Tag Archives: morning routine

Time To Begin – Monday Morning Tips

Happy Monday Morning!!! I hope everyone’s weekend was filled with fun and happiness and everyone is ready to go out and conquer their week!

To Enthusiastic for a Monday Morning??

Yeahhh…

Mondays are blah aren’t they? I’m almost positive there was a committee at some point in time that said, “this day…this so called Monday, will forever be the blah day of everyone’s week.” Like, rude right!

So how many of us see Mondays as the evil step child of the week? The day you know your not getting anything done, and the day you just wish was over before it began?

Mondays CAN BE blah, but that doesn’t mean they ALSO can’t be productive or reenergizing!

USE MONDAY AS YOUR SET UP DAY!!

Mondays are supposed to be our kick start day! The day you come into the week and get everything set up, you get yourself ready for all that’s going on, and you dive into whatever you got happening!

Below are 5 Easy Tips to help kickstart your Monday morning and help get you set up for your week!!

1. Wake Up and Make Your Bed! – if your not someone who makes their bed every day then this is a great kick start for you! Even if its just this one day of the week, make your bed before you leave the room! Doing this will help set a mental note that you’ve already accomplished something today, you’ve already done one productive action within your first hour of waking up! Go you!

2. Look In Your Mirror and Give Yourself an Affirmation! – Words are important!! Let me go ahead and say this again…WORDS ARE IMPORTANT!!! Write that down and stick it to your mirror or wherever you will see it every single day! How you ever received a complement or had someone say something nice on a bad day or a day you really needed it? Then you know how much words give us strength and help us make it through our days! Use Monday as your word start week. Let the first words you hear and say be words of encouragement and love! Look at yourself and say, “I am loved and I am blessed! I am beautiful and I am strong! I WILL go out and conquer my day and I will do it with peace and kindness in my heart!” Words are important, and how you speak to yourself may be the most important building block of self growth!

3. Grab Something to Eat! – I know it’s supposed to be common knowledge that eating breakfast is the number one thing you need to do, but really how many of us have time to eat breakfast every single day?! If your anything like me then sometimes your just going going going in the mornings that before you know it its already 12 in the afternoon! If you’re like this then just like making your bed let Monday be the one day you stop and eat something! Whatever you got going on make sure to take 10-15 minutes from your morning and eat something. Rather that be a bowl of cereal, some toast, or some eggs with avocado on the side, eat something on Mondays, Your body needs the fuel to go conquer this day!

4. Look at Your Entire Week! – I know, I know! We are focusing on Monday, but taking a second to sit and look at your entire week really does help give you control over your day! Sit down for 5 minutes and look at a calendar, it can be the one on your phone or one on the wall, look at what days are coming up and if you have anything going on. Make yourself aware of what you got going on so you dont over Exhaust yourself this week, and You don’t need to look at the whole month just this week! Looking ahead helps us to have more control over the now cause we feel we already know what’s going to happen! This helps us to feel like today, Mondays, aren’t that overwhelming cause you are in control of your day and whole week now!

5. Take a Moment for You! – I CAN NOT stress this enough!! Your week is just beginning and more in likely you got a lot of stuff going on already or you’ll have stuff pop up or maybe your at home with the kids and have to keep the house running with constantly taking care of bills, kids, chores, groceries, and appointments! Whew…just typing that makes me shiver cause I know it’s stressful love! No, I don’t have kids yet, fingers crossed for the future, but I still work 40+ hours, take care of our new home, shop, clean, keep up with three crazy pups and make sure my husband and I have time for each other… it’s stressful. No one will ever tell you it’s not! That is why this 5 minutes you give yourself is so important! Go sit outside in the sun, go curl up with a book and get a few pages knocked out, go make some coffee and really taste it! Bring it to your noise and smell it, let each sip help your mind find peace! Go hid in your bathroom if you have too and sit on your phone! Girl no one is judging! Do whatever you HAVE too to get that 5 minutes! Let it be the time you mentally make yourself aware of the day and you tell your mind, “do what you can with what you have today.”

In the end, we can only do and give what we have. If you start your Monday with nothing then how do you except to be able to go and give your energy this week? Not just this day but the week!

Fuel yourself on Monday with all the love and happiness and strength you have, cause honey, rather you believe me or not, you have it!! You are a strong, beautiful, passionate ball of firing energy that can conquer anything you put your mind too!

Time to begin Monday with a smile! Blessed Be Loves!

