“Flow is a state of optimal experience where we feel our best and perform our best. It is the path to unlocking our full potential.” ~Csikszentmihalyi
The typical morning of a human being operating inside hustle culture is anything but sacred.
Loud, jarring noises from the alarm clock, at an hour when your body is not ready to rise, send shocks to your system. You hit snooze one more time, to turn off the noise and pretend that maybe, just maybe, the extra 9 minutes of peace and calm will help your day go smoothly. Instead, the alarm shouts at you again like an angry parent: “Wake up! Wake up! It’s time to get going!”
So, you begrudgingly pull the covers back and haul yourself out of bed, still half-asleep and less-than excited about your day. Even though you are still exhausted, you push yourself into rush mode so you can exit the house on time. You rush to make yourself a cup of coffee, shower, and get dressed. You rush to get your children’s backpacks ready and their breakfast made, with barely enough time left to wake them and help get them out the door.
You rush to say your goodbyes, and then you hurry and scurry around the house, leaving trails of messes behind as you brace yourself for another full day. There is no time to ease into the day. There is no time to think about how you want it to go, or to nourish your body and spirit ahead of the onslaught. There is no time for softness and connection, nor for enjoying and appreciating.
It is all a rush. Nervous system overload.
You mindlessly eat your breakfast during your morning commute, distracted by the mental clutter of your To Do List and the million things you mustn’t forget. By the time you reach the office, a wave of stress washes over you, causing you to wonder how you’ll have the energy to push through another demanding day.
Your chance to slowly inhale and exhale has passed. You are off and running.
For years, this is how my days began. Stressful. Rushed. Disconnected. Reactive. My nervous system was under attack from the moment I woke up, which set the tone for a day full of tension and stress.
I never felt I had the space to relax or to slow down. I felt anxious, mentally scattered, and physically tense, which led to problems like neck and shoulder pain, gut issues, muscle tension, and high cortisol.
It wasn’t until my healing journey began in 2020 that I learned about the sacred space between waking up and beginning my day: the space where you can connect with yourself and prepare your mind, body, and spirit for what lies ahead. The space where you slow down so you can listen inside for direction: How do I want this day to go? How do I want to feel? What do I want to accomplish? What is most important today? Where do I feel called to place my energy?
I started to protect this sacred time and become more conscious of how I spent it.
I discovered that the flow of my day depended on it. The mood I established within the first two hours of waking up determined how grounded I was, how I responded to external circumstances, and my overall clarity and flow throughout the day. It determined my stress level and my ability to handle challenges with grace. I noticed that my morning routine was the key factor in setting myself up for success. [My evening routine, too.]
It wasn’t strict or regimented. It wasn’t dictated by a checklist or by how much I needed to get done. Rather, my routine was directed by how I felt.
When I would start my day intentionally and I would check in with my body, it would tell me what I needed. If I felt stressed or overwhelmed, my body would tell me to go slow. If I felt tired or sad, my body would tell me to rest or take breaks throughout the day. If I felt mentally scattered and unable to focus, my body would tell me to meditate or go out in nature. If I felt bored or unmotivated, it would tell me to try to add something fun or playful.
Learning to listen inside taught me that I was in control. My inner self had the answers and the guidance I needed to lead me through my day with greater ease. All I had to do was to create the space to hear its wisdom.
As spiritual teacher Joe Dispenza reminds us, we can either be victims of our circumstances or creators of them. Which one we decide is in our control. It all begins with how we start our day.
Design your day.
Design your week.
Design your life.
By taking daily, actionable steps that promote our mental and emotional peace, we create a life that supports our overall wellbeing and vitality. Rather than reacting to life’s demands and pressures, we have the ability to consciously choose how we move.
Here are some action steps that have helped me tremendously. I encourage you to incorporate these into your morning routine (or as early in the day as possible), allowing you to flow through your day with less stress, greater clarity, and more ease.
Three Tips to Transform Your Day:
1. Start Your Day with a Soft Landing
Contrary to what the world will have you believe, beginning your day with a soft landing leads to the greatest results. Waking up slowly, savoring your coffee and your breakfast, meditating or praying, taking your time getting ready, listening to calm music… all lead to maintaining a regulated nervous system. Your morning should be peaceful. It should be soft and spacious. It should allow you time to connect with your five senses and your inner guidance system.
