My miracle morning routine

to invite an energetic, efficient and empowered day

Mornings can be challenging, especially if there is a lot on your plate. And let’s be honest: who hasn’t a lot on their plate these days?!

A modern life includes playing a multitude of different roles every day. Like being a badass business or career queen, an amazing friend, an fierce advocate for your health and wellbeing, a mind blowing lover, an efficient household manager, a committed devote to your personal and/or spiritual growth, an empathic and centered parent, … the list could go on and on an on, right?!

Combined with the usual high expectations we are putting upon ourselves – and on a side note: expectations you perceive from others are either in alignment with your own expectations towards yourself or solely your expectations (Because, how often do you really check and ask the other person before raising expectations internally?! More often than not these externalized expectations are first and foremost only in your head)

Well, where to even start?

You start by slowing down and getting present. Yes, that’s it. It might sound very counterproductive to your mind to slow down and take time to center when there seems like too much to do anyway. But I am telling you that this is the key and the path. And if you don’t trust me, maybe you can trust thousands of years of experience from mediation practitioners in every tradition and lineage I know of. Or you can trust the knowledge that a lot of the people that are seen as very successful in our present day culture have a kind of a meditation practice and/or mindfulness routine in the morning.

So you start your morning by tuning inwards and getting present. And in the journaling practice that is most of the time the last part of my miracle morning routine, you start to open your awareness to what you want to manifest during this day and what you want to put on the schedule for today. Your day will unfold in a much lighter, natural and focused way if you do take the time to nourish your soul and your body first. I can attest to that through my own experience and through feedback from my clients.

So let’s get started!

Preparations

After I wake up, I’ll first do some little things in silence: setting up the water cattle, brushing my teeth, rinsing my nasals, brewing a pot of tea & taking a cup of tea with me on my balcony to sip for a few minutes and enjoy the fresh air, the sun in these days and witness the Berlin Kreuzberg waking up as well.

I also light a candle every day on my altar and usually also some incense. Whenever at home I would sit in front of my altar to meditate (with closed eyes). It is super recommended to create a dedicated space for your mediation and movement practice. If you travel you can take an item from your altar with you or you have more items in a special travel altar.

The altar, even though the word might evoke this association in you, does not need to have anything to do with religion or spirituality. It is functioning as an anchor and reminder of your intentions. I will most probably speak to the setting of a mediation practice in another post soon. Feel free to write me an email to encourage me to do so or if you want to know more about the items on my altar and their meanings (melanie@energetic-efficient-empowered.com).

Meditation

This is what I am committed to do every day in the morning: 30 minutes of open mediation.

That means “just” sitting and connecting to the breath which is connecting you to the present moment. And in this present awareness just finding a peaceful joy and/or witnessing what thoughts and emotions are arising, present for a while and dissolving eventually. Your only task is to not get involved in all these impermanence phenomena. Or if you do get involved – which means you find yourself lost in thoughts, stories, narratives, worries, planning,…. you get aware of it and recenter and anchor in your breath. So mediation in this form means first and foremost to connect to what really is, to connect to the present moment and stay there – moment to moment. And in this present awareness you observe everything that is going on. With practice you are able to let thoughts, emotions etc. move very naturally to the background and connect what is more real within you.

The Meditation seat

You don’t have to sit in a perfectly aligned cross-legged lotus pose to meditate. The most important thing is that you find a posture that is stable and light at the same time and in which you don’t get sleepy or even fall asleep. So staying laying down in bed in the morning might not be the best option as it would be super easy to fall asleep again – at least for me 🙂 But you can sit on a chair or on the sofa, feet on the floor, spine erect. Or you can of course sit on the floor. If you do so, make sure that your legs and hips can relax. You can sit in Japanese style on your knees. I like to put a yoga blog or a thicker pillow under my butt, otherwise my legs would fall asleep soon. When you choose to sit in the cross-legged meditation seat, use as many props as you need in order to sit comfortably enough so that you are not being pulled away to your physical discomfort for 30 minutes straight. So sit on a (meditation) pillow, a blanket or a yoga blog and support your knees if necessary with pillows or blankets so that your hips and legs can relax. The more relaxed your physical body in an upright seated position the better you can practice meditation. So treat your body compassionately.

