Do you lack motivation to just get started with selfcare in the mornings?
I know that you get up in the mornings and you want to do some exercise and other selfcare practices, but you just can’t get started and you feel like you could always use some motivation.
Before I started yoga two years ago, I tried exercising every morning, but I just slept in I could not get the urge to do it. Now, after yoga training and mindset changes, I can’t go without doing my poses and meditation in the morning. I look forward to it. I had a lot of pain before, and now I am motivated to be pain free.
The Oxford language definition of motivation is the general desire or willingness for you to do something. The reason or reasons you have for acting or behaving in a particular way. So, you need to have a strong desire or reason to do something to act in a certain way. What is your strong desire? You want to achieve good physical and mental health. You want to have a good successful day. Of course, you are not perfect, there are days you will feel down and not motivated but you should not let it continue for too long because this will affect your vibration. This means that if you continue negative thoughts for too long a time you will start to send out negative frequencies and attract negativity back to you. The universal Law of Vibration goes together with the Law of Attraction. Your thoughts, feelings and emotions send out a vibration which then causes the attraction.[1]
You don’t have to spend a lot of time on morning self-care. You can do small things like tuning into your body, and you can take small steps to take care of yourself. Always see your medical doctor first before attempting any selfcare routine.
Whatever you are doing now stems from your previous thoughts and beliefs. First there is the thought, then feelings then your emotions which then becomes energy in motion. For example, if you say “I am happy” repeatedly, then you begin to feel happy and then you start to physically act out this happiness to take action. So, you have a thought that “you could use motivation.” You change the thought to “I choose to be motivated and energetic” and through constant repetition and neuroplasticity you become motivated. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experiencing new things and new thoughts.
I could tell you OKAY, only say this affirmation, do this exercise, but the real reason you are not motivated is your thoughts and beliefs, the programming in your subconscious mind. Your belief, values in your subconscious mind is what runs or directs your body.[2] When you wake up
you must become aware of your thoughts like you are looking at them on a movie screen and choose the positive thoughts.
Here is a quick practice based on your values that could help…Write down 5 things you value about yourself quickly and then choose the one you value the most and number than No. 1 and then do the same with the others, e.g., choose the next one you value the most and number that No. 2 until you get to No. 5. Whatever is the No. 1 choice is what motivates you in the mornings.
[1] https://www.proctorgallagherinstitute.com/47878/the-law-of-attraction-vs-the-law-of-vibration
[2] Raymond Holliwell says in his book “Working with the Law” that the body is a direct representation of the mind.
If health is not number one on your list of values, then you will not be motivated to do healthy things. So, you must move out of the old structure to the new structure with a new value system or a new set of beliefs.
So, you want to become aware of your thoughts and change to a new mantra “I choose health and vitality.” When your values get aligned correctly then you will move your body in that way as the subconscious mind is programmed. You must reprogram the subconscious mind with the new thought and habit.
And when you understand that the morning routine carries you through the day then you will automatically be motivated for your selfcare. It starts in your mind. When you reprogram your subconscious mind it becomes automatic like programming a computer. Your mind will automatically cause your body to get going and do exercise and other selfcare routines.
Perception is very important here also. Perception means the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. Your perception creates your world. The limiting beliefs in your Subconscious mind affects your perception. Perception is your point of view, how you look at things. For example, if you have a belief in your subconscious mind that you have no motivation and no energy then that will be how you look at things or how you perceive it to be. It is all about looking at things from a different perspective.
So, after you have changed your paradigm or subconscious mind over a period of time with positive mantras for example, “I now choose health and vitality,” “I now choose to be motivated” your subconscious mind will begin to accept that new thought. You set an intention to wake up motivated, but before you can wake up motivated you have to be well rested from the night before.
So here are the five selfcare morning practices that will help to motivate you into a productive and positive day.
1.Go to bed early the night before. According to western medicine and Ayurveda alike, western studies have shown that the most rejuvenating/nourishing sleep occurs between 10 pm and 2 pm. Any sleep before 12 am is the most important, making it even more recommended to go to bed even earlier than 10 pm. Your ideal sleep cycle (which is a universal sleep cycle) would be Bedtime: 9-10pm and Awake time: 6-7 am. You should have no disturbances during the night, no interruptions and you should wake up feeling refreshed. Proper sleep will among other things, improve your memory and ability to learn, increase your attention and focus and creativity and reduce inflammation in your body and therefore beneficial to arthritis and other painful conditions, reduce risk of heart attack, reduce hypertension, balances your sugar levels, increase muscle mass, increase tissue regeneration, boost your immune system, and balances your hormones. [1]
Guidance is given to you while you sleep sometimes in a dream and healing currents are activated so you wake up feeling refreshed, motivated, and energized.[2]
So proper sleep is very important to waking up and feeling motivated.
