Presence, leap and vitality; my words for this year are walking gently by my side as I transverse the first months of the year. I’ve been rethinking my morning rituals. Being a firm believer in the old adage – how we start our day, sets the tone for our day – I continue to refine how I spend my precious first moments.

I want to breathe more. Listen more. Feel more. Flow more. And I want them to support me throughout the day as I move closer towards my goals.

Breathe in. Breathe out. And flow more.

These moments form a large part of my daily #momentsofbreath. It is time carved out ONLY for me, for my heart and my soul. A precious gift to self daily.

My five essentials are:

1. first breaths & morning meditation
2. lemon water & coffee
3. gratitude
4. on my mat for stretches/yoga/meditation & a card/crystal/mantra
5. journalling

First thing, just me and my rituals. No distractions, no technology and no social media! Not as easy as it sounds actually. The great thing is I can start fresh every morning until it becomes a ritual.

I have put a lot of effort into creating the space for these habits over the years. And it is oh. so. worth it. It makes me a better me for the rest of the day.

Getting them to stick is the challenge. So I sandwich the element between two things that I normally do. Meditation happens first thing, sometimes in bed as I wake up. If you have been here for a while, then you know that I need my coffee absolutely first thing! I sandwiched meditation and gratitude around my first caffeine shot. Adding the glass of lemon water before my coffee took me some time. However, the benefits convinced me. Then I make sure I hop on my mat before I shower.

It doesn’t always work out this way. Sometimes I am travelling or my schedule doesn’t allow it. I am gentle with myself as I realize life is a constant flow and nothing is cast in stone. So I don’t beat up on myself, I allow myself the flexibility to do my best and keep practising. Sometimes I forget. I just pick myself up and start over again. After all, I can start over every single day.

To be honest, I’ve fallen short on my journalling more often than not. I used to add it to my gratitude practice, yet then my writing focused more on gratitude than the free flow that I desire. So for me, separating gratitude and journalling works better.

I wonder why I don’t journal daily? I feel it is because I haven’t really sandwiched it.

I need to place it between two things I already do to make it stick. Journalling feels hard, and yet it is so simple. Just pick up the pen, right. No, not quite. My experience leads me to believe that if I sandwich it, I will make it easier for myself and be more consistent.

Where can I fit journalling in?

In. Out. Flow.

I continue to experiment as I ask this question. I don’t have an answer yet. That is ok. In the meantime, I keep at it anyway.

How do you spend your first moments of the day?

with gratitude for sharing, Delicia xxx