I aspire to live a full life and I try to inspire you to do the same. Subscribe to my weekly Mindful Monday Newsletter for self-improvement, wellness, and mindful living tips to help you build a life you love
On Mood Boosting Morning Habits
Hello Dear reader,
Happy September and Happy Monday!
You are receiving this email as a part of my Mindful Monday Newsletter series.
Today I wanted to give you some tips for boosting your mood in the morning that will make you feel refreshed, recharged and relaxed so that you can start your day on a good note
I became a morning person since 2013 and personally, my life has become more fulfilling ever since I became one.
Today I woke up at 4 am and by 6:30 am, I was already done with my morning workout, meditation, prayer and journaling.
It was after a long time that I woke up at 4 am and it felt good.
From today I am starting my 21 Day 4 am club. I cut out a small page and made my own habit tracker to track it.
Today was Day 1.
But whether you love mornings or not, we all can do little things for ourselves to boost our mood in the morning.
You need not wake up at 4 am, or even 6 am.
Just find a suitable time where you can give at least some time to yourself in the morning.
How we begin our day matters more than we realise.
Engaging in mood-boosting habits in the morning before you head for work can help us feel so much better.
It makes us focus better on the positive and lighter side of things.
So today I just wanted to share these small, simple habits that help me boost my mood in the morning that really works for me.
- Move your body
We think we need to exercise for 40 minutes or 1 hour to validate that we worked out, but that needn’t be so.
Just do a quick 10-minute workout or stretching.
If it’s been a long time since you last exercised, I recommend starting with stretching or light yoga.
You will see how relaxed and good you feel. It instantly helps in boosting mood.
Exercise is my go-to medium for boosting my mood.
I work out first thing in the morning after freshening up and it makes me feel recharged and energized.
I love this 10-minute miracle morning stretching by Mady Morisson.
I also follow Jessica Richburg for Yoga
& I love Pamela Reif’s quick 10-12-minute workout for medium to high-intensity workouts. I use her app known as ‘Pam Fitness and Food’
- Dance in the morning
At the start of this year, I had written a post on 23 ways to make 2023 a wellness year, and in it, I mentioned that we need to dance more in our everyday lives.
I am not a good dancer, but I just love dancing. It is such a mood booster.
Last year in 2022 I remember I danced a lot and it made me feel so good, but somewhere along the way, this year, I forgot dancing.
It was only recently I was feeling like I wasn’t enjoying my mornings so much and then I realised that it was because I wasn’t dancing or listening to music in the morning.
I wondered why I stopped and realised that I must have stopped because of the grief I was feeling after my kitten’s passing away early in the year and then my dog Bella.
I simply stopped dancing and forgot about it.
But now for the past few days, I have been dancing again- just like that and it feels good. I enjoy. I sing and dance in the morning.
But I can do this only when I am alone and nobody is watching me. Lol.
Anyway, I highly recommend dancing before you start your day.
Just play the music you want to, and dance before going to work. Dance as you shower, or while changing your clothes. Dance in between moments. Dance looking in the mirror and just feel happy for your body and that you’re being able to dance.
- Stay close to natural light
Open up your windows to let in fresh air and natural light. Just soaking up the sunlight in the mornings uplifts our mood.
My favourite place to sit in the morning is my balcony full of plants. In the city it is hard to get fresh air but I do get the sun's morning rays on the balcony and I love it. So do my two kittens- Elsa and Ariel.
- Drink your tea mindfully
Anything can be a meditation if you do it mindfully.
Most of us are annoyed, angry and exhausted in the morning because we fail to meet with ourselves.
We meet with everyone else but miss our appointment with ourselves.
In the morning, if you want to feel calm and relaxed, allow yourself to drink your tea only with yourself.
Let the moment you drink your tea be a moment with yourself.
Drink your tea mindfully.
As Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh puts it, ‘Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.’
Simply drinking tea mindfully can be a great start in practising mindfulness.
- Listen to music
I think we all listen to music in the morning, but if you don’t, start listening to music in the morning.
If you feel crappy waking up in the morning and don’t feel good, play some music as you brush your teeth, make tea, your breakfast, as you shower or dress up for work.
Just listen, or sing or sing and dance. It all helps in boosting our mood in the morning.
- Listen to mantras
If you have time, listen to some mantras or hymns in the morning. If you can, memorise them.
I don’t know what it is about mantras but when I listen to mantras I feel more energy through the day.
This morning I listened to this Ancient Sun Mantra.
As a Buddhist, I love the Avalokiteshwara Mantra, The Heart Sutra Mantra and the Chant of Metta.