The focus of your attention: Breath

Your breath is your central anchor of your awareness, whenever you start your meditation, whenever you find yourself getting involved and attached to thoughts, emotions, etc. and as long as you are not embraced in a deeper state of meditation when the attention on the breath naturally becomes obsolete.

The beauty of your breath is 1. you have it always with you – so besides a place to sit or even stand still for a certain amount of time – you actually have all you need always with you to meditate. 2. You can only breathe in the present moment: your breath is the easiest door into the present moment by just simply putting your awareness on it.

How to put your awareness on your breath? Again, you get to make it as easy as possible. When starting your meditation, scan your body and find or decide on one space or place in or on your body where you can feel and follow your breath most easily in this very moment today. It can be your belly and it’s movement with the breath, it can be your rib cage, it can be your upper chest, it can be at your nostrils, where you feel the air flowing in a little bit cool and flowing out a little bit warmer. It can literally be anywhere, also in your left pinky toe, if that is the place or space where YOU feel your breath in the most easy way. And these places and spaces are allowed to change every day when you start your meditation. So start your meditation every day with the beginner’s mind. Being curious and open are two of the ingredients that make a beautiful mediation possible.

Open or Guided Meditation?

I do also love guided meditations. When I start my day I prefer a silent sitting, this form of open meditation where I am just with myself.

If you are getting nervous about sitting in silence just with yourself for 15-30 minutes or find yourself getting lost in thoughts, emotions etc. for the whole time, it might be better to search for a suitable guided meditation. It’s a great support to cultivate awareness and mindfulness. And there is no shame in getting all the support that is out there for you to feel empowered and embraced. There are tons of possibilities for guided meditations out there. I guess the most difficult part for you will be to choose one. If you already found your favorite mediation teacher, amazing. Don’t overcomplicate things and just choose a mediation from this teacher. If you haven’t found one yet, also: don’t overcomplicate things. The most important thing is to get started. And you can always change the guided mediation if you realize that it is actually not working for you.

Sources where you can find guided meditations (I’m not getting anything for listing the following):

Youtube: search for “guided mediation” and even for your preferred length (15 min, 30 min etc.) and your prefered intention/theme (like, “peace of mind”, “morning”, “stress”,…)
Meditation Apps like Headspace, Insight Timer or Calm. Some are free, some charge a fee. I personally use Insight Timer to set the time. You can create your own meditation timer with individual timing, sounds and so on.
You can also find great meditations on Audible
or in fact in general on the internet when you search for it.
If you drop me a personal email with your desires regarding a certain mediation I most probably will very soon be very motivated to record one for you and put it out here on the website for free: melanie@energetic-efficient-empowered.com. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Body Movement

After my open silent meditation I flow into physical movement. By the way, at this time I would still have my earplugs in most often when being in my flat in Berlin – and if it still feels nourishing I would leave them in as long as I focus on my morning practices.

I either set my timer for 30 minutes to move freely and intuitively, listening to what my body needs and desires in every moment. Or I would move into a more formal yoga practice but also without a certain plan and more adjusting to the needs and desires of this morning. Or if I feel not inspired or lazy or not like thinking too much, I would take an online yoga class. I do love Yoga with Kassandra. She has a Youtube Channel, which I use. And she also has an app by now, which I haven’t tried yet. I like her teaching style and she has a great variety of classes regarding time, intensity, and practice style (Yin, Vinyasa, Flow,…). I can also recommend Mady Morrison, she has a free youtube channel as well and is teaching in German.

The most important thing in this part of my miracle morning routine is finding the sweet spot between getting my body more into a flow (inside and out), stretching out the night and not overchallanging myself. My intention is, and I am giving you permission, too: You are allowed to take it gently. You are allowed to move with pleasure and ease. It doesn’t need to be a 30 min sweat dripping workout in order to fulfil its aim, which is feeling more at home and at ease in your body, waking up your physical and energy body and starting into the day feeling alive and inspired.

You can dance, roll on the floor, shake your body, focus on deep long stretches… anything that you feel like and that will invite more aliveness into your body. Feel free to use the power of music to nourish and encourage yourself. Of course, going out for a run or an energetic walk also counts.

Whatever you feel like doing, make it an extension of your seated meditation: stay present and aware. Practice meditation in movement.

