Starting with a morning meditation can reduce stress and help you create the conditions for a more successful day. Whether you wake up at 5 a.m. or 10 a.m., incorporating a morning practice into your daily life can become an anchor in a life often full of often unpredictable events and variables.
Why is it important to have a morning routine?
When in the morning with a meditation, it is the opportunity to be fully aware, fully awake and fully alive before even “doing” anything. By creating a regular morning practice, you cultivate peace of mind and happier relationships by being more kind and less judgmental of yourself and others.
With many people's hectic lifestyles, our days can include a bit of stress and pressure. We usually assume that this stress is simply an inevitable part of life, but meditation can help us manage our home and work lives more skillfully.
Meditation can be beneficial at any time. However there are certain advantages to practicing in the morning before breakfast. This is because often mornings are calm in nature, while afternoons are more likely to be hectic with ever-changing to-do lists.
It is not a question of revolutionizing your daily life with a 3-hour routine but only of adopting a new 5 to 10 minute ritual and integrating it into your daily life. It should be thought of as stretching the brain.
Morning mindfulness meditation is something that can be done anywhere: in bed, sitting in a taxi, on a plane, or while waiting for your breakfast smoothie to blend. It can become the foundation of your day, something you can always rely on to bring you a sense of calm, in body and mind.
What are the benefits of meditation in the morning?
In a widespread study on mindfulness, it was shown that meditation actually appeared to shrink the amygdala (which is our brain's control tower for detecting threats) while thickening the brain's prefrontal cortex, responsible for reflection and behavior modification. Exercising the brain to strengthen your thought processes can provide the support and foundation you need to control how you respond to events.
Overall, practicing in the morning helps:
- Reduce stress
- Be more productive
- Better appreciate the present
- Feel more connected to the world around you
- Increase the feeling of well-being
- Improve sleep
- Strengthen the immune system
- Fight against temporary and seasonal fatigue
- Increase the ability to concentrate
- Slow down aging
This is especially important as studies show that on average, connected people around the world spend 3 hours a day browsing social media, often before even getting out of bed. However, this has a recognized impact on mental health and anxiety.
How to remove obstacles to morning meditation?
The most common obstacles are those that we create ourselves, sometimes without realizing it.
"I do not have time." - A preconceived idea is that you should sit down to meditate for at least 30 minutes to an hour. It's wrong ! You can start your daily practice by investing 5 min to an hour. The most important thing is to take the plunge and get started. Start small, then over time you will begin to add more time to your practice if you feel the need.
“I can’t sit still.” - Meditate your way. Some people don't like to sit, but prefer to do their meditations while walking. It's entirely possible !
On a 10-minute morning practice, pay 1 minute of attention to each of the sensations in your body while walking, the sensation of breathing, the sensations of air or wind on your skin, what you hear, what you feel, what you see.
“My mind never stops.” - It is normal to feel frustration when learning to meditate. It is normal for you to get lost in your thoughts even after several weeks/months of practice. We need to change our perspective to overcome this obstacle.
Focus on subtle incremental improvements. You will learn to gradually understand your mind and change negative thoughts.
What are the different morning meditation techniques?
It is essential to first find the type of practice that works best for you. Experiment with different techniques and find what works best for you. Here are a few :
- Breathing Meditation – This involves simply focusing your attention on your breathing, inhaling and exhaling. This technique alone will help calm your mind and reduce distractions.
- Fixed Candle – Ideal if you have difficulty concentrating. Just light a candle and look at it. Your attention will be retained.
- Mantra meditation – Repeating words can help you find calm and focus.
- Guided meditation – There are many resources online that offer guided meditations and music to help you relax. Just search youtube and you'll find tons of resources on using this practice.
- Walking meditation - For 10 minutes pay attention to each of the sensations in your body while walking, the sensation of your breathing, the sensations of air or wind on your skin, what you can hear and what you can see.
- Mindfulness Meditation – Mindfulness is recognizing what is happening in the present moment. This includes thoughts, sounds, feelings in the body and everything that is present. The idea is simply to observe without judgment, and to remain open and aware.
An example of guided meditation.
If you have never meditated before, we recommend starting with 5-10 minutes. The best time to meditate is early in the morning (before your coffee or tea). Follow these simple steps to begin your meditation practice:
- Find a place that will be your dedicated space. Try to choose a room free of noise or distractions and make it comfortable. You can add relaxing background music, light a candle and/or incense, or diffuse a relaxing essential oil.
- Choose a time. Make an appointment with yourself and practice at the same time every day.
- Wear comfortable clothes. For example, your pajamas.
- Sit comfortably. You can sit on a cushion on the floor, on your couch, or in a chair. Try to have a backrest to keep your back straight. Sit simply and straight.
- Set a timer.
- Start your practice with 5 to 7 long, slow deep breaths so you can begin to release tension.
- Then simply start focusing your mind on one object. This could be the flame of a candle, your breathing or the repetition of a mantra.
You can also simply follow a guided video on YouTube.
You will likely have thoughts, sensations in your body and sounds in your environment. Everything is normal. Each time you become aware of this, simply return to the object you are focusing on, or start paying attention to your breathing again, or repeat your mantra, but do it mentally without moving your lips and tongue.
Even if you don't feel like you've accomplished much with your practice on a particular day, be patient with yourself. Honor yourself and thank yourself for taking the time to practice.
