Much has been written about morning rituals and morning routines and for good reason. How we start the day informs the rest of the day. It is so deeply important. So much so, that even if I’m exhausted I will try my absolute best to get up before my daughter and husband to have even a few minutes to collect myself, give thanks, and get clear about my day.
Do not sleep on these moments!
I used to do a full Ashtanga Yoga practice as my morning ritual, a routine that lasted almost two hours with set up and break down. A combination of motherhood, covid, and revelations about the Ashtanga yoga founder changed that. Covid specifically caused me and many yoga practitioners and teachers I know to question and reconfigure our practices. What is the right morning practice and when is the time to change it? These are not easy questions by any means. They require thought as does anything we put our time and focus to.
Discipline is important as is sticking to a practice.
Yoga can teach us about discipline. Discipline is an important part of our evolution and can teach us about false perceptions of our limits and the heights we can reach. It can also be destructive when it pushes us too far and causes us to distrust important messages from our bodies. When is the time to give up on a practice that’s been beneficial? That’s a question only you can answer, but I’ll give you some hints to look for.
It may be time to switch up your practice if:
- Your life has had a dramatic shift.
- You’ve tried adapting it and you still don’t feel you are growing.
- You are clear that it isn’t for lack of discipline or an inner block around something in your practice you don’t want to face.
If you have changed some small things but even that won’t do it. Maybe you need a bigger change in your morning routine or yoga practice.
The essential question to ask yourself is what you are hoping to gain from your practice.
There are many different reasons folks practice yoga or other centering morning rituals. Ideas of why you may be practicing include: comfort, stress relief, connection to something bigger, the doctor said so, stretching, peace, creativity, evolution, inner knowledge, prayer, awakening, excellence, better at the job, nicer human, healthier, stronger, focused, etc
Different rituals provide different results so first decide what you are practicing for. From there you can figure out if you need meditation, yoga asana, pranayama, journaling, silence and stillness, stretching, prayer, nature, cold shower, morning pages, or other practices. You may need ten minutes or two hours to get the results you wish. It all depends. Just keep in touch with something.
On the last episode of the Beyond Trauma podcast, Michelle Casandra Johnson and I talk about morning rituals and how these changing times are calling us towards new practices.
Take a listen HERE.
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