On my morning alignment time…
A few essentials (get it essential hahahaha)
I’m someone who has naturally always been driven to get up early. Even as a teenager, I would set my alarm for 6am and get up and spend time in my spiritual practice. Yes, that’s right. My peers were sleeping until noon and I was waking up early for me time (always marching to the beat of my own drum, for better and worse haha).
I absolutely took a break from this routine for a while in my 20s when I was really busy having all the fun (lol), but I’ve definitely spent much more time getting up early than not (it’s 5:56am as I’m writing this right now).
This isn’t a post to shame you into getting up early, or share with you two thousand reasons why it’s a good idea. You might not be an early riser - some of my best friends hit their most creative stride at 10pm and it works awesome for them! - but I am going to share why I try and take at least 9 minutes solo every morning, and my non-negotiables, even on a morning I sleep in.
AFTER I HAD A KID, I REALLY THOUGHT I DIDN’T HAVE TIME FOR A MORNING ROUTINE
See, when you have to get up on someone else’s schedule - especially in the first few years of motherhood when someone else’s schedule is 5am, no matter what time they went to bed - it’s really hard to feel like there’s time.
And I was so dang tired all the time - ps if you haven’t checked out my not-so-secret weapon to having for realz energy all day, check it here - that getting up at 4am to have time for myself felt like literal torture. But by the time I got out of the weeds, I wanted to create more space (mentally and physically) and I felt like I couldn’t do it - my time was already so tapped! But! I started with 9 extra minutes - which I earned back from my clock. How??
I stopped pressing snooze. Snooze is a trap! Don’t do it, and you suddenly get 9 extra minutes every morning (or even 18! Or 27 whole minutes if you’re a 3x snoozer!!) Buuuttttt how can 9 minutes possibly be enough?
Even if I only have 9 minutes, I try and make time for three key things
9 minutes is more than enough time to do one or two key things - just for you - to start your day. Mine started with just 3 minutes of meditation, 3 minutes of gratitude, and 3 minutes of visualization. That’s it! Even if you think you can’t meditate, you for sure can for 3 minutes (I used to work as a yoga teacher and meditation instructor for the Chopra Center here in Vancouver and so having taught literally hundreds of people, I can say this is true! Check out a little more info on my favourite simple meditation here).
You might not be in a space where you want 9 minutes of focused mindfulness, but even adding your morning drink to this routine - the ritual of making coffee (or tea, or even a glass of water with lemon oil!) and sitting and actually drinking it can be huge. Not multitasking drinking it, not drinking and scrolling, or drinking and cleaning the kitchen - just drinking it.
When I started to feel like I had a little more space (which I got with a slightly older kid, and then worked up to by setting my alarm 3 minutes earlier each day - can you tell 3 is one of my anchor numbers?? I love it because 5 can feel like a lot, but 3 is only…. well, just 3!), I started adding on. Move my body (I personally have to work out in the morning before I can talk myself out of it! Even on a day I don’t go to my gym, I move in some intentional way even for a bit), journal, pull oracle cards, intentionally tune in to which crystal to carry today, EFT tap, or listen to Abraham-Hicks (the best!). These are all things that can bring you to you, before the day gets its claws in you, before other people’s priorities become your priorities (accidentally).
“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, “This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!” And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.”
Iain Thomas
So what does my average morning look like now? Well, with the exception of my meditation (which I still set a timer on, because otherwise I would do it for 15 seconds and call it a day #monkeymind), I let it flow now. Some days I’m called to journal the whole time, sometimes all I do is pull cards, sometimes I listen to something inspirational. But it always, ALWAYS starts with meditation, making and drinking coffee mindfully, and oiling up!
Starting my day with oils on, in and around me makes me a more pleasant human
See, here’s the thing. Oils aren’t just for supporting our physical bodies (although they sure do a bang up job of supporting our immune systems, our inflammatory response, our digestion, and generally bringing us back into balance #homeostasis). Oils also, especially when inhaled, directly impact the brain by olfactory sensory neurons via olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex (looking for a science deep dive on this? Yep, there’s lots, this is just one of many actual scientific studies on essential oils #notwitchcraft)
Here’s a snapshot of my morning oil routine (this just takes me through my alignment time - curious for ‘day in the life’ post? Stay tuned next month!)
First - Balance oil on the soles of my feet, frankincense dropped under my tongue (both of these oils live in my bathroom so I can multitask these while peeing #tmi)
Next - set up alllllll the diffusers (I have 3 downstairs alone) with a combination of citrus and mint. Looking for more diffuser blends? All my oil community get my e-book free with their wholesale access (sign up here). Some mornings I’m drawn to other choices, but it’s usually citrus and mint.
Last - put oils on my body, before coffee (so I can sit and really be present). Some mornings it’s Motivate, some mornings it’s Rose, some mornings it’s Tea Tree (awesome for energetic boundaries, where my empaths at!?). Some mornings it seems random, but it’s where I’m drawn and I just go with it. There are no wrong answers - yay!
This time doesn’t make me perfect. But it helps make me just a little better for me, and for those I love.
