Self Care Sadhana...my morning ritual that changed everything...

Having a consistent, daily contemplative practice has radically changed my relationship with myself.For many years I had a pretty regular asana/meditation/running practice but it was random and irregular. In the fall {in the midst of some really challenging personal times} I made a very strong commitment to myself and and my daily practice. At the time I made the container very strong, {a minimum of 30 minutes of practice every single morning before I do anything else} and the contents of the container flexible. In the beginning my practice was different all the time.  Sometimes I would I do 20 minutes of seated meditation followed by a few minutes of journaling and other times I will do a 60 minute challenging asana practice.  Sometimes I would rest in one restorative pose for 30 minutes and other times I would sit for short meditation practice and then go for a run.Over the last 6 months my practice has become more simple and even more consistent. This daily check in helps me remember how to come home to myself so I can hold space for others to do the same. I have always LOVED hearing about other people’s morning practices and rituals and it has helped inspire my own, so I thought I would share my current practice with you here:

• At night I put my phone in airplane mode before I walk into my bedroom. This is one of the most important and life changing parts of my practice. I am extremely consistent about this and I feel the positive effects of starting my day without that thing in my face every morning.
• First thing in the morning I heat up water and have a glass of warm water with lemon while I make coffee.
• I take my warm water and coffee to the cushion with me! Whether I am On Coffee or Off Coffee is one of the great dramas of my life. I am trying to let go of the drama, and since I am sleeping really well {albeit, not quite enough} I am currently On Coffee and enjoying every minute of it.
• I do a sitting meditation practice for 20 minutes, followed by journaling for as long as I need.

That is it! The practice of consistently choosing to come home to myself in this way makes me feel so loved and taken care of and that impacts the kind of friend, daughter, teacher and partner I can be.There are a few other pieces of my practice that I would LOVE to do in the morning {so they happen just as consistently as my meditation practice}, but I haven’t quite figured out how yet. They are:

• 10 minutes of oil pulling
• 30 to 45 minutes of asana
• quick 2 or 3 mile run

I still fit those things in most days, but because I don't have enough time in the morning for everything I am using them as transition practices instead. In some ways, this may be even more valuable!I used to teach 25 private yoga classes a week, but as I rebuild my teaching practice in a new city I am currently only teaching 11 or 12 classes each week. This means I have more breaks in my day to do computer work {like write this blog!} and I don’t have to work on the weekends, so that is fabulous. What that does mean is that during my work days I am constantly transitioning from one task to another: teach two clients, come home and write a blog post, have a call with a teacher seeing my NYC clients, go out and teach another client, come home and catch up on emails....every hour or two I transition from very different roles and tasks. This can feel challenging and uncomfortable to me, and I often feel the desire to numb out. I catch myself mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, or spacing out eating a snack I don’t really need when I want  a “break”. Now when I need help transitioning from one work task to another I will:

• do 10 minutes of restorative yoga
• do 10 minutes of oil pulling and read the paper {in paper form, not on a screen!}
• go for a run if I have time
• throw my mat down and practice for 30 minutes

It has been important for me to remember that investigating my relationship to my practice is as fruitful and interesting as the practice itself. When I have lamented that I am not being as consistent or committed to myself as I would like, I have been reminded by my very wise teachers that it is the desire to commit to myself that will get me back to the cushion, not because I feel like I “should”.So now I REALLY want to hear from you! What are your morning practices and daily rituals? I would love to be inspired by you all!