If your morning is full of high demands or rushed To Do Lists, your body will stay in fight, flight, or freeze mode the rest of the day, causing you more stress and more mental fog. But if you can ease into your day slowly and establish flow, it will carry you through the rest of the day and help you be more focused and balanced. Ultimately, it will help you be more successful.
When hustle culture tries to push or pressure you first thing in the morning, fight back. That work meeting scheduled at 8am? Reschedule it. Your boss wanting to talk to you first thing in the morning? Respectfully ask him/her to find you later in the day. A coworker demanding an immediate answer? Inform them you will respond as soon as you are able. You are honoring your sacred space.
Do your best to keep your calendar clear in the morning; at least for the first hour of the work day. This will give you the spaciousness you need to check in with yourself and to allow your body’s rhythm to slowly establish itself. You are, after all, protecting your peace and your wellbeing, and that is worth more than any job could pay you.
2. Stay Grounded in Your Body
Next, the fast-paced culture in which we live causes us to disconnect from our bodies and live in our heads. We are more worried about the endless list of obligations we must fulfill than how our bodies feel or how we can better care for ourselves. We ignore the subtle hints our bodies give us, telling us to “slow down,” “take a break,” “relax.” We push forward, exerting ourselves beyond the point that is healthy or humanly possible, just so we can check off another box on our To Do List.
This type of stress and mental clutter takes its toll. Soon, we develop signs of “dis-ease”, illness, physical ailments, and other side effects like anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Our minds need a break.
Some of the best techniques for grounding yourself into your body include: stretching, walking, dancing, yoga, somatic exercises, salt baths, putting your bare feet on the grass, massage, and breathwork. Adding one or more of these to your day will help you get out of your head and into your body, liberating you from the incessant mind chatter that disrupts your flow and causes you to feel anxious and overwhelmed.
3. Follow this 20-Minute Flow Routine
Lastly, you may find it helpful to incorporate this 20-minute routine into your mornings. Creating this sacred space sometime early in your day will allow you to move through the rest of your day feeling calm and centered. There is no need to be strict or regimented with this routine, as the word “flow” implies that you allow things to unfold without resistance. You may incorporate it anytime, as your schedule allows. Your body and spirit will tell you what you need each day, but this is a general guideline.
- 5 minutes: Spend the first five minutes after waking in silence, with no distractions. No cell phone. No music. No talking. No consuming. Place your hand on your chest as you lie comfortably in bed. Stretch your body. Feel the rise and fall of your chest. Tap in to how your body feels. Quietly give gratitude to the day, to your health, to your home, to your family, and anything else you wish, before you step out of bed.
- 5 minutes: After you get your morning coffee, perform some slow, basic stretches to ground into your body, release stagnant energy, and loosen your muscles and joints. This will help you feel more relaxed physically and mentally as you prepare to begin your day. Stretching (especially hip-opening and posture stretches) is particularly beneficial for those of us who sit at a desk or a computer all day. I have linked some somatic stretching exercises in the Resource section of my website, if you’d like an example to follow.
- 10 minutes: Finally, meditate or journal for 10 minutes to bring your awareness from your head to your heart or your body. Meditation is the best way to reset your nervous system and prepare your mind, body, and spirit for the day ahead. It is also beneficial for visualization, for tuning in with your inner self, and for receiving clarity on important matters. If meditation is difficult for you, then the next best mind-clearing technique is journaling. Ten minutes of journaling will help you release any thoughts or worries from your mind that are taking up unnecessary space. The time will pass quickly, so if you can journal longer than ten minutes, please do so. Check out my customized journaling template in the Downloadables section to get you started.
Incorporate these action steps into your daily routine for 21 days straight and watch your mood, your peace, and your life transform.
Wishing you a peaceful day.
Much love. ♥
Recommended Resources:
- April’s Journaling Template: https://divine-soul-guidance.com/product/aprils-unique-journaling-technique-free-download/
- Somatic Stretches and Exercises: https://www.youtube.com/c/BrettLarkinYoga/videos
- Breathwork to Move Stuck Energy: https://www.youtube.com/c/BreatheWithSandy
orker, and spiritual mentor who guides others on their awakening journey to heal from unhealthy patterns and behaviors, free themselves from the past, and step into becoming their most authentic, aligned selves. She is the author of Bravely Becoming © 2021 and the course creator of Soul Awakened, a step-by-step guide to navigating the awakening process.
