Amanda’s Morning Routine

My morning routine has evolved over the years, it has been about creating a habit that makes me feel good and supports me and is not rigid but is consistent. I call them my keep sane rituals. This is part of making time for myself and showing myself the care that I need to enjoy my busy life as a mother and business owner. A morning and an evening routine are a great way to bookend my day, and the morning routine allows me to prioritize all the things necessary to take care of myself. Sometimes the whole routine will only take 20 mins if I am rushed, or it can be more like 90 minutes on slower days.

Gratitude Upon Waking

If I have not had a late night, I usually wake around 630 am without an alarm. If I do set an alarm, I don’t use the snooze feature as it just makes it harder to get out of bed. I shift my thoughts towards the things that I am grateful for, a gratitude practice as soon as I open my eyes allows me to begin with a feeling of gratitude for a new day. I think of 5 things that I am grateful for. My mantra to finish my gratitude practice is ‘I love my life and my life loves me’. There are so many well researched physical and psychological benefits of a gratitude practice.

I then use the Mel Robbins 5 Second Rule. I begin a backward countdown in my head or out loud, “5-4-3-2-1”. This countdown isn’t just numbers; it’s a switch that moves your brain from overthinking to acting. When I get to 1, I get out of bed, this is especially useful on those cold mornings when the duvet calls. Habit research classifies this as starting a ritual of change.

Tooth brushing, tongue scraping and gargling are part of an Ayurvedic morning routine that I incorporate into my morning. Then I step outside my front door to gaze at the sun for a few minutes, sunlight first thing in the morning has many benefits that include increasing production of melatonin. The podcast by Huberman delves deeply into these benefits.

I have a dedicated space in my home for my practice, which I sometimes have to defend from bikes and shoes and other paraphernalia that seek empty spaces! I unroll my yoga mat, trifold my meditation blanket to use as a seat and grab my blocks and yoga straps.  I journal for 5 to 10 minutes; this is free writing based on the book The Artist’s way and I have found it so useful for processing emotions and helping me make decisions. Then I begin my breath practice.

Breath Practice

It took a while to incorporate a breath practice into my morning routine, even though I had been trained in pranayama during my yoga teacher training. The impetus was learning about the huge benefits of the Wim Hoff method and reading the book Breathe by James Nestor. There are many types of breath practices, and they have a different effect on the body and mind. I am usually looking to energize myself in the mornings so my usual breathwork routine involves yogic pranayama techniques; Breath of Fire, Bellows Breath and Nadi Shodhana. I may incorporate more calming breaths during a full moon. I use Wim Hoff breathing before cold plunging or once a week to spice things up J

Beginning a Practice of Breath of Fire or Kapalabhati Pranayama

Sit in a comfortable position, cross legged with hips higher than knees. Rest your hands on your knees, take a deep mindful breath into the belly. Actively exhale through your nose by quickly drawing your navel in towards your spine. The inhalation is passive. Repeat this rhythmic cycle for 1-3 minutes. Then inhale and hold for 10 seconds building up to 1 minute. Relax. Sit quietly. Watch the natural flow of the breath and the constant stream of internal and external sensations. Repeat this combination 2- 3 times. It is a detoxifying, cleansing and energizing breath that strengthens your nervous system.  Please see breath of fire

Beginning a Practice of Bellows or Bhastrika

Bhastrika, or “bellows breath,” nicknamed ‘yogic coffee’ increases prana in the body. Still sitting in easy pose, take a deep breath through the nose. Rapidly inhale and exhale through the nose completely and forcibly. Use the diaphragm to pump the movement – one inhale and exhale equals one round of breath. Start with ten rounds of breath. After ten rounds of breath, follow the final exhale by a deep inhalation. Hold that deep breath in as long as you can, comfortably. Bellows breath increase alertness, relieves stress, and elevates oxygen levels in your body.

Beginning a Practice of Nadi Shodhana

Nadi Shodhana, also known as alternate nostril breathing or subtle energy clearing breathing technique helps calm the mind, reduces anxiety, and brings a feeling of relaxation to the entire body. Place the tip of the index finger and middle finger of the right hand on your forehead in between the eyebrows. Your ring finger and little finger will close the left nostril, and alternating the thumb will close the right nostril. Inhale slowly through the left nostril, then close the left nostril with your ring finger and breathe out completely through the right nostril. Breathe in through the right nostril and then close with the thumb, breathe out through the left nostril. Perform five to nine rounds of this alternating breath between the nostrils. Inhale for 4 counts and exhale for 6, you can also include breath holds on the exhale and inhale. These breath techniques help to prepare my mind and body for meditation and take anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. I usually also listen to music while doing pranayama.

Meditation Practice

I remain seated in easy pose on my folded blanket for my meditation practice. I either use a timer or guided meditations on the Insight Timer App. The times vary between 5 and 20 minutes. I also sometimes use Dispenza's Blessings of The Energy Centers” or Pineal Gland: Tuning Into Higher Dimensions Of Time & Space.

Yoga Practice

My yoga practice varies considerably according to my energy levels. I will either follow my own vinyasa, hatha, power yoga routine and this is often the case when I am wanting a heavy inversion focused practice that includes headstand and shoulderstand which are my favourite poses. Otherwise, I will follow hatha or vinyasa classes on Yogaglo, or Yoga International. There are so many wonderful teachers offering online classes now. Once a week I do a Kundalini yoga practice with Kimilla TV . I sometimes borrow practices from Qi Gong or do the Five Tibetan Longevity Rites to add to my yoga practice. During full moons and new moons, I will do a yin or restorative practice. My yoga practice varies between 15 to 60 minutes.

Ending Practice

After yoga I drink a glass water with lemon juice. I have experimented with intermittent fasting, but I have not found that it suits me despite its myriad of benefits, so I only do it from time to time. If I am fasting, I won’t eat until lunch time. Otherwise, my breakfast is a green smoothie, or porridge.

This is my morning routine for 6 days of the week. On Sundays I lie in and luxuriate in resting and reading in bed. I am not rigid with this routine, sometimes I go for a walk or a surf instead of doing yoga and during holidays I don’t keep the routine up. However, I have found that consistency is key to any routine or habit. So, I do this routine even when I am rushing, and this might mean that I only meditate and do a headstand, but it is still done and I always feel better for it.  Often gaining a new perspective on things. I hope you find this useful. Let me know if you have any questions at amanda@yogispirit.com.au