy that dark steaming delicious elixir of life. I joyfully relish a cup later in the morning after I have had breakfast.  It is no longer the first thing that I consume by the bucketful as I used to do when I was busily rushing to get myself ready and out the door for my corporate job. (That caffeine and sugar habit is a whole other story of how I gave myself adrenal fatigue!)