Peak Performers Do it in the Morning

Excuse the cheesy title…I couldn’t help myself J

In my last post I spoke about creating great success habits for yourself. The quality of our lives can truly be determined by our daily habits, therefore in order to create the best version of ourselves we have to have behavioral habits which support our growth and enhance us rather then bring us down.

To live successfully in today’s high demands we all play at the level of Peak Performance, juggling the many roles expected of us and working hard to create successful happy lives. Therefore if we are living the demands of a peak performance lifestyle, then we have to ensure we are treating ourselves, nurturing ourselves and supporting ourselves like peak performers in order to maintain and sustain the energy, focus and motivation required to play at that level. By ensuring we have the right self care and self nurturing plan to re-energize us, we will be able to achieve whatever we need to achieve without burning out. 

Now a self care plan is made up of many different aspects however what I want to focus on here is developing a strong Morning Foundation Routine. By having a morning program we create a foundation for which we can come back to during the day. This includes the first thoughts we have for the day, the way we cultivate our energy and the tone we set and intention we set for the day.

Creating a morning program- your 21 day challenge

We want to create the habit of a morning program, which means, getting into a solid routine of following various habits to start your day off successfully. It takes 3 weeks to create a new habit…3 weeks to develop the neurological pathways internally which will lead to new behaviors.  So how about we set a goal to create a 3 week challenge to create for yourself a morning routine which will enable you to live the life of a peak performer with the necessary focus, energy and motivation. The brain learns through repetition, so the more you follow these habits the more they will become second nature.

How long you need for a morning routine is not the emphasis, as we want quality over quantity. So leave yourself anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour, obviously the more time you have the greater the space for the mind to learn new habits. However 10 minutes of focused, in the zone thoughts, can create magic.

Here are 21 ideas for you to create a morning routine. You can do a different one a day or focus on the ones which appeal to you most. Most importantly ensure you stay focused with at least one a day for the next 21 days. Remember, the habitual, lazy, monkey mind will be challenged, teasing you to stay in bed and sleep in rather then get up, so challenge yourself out of your comfort zone and create new habits which will leave you energized and empowered!

21 Ideas for your morning program (ok this may be more of a mini Ebook then a blog post…enjoy) J

1.    What’s your first thought

The first thought you have determines the tone for the rest of your day. If you wake up stressed, worried and anxious then that is pretty much how the rest of the day will follow. Although by 3pm the anxiety will be exhausting and will lead to 3:30itis and an afternoon dip.

So start your day off mindfully with a positive thought. For example;

“Today I will turn every opportunity into an opportunity for growth.”

2.    Waking up to gratitude

Gratitude instantly opens the heart, so by starting your day by focusing on what you have to be most grateful for instantly means you will be living that day heart focused and in a space of appreciation and gratitude which calms the nervous system and immediately opens the heart.

3.    Setting your intention for the day

As you wake up think about your intention for the day. This means deciding what personal value you will be connected and aligned with. For example, today I will be calm and focused or Today I will be courageous and strong.

4.    Affirmations

An Affirmation is a positive statement which affirms a positive emotion. This means that your language is stated in the positive, directing the mind with exactly what you want….

I am happy ,I am calm, I am free, I am confident, I am strong, I am focused

5.    Visualization

The unconscious mind thinks in pictures, and the pictures we hold in our mind programs the nervous system which ultimately programs our behavior. So starting the morning with a powerful visualization is a key tool to peak performance training. Based on the emotions you would like to feel you can use guided imagery to focus the mind. For example to create the feeling of calmness in the body you can visualize beautiful flowing water or a bright green forest…whatever calmness looks like for you.

6.      Waking up with mindfulness breathing

This means instantly becoming aware of your breath, focusing on your inhale and exhale breath and feeling the breath through the body. This includes intentionally slowing down the breath and keeping the body in a state of awareness and connectedness.

7.    Scanning through the body

This is a powerful meditation designed to connect the mind and the body. As you wake, scan through the body noticing where you feel any tightness or any blocks and mindfully let go and soften the body.

8.    Tai Chi gong Exercises- embracing the sun

This exercise, is one of my favourite and goes like this. As you wake up slowly get out of bed and face east.  Put your feet together and starting with your hands on either side, lift your hands up over your head and then bring them together with the palms of your hands facing down and push your hands down in front of the body. As you inhale lift the hands up and as you exhale bring the hands down.  Here is a video with my Tai Chi Gong instructor, Gad Levi who demonstrates Embracing the Sun as well as some other easy tai chi gong exercises

9.    Standing meditation

Standing Meditation

There are various standing meditations but my all time favourite is Tree Stance. Stand with your feet a bit wider then shoulder width apart with your knees bent, pelvis tilted forward, arms in a rounded position with the hands meeting at the front- see image.  Focus on moving your breath through the body and focus on grounding your feet and feeling your internal energy moving through your body.