Anybody can listen to it. Listening to it feels calming and relaxing.
You can find the mantra that you love and listen to them as you sit down for prayer or meditation.
You can also just play them in a speaker instead of music as you start your morning.
I have JBL's Bluetooth Speakers and I play it to listen to music, mantras and podcasts through the day.
In our home, my mother mostly plays them when making breakfast or doing her chores.
- Tidy yourself up
The importance of tidying ourselves up was something I realised during the pandemic.
Staying home all day we hardly give any importance to how we look and feel, but it matters.
After waking up, just putting a little effort into taking a good shower, combing our hair, moisturising our skin and wearing good house clothes make a lot of difference in our mood.
When I comb my hair and make myself feel good, my mood automatically feels boosted and I am able to work better and have better focus and inspiration.
- Tidy your bed and room
Tidying our bed is equally important.
Staying in a tidy room where my spaces are neat and clear helps me feel good and my mind feels clearer too.
- Pray/Meditate
Prayer and meditation I feel is an appointment with ourselves and God/Universe.
It helps us touch our inner self, calm us and help us know what a wonderful day it is to be alive.
Carve out time to meditate and pray at least 10 minutes in the morning.
(5 minutes meditate- 5 minutes prayer)
Let yourself be in touch with your inner self.
Meditation is simply focusing on your breath again and again listening to what comes up in your mind without judging
Prayer is where you ask for guidance, seek strength and courage and vow to live well.
True prayer helps us touch our true aspirations and become a better human being.
Taking time for this in the morning helps us boost and calm our mood and start our day positively.
- Smile
It’s not only happiness that gives rise to a smile, but a smile too equally can give rise to happiness.
You just cannot be sad, angry, depressed when you smile.
Just a small curve in our lips changes our mood instantly making us feel more kind, loving and compassionate.
You don’t always need some other person to smile at.
You can smile to yourself.
Smile as you wash your face, as you look in the mirror, as you drink your tea mindfully, as you apply your moisturiser or simply just sit down, listen to some meditation music and smile in the morning.
- Dress well
Whether you’re going to stay at home or heading for work, dress up well.
Wear nice house clothes or pick your best outfit for work, put on lip balm or lipstick and just put in a little effort to look nice for yourself.
You’ll feel good.
- Eat a good breakfast
Eat a good breakfast. Your health matters. Don’t skip it.
Eat fruits, and nuts and prepare a good breakfast for yourself.
- Get enough sleep
Lastly, make sure that you get enough sleep at night.
Sleep is mystical. Go to bed and it recharges us like a battery.
When we don’t get enough sleep I feel like we are only 40% charged and we feel drained already.
But on days when we get proper good sleep, we are fully charged and on such days we can do better things.
So good sleep is essential and must not be neglected if you want to have better mornings.
Practice some self-discipline in the time you go to bed, and at what time you wake up.
Calculate what would be a good time for you to sleep and wake up so that you can give some time to yourself in the morning.
So these were some morning mood-boosting habits.
It doesn’t take much to feel good if we really know how to practice and what we can do.
These are some things that help me boost my mood in the morning and make me feel joyful and focused on what other things I do throughout the day.
I hope you give them a try for the rest of the year that is left. If not all, at least a few.
Test it for yourself and see if it boosts your mood too.
xx
Blog Post of the Week
10 Essential reminders for when you're struggling in life
Journal Prompt of the Week
What have you been planning to do a lot, but are missing out on the action?
What is one thing that you can do each day about it to get things moving?
Quote of the Week
One from others
"School is one thing. Education is another. The two don't always overlap. Whether you're in school or not, it's always your job to get yourself an education.
You have to be curious about the world in which you live. Look things up. Chase down every reference. Go deeper than anybody else-that's how you'll get ahead."
-Austin Kleon, Steal Like An Artist (just finished reading this one, and loved it)
One from me
God cannot come to us and give us classes on how to be strong and positive.
He (though I don’t believe God has a gender) always sends us experiences and situations and sometimes they are heartbreaking and crushing.
But always try to ask yourself, “What’s the lesson in this?”
“What is this trying to teach me?”
You cannot change what happened, but you can change what story you tell yourself.
xx
With this, I end for today.
I wish you a wonderful week ahead.
Love and best wishes,
Vishaka | vishakablone.com | Instagram
Vishaka Blone
I aspire to live a full life and I try to inspire you to do the same. Subscribe to my weekly Mindful Monday Newsletter for self-improvement, wellness, and mindful living tips to help you build a life you love
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