Welcome to day one of the morning routine challenge here on Insight Timer.
How you begin the day matters.
Before the noise,
Before the rush,
There's a brief window where you get to choose how you show up.
This challenge is about being intentional with that time.
Let's jump in to today's session.
Good morning and welcome to this brand new day.
This short meditation is designed to help you wake up with easeful intention so you can start your day off right.
Together we'll do some gentle somatic movements linking breath and body together to help wake up the body and to calm the mind.
This is a simple practice that you can easily do while lying in bed or sitting up or even standing.
You can keep your eyes closed if you like or maintain a soft gaze looking at one still point.
So let's start by taking a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Inhale and exhale.
Again,
Breathing in.
Maybe inhaling for a count of four.
And exhaling for a count of four.
And now on your next inhale,
Slowly start to raise your arms gently up and over your head.
And as you exhale,
Slowly lower them back down.
Inhale,
Reach the arms up.
And exhale,
Lower back down.
Again,
Inhale,
Reach up.
And exhale,
Lower back down.
Now continue breathing and moving in this way for a few more rounds on your own.
You can go as slowly as you like,
No need to rush.
The deep breathing along with lifting the arms overhead activates the part of our nervous system that helps us feel calm and focused while also giving our body a boost of oxygen to help wake us up.
Okay,
Last time.
Inhale,
Reach up.
And exhale,
Lower your arms back down.
Now return to a normal breath pattern.
And we'll transition to do some gentle tapping on the body to wake up our skin and muscles.
And this helps to stimulate the receptors that tell our brain,
I'm here,
I'm awake,
And I'm alive.
So slowly bring your hands to your forehead.
And using the soft pads of your fingers,
Gently start to tap your forehead skin for a few seconds.
All while breathing in and out.
And then slowly start to move your fingers down the sides of your face to your cheeks.
And then to your chin.
Slowly making your way down the neck.
And then to the chest.
You can tap using your fingers and the palms of your hands now.
And then crossing your arms and gently tapping the shoulders.
And slowly moving down the arms.
And then to the belly.
And slowly moving your hands down to the front of your hips.
And then the thighs,
The tops and sides of your thighs.
And then to your knees.
And to your shins.
Now you can stop the tapping.
And if you were lying down,
Now you're probably sitting upright.
So before we go,
We'll take one more deep breath in.
Reach your arms up overhead as you inhale.
And stretch the body.
And then exhale,
Lower your arms back down.
And placing your hands on your heart,
Ask yourself,
How does my body feel right now in this moment?
In what ways can I slow down and move with intention throughout my day?
Deep breath in.
And now you can gently open your eyes.
I hope that by now you're feeling a little more awake and ready to start your day.
Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings in the forum.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Have a beautiful day.
Namaste.
