How good to start the day?

In my life I put a lot of emphasis on beginnings. The first days of my children's lives, the first days of the relationship, the first days of marriage - I believe that their special celebration is a preview of something great. That is why I attach great importance to how I start and… finish each day, because the end of one day is the beginning of the next. Today I invite you to my world of still imperfect rituals and beginnings, which bring me closer to greater and greater happiness every day, and maybe they will become an inspiration for you - if that's what you need.

 

Every morning is very important to me - I experience tangibly that it determines the quality and sense of happiness that I feel on a given day.

 

Morning rituals

Due to the fact that I am the mother of two little boys who still wake up at night, wander from bed to bed, are able to wake up at 3-4 in the morning and can not fall asleep anymore, constant time to get up it doesn't work for me yet, but rather it is a reflection of what happened to children at night and in the morning.

 

I have to tell you that I felt like an owl all my life. Until today, the easiest, most effective and most creative way to work (including the best ideas and their implementation) is between 22 pm and 5 am. And apparently no wonder - according to Indian medicine - Ayurveda - from 22 to 2 bioenergy pitta or fire directs us - which one stimulates us to act, so sleep is good to lie down before it starts working for good and use it for the most regenerative sleep - especially the one before 24.

 

Do you feel an owl too? I have good news for you - bioenergy of fire is also with us every day from 10 to 14 - during these hours I try to work effectively and with concentration, hoping that when I start to sleep and enjoy the night, I will finally feel this "flow" during the day.

 

Of course this Indian medicine system is just that inspiration to organize my lifebut which is starting to work out beautifully.

 

Time to get up!

 

Taking into account the kindergarten and our work, as well as Ayurveda, it would be perfect for me to get up at 6 am, the compromise for me today is getting up between 6 and 7 - if the children manage to sleep longer, or play in our bed from the morning - I like to use this time for cuddling.

 

Much more important than what I get up about is what I do after waking up

 

The more I drag up getting up, the worse I feel and the harder I get upand it was literally shown to me by a friend on a business trip (I hug you Madzia) how bad it affects me. That is why I like to set the alarm clock at the other end of the room, so that when it rings I will quickly get up and turn it off, and be far enough away from the bed so that I do not jump into it immediately. Such a morning is such a quick picking of the plaster for me.

 

But before I get up and start working, I like to refresh myself. I used to drink coffee in bed with my eyes closed, and today - depending on the season, weather and whether it is already light outside - I like to practice morning sessions of breathing fresh air and I do it in several ways.

 

A morning breathing session that requires the slightest commitment from me throwing open the window, playing the song - recently Holy - Netanel Goldberg from the loudspeaker - which I fell in love with during the workshop on creating a dream map led by Ksenia and Ania Boroszko - putting on a blindfold and devoting myself to the moment. I practice then gratitude, I remember, I plan, I dream, or on the contrary - I feel strongly about myself and practice mindfulness…. sometimes even a tear may run down my cheek, I experience such strong emotions. And this song is so amazing and it intensifies all my feelings, sometimes even the difficult ones, and allows me to see them better.

 

The second degree of difficulty in my morning sessions is - if it's already light, reluctantly in the dark - then putting on a bathrobe, wrapping in a blanket or two and going out for a breathing session on the rocking chair on the balcony next to our bedroom. Music accompanies me again, from the loudspeaker or headphones, or I listen to the sounds of the waking up morning. I love to have my eyes covered - I feel and hear much more then.

 

 

The third and most demanding way for a morning breathing session is for me to pull out meditation mats and cushions to sit on them on the balcony or on the bedroom floor with an open window and listen to morning meditation conducted with breathing exercisesthat ends with the patting and awakening of the whole body. I like patting my head the most - then I laugh to myself that I hammer out intrusive and goofy thoughts. I received this recording as part of a retreat workshop I attended with Dagmara Skalska last April.

