Magical Morning Routines with Leilani Wagner

Why a morning ritual? So many times do we start our days in a panic - hit the snooze button three times, get ready, barely grab breakfast, and then rush out the door to make it to our next destination on time. Starting your day in a craze sets up your day for crazy and exhausted - like you’re always trying to catch up.

Guess what? Life can be much sweeter than that. Your morning sets up your day. Life can be crazy - things seem to spiral out of control quickly, we lose a grasp on reality;-.but by having a morning ritual, we start our day feeling centered and accomplished which sets us up better equipped at whatever pops up in life.

So how do you create a morning ritual?

1. Reflect

What makes you happy? What grounds you or makes you feel at peace? Start by looking at that list and see what you can incorporate into you mornings - that way you are starting your day off happy and grounded. You don’t have to do all of them, but at least one works. For me? It’s dancing. When making my morning beverage each day, and put on the dance jams I know I can groove out too (sometimes headphones if others aren’t up yet).

2. How much time are you willing to give yourself?

If you can only handle getting up 5 minutes earlier for now, that’s ok! It’s a starting point at least! You may find that consistently giving yourself time in the morning allows for other areas of life to get more organized or you end up finding more time for yourself. Funny how life works that way, right? You care for yourself and in turn the universe responds...

3. & 4. Move & Breathe

It’s important to get the body moving in the morning. You’ve been stagnant, for the most part, for at least 7 hours (hopefully, depending on your sleep patterns, but ideally you’re getting between 6-8 hours! Consider that step 1A!), so it’s good to get the body moving. I also find that moving before my seated meditation helps me stop the chaotic mind chatter quicker because I’m already in tune with my body. I do 3 rounds of half Sun A Salutations and 3 rounds of full Sun A Salutations. Tony Robbins suggests jumping on a trampoline for 20 minutes. Some people like to combine their movement and their meditation (like doing yoga or going for a mindful walk/run). Whatever works for you, just make sure you get some movement in and pay attention to your breath in the morning!

Meditation tricks: Headspace app, Insight Timer app, search YouTube for “guided meditations” or “meditation music” (I use Insight Timer and use the timer feature with the rain sound in the background)
Movement tricks: Youtube or search for “morning movement” or “morning yoga” or “morning stretch” (here’s a good starter if you’re into yoga: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13881/5-yoga-poses-to-practice-first-thing-in-the-morning.html)

5. Gratitude

If you start your day grateful, you can quickly find things throughout your day to be grateful for, even when times get tough. Write down 5 things that you are grateful for, or say them out loud. It could be as simple as “I’m grateful for the air I breathe, the roof over my head, the friends and family I have, and food that fuels my body.” Whatever it is you’re grateful for, express it!

These are just pieces of the morning ritual - it can be more, it can be less, but it all starts with you and what makes you grounded and happy.

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Impact and transformation coach, Leilani Wagner, is the voice behind Graceful Renegade, a site dedicated to connecting people to their highest self. Find out more about Leilani by following her on Instagram and Facebook.