(What’s the story) morning glory?
I love Oasis but actually that track has got bugger all to do with the love of the early morning and more to do with cocaine and erections ….moving swiftly on.
Are you a lark or owl?
If you are a fan of getting up early, have you ever pondered on how this early energy could be utilised to make you feel happier and your day run more smoothly.
Six months ago I gave my natural larkiness some thought and it has been a game changer to put a little bit of structure to that first hour of the day
If you want to feel less ‘meeh’ and more ‘yeah!’ have a read.
So my morning story and love of dawn stirs childhood memories in Guernsey. My dad was a lark and I would hear him pottering in the kitchen from about 6 ish, sounds of the shipping forecast on Radio 4, noisy emptying of the dishwasher, kettle on. As a father of four girls I bet he relished time to himself to gather his own thoughts for the day before seeing his patients. The apple has not fallen far from the tree, and evidence now confirms that our larkness or owlness is genetic. I am comforted by this connection with my dad as I unload my dishwasher years as every clatter of dishes connecting me to memories later!
Whatever time you like to rise, everyone can benefit from having a calm start to the day, creating some good habits to bin those frantic Monday mornings are so worth it. If you like reading I can recommend a book called ‘The Miracle Morning’ lent to me by lovely friend and coach Emily (Ground + Grow) who encouraged me to structure that first precious hour of the day
When Emily asked me what I did as a morning routine I was keen to share that I was up with the lark, radio on, getting informed with the world news, quick scroll on-line, fresh air with dogs and walking pal all before 8 am and she wasn’t that impressed!
Irrespective if you are lark or an owl finding an hour in the day to really think about how to be the best version of you - is a valuable investment for your health especially for your mental wellbeing.
The obvious stuff we consider to help to feel well mentally and physically usually involves cutting down on booze and crap food, doing a bit more exercise and trying to get more sleep, and obviously all this is great but sometimes in spite of all this life can still feel a bit 5/10 and WTF.
Creating some new habits in that first hour in the morning can transform the way you feel hence Seven Lemons very own ‘Morning Glory’:
1. Rise and Shine: ideally at the same time every day and definitely before the rest of the house wakes up. I have an alarm set for 5.50. I tend to wake just before this but place your alarm on the other side of the room so if you have a tendency to hit snooze you can’t lose. Get dressed in leggings/workout kit that you laid out last night. If you are a lark and 7 am feels like the middle the night I do empathise, maybe set your morning just 30 minutes earlier than you would usually.
2. Lemon water for liver love: your body has been deprived of fluid for 8 hours so you need a big glass of water with half a lemon squeezed in. Bung the other half in a big glass bottle (get great ones in IKEA with cork lid) for later.
3. Silence: sit somewhere comfortable, I tent to roll out my yoga mat and sit on a block with a fake fur thing thrown over it ( also IKEA), a cushion is fine. This is your time to do nothing but breathe. Giving your brain a break by adopting a meditation practice everyday helps exercise the muscle to keep you in the present and not dwelling on the past or the future. I found this almost impossible at first so I downloaded the ‘Calm’ app for guided meditation, which I still use. Weirdly you might find that any pets in your house drawn to the stillness and I have found it totally magical doing synchronised breathing with 2 Labradors. Sadly a difficult time right now as we have just lost beautiful Molly our 13 year old lab who embraced meditation like a pro and had the most gorgeous noisy breathing.
4. Journal your thoughts; Brain dumping on paper is as satisfying as a good poo, sorry but true for me and again linked to my gut obsession (and again weirdly another good side effect of a daily morning routine). Creating some prompts in your journal is helpful such as listing what you are grateful for and intentions and goals for the day/week.
5. Affirmations; Re wiring your brain to the truth about who you are based on your thoughts and beliefs and not crap you have made your story can be erased by positive affirmations either said out loud or written in your journal.
6. Movement; I like doing 6 sun salutations but do whatever you like for about 10 minutes. A few press-ups or squats, skipping or hula hooping. It really doesn’t matter, just move but still keep it silent!
7. Reading: my fave bit as I get to have my espresso and hit that lovely armchair with a book, try and make it inspirational, uplifting and thought provoking.