10 Sweet Little Moments (In The Morning)

I am thrilled to welcome a new contributor to the BLDG 25 Blog, Kristen Hedges! Kristen is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, a Yoga & Meditation instructor, and a wandering lover of words. Her writing, coaching programs, and classes help stressed-out spiritual seekers find their ideal lifestyle through dietary shifts, daily mindfulness, & a lot of wild soul searching.

Morning comes quickly here. An alarm sounds at five. At five thirty, my husband kisses me goodbye. I find it hard to sleep after that. Sunlight spills in and my dog rustles under the blankets.

Not long ago, I hated mornings. I woke aching, and dazed. I started my day running, and didn’t slow down until the sun sank below the hills. I was fatigued, and sick, and stressed.

But since then, I’ve learned the beauty of stillness. Of letting myself sink slowly into the moment and enjoy every breath I take there. After all, we only have this. Bring awareness to the fact that everything is right here, right now. Turn the lens on your life & focus in. If we can learn to find sweetness in each breath – each part of our day – we can heal, both within, and without.

I challenge you to find your own sweet moments throughout the day, beginning with the morning. To help you along, here are ten that might resonate with you & invoke a spread of warmth in your ribs.

morning meditation

Wake up, but not too quickly. Give yourself 30 seconds each morning to stretch before rolling out of bed. Reach fingers towards the headboard, and toes towards the wall. Curl into yourself and sigh. Then, stretch out again, feeling the life rush into every limb.

Find your heart. Press an open palm to your ribs and breathe in deep. Find the steady thump, thump, thump that’s keeping you alive. Allow it to settle. Slow down. Sink into that sound, and find comfort in it.

Reach for your notebook; the one that’s resting open and ready on the nightstand, and pull the cap from your pen. Write down everything that comes to mind. Lists. Things to do. Things to be grateful for. Things to remember. Poems, and stories, and whispered confessions. If you do, you might find that your day is more clear. With the busy, gnawing thoughts permanently pressed in ink, there is more space in your mind for joy.

morning meditation

When you finally feel the life in your bones, get up. Place your naked feet on the floor and steal a few breaths. Maybe close your eyes. Bring awareness to the subtle arch of each foot. The sensitive skin on your soles. Notice how the cold floor feels. Then, without losing the awareness, dig up some socks and pull them on.

Keep a blanket wrapped snug around your shoulders until you simply must shed it. Breathe into the fabric and feel your fingers close around the fibers. Rest your eyes. Comforted and cozy, you can begin your day with the heat of the sun on your face,  and the feeling of soft, woolen arms draped over your shoulders.

Flick a lighter, strike a match, and light a stick of incense. Be completely present in this act. With every sound, smell, and burning hot ember. This is one of my favorite morning rituals. As the smoke rises and curls around your room, you can offer the incense with intention – to yourself, to your day, to the world.

morning meditation

Now, open a window. Crack the door. Go outside. Let the day permeate. Taste the temperature of the air on your fingers. Allow a hot cloud of breath to escape your lips. Welcome the morning for all it has to offer. Smell adventure on the breeze. Wrap that blanket a bit tighter, and go back inside.

Bring water to a boil on the stove. And with each step – the turning of the faucet, the filling of a silver pot, the click and leap of the flame from the burner – find sweetness. Now, turn that water into something more. Pour it into a mug with lemon, or over a bag of tea, or through a filter filled with dark coffee grounds. Marvel at this transformation.

morning meditation

Sip slowly. There’s no need to rush. Blow the steam away and allow the mug to warm your fingers. Drink your tea, or your water, or your coffee, as if the entire universe rests in the hot liquid. So slowly that you can feel the sharp lemon spark in your nose, or the coffee buzz loud through your blood.

Roll out a yoga mat and listen to the subtle sticking as each fold unfurls. Even if you don’t have time for a full practice, you simply must make time for a few gentle stretches. A quick forward fold. A mindful breath. An intention. Take a moment to find the sweetness in your toes curling onto the rubber. In the beauty of the day that awaits. Know now that this rest – the sweet stillness that you’ve found this morning – is available to you at any time during your day. All you have to do is close your eyes, and reach for it.

