How do you start your day, is it the best possible way?

I am a great believer that you are the centre of your universe. How you perceive the world will determine how you feel. But what if you could start your day feeling positive and energised? Being positive is something we are told to be, through self help Guru's and more recently the book 'The Secret'. Many people blame outside factors for controlling their life. I used to have this type of mentality in a period of my life. I would lose a job because the company I worked for, had shut down. I could not control that of course, however I could control picking myself up and getting another job. But I would have to feel positive and have the energy to be motivated to take action and bring a positive change. I realised through life experience that if we are not happy with our life we should work on ourselves rather than outside factors that we are not happy with.

So a few years ago I made a change in how I start my day, to have the best day possible. By being as balanced and focused as possible, I was more likely to deal with problems and issues at work. As well as give my clients and job the best service I could. I don't check my phone messages or the news when I wake up. I don't want to deal with anything that can affect my mood until I am ready. We build habit's through our daily routines and rituals, which can change with age and environment in my experience. Can you improve the outcome of your day with how you start it? We have all heard the term getting up on the wrong side of the bed. When I managed running a gym and training clients I would often work 12 hour days in the gym. I would hate going into work tired from a long day and getting stressed. If you don't have enough sleep your focus and energy levels could not be where you need them to be. But even if that happens you have responsibilities and cant afford the luxury of going back to sleep and starting again. What can you do to help when you haven't slept well or long enough for whatever reason?

I found that doing 15 mins of breathing practice would wake me up and charge me for the day. I slowly incorporated the Wim Hoff method of breathing into my routine. It has been a fixture in my morning ritual for over two years. I start my day with my breathing which sets me up for waking my energy systems and mind to work optimally. I noticed how quickly I could get stressed on any days I rushed into work without performing my breathing exercise.

During the lockdown with me being home much more and sitting down for longer periods of my day I started to feel tightness in my back and body due to not moving around like usual at work. I therefore had to introduce some movement training to wake my body up and release the tension built up from sleeping and sitting.

I started to introduce the five Tibetan Rites. Five movements that you coordinate with breathing to wake up your body's vital energy. A form of Tibetan Yoga reported to be over 2500 years old. This has become another 5-10 minute exercise which I perform either before or after the Wim Hof breathing, depending on how stiff I feel when I wake up. This can become apparent if I feel uncomfortable in a meditation posture.

I also added some more Yoga into my routine, in the form of the exercise Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). Which I tend to perform slowly to loosen up what tension remains and is performed in roughly 5 - 10 mins. Performing the same movements patterns everyday allows you to deeper understand the benefits and modifications of each movement. Over time your body will feel different performing these movements, as your practice deepens, your understanding and intention can change to allow you to keep gaining benefit's from these exercises.

The last thing I do before I have my Tea or coffee is my 5 minute affirmations. I like to remind myself of what I want to achieve in all aspects of my life and also remind myself to be the best version of myself possible.

I now feel like I start my day right, with my 30 - 45 minute daily routine. Waking up my energy and mind and reminding myself of my goals and ambitions to start my day. We are taught we should always warm up before exercise but I think you should always warm up for life.