My Mindfulness Morning Routine

Earlier this week was World Mental Health Day. A day in which we bring awareness to the importance of our mental wellbeing something of great human importance. If we were more honestly connected to our thoughts and emotions we would begin to see that the vast majority of our problems are truly not problems at all. We have become accustomed to reacting and not responding to our current situation.

Although I am pleased that we are affording a day in where we shift our focus to this nurturing and developmental habit, one day is not enough...but it certainly is better than zero days of awareness. We need to have this paradigm shift taken more sincerely.

To help those of you that may be interested in developing your own mindfulness routine I am pleased to offer you my simple, yet purposeful, morning routine. In actuality my morning routine really begins when I go to bed the previous evening. As I lay in bed I offer gratitude for the gift of living through another day and gratitude to all of the people I've encountered and helped in one way or another. My day concludes around 11:15 PM each night.

I only allow myself about six and one-half hours of sleep and waking up around 5:35 AM or so. I've been doing this for years and I follow this schedule for several reasons with the primary reason being moderation and balance. This amount of time is not too long nor is it too short. I'm not tempted to watch television in bed for the simple, yet deliberate reason that there is not one in our bedroom. That's what the living room is for. As I lay in bed for the next few moments, I offer gratitude for the gift of life, my wife, kids, furry friends, home, safety, and the wonderful opportunity I have to do good for others this day.

By about 5:40 or 5:45 I'm on the floor seated in meditation. My morning seated meditation session lasts for 35 minutes. Although I have different meditations I nurture during this time (lovingkindness, gratitude, connectedness, etc.) what I do not use this time for is to think about the upcoming day's to do list. When stray thoughts do make their way into my thoughts I simply let them go and shift back to my original meditation.

When my meditation session is over I remain seated, allowing my awareness to shift back to where I am. A few moments later I get up, make my coffee or tea, maybe do a dish or two that one of my kids left in the sink when they snuck down late at night for a snack, and I'm outside by about 6:40 AM to wait and watch the beautiful sunrise.

Most people miss this part because they're either not awake or not paying much attention to it. But to me this is truly the most rewarding part of my day. Seeing how the colors change from dark purples to pinks to light blue and then rich, crisp blue is truly amazing.

Sure, I know that the colors we see are the result of the incident angles of sunlight light penetrating the atmosphere but that doesn't matter. And in no way does that take away from the beauty that the world gifts us each and every day...if we only approach our days with mindfulness, curiosity, and gratitude.

That's how we improve our wellbeing.

And that's my morning routine.

I wish you all peace, ease, and wellbeing.

Vladimir

You are warmly invited to follow on us on Facebook and Instagram @bluelotuscenter for more ways to improve your mindfulness practice and wellbeing.

Blue Lotus Meditation and Mindfulness Center is a registered 501(c)(3) religious organization.

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