Morning Routine: creating a Sadhana
Good morning. Let’s find the sacred in the everyday practice.
I like reading about other people’s morning routines. It’s strange really. It’s a super intimate thing, I guess, and so it feels sneaky but also inspiring.
Sadhana is a Sanskrit word for daily practice, but it’s not just any daily practice. It’s an “ego-transcending” daily practice. It’s sacred. And when I think of something as sacred, it feels more compelling, rather than thinking of it as Just More Shit I Have To Do.
What makes it a Sadhana? If it is something is done with awareness, discipline, and the intention of spiritual or emotional growth, it counts. So, I’ve turned my morning routine into a sadhana. I try to do it mindfully, focusing on present moment awareness, with minimal time staring at my phone.
(Does my morning always look like this? Hell no. But this is what I aim for, and this is what happens more often than it doesn’t. It’s the 80/20 thing.)
Let me preface this all by saying that I am, actually, a morning person.
I’m sorry I know that is annoying.
It's not a voluntary thing. I just have not been able to sleep past 6:30 AM for the past decade or so. But I feel like I am so much more effective in my day when I start off really intentionally.
So here is my deal:
I normally get up around 6 AM. Here’s what happens after that:
Meditation (often with dog)
I use Insight Timer for this.
My meditation might include some Pranayama (breathing exercises) and sometimes I journal or list five things for which I feel grateful.
(10-20 minutes)
Move
I do some yoga to warm up, often as an extension of my meditation. Nothing fancy, maybe something like this short recorded practice.
(10 minutes)
Hydrate
A giant glass of warm water, often with a Nuun tablet (Strawberry Lemonade and Tri-Berry are my favorites.)
Exercise
5 - 6 days a week, I work out using the Peloton App - maybe riding the bike or doing strength work, Barre, or a more intense yoga class. Always stretching after!
(60 minutes)
Shower
Am I really going to talk about showering? I guess so. I use a variety of products like Cerave, Oliveda, Banyan Botanicals oil, Elta MD sunscreen, and Costco’s Kirkland Signature shampoo. (I have a lot of hair, I need to buy shampoo in bulk.)
Walk & Plan
Next, Olive, Jeremy, and I walk around the neighborhood for a Blue Mala staff meeting to get inspired and discuss what needs to get done that day.
(15 minutes)
Breakfast
Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups - prepped over the weekend, so they are ready to go. If I forgot to make oatmeal cups, I have peanut butter on a rice cake with cottage cheese on the side. English Breakfast tea is my go-to, but I am slowly learning how to drink half-caf coffee.
Off to work!
I’m at my desk around 8:30, filling out my Bullet Journal to plan out my day/week with writing, teaching, interviews, podcasts, and content creation!
Now let me state the painfully obvious here. This is not a routine that I am suggesting for everyone. I am privileged to have few restraints on my time in the morning. I don’t have kids to get ready, Olive will happily sleep until 8:30 AM if I let her. So I am in no way saying that my way is right or even good. It’s just mine. It works for me.
My point in sharing this is that you can decide to make even the most mundane things - like walking the neighborhood or eating oatmeal cups, into a sacred and precious time. There is nothing exotic here. But every morning, when I elevate this into a practice, it feels important. And I love that.
Good morning to you all!
