FP Awakenings: Awaken with Mindfulness

Not only do your morning thoughts have the power to influence your moods, decisions and interactions — they also affect the body’s hormonal balance.

This is the first in a 4-part series about awakening with beauty by Jolene Hart, health coach and author of the Eat Pretty book series.

The choices you make as you start each day are some of the most impactful on lifelong wellness. Your morning routine — including thoughts, movement, nutrition and self-care — sets the tone for your entire day. When you set out to build a lifestyle that supports beauty and health, consciously tuning up your morning routine is one of the most effective ways to jumpstart results, and motivate you to make more beautifying choices all day long. So what does a beautifying morning look like? Over the next four weeks, I’ll share the most powerful strategies for awakening with beauty every day.

This week, consider the power of your thoughts to shape your day, from the moment you open your eyes. Ever notice that your thoughts have the power to shift your reality? That you look and feel only as beautiful as you believe? Not only do your morning thoughts have the power to influence your moods, decisions and interactions all day long, but they also affect the body’s hormonal balance. Awakening with stress (thoughts of a task you’re dreading, work emails coming through on your phone, or negative news on the television or your devices) boosts the body’s production of the stress hormone cortisol which, when left unchecked, wreaks havoc on your beauty from the inside out. Cortisol is meant to rise in the morning to help us awaken naturally, but elevated cortisol, day after day, is a precursor to inflammation, early wrinkles, blemishes, unwanted weight gain, and low moods.

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Tomorrow morning, start your day with one or more of these mindful actions to build beauty into your entire day:

Think good thoughts. Where does your mind go when you first awaken? Practice making your initial morning thoughts positive ones, instead of letting your mind drift to worries about the events of the day or feeling overwhelmed about your to-do list.

Set an intention. The entire day sprawls out in front of you. What do you want for yourself today? What are your deepest desires? Set an intention for your thoughts and actions today, and use it to keep yourself moving toward your goals all day long.

Speak an affirmation. Words spoken out loud have energy. Pick a positive affirmation (an ‘I am’ statement like ‘I am powerful,’ or ‘I am well,’) and say it aloud as you begin your day.

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Reach for daily inspiration. What sets this day apart from others? Keep an inspirational book by your bedside, whether a favorite book of poetry, a spiritual devotional, or a book of daily readings for beauty like Eat Pretty Every Day. Reach for it before you get out of bed. The words you read create a moment of thoughtfulness and inspiration.

Choose mindfulness first. Once you reach for your smartphone, you surrender your mind to other matters. Even before email or news, take a few moments to breathe deep or meditate and you’ll instantly amplify your beauty, both physically and emotionally.

Jolene Hart, CHC, AADP is a Philadelphia-based health coach and founder of Beauty Is Wellness, a natural beauty and health coaching practice. Her coaching and Eat Pretty book series teaches women to use nutrition and lifestyle choices to look and feel their best from the inside out.

 

 

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7 years ago

I took a religious studies class in the Spring where we looked at contemplative traditions of Asia, and ever since then, I’ve been more intrigued about how I can introduce some of those teachings into my daily life. Being mindful is so important, but I’ve find myself not knowing where to start or how exactly I can be mindful. This post is perfect, and I can’t wait to read the rest in the series! Thank you! Emma xx
http://www.coffeepotsandthoughts.com

7 years ago

Wonderful advice. I very much believe in the law of attraction, and positive thoughts can go such a long way in improving your life.

❀Riah
The Wanderful Soul Blog

7 years ago

I actually wrote about this myself recently,

https://skillcode.com/morning-mindfulness/

and one of the points I outlined as the key elements is to allow mindfulness to happen naturally, although setting an intention the night before is great, waking up with a feeling of needing to “force” yourself to do something can stop you from enjoying the process altogether, versus an open-mind can help to really experience present moment living as is.

Anonymous
7 years ago

Oh, what a great post this is… I know a few things about cortisol, but had no idea it could have such effect.
http://www.thechickmanifesto.com

7 years ago

Great post!

7 years ago

But wanna state that this is handy, Thanks for taking your time
to write this.