Why You Should Make Meditation Part of Your Morning Routine

Posted on November 29, 2017 · Leave a Comment

I’ve touched briefly on the concept of a morning routine when I talked about adding 30 minutes of reading to start off your day. Well, a morning routine consists of other activities to help focus your intent for the day ahead. It can be comprised of things that make sense for you, and everyone’s morning routine will be different. However, one thing you should definitely think about including is meditation. The benefits of implementing an everyday habit when you first wake up are quite vast, and meditating during that time can totally boost those advantages.  Let’s take a closer look at this concept to help you understand why you should make meditation part of your morning routine.

About Morning Routines

A morning routine is a habit of setting aside a regular amount of time each day for some sort of purposeful intention. It sets the tone for the rest of your day, and it can be comprised of various activities. The amount of time you spend on your morning routine is up to you. However, an hour is a significant amount that doesn’t seem to give people too much trouble to attain. You can fit a great deal of purposeful meditation and spiritual growth work into that time. Beyond meditation, you may want to consider adding some of these activities to your morning ritual:

  • A glass of water with lemon for hydration and energy
  • Stretching or short exercise routine to warm your body up
  • Reading to open your mind and motivate you
  • Journaling to flesh out the ideas from what you’ve read or to reflect on issues of interest
  • Daily planning to get set for your day and to limit any surprises
  • Goal setting to place focus on your intentions for the day ahead and to provide you a map

These are just some examples. Your morning routine should be meaningful and useful to you. Feel free to get creative with it. You’ll probably need to experiment a bit to figure out the best combination. But don’t worry; it will come with time.

Why Morning Meditation?

Meditation is an excellent form of self-care. You’re purposefully setting aside time to focus your thoughts and to spend a quiet moment to work toward achieving your highest self. Meditating helps you to create the calm and quiet mindset you need to start the day off right. It also helps you to develop the focus that can be carried onward as you encounter various problems or issues, making problem solving much easier. In fact, your overall state of mind will be enhanced through meditation. You’ll feel you’re more motivated to accomplish your goals, you have more persistence to push through obstacles and you’re more patience when encountering minor difficulties. All of these are good things.

How to Make It a Habit

Creating a morning routine of meditation and mindfulness might take some work. Like most new activities, it will take practice to become a habit. However, there are some things you can do to help make this a habit that sticks. One way to do this is to know your why. Write down the reasons why you’d like to make this routine a daily habit. Stick the list somewhere visible as a reminder and to motivate you. You may also want to recruit a buddy to share the experience with you. Having an accountability partner is useful because you’ll have a support system and someone to whom you must answer if you find yourself slacking. Your morning routine buddy can be a spouse or roommate within your home or a friend who doesn’t live with you. Just be sure to check in with that person at least every few days and as needed for encouragement. Don’t give up. Try to at least commit to your morning routine for a month. As you may know, repetition is the key to forming lasting habits.

Meditation is a crucial part of a strong morning routine. Hopefully, you now get a better picture of how the two go hand in hand, along with the powerful benefits they can offer. Give it a try for a month and see just how your life transforms.

Filed Under: 30 Day Challenges, Meditation and Spirituality Tagged With: , ,

Develop Your Spiritual Side with 30 Minutes of Morning Reading

Posted on November 27, 2017 · Leave a Comment

As you’ve learned, the point of meditation is to focus your mind and spirituality is a pursuit toward achieving a higher purpose for your life. One way to further increase these overarching goals is to create a morning routine. This is a time when you first wake up, before you start your day, in which you reflect upon your goals and take time to consider the things that are most important to you. This practice allows you to fully get in touch with yourself and to establish a positive mindset for the day ahead. An important part of this ritual is morning reading. As I’ve noted in this series, reading and research are essential components to a successful spiritual pursuit. Read on to discover how to develop your spiritual side with 30 minutes of morning reading, along with some insight on how to structure that time.

How to Find the Time

Most of us lead pretty busy lives. It can be hard to carve out even a few moments for ourselves during the day, let alone a half hour to read and some additional time for spiritual reflection of other types. And if you’re already not a morning person? Well, you might think this goal is an impossible task. However, once you begin to experience a morning routine and its benefits, you’ll likely start to do all you can to make the time for it. Until then, let me give you a few suggestions to try to help you make the transition as easy as possible. First, you’ll need to wake up earlier. This is essential for nearly anyone wishing to establish a morning reading habit. It’s not likely you can find an extra hour in your current wake-up routine, though you could try to adjust your regular habits to try to make it happen. To help you wake up at an earlier hour, you may want to push some of your usual early activities another time. For example, you could start taking your shower in the evening or wait until your lunch break to catch up on your emails. A little creativity and tweaking should give you plenty of time for this new practice.

What to Read

Next, you may wonder what types of material you should read. Honestly? Anything, really. The simple act of starting your day with words is a way to renew your spirit and to spark your enthusiasm for the hours ahead of you. Some choices may work better than others, depending on your specific desired outcome of this ritual. If you want to relax your state of mind and recharge your creativity, getting lost in a fictional story might do the trick. Many folks find non-fiction to be more suited to their spiritual pursuits. Reading about topics such as productivity hacks, a particular hobby or interest, a new skill you’d like to learn or a certain philosophical school of thought might start your day off on an introspective track. This can prompt you to look for additional self-growth opportunities throughout the next several hours.

Benefits of Morning Reading

The benefits of morning reading are vast. First of all, it gives you a break and is a form of self-care. It’s not often we treat ourselves to downtime. Even the act of scheduling a leisure activity itself can be stressful. Building this time into your morning will soon become second nature, and it has powerful implications for your well-being. Plus, reading can be incredibly motivational and inspiring. When you come across ideas that excite you in a particular book, you’re likely to take that sense of enthusiasm with you throughout your day. Finally, reading is a form of meditation. It focuses your mind, and you’re no longer letting your thoughts wander to the worries in your world. Thus, the benefits are quite similar to spending a half hour meditating.

Do you have an idea now of just what carving out 30 minutes in your morning to read can do for you? It’s a part of a greater spiritual routine that offers many rewards.

Filed Under: 30 Day Challenges, Meditation and Spirituality Tagged With: , , ,