Find Kristen here, and at facebook.com/withonlylove.

More from the 10 sweet little moments series.

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meg
10 years ago

I am still not a fan of mornings. However, I do love my morning cup of Joe!

http://happinessiscreating.com/

10 years ago

Mornings are way better when you start them off like this. Great notes :).

xx
http://gita-oddsandends.blogspot.com/

Liz
10 years ago

I do most of this anyway, but I am going to give the notebook idea a go for sure. I always wake up racing with mental lists.

http://lamentinglizzie.blogspot.com
http://smellthetoffee.com

10 years ago

I love the morning time. I wake up around 6, do the dishes (I heard doing the hardest thing first in the day is best), make coffee, snuggle up on the couch with my pups, read a few blogs, do a little yoga, and afterwards I feel like a amazing! It’s important to take just that little time for yourself everyday and being patient with yourself is the key <3
xoxo Annejelina

Visit my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrownofCreationShop

10 years ago

Great words and a big inspiriation for me to wake up a little early and enjoy the morning.

10 years ago

This is absolutely beautiful, so perfect. Wonderful inspiration to slow down my all too rushed mornings.

xo, Juliette Laura
http://juliettelaura.blogspot.com

10 years ago

Thanks for the love, everyone! Anne, I adore the image of your morning – snuggling with a dog is one of the highlights of my entire day!

I hope you’re all having an absolutely wonderful morning. xo

10 years ago

Every morning I cuddle my dog, drink my coffee, check emails and blog! I love mornings!
Joanne
http://nycfitfoodfashion.com/

This is so beautifully written. Not long ago, I too loathed morning. Now I relish in waking up early.

You are lucky to have Kristen on your team, she brings such warmth.

love + l i g h t,

SHERRIE

10 years ago

I love mornings, and this is a great routine!

I can’t wait to read more from Kristen! I love your inspiration posts and she seems like she has some great things to say.

xx Kelly
http://wherebeautymeetsthebeach.blogspot.com

miss b
10 years ago

What a lovely post!! :)

ROSALIE
10 years ago

wow this is a beautiful article! <3

Mel
10 years ago

Such a great reminder to practice mindfulness, which can be quite a struggle, especially in the mornings when I am usually so rushed. Thank you for this post!

Sonja
10 years ago

I have always been a night person, and could never feel truly myself until about noon, but I’ll definitely be trying a few of these new-morning-relaxation tips!

Maighdlin Ellingson
10 years ago

love this and sco ducks!

Gina
10 years ago

thank you for this sweet reminder. I will be adding this as my new morning routine. A lovely reminder to find sweetness even in the hard moments – even as simply hard as getting up in the morning

10 years ago

This is such a sweet post ! I wish I was not so tired in the morning. Usually I wake up and it takes me forever the get the courage to get up, because my bed is high over my bedroom, and it’s so warm under the blanket and so cold outside of it (I don’t use the oven at all in the bedroom – and I live in Norway) and I just want to cuddle around my boyfriend. So I get up, make coffee if I have time, jump in the shower, drink my coffee if I have time, brush my teeth, put on some cream, get dressed and run to catch my bus.

Alison
10 years ago

beyond beautiful. thank you for this julia.

Lauryn Taylor
10 years ago

Welcome!! Lovely post!! I basically do the same routine like this every morning, minus the husband, dog, and Yoga. Which I really need to start doing……….

Marissa
10 years ago

Beautiful post.
I wish I cold slow down mornings so I had time for this!

10 years ago

This is beautiful. Just reading it I feel so calm and collected for a brief moment. Thank you for sharing this. I always feel so rushed in the morning. I’m adopting this into my morning routine to appreciate waking up every morning.

http://www.thelastcleantshirt.com

ophelia
10 years ago

this is beautiful, thanks so much. i miss these kinds of mornings. i wish there was an article on how to start your mornings peacefully when you have children.. i feel like i am always so drained and they run in the morning, still sort of grumpy. and its hard to have a peaceful starts. anyone have any suggestions?

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9 years ago

wonderful points altogether, you simply gained a new reader.
What would you suggest about your publish that you just made a few days ago?
Any certain?

dione
9 years ago

Thanks for saving my life this moment and a whole morning of stress