Sunday, March 16, 2008

Starting Your Morning On The Right Foot


The way that I start my morning influences the rest of my day. During yoga teacher training, the swamis talked about the tamasic energy that builds up during the night while we sleep. Although tamas allows us to relax, if it manifests, we continue to feel sluggish, heavy, and negative as the day moves on. Showering in the morning and other simple practices help to reduce the tamasic energy in your body. The three gunas of yogic philosophy are tamas (inertia), rajas (activity), and sattva (purity). These energies are always present, but one is usually stronger than the others depending on our diet, lifestyle, and state of mind.

Here is my recipe for getting up on the right side of the bed:

As soon as you rise...

(1) Dry Brush entire body (small counter clockwise circles from the bottoms of your feet to your shoulders with a natural bristle body brush)
-if you have extra time, put on an all-natural organic face mask before you dry brush (its like a mini-spa treatment!)
(2) Shower (try to be in the moment and enjoy the shower, focus on your breath, try to set a positive intention for the day)
(3) After showering, moisturize your whole body with organic, cold pressed coconut oil (run container under warm water to liquefy)
(4) Floss, brush teeth, and gargle
(5) Make some Green Juice!

Beginning my day by taking care of myself, rather than laying on the couch and watching t.v., helps me to live the rest of my day consciously. Otherwise, I get stuck in a lazy, ho-hum mood and it becomes more difficult to break that state of mind. It only takes me an extra 30 minutes to do these steps.

Is there anything that helps you start your day in a positive way?

2 comments:

Allie said...

Oh, I need my shower! I need a little bit of time to zone out and drink tea, but I can't start my day without a shower. I wish I could.

I also really can't get going unless I put my contacts in. If I wear my glasses all day, it's pretty much a given that I won't be productive. Isn't that weird?

Anonymous said...

Its funny how everyone has their little quirks to get them started. I have rituals when I start my writing for the day. I have to check certain websites before I can do anything "work" related! I'm still doing that right now. Time to get to work:)