Journaling

Now is my time and a good time after you invited calmness, centeredness and aliveness into your body/mind system to expand your awareness on what your day brings. Journaling is a form of mindset work. Get a piece of paper or even better: a nice notebook, sit and let answers arise to the following questions aka journal prompts. It’s best to write with your hand as it is more embodied than writing on a keyboard. Also it is nice to not look into a screen already. When you journal there is no right or wrong. Keeping a curious open attitude is key here as well. Just keep on writing in a free flow. You are doing this for yourself and not for anyone to ever read this.

1. Celebrations – what do I have/want to celebrate? (nothing is too small! Having had a really great night of sleep for example is something to celebrate!)

2. What do I want to manifest today?

3. What concerns, worries, fears are there or come up around what I want to manifest?

4. Create powerful, joyful affirmations that excite you and/or are an antidote offer to your fears etc. For example “I am free to decide in every moment where to put my focus on”, “What if it is easier than I think?”, “I always had sufficient time and I will have sufficient time today as well.”

These are my evergreen go to journaling prompts. I do vary sometimes a bit by adding prompts that are important in a certain phase, like for example addressing my Inner Child’s needs when some tasks need to be done that I usually have some resistance to doing. Doing taxes is one of them. 😉

I journal for between 20 and 30 minutes. Feel free to adjust. 5 Minutes are better than not journaling at all! Start with a low threshold and experience the difference that these kinds of morning practices have on your wellbeing. With time you can gear up and extend the time of practice. This is my advice not only regarding the journaling part but also regarding the meditation and movement practice.

Supportive Tools

You really don’t need much for an inspiring miracle morning routine. Most probably you have everything somewhere already or just need to download an app or so. So don’t start a procrastination cycle by taking ages to find the perfect pillow or timer or app or mediation or… you know what I mean, right?!

Here are the “tools” that I use and appreciate:

When you are going to bed, put your smartphone at least on flight mode and don’t turn it back on until after your morning routine.
Timer, like Insight Timer (or another app). Here you can set how long you want to meditate, move your body, journal etc. The magic of Insight Timer or other apps is that you can also track your practices. And it is very encouraging to see your daily actions forming a habit over time.
I like to sit on a sheep skin and just a normal pillow (folded) for my meditations at the moment. A blanket or yoga/fitness mat will also do for sitting on. And you can use a blanket or any pillow or a yoga blog to sit on. Or you chose to sit on a chair instead, that is also totally fine!
A dedicated place, where you meditate every day/time. It should be spacious and clean. If you feel like putting some items there, lighting a candle or creating an altar, great. Though, you don’t need to in order to create an effective mediation. But have a space that is inviting.
Have a mat or a blanket if you want to practice yoga or any movement on the floor after your meditation practice.
Have a music playlist ready or choose one on Spotify or similar if you want to use music for physical movement. Prepare that part ideally already the day before.
If you don’t live alone, let your partner, family, flatmates etc. know that this is your practice time and that you don’t want to be disturbed.
Eliminate as many disturbing sources as possible (closing the door of the room or turning the doorbell off, having it warm and cosy enough for example).

My Miracle morning routine Summary

The most important thing is to approach the implementation of a new habit, like this morning routine, with the attitude to create more wellbeing, more joy, more flow, more empowerment for yourself. And with this self-loving intention you decide how much you want to change at a time. Maybe you just start with 15 minutes of meditation everyday, or with 10 minutes of journaling. Whatever it is, the most important thing is that you are taking the first step. From week to week you can review and decide if you want to add another element or dedicate more time. Make it easy for yourself. Don’t let your perfectionist run the show and keep you from doing it at all in the end – because you will never be in the perfect mood to start or have created the perfect setting or know the perfect timing and routine before you even started.

The most important element of my miracle morning routine is the open meditation (30 min). Ideally this is followed by 30 min body movement and 30 min journaling. These elements are embraced by mindfulness and finding that calm presence with whatever else I do (brush teeth, drink tea, light candles, etc.).

Make or renew your commitment for your (new) morning routine before you go to bed at night. It is already part of the alignment towards a more fulfilled, happy and empowered life.

If you are interested in what amazing role your emotions can play in order to live that kind of life, you might appreciate my article on The Power on Emotions as well.

Reach out if you feel you want support. I am happy to hop on a video call with you to listen to your needs, discuss options and see if we are a good fit for working together. Write to melanie@energetic-efficient-empowered.com.

Be kind to yourself,