10. Fire Breathing

This is an advanced breathing pattern where you focus on an internal flame in the belly and focus on the breath igniting your internal flame and energizing your entire body

11. Yoga

Yoga helps to open your body. Starting your day in a Yoga class or doing some of your own postures is a great way to warm up your body, cleanse and clear your chakras, ground yourself and open your heart centre.

12. Stretching

Just like Yoga, focuses on stretching your muscles ensures you open your body and allow the body to release emotion and encourages Chi Flow.

13. Sunrise meditation

Perfect if this can be done at Sunrise but if not, visualize a beautiful and powerful sunrise, breath the colours of the sunrise through the body and feel the colours awakening and energizing the body.

14. Walking

Walking is a great way to start your day. It instantly grounds the body, allows you to get out into nature and allows your internal energy to be activated

15. Breath connection

As you wake up focus on tracing your breath in the body. This means feeling the breath rise up the body (from the belly, to the torso to the throat) and feeling the breath fall down the body as you exhale. You can connect even further with your breath by counting your breaths. Count 3 breaths on your inhale breath, hold at the top of the breath for 3 counts, exhale for 6 counts and then hold the breath at the bottom of the exhale for 2 counts (do 8 of these 15 second breath cycles)

16. Creative workshop

This is a great visualization exercise whereby you create a picture in your mind of your ideal day or a goal you would like to achieve. Visualize this day as if you have achieved it and create the imagery exactly how you would like it to be and focus on this picture and the story you create in  your mind for at least 5-10 minutes. This helps program the unconscious mind towards what you want.

17. Connection with Creative energy

Focus your attention on your Sacral Chakra, just below the naval and around the sexual organs and lower abdomen. Inhale through the nose, lifting the pelvic floor and moving the breath up the body and then exhale through the mouth and lowering the breath back down the body, ending with pushing the pelvic floor down. Visualize an orange light entering the body as you inhale and exhale.

18. Connection with Higher Self

Take a few breaths inhaling through your feet and exhaling out the top of your head. Call upon your Higher Self and visualize your higher self standing in front of you. Connect with the image of your higher self and connect with any messages your higher self has to offer you today. Your higher self symbolizes your essence, the best version of yourself including your highest values. Observe this image of yourself, taking note of the qualities you see and the feelings you feel. Allow your higher self to give you guidance for your day.

19. Chakra Balancing

This meditation helps cleanse and energize the energy centres of your body. Begin by taking a few deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhale out your mouth.

Focus on moving the breath up your legs and into your base chakra. As you focus your energy around the base chakra visualize the colour red and connect with feelings of personal safety and connection to earth.

Move the energy to the sacral chakra, visualizing the colour orange and connect with feelings of creativity, individuality and connection with others.

Move the energy into the solar plexus, visualizing the colour yellow, focusing on connecting with your own personal power and confidence.

Move the energy into the heart centre, visualizing the colour green and connecting with feelings of unconditional love and acceptance of yourself. Also focus your thoughts to gratitude and joy.

Move the energy to your throat Chakra, visualizing the colour blue and connecting with your personal expression and speaking your truth.

Move the energy to your third eye chakra, visualizing an indigo light and focus on feelings of wisdom and clarity.

Move the energy to your Crown Chakra, visualizing a violet colour and focus on connecting with your spiritual self and feelings of bliss.

Feel the energy moving through the body.

20. Writing Affirmations

Ensure you keep a journal next to your bed. As you wake up write out your own personal affirmation or a list of affirmations. These are positive statements to yourself which affirm the emotion you wish to feel today. For Example:

Today I am calm; Today I am focused; Today I am present; Today I am kind; Today I am respecting myself and others.

21. Creative Writing- waking up to inspiration

With that journal next to your bed, begin your day by writing out the first thoughts you wake to. These can often be inspiring and can offer you guidance and advice, especially if you went to sleep with questions or thoughts you were seeking answers on.

So there you have 21 ideas and meditations to help you start a great morning routine and create a 21 day challenge. Remember that the way you start your morning will form the foundation of the rest of the day and build strong and powerful habits to live your life in peak performance.

Enjoy!

Share your 3 week challenge with us on Facebook and help inspire others with your ideas

To your truth and freedom with lots of love,

Cheryne Blom

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