Here’s How a Meditation App Completely Changed My Morning Routine
If you're anything like (the old) me, you morning goes something like this: snooze at least five times, wake-up in a panic, skip brekkie and out the door.
But, meet the new me. I now wake up at least 30 minutes prior to when I need to start getting ready. And get this, I actually enjoy it. I know what you're thinking—how can a chronic snoozer and all around morning hater go from barely having matching shoes on to waking up ahead of my alarm?
One word: meditation.
I recently read a book called The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guarenteed to Transform Your Life—Before 8am (which I highly recommend) and it really got me thinking about my morning routine. Starting off the day panicked and flustered only makes it harder to have a calm, productive, peaceful day.
So, per the book, I created a morning routine for myself that involved meditating, journaling, affirmations, light exercise, visualizing and reading. I was most nervous for meditating because I had never tried it before, besides at the end of yoga class, and figured I would fail easily.
I downloaded the Headspace app because I had heard great things and didn't want to start this new positive journey off on a bad foot. The first day, I sat outside on my patio and pressed play on my first Headspace app meditation. It was only three minutes, but I felt transported to somewhere else. I was calm, relaxed, and surprisingly excited to start my day. Even after my first session, I wanted more than three minutes, and it left me eager to do it again the next day.
I had no problem waking up for day two. In fact, I was kind of like a kid on Christmas, super eager and excited to begin my morning routine. Meditating almost seemed to come naturally to me, thanks to the Headspace app and the narrators soothing and guiding voice.
Days three, four and five were all similar, and each day I found myself getting better and better. Sure, thoughts do come in and out, but the app teaches you to acknowledge your thoughts and let them pass instead of holding on to them. One analogy they use is a lily pad floating down a river—instead of collecting the lily pads and holding on to them, see them, acknowledge them, and let them keep floating down the river, and out of your thoughts.
I was having a swimmingly awesome time meditating, and hadn't hit snooze once the entire week, definitely a fete considering my old habits! But then the weekend hit and getting up early became much more of a challenge. So instead of forcing myself to wake up early on my days off, I started incorporating my routine throughout my day.
I'm still going strong (two weeks and counting!) and highly recommend trying the Headspace app if you suffer from the "not a morning person" blues. It's not only changed my morning, it's changed my approach to my whole day.
Now that you're motivated to meditate, HERE'S how to stay motivated to workout.