[1] https://svasthaayurveda.com/ayurvedic-sleep-report-part-1
[2] Dr. Joseph Murphy “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind.”
2. Practicing Gratitude when you wake up.
Gratitude means the quality of being thankful or the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. You can exchange the feeling of lack of motivation for feelings of gratitude. You should not focus on the things that you don’t have or the things that you deserve, instead
just focus on what you have now, this could be the fact that you woke up this morning, or you are able to read this article, you can be thankful for the small things
There are many great benefits of gratitude. Gratitude makes you happier, helps you to feel more positive emotions and helps you to enjoy your good experiences. Including improving your health and helping you to handle in a more positive way bad things that can happen and also helps to build stronger relationships, for example when you tell someone thank you for whatever good deed, they helped you with and that strengthens the bond of the relationship.[1]
You can practice gratitude by journaling each morning all the things you are grateful for, or you can just notice the little things in your life like the sky, the birds, or you can tell someone you love how grateful you are for them being in your life or doing something kind for someone or you can say a thank you prayer.[2] These are all powerful ways to practice gratitude.
[1] www.healtgharvard.edu/helathbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
[2] www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-gratitude-practice
3. Saying Positive Affirmations in the mornings. When you wake up the mind starts to think about solving any problems or issues you had the night before and this can put you in a negative mood and of course you will not be motivated to do any self-care. You can say positive affirmations in front of the mirror where it goes right into your subconscious mind. You can say ‘What’s the best thing that can happen in my life today?”, or “I choose to feel
happy now.” You should counteract the negative with the positive to maintain a positive vibration that carries you throughout the day and keeps you motivated. Here are some positive statements you can say in the mornings to start the day motivated: Today is a great day; I will be present in every moment; I focus on what’s going right for me; I am the highest version of myself right now; I am smart, I am kind, I am brave, I am beautiful.
4.Morning Meditation. So, if you have the belief that you could use more motivation, you want to over a period of time changes that belief to “I am motivated” then you can do meditation. Meditation is a process that can give you the immediate benefit of changing your beliefs in a much shorter time.[1] You don’t have to spend hours in meditation you can start off with only ten minutes in the morning by just sitting down in a quiet space and closing your eyes and breathe in at a count of eight and breathe out with “pursed’ lips and just sit there. Many thoughts will come to you, and you can just see them float by like a cloud eventually you will begin to settle down and reap the benefits, just keep practicing. It is like riding a bicycle, you have to practice. Here is a link to a meditation with positive affirmations that I did to get you started: https://youtu.be/RrsAEkmE2D0
[1] The Book “Ask and It is Given” by Esther and Jerry Hicks.
5.Gentle Yoga Flow. Some movement is very important in the mornings as the body has been in a sleeping position for a couple of hours and stiffness can occur. You can do the “Surya Namascar” yoga poses. Surya Namascar benefits are huge. This sequence among other things, aligns the joints and balances the muscles of the feet, lifts and tones the pelvic floor and abs, releases and lengthens the spine, increases breath flow and capacity and relieves neck and shoulder tension. There are also energetic benefits of this sequence which are increased flow of breath and mental focus. If you are a beginner, you can do one pose a day to start. For example, you can do Tadasana at the start of your morning. See below the Tadasana pose with instructions. I also show above a separate image of the Surya Namascar routine.
Tadasana Pose or Standing pose
Benefit: Improves clarity and mental focus and promotes awareness.
Instructions: Stand with your feet together. Allow your arms to hang by your sides, palms facing in. Reach the crown of your head toward the sky. Point your tailbone toward the floor. Widen across your collarbones and relax your shoulders downward. Engage your core and thighs and lift your kneecaps up. Hold the pose and take slow, deep breaths.
I would love to hear from you if you practiced any of the selfcare routines in the morning and felt motivated and energized. You can email me at Kerrinesyogamindset@gmail.com.
I teach a gentle form of Vinyasa and Restorative yoga to persons 50-75 years young. If you are interested to delve into a yoga practice and would like some guidance, please get in touch with me at Kerrinesyogamindset@gmail.com.
Kerrine Ramsey, April 7, 2022
Registered Yoga Instructor – Yoga Alliance ID No.: 361392
Certified Traditional Reiki Practitioner
Certified Magnetic Mind Coach
linktr.ee/kerrineramsey
Reviewed by Amy MacDonald, Yoga Mentoring Coach
evolutionlabyoga.com
