Om Devatas (that means ‘brilliant ones’) ~

Reaching out from my heart to yours on this dark and rainy pre-dawn morning.  I woke up earlier than usual this morning and opted to just go with it. I got up,  made myself a tea, sat for meditation, did a gentle practice (prayers and gratitudes plus some cat stretches) and took a long bath, candle-lit, in the darkness.  All before 7:00 am.

It All Starts Here.

WHERE IS HERE?

How you start your day is imperative to the way in which your day unfolds.

Create a day of misery or a day of happiness:  the amount of work is the same.

So you want to have a good day? You want to be more positive?  Less nay-saying?  More turned on by the little things and less affected by the big ugly stuff?

You can end up where you want to — if you start out with your hands and heart pointing in the direction of your choosing, you will find yourself right where you want to be and you’ll be surprised at how little effort it required.

It all starts here.

Right here.  First thing in the morning.

How do you start your day?

Here are a few things that are tried and true best practices for me.  When I do these, I feel great.  When I don’t do them?  I see a marked decline in my mood and outlook.

Don’t believe me?  GOOD!  Seriously. I say, DON’T believe me.  Instead, try these on in your own life and just watch how our world and the way you view your world shift — right before your very eyes.

1. Bookend your day with light:  This means you take what you do first thing in the morning (and last thing you do at night) and fill your time and energy to the brim with “light”  — music, gratitude, connection, meditation, yoga, all of it or a little bit.  All of this is nourishment for your soul.
2. Start slow and end slow:  Give yourself the time you need to ramp up into your day so your nervous system has time to awaken and time to wind down.  You can do this by taking a bath (first thing or last thing), giving yourself an oil massage, drinking a cup of warm tea (sidenote: chamomile is great all hours of the day—its actually a nervine and is thought to be a “calming” tea — when in reality, if you drink it all day long, it strengthens your nervous system and can stabilize energy throughout the day).
3. Take a nature break:  This, for me, is one of the best practices — even if it’s allowing ten extra minutes to walk–five minutes out and then five minutes back or a trip around the block) before heading to work.  Once you do this, you’ll find you want to do it at lunch time, and when you get home — next thing you know you’ve gotten 30 minutes of deep breathing and movement with very little effort — and all the benefits that come along with it.  Natural is what you are. Nature IS your TRUE Nature.  Just go with it… whenever you can.

None of this has to be complicated.  Life is hard enough as it is.  Keep this stuff simple.  Make tiny little shifts in your life and your entire world will change.

That’s my little slice of sunshine from the darkness at the YogaFarm.  Here’s to shining sunshine your way on this “glorious, my body works great, and I’ve got a thousand things to be grateful for”, mid-week morning.

Best of days to you — Make it a magical one.

XOm,

Britt

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