Creating a Magical Morning Ritual

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Fact: Having a good morning is one of the best ways to make your entire day better — no matter how busy you are. As I’m starting to explore the concept of getting into “The Vortex” (as in, a state of feeling really good), setting my mornings up to be more vibrant and magical is essential.

After years of rolling out of bed immediately grumpy from thinking that I should force myself to go for a run and realizing the kitchen floors is covered in crumbs (that need to be swept RIGHT NOW), I realized I needed to start taking my pleasure seriously. Instead of searching for what’s wrong, I’m trying to train myself to search for what’s going to feel good to me in this moment.

The thing is, I’m an ever-changing, cyclical creature (as are you!), so there’s no one-size fits all — even within the same week for one individual. So, I’m trying to get better at tuning into my needs in the moments after I wake up by asking myself what would make me feel really good and honoring it. Is it meditating or reading in bed? Having a chilled out stretch on the yoga mat and turning on a playlist? Or getting outside while listening to my favorite podcast?

I do have a few ground rules for choosing my own morning adventure. When I wake up, I a.) Get out of bed and b.) Make myself a warm water with lemon. If I do these (stupidly basic) things, I’m much more energized than I would have thought possible the minute before.

#1 Rule: Hydrate — then assess what would make you feel good today.

In an effort to create a morning routine that makes me feel great, I decided to focus on the five bodies, or koshas, according to Ayurveda. These five bodies make up us as a whole being — the physical body, energetic body, mental body, intuitive body, and bliss body.

When these five things are in alignment, that’s when we’re in our truest state of self (or The Vortex, if you will) — and that’s where the magic happens. When we’re feeling this level of good, the things we truly want to happen or accomplish, simply start to flow.

Because these five bodies are impacted by the way we care for ourselves, if we create a morning ritual that hits on all five, we can get ourselves in our flow / bliss / vortex-iness without a ton of effort.

I appreciate that most of us don’t have three spare hours to spend trying to get to a higher vbe — and honestly the longer it takes, the harder it is to get into that sweet alignment. Luckily, things like getting out in nature, yoga, dance, music, and meditation impact more than one of the five bodies — like a well-being 2 (or 3)-for-1 deal.

Pick and choose from the below to build a morning ritual that feels true to you. Try combining 2-4 practices in a few different ways, and see how they make you feel. Experiment and have fun with it.

Remember, this isn’t about checking things off your to-do list, it’s about feeling good.

Physical

Movement:
Even just 5 minutes of stretching or a walk around the block can work wonders.

  • Stretching
  • Yoga
  • Walking
  • Dancing
  • Any exercise that makes you feel good

Nourishment:
The way we feed and hydrate our bodies, in the morning that might look like:

  • Drinking water first thing in the morning (bonus points if it’s warm and has lemon)
  • Smoothies and smoothie bowls
  • Bowls with roasted vegetables, greens, + an egg
  • Porridge with nut butter and fruit
  • Avocado toast

More generally, this looks like:

  • Eating enough vegetables, fruits, and whole foods
  • Drinking enough water throughout the day (I aim for 3-4 liters a day)
  • Eating seasonally
  • Paying attention to how your body responds to certain foods and eating accordingly
  • Drinking herbal teas

Sex:
This can contribute to how we feel in our bodies on a daily basis.

  • Touch and intimacy with your partner
  • Orgasm with or without a partner
  • Paying attention to your menstrual cycle

Good to know: While a lot of holistic health is covered under the physical body, it’s only a small piece of the puzzle. This is why when people clean up their diet and exercise routines in a healthy way (i.e. not forcing themselves to follow an unrealistic diet with the sole purpose of losing weight), they often find meditation or other spiritual practices shortly after. Once our physical body is in good condition, we’re in a position to help our other bodies.

Energetic

  • Breathwork
  • Getting out in nature
  • Quietly sitting and enjoying your coffee
  • Meditation
  • Listening to music that resonates with you

Good to know: The energetic body is similar to an aura or vibe. You know how you can just feel when someone’s in a bad mood when they walk in a room? Or you’re instantly drawn to a new person? That’s their energetic body. The cool part is, we actually have the ability to sway our energetic bodies with tools like breathwork (breathing mindfully or changing your breathing patterns with specific purpose), meditation, and movement.

Mental

  • Making a gratitude list
  • Listening to inspirational podcasts, audiobooks, or talks
  • Reading a book
  • Mediation
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Talk therapy

Good to know: We’re not our thoughts, we’re not our emotions, we’re not our knowledge. Our personality is made up of our knowledge, how we relate to others, and our thought patterns, but this isn’t our deep soul essence or who we are at our core. Our thought patterns can often hold us back from getting what we want, so it’s important to recognize them when they arise. The best way to start doing this is by learning to meditate.

Intuitive

  • Meditation (are you sick of being told to mediate yet?)
  • Reading tarot for yourself and others
  • Guided visualizations
  • Free journaling

Good to know: Our intuition is a quiet voice within us. You can identify it by its calm clarity. It’s the opposite of our typical ego voice that comes from a place of fear. The intuition is all love — it won’t make you feel shitty or compare, it will tell you what to do in a no-nonsense way. Listen to it.

It does take some practice to start really listening to your intuition, since our egos are often louder and tend to take over. Pay attention and experiment with getting quiet and asking questions of it and journaling the answers.

Bliss

  • Dance
  • Gratitude
  • Nature
  • Music
  • Yoga

Good to know: When we align the mind, body, and spirit we’re able to feel bliss. I don’t want to be the person who tells you to dance like no one’s watching, but maybe we can find a time when no one actually is watching and go nuts? Music and movement can be powerful catalysts for moving energy around and through us, so make yourself your own magical morning playlist and use it.

Combinations to try

  • Walk outside in the park + listen to a podcast or audiobook + quick journal on what you learned + make a veggie-packed smoothie
  • Swim in the ocean + text your gratitude list to a friend + breakfast tarot
  • Make a magical morning playlist + dance to your favorite song first thing + have breakfast outside
  • Stretch to some good tunes + make a gratitude list over coffee
  • Meditate while lying in bed + give yourself an orgasm + listen to a podcast while making your breakfast/coffee

Have I convinced you to create your own magical morning? Let me know what gets your in your flow for the day!

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2 comments

  1. emily01/11/2019 | Reply

    This is amazing! Thank you <3

    • Leah02/06/2019 | Reply

      So glad you liked! <3

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