How a Mindful Morning Routine Sets the Tone for Your Day

A mindful morning routine can benefit you in many ways. It sets you up for a more rewarding day by leveraging the fundamentals of mindfulness, which are compassion and presence. The value of mindfulness is overall enhanced well-being, according to numerous studies, including Frontiers of Public Health and Harvard Health. Mindfulness accomplishes this by supporting a balanced mood and mitigating extreme, and sometimes-harmful, emotions. So where do we begin? 

Constructing Your Mindful Morning Routine

The first step in creating a mindful morning routine is to assess your morning routine as it stands today honestly. Perhaps your morning begins with a few of the following events: hitting the snooze button on the alarm a few times, having a shower, eating breakfast, drinking coffee, journaling, scrolling social media sites, engaging in a workout or yoga practice, meditation, or just rushing off to work. 

In a journal, ask yourself: What does my average morning look like? Being to list activities. What is the very first thing you do when you wake up? What does your alarm sound like, and do you hit snooze most days? What are your first thoughts? Think about how much time you dedicate to each morning activity and whether it is helping you to feel good every morning or whether it is doing the opposite. Once you have an honest assessment of your daily routine, we can begin to look for realistic ways to incorporate more mindful awareness.

Elements of a Mindful Morning Routine

As you look at your journaling assignment and assess your average day, you might find that you already have opportunities or activities that contribute to mindfulness. Some mindful morning rituals are listed below.

• Meditation to connect with yourself: using a guided meditation upon waking is an excellent way to start of your day. 
• Exercise to energize your body and mind. What's mindful about exercise? There are many ways that exercise and mindfulness work together to pull you into the moment. Focusing on the body's movement as well as the breath can set the stage for a mindful workout.
• Taking your time to mindfully eat a healthy breakfast to fuel the body: mindful eating means bringing a slow, steady watchfulness to your food and the sensations of eating.
• Setting intentions for the day or making to-do lists can help your morning ritual by clearing your head and taking the pressure off having to remember everything. 
• Self-care routines, such as taking time to stretch or write in a gratitude journal are powerful techniques for pulling yourself into the moment.
• Listening to uplifting tracks or music, such as binaural beats, can enhance your state of mindfulness. 
• Practicing affirmations is a good way to get present and focus intently on the feelings you'd like to manifest during the day. By practicing affirmations, you are bringing what you'd like to feel in the future into the present.
• Taking time to ground into the present moment in other ways, such as yoga, qigong, or rituals such as lighting a candle or savoring the sunrise can work to augment your mindful awareness.

Benefits of a Consistent Mindful Routine

To meditate and practice mindfulness in daily tasks can lead directly to better stress management and relaxation in your life, as well as a more productive and creative mindset. Mindfulness can also lead to more rational decision-making, as reflected in how mindfulness impacts your workplace performance. 

The key is consistency. When you wake, imbuing mindfulness techniques into your first moments, even if that means taking a mindful breath or writing a few sentences in a journal, can be transformational and help us remember to stay in the present moment throughout the day. 

Maintaining Mindful Mornings

According to Scientific American, a habit can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to cultivate. Making mindfulness a habit means thinking of it as less of a thing "to do" and more of a natural part of your life. By adapting your mindful routine to fit your personal needs and lifestyle, you will set yourself up for success. Here is a breadth of mindfulness practices you can try every morning. Remember that mindful meditation is not the only way. You can construct a morning ritual that complements your style and life. 

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