eing an adult is hard, like really hard. Becoming an adult means you have to learn how to balance your work life with your social life, while also taking care of your mental, physical, and emotional health. This is not a small task and can feel overwhelming by itself.
Thankfully, there are ways that you can actively pursue an appropriate balance in your life through practicing meditation. More specifically, a morning meditation practice that you can work into your daily routine. Whether you have never thought about meditating before or are an expert in all things meditation, there are plenty of reasons as to why you should start a morning meditation practice.
Begin your journey pursuing a morning meditation practice with these tips:
- Why You Should Start a Morning Meditation Practice
- How to Start a Morning Meditation Practice
- Alternatives to Traditional Meditation
Why You Should Start a Morning Meditation Practice
With all of the great benefits, you will be eager to begin your practice tomorrow morning!
Of course, there are benefits to any form of meditation that you may practice. However, there are unique benefits to practicing meditation first thing in the morning.
🧘 Start Your Day Off Right: Everyone has experienced those days when they wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and it affects their whole day. However, meditating first thing in the morning is a great way to combat this happening. So, even when do you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, meditating will allow you to recenter yourself and get into a better headspace.
Even when you wake up on the right side of the bed, meditating first thing will have lasting effects you will notice throughout the entire day. Meditation has the ability to clear your mind and give you a greater sense of focus, which will help you as you move throughout your day.
🧘 You Actually Have the Time: A common thread seen when trying to begin any kind of meditation practice is that it falls flat because you do not have enough time in your day. However, you can have the time if you make the time, which tends to be the real issue.
So, if you meditate right when you wake up, you will always have that time in your day to focus on yourself and your meditation. Even substituting meditation for the extra five or ten minutes of hitting snooze can give you a better recharge for your day. If you have trouble getting out of bed, beginning your day with meditation is a great way to have more mental rest as your body wakes up.
🧘 Better Productivity: By practicing meditation in the morning, you start your day with a clear mind and positive attitude that will allow you to experience greater productivity. Rather than feeling that urge to scroll through your email and fill up your coffee, you will be able to launch yourself right into your work. Meditating in the morning will help you to focus on your tasks at hand.
You will also find yourself having an easier time with your work given meditation’s abilities to ease stress and anxiety. Rather than spending time and mental energy worrying about all that you have to get done in the day, you will be able to concentrate on each task as it is necessary. Practicing morning meditation will allow you to look at your to do list first thing at work and have the confidence to know you are more than capable of completing all your work for the day.
How to Start a Morning Meditation Practice
While there are several types of meditation practice that you can follow, here are some places that you can start!
Now that you have a good idea as to the benefits to starting a morning meditation practice, you can actually start thinking about what you want your morning meditation to look like. While it can always be a bit daunting and overwhelming trying to add something new to your routine, here are a few tips you can follow on how to maintain a successful morning meditation routine!
🧘 Ease Yourself into It: Depending on your knowledge of meditation, you may be unsure as to what kind of time commitment it will require. The good news is that it can be as short as five minutes, or you can go as long as you need it to! There is no set of rules for meditating, which allows you to customize your meditation experience however you need to.
So, if you are not sure if a morning meditation practice is the right practice for you, ease into it by taking five minutes right when you wake up. If you find that you have benefited from those five minutes, expand it to ten, and so on. You are starting this routine for yourself, so there is no need to overwhelm yourself by diving right into it!
🧘 Utilize Guided Meditations: There is no sense in setting the time aside to meditate if you are not completely sure as to what you are doing or what it means to meditate. Thankfully, there are countless types of meditation and hundreds of different websites, podcasts, and apps out there that specialize in guided meditations. Of course, there are also hundreds of guided meditation videos on YouTube as well!
By following a guided meditation, you can keep your mind focused on the narration without fear of your mind wandering off. You will also benefit by choosing a meditation that is the perfect length for you, rather it is five minutes or thirty minutes, there will be plenty of options for you. For those that are not used to practicing meditation, using guided meditations are a great way to adjust to the practice.
🧘 Make it Habitual: It is one thing to add meditation to your morning routine, and it is another to actually make it a habit of yours. While you want to start off by adding meditation to your morning routine, you also want to make sure that you are creating a habit out of your meditation practices. This means that it will be natural for you to sit up in bed after turning off your alarm and begin your meditation practice - just as it is a habit for you to wake up and turn off your alarm.
Of course, it will take some time to establish meditation as a habit. This is just the nature of creating habits, so do not get discouraged if after a month you are still not feeling as though meditation is still not a fully formed habit in your life.
Alternatives to Traditional Meditation
Meditation can take form in a variety of ways, so it is up to you to find what works best for you!
As you begin your journey finding a successful morning meditation practice for yourself, remember that your practice does not always have to take on traditional meditation. Meditation is all about practicing mindfulness, which is being fully aware of While traditional meditation is a great way to practice mindfulness, there are actually a lot of other activities you can pursue to tune into mindfulness.
🧘 Practice Yoga: Yoga is the closest activity you can do to meditation, without actually meditating. Yoga is actually often referred to as a moving meditation, meaning the practice of yoga is meditating along with the movement of your body. As you perform yoga, each move is synchronized with an inhale or exhale of your breath. This means that you are able to clear your mind and practice mindfulness as you do with meditation, while being physically active.
🧘 Going for Walks: While it may seem too simple, walking is actually a really great way to practice mindfulness and enter a meditative state of mind. Just like yoga, it allows you to stay physically active while being mentally quiet.
🧘 The Power of Cleaning: Yes, cleaning can actually be a form of meditation! While it is not for everyone, the repetitive physical motions of vacuuming, dusting, or scrubbing the floors allows your mind to enter a meditative state and focus on the present.
If you choose to practice any of these alternatives to traditional meditation, remember the main purpose of meditation - to be in a mindful state. This is not the time to overthink work and what you have to do right after you finish cleaning or walking. It is a time to be present with yourself and clear your head.
No matter how much or how little time you think you have in the morning, you can set aside five minutes to focus on yourself and practice meditation. Those five minutes will transcend itself and help you have a clearer mindset throughout your entire day.