 

 

Then I make myself breakfast, hot water and  coffee - or Wojtek makes me - I'm so lucky - I appreciate it enormously! I know that this coffee might not be here, but I love its taste and for the moment I am not going to give it up - it's an absolute pleasure for me - and I go back to bed for a moment with this coffee and breakfast.

 

 

Are you wondering where our children are now? I will add here that since I practice morning breathing my husband has seen such a huge change in me - in the attitude to life, to problems, in the level of life energy, which I feel allows me to steal these minutes just for myself.

 

 

I wrote to you once about that For several years after waking up, I reached for the phone and browsed Instagram - sitting awake in my pajamas, with my morning energy close to zero and gray morning outside the window, without having done anything sensible that day, I compared my background ... to someone else's exhibition and often instead of energy and motivation, a bury of mood flowed around me. Somehow I didn't think that I could look at these photos with a heart full of congratulations instead of terrible comparison, so my heart was filled with a kind of sadness.

 

Practicing Gratitude - A Gratitude Diary

 

For several years, I have been starting each day with replenishment gratitude diary - every day I write down 5 things for which I am grateful.

 

The ritual of keeping a diary of gratitude is often recommended for the evening,How much easier for me was to replace Instagram's awakening ritual with the ritual of practicing gratitude - replacing one habit with another, harmful to those who serve me, I changed my attitude quickly with which I start each day.

 

I write 5 reasons to be grateful every day in my "Planner for a good day”- thanks to this My heart is filled with joy since the morningand a message of joy is sent to every cell of my body. I really feel it.

 

Furthermore, I develop an unusual habit of practicing gratitude at every other moment of the day, until such thinking becomes more and more natural for me.

 

I am living proof that you can learn to be happy.

 

In the morning I also like to wash my sleep off

 

I like to take care of my complexion every morning and prepare it for the coming day, including the makeup that I will apply later. I remove my make-up and at the same time a solid cleansing of my face in the evening, so in the morning I do not want to treat my skin with any cleansing agents - even gentle ones - so as not to wash off the protective layer that the skin has produced overnight and which I have patted it with the cream. But I like the feeling of freshness on my face every morning. That is why I use the hydrolate abundantly - every day in the morning I choose rose hydrolate Lirenewhich is not only moisturizes, Of thanks to the essential oils has very much a stimulating fragrance that perfectly stimulates me to action every morning, while relaxing. After using it, the whole room smells like rose petals.

 

 

Rose hydrosol is dedicated to delicate and prone to irritation skin, like mine. I spray it with my mouth several times and abundantly during the morning, enjoying the beautiful fragrance each time, and finally wiping it with a cotton reusable swabto wipe off the dust that may have appeared on it overnight - this is how I symbolically wash away sleep.

 

 

That's it a priceless moment of luxury for several zlotys. In addition, in my beautiful pajamas with flowers I feel like the queen of her life. And when I wake up tired and feel the weight on my eyelids, I make from it eyelid wrapand - perfect for breathing lying down to your favorite music.

 

Why hydrolates?

 

 

Hydrolate is natural flower water, which is formed during the steam distillation of fresh flowers, thus containsquality substances from the plant from which it is produced, and essential oils. Their properties correspond to the properties of the flowers they come from, which is why this rose soothes the skin, has a positive effect on blood vessels and works great as a compress for swollen eyelids. This z Lirene is completely natural, vegan, available at almost every drugstore.

 

While I choose for the evening Lavender hydrolate Lirene - his delicate scent very much me relaxes, brings to mind memories of our Italian holidays and dreams of spending one summer in French Provence. Has action aantioxidant and antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and sedative - perfect after evening make-up removal. Although my complexion is not very problematic (for the problematic, lavender hydrolate is a shot at all!), I like to use it after bathing, already in bed, before applying the cream.

 

Are you curious what other calming rituals I try to cultivate every evening?

 

Because as you already know very well - the days when I will take care of myself mentally and spiritually from the very morning I experience completely differently. And yet each subsequent day starts a few hours earlier, when I go to sleep ...