Waking Up This Morning, I Smile

Posted On May 23, 2020

I LOVE sleep so I used to set my alarm as late in the morning as possible, at one point only 15 minutes before I had to leave for work. After doing a lot of research on how to optimize sleep, I realized I had it all wrong. The way we begin our day sets the tone and this frenzied start was not serving me well. I started tinkering with different options for my morning routine, and will probably continue to try new things, but there is one practice I’ve incorporated that has been very impactful.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen Master and one of my personal inspirations. I’ve read several of his books and reflect on his teachings a lot. The title of this post ‘Waking Up This Morning, I Smile’ is a quote from his teachings. For many years now, I’ve tried to mentally note this to myself as soon as I wake up. I also try to actually physically smile as I say it, which sometimes takes more energy than I can muster, depending how well I slept. But I feel like it makes a difference! Here’s the original verse from the Plum Village practices:

Waking up this morning, I smile, 24 brand new hours before me. I vow to live fully in each moment,  and look at all beings with eyes of compassion

I think this is a beautiful verse and I have slightly adapted what I mentally note to myself each morning, depending on what I want to focus on for the day. Lately this has been my personal version:

Waking up, I smile

With deep gratitude for this brand new day before me

May I be fully present for each moment

May I practice kindness, generosity and compassion towards all beings

There are several other practices I’ve added to my morning routine and for me I’ve found it helps build a positive association with waking up. My aspiration is to not look at my phone for the first hour of being awake but I have not yet been successful in implementing that for more than one day in a row. I will keep trying… (any advice?)

Here are some of my favorite morning rituals:

Lemon water (a cup of warm water with the juice of half a lemon): I started this about 7 years ago after a yoga retreat in Costa Rica where I started reading more about Ayurvedic medicine. There are a ton of health benefits; this could probably make up a blog post of its own but here are a few:

• Vitamin C boosts the immune system and improves skin quality
• Phytonutrients have powerful antioxidant properties, which protect your body against disease
• Aids in digestion
• Starts the day with hydration
• Note: consider drinking through a straw to protect your tooth enamel, ideally a stainless steel or glass straw. Let me know if you need a recommendation!

Meditation: You can use the Insight Timer app if you are looking for a free option; they have guided meditations of varying lengths or a simple timer if you prefer to sit in silence. I started with just two minutes a day and it really made a difference for me. I’m about to start the Calm app since I can get it free through work now. I also like to get guided meditations from dharmaseed.org. My favorite teachers are Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield and Mark Coleman. These days, I’m trying for at least 20-30 minutes each morning but I think any amount helps.

Yoga: I used to do about 10 minutes of yoga every morning and wanted to work up to 20 minutes, but have unfortunately lost it entirely in my current routine. I will work on getting it back. I made a short Spotify playlist including “It’s a Beautiful Day” by U2. Hmm writing about this is making me sad that I let this slip from my routine. I will try to bring it back this week!

If you are short on time, you can try some of the above in as little as 5-10 minutes. Give it a try!  I used to really struggle with waking up in the morning, but having a calming morning routine has made it much more pleasant for me to wake up and I think it has also resulted in better quality sleep.

Do you have other morning routines or rituals you recommend?