Morning Rituals

Not another manic Monday...

I don't know what mornings look like for you, but in my household, over time, with lots of practice, patience, and more failed attempts to a peaceful morning existence than I can count... I have come to adapt a morning routine that works for me. By doing so, it trickles down to making a peace filled morning for my family as well. There have been countless mornings where one shoe, never both, just one, has been left behind, packed lunches have been left on the counter and here's one for ya, I have even left without both kids in tow. ( deep breath, and settle down, I didn't even make it down the block before I noticed the silence that took over my car, from the lack of sisterly bickering in the back seat. There have been mornings where I was so rushed I turned the blender on without the top on, ( thank you Ninja for now making it where the blender will not start unless the top is not only on, but on correctly and completely sealed, you genius people you! I appreciate you more than you know. ) There has been a morning where I stick the waffles in the toaster oven, go on about doing something else, just to turn around and get snappy with my oldest who is trying to explain to me that the toaster oven is on fire. Oh that darn piece of cheese that Fred told me to clean out a few days prior to the incident. But that's not all, I hadn't a clue how to deal with a grease fire, and the only way I know how to learn things is the hard way, so of course I frantically filled a pot of water and threw it on the toaster oven, only to further irritate the fire and send it spreading its black soot up the cabinets.

So when I tell you I have had my fair share of stressful mornings, I speak from experience. Que the song, " hard out here for a pimp " but with a change in lyrics

You know its hard out here for a mom, when she's trying to make the muffins, and work a job. Its tough y'all, all these picture perfect moments you see of moms rockin it out, flawlesssly, let me just go ahead and be LOUD and clear, that's not me, nor do I aspire to be "perfect". I know now that in that morning mayhem of a mess, is where I learned some of my most valuable lessons, I struggle but I keep going, man do I keep going.

Which leads me to...

I have put together what my morning ritual looks like, before the kids feet hit the ground running, all the way to how I manage to make it out the door each morning with a little less stress, and a whole lot more peace. One of the biggest benefits of being more organized for me is that I’ve actually found more time for my spiritual practices, yoga, and self-care, because I now take advantage of every bit of time, all while practicing conciousness and awareness.

I am an early riser, always have been. It must run in my family because I can still recall waking up and joining my grandfather for cereal at 6 am. every morning. Now a days, I am a 5am riser. The first thing I do is roll over and look out my window... I pray and I give thanks, thanks for another day to simply be, another day to inspire, teach, learn, live and to show up as my best being. Then I ask the question - How can I serve today ? From my heart I express that I am open and ready to serve myself, and others. I pray for the highest good of all.

Its hard to get out of your warm bed - I get that. So I practice my morning meditation in bed, either sitting up under my blankets, or laying down flat. I used to think it was a requirement to be uncomfortable during meditation, but it certainly is not. By doing this, I leave myself ZERO excuses. I start with a guided meditation, some of my favorites are on the Chopra website. https://chopra.com/articles/guided-meditations Other times I will listen to the calm app. Some days we pick a mantra and simply repeat that mantra for 20 min, silently in our heads. We like to switch it up. Fred and I start each morning like this and it is such a wonderful thing we have started doing together.

After coming out of meditation I crave movement. For me, it is time to ground my Vata self through breath work and movement. Any kind of movement is fine, I listen to my body and give my body what it needs. Each day is different for me, however my morning flow is much relaxed, and very grounding. The way I move on my mat, sets me up for how I will move throughout my day, with grace, ease, awareness, and fluidity. ( I do drills and inversion/arm balance prep either late morning, or mid day. )

I am not a coffee drinker and not a fan of caffeine, it doesn't work well with my body and I end up really not feeling well, so I take a shot of my "green stuff," from a local herbalist I have gone to for about a year now, for a boost of morning energy that we all crave. Honestly though, I am usually high on life after my morning meditation, and yoga flow. I sip on my tea with babe, and read/chat until we hear the sound of K1 and K2 come barreling down the steps for breakfast.

Next we repeat our mantras and affirmations as a family. This is such a big part of our day. We set our souls intention, and then speak it aloud, we speak it into existence by expressing it to the Universe.

"I am grateful for all that I am, and for all that I have. I accept abundance and blessings that will come my way. I am in good health. I remove any blockages that may hinder my spiritual, or mental, growth. I am me, and I am enough. "

While the kiddos have breakfast I make a green juice - normally cucumber, romaine, green apple, celery, ginger, lemon , sometimes I add garlic.

For the kiddos I do- fruit, smoothies, hot tea, granola, or fresh oatmeal with coconut milk.

Later on in the day I will eat either fresh oatmeal made with coconut milk and topped with blueberries, strawberries or banana. Another option is a veggie omelet, with some fruit. I eat this pretty much everyday :) One thing I am not, is a good cook...plenty of disaster stories to share with you down the road, but this is why I keep things simple and consistent, and honestly it works for me, far less stress, less fires, and its just all around safer for everybody.

Mornings are not as manic as they once were because I make time to practice self care a priority from the second I open my eyes, and by doing this, my positive energy spreads amoungst my household. Making time for yourself, especially first thing in the morning, to get your day off to a positive start, is essential- I choose how my day will go when I rise each and every morning- and my choice is to feel good, which leads to the ones around me feeling good, and far less stressed. The morning time is one of the most sacred parts of the entire day.

When we drive to school drop offs we listen to our favorite mantras, or if my youngest had it her way, Trevor Hall " everything I need," on repeat. We play it at least twice- my kiddos go off to school singing I have everything I need, from the mountains to the sea, I have everything I need." Boy, does it fill my heart to hear them sing such beautiful words.

Feel free to post your morning rituals down below, I would love to read them!

Love and Light,

Chelsea Ann