This morning is a chance to choose something new for your day ahead.
It's a chance to make a choice about how you show up for the day,
How you show up for the people around you,
And most importantly how you show up for yourself.
First I'd like you to start by taking a seat with your legs crossed or on a chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground or even laying in bed if you're still there and start with a deep exhale of the air all the way out of your lungs.
Then a deep inhale and exhale like you're blowing through a straw.
Inhale again and exhale,
Noticing the cool air that comes in through your nostrils and the slightly warmer air that comes out.
In with the cool air,
In with the air of the morning,
Out with the air of the night.
I'd like you to take that in breath and count for four.
So breathing in two three four,
Hold for four,
Two three four,
Now out for six,
Two three four five six.
In for four,
Two three four,
Hold for four,
Two three four,
Out for six,
Two three four,
Five six.
In for four,
Two three four,
Hold for four,
Two three four,
Out for six,
Two three four,
Five six.
Now go back just to your normal breathing.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Inhale,
Exhale.
How we begin our morning sets the course for the rest of the day.
Our mornings are the magical opening for the rest of the day and they provide us a window of opportunity to take some time for ourselves,
For our practice,
For what we might need to set ourselves up for the day.
How might we begin our mornings to set that course?
How might we start and then continue our day?
How might we show up today?
As the morning awakens you,
Imagine the first breaths of the morning air,
That clear air before the day's busyness has begun.
The sunlight just rising above the horizon and those first soft warm rays of the sun gently prickling your skin,
Gradually moving over your body.
The sound of the birds in the morning,
The buzzing of the bees and the other insects that are just starting to wake up.
The way the morning feels when it's just you.
The way we turn up in the day is our choice.
The way we turn up moment by moment is our choice.
We can help that with some simple meditations and affirmations that help us understand how we turn up.
I'll say these affirmations and leave some space for you to repeat them or leave them internally in your mind,
Saying them over again.
I am grounded.
I am strong.
I am grateful.
I am grounded.
I am strong.
I am grateful.
I am grounded.
I am strong.
I am grateful.
I am kind.
I am loved.
I am safe.
I am kind.
I am loved.
I am safe.
I am kind.
I am open to the abundance of the universe.
I approach each moment as it comes.
I choose to smile.
I am open to the abundance of the universe.
I approach each moment as it comes.
I choose to smile.
I am open to the abundance of the universe.
I approach each moment as it comes.
I choose to smile.
Each morning we have a choice for how we approach our day.
It's the most important time of the day to make a conscious choice to take a positive approach,
To color our thoughts with positivity.
You decide the stories you tell yourself.
You decide what thoughts you give energy to.
As the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius stated,
The soul has dyed the color of its thoughts.
You have that choice,
Moment by moment,
To choose how to respond,
To be conscious of what that choice is,
And to choose to color your thoughts.
Feel the color of your thoughts as you move through the day.
And I find asking myself these questions sometimes to be helpful.
Am I choosing my thoughts with purpose?
Am I choosing my thoughts with purpose?
Can I bring a lightness to this moment?
Can I bring a lightness to this moment?
Can I bring a smile to this difficulty?
Can I bring a smile to this difficulty?
You are strong.
You are kind.
You are loved.
Have a beautiful day.