Waking each morning provides us with an excellent opportunity to start the day with mindfulness. Simply pausing and taking a few deep breathes during the transition from sleep to wakefulness can make a huge difference to the way your day plays out.
How often do you leap out of bed as soon as the alarm sounds, immediately thinking about all of the things you need to do during the day? Or perhaps you hit the snooze button and hurriedly get up at the last possible moment? So often we dive head first into the day, barely stopping until our head hits the pillow at night.
Instead, when you wake up, before getting out of bed, see if you can take a few long, slow deep breaths, bringing awareness to your whole body. As you breathe notice the gentle rise and fall of your belly and chest. You might then like to set an intention for your day. You could, for example, say silently to yourself ” today I bring calm awareness to all that I do”.
I particularly like the following words, which form part of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh‘s ‘Waking Up’ practice:
“Waking up this morning I smile knowing there are 24 brand new hours before me. I vow to live fully in each moment, and look at beings with eyes of compassion.”
It can be helpful to keep whichever words resonate most for you on a piece of paper by your bed as a gentle reminder to start your day with mindfulness.