Blank Canvas

Today is a new day!

It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is or what month in the year, today is new and ready to be conquered!

To many times in our life we wait for an “opportune” moment for us to start something. “I’ll start that diet Sunday!” “I’m gonna start saving next month!” “I can always do that project tomorrow!” How many though can say you actually follow through? If you always stick to exactly what you set for yourself then heck yeah Girl!! You are a goal and I give you all props!! On the other hand though, if your like me, then the follow through sometimes doesn’t work out… Now I can’t be the only one that has a whole list of things to do or that I want to do but never actually get to that list! Something “always” comes up, or I “always” dont have time.

Sound familiar?

I put all the small things that would bring me joy on the back burner for the things I “think” HAVE to be done right then.

Why though? Why do we have a hard time following through with plans or projects that would bring us joy and happiness?

So many times we make plans of what we want to do but never follow through with the last step of actually doing. I wonder why? Maybe all the fun is in the planning? No, that doesn’t sound right! Maybe other things are more important? Possibly, but thats just an excuse really, if it’s important to you then it’s important! Maybe I don’t really deserve time for myself? Mhmmm, no I deserve every bit of time for my peace then the next person!

And SO DO YOU!!

I wake up an hour early almost every day so I can just be with myself. I’ll make coffee and either read, or pray, or go ahead and work on here for the future days. I take time for myself to make sure that these small joys don’t get put back. I need them to help fuel me for the day. I need them so that I can continue to give joy to others! You deserve that too! You deserve that peace for even just an hour to go and do things that will fill your joy tank!

So look at your canvas for the day. Lay out all the colors you want to paint with, and then begin. Just one stroke means you started. One stroke means you’re there. You followed through. Then the next day come back to that canvas and add another. Everyday come back and add another! Eventually you will see the picture your life is turning into! Eventually you will see that it isn’t so hard to to add that stroke, so soon you begin to add more! Soon you begin to paint your joys and happiness everywhere you go!

So get out that blank canvas and begin!

Monday Morning Yoga – Beginners Edition

Good morning, I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to conquer your Monday Morning! Heck your whole week!!

This morning we are going to look at a few key Yoga pose’s to help open you up for an incredible amount of breath and energy!

And it only takes 5 minutes!

Yoga is a great way to help wake your body up in the mornings and really get your overall energy and health up!

Benefits of Yoga:

⁃ Breathing! It helps to open your chest, and this will help with concentration and focus for your day!

⁃ Increased Energy and Mood! Feel good after knowing you took time for you and it helps your health!

⁃ Reduces stress! Allow yourself to relax! That is what you deserve!

⁃ Physical Strength! Grow your outer and inner strength through balance!

⁃ Mental Health! Don’t take this time for granted, truly come to your mat and just be. Do the moves that bring you energy and strength. Find peace knowing your mind and body are connected together, the way they should be!

⁃ Overall health! – sounds silly when you say but yoga is one of the easiest exercises to help your overall health! You don’t have to do the hour long practices either! Just a good five minute practice every day will help make you feel better, stronger, and with more energy!

Now with benefits like those, and so many more, do you think you too could spare 5 min from your day? Just 5 min to set yourself up for success!

It’s that easy!

Morning Stretch:

⁃ Start with hands by your side and breath in.

⁃ Go into Mountain Pose and make sure you reach as far as you can with your fingertips!

⁃ Grab left hand and pull to the right. This is a sideways stretch and opens the ribs. Do one side and then the other.

⁃ Hands back up to Mountain Pose.

⁃ Next, down to a Forward Fold. If you cant go all the way down that is totally fine! Only go half way, but make sure to breath!

⁃ Hands back up to Mountain, then back to a slight backbend. Release your breath when you go back!

⁃ Come up then go into a Goddess Pose! This is my favorite! Its such an Empowering move and really opens your whole body up!

⁃ Breath! Breath! Breath!

⁃ Stand up to do shoulder stretches. Left then right!

⁃ Take your hands by your side and breath in. Roll your neck to the right. Roll it to the left. Go one side all the way around twice. Then go to the other twice.

⁃ Come back to Mountain Pose!

⁃ Hands down, breath in the out, make noise when you breath out! Use your vocals to really get that last breath out!

⁃ Then, SHAKE IT OFF!

Whoooo! You did it!! See! Wasn’t so bad was it? And now you’re filled with extra breath for your body, your mind, and soul!

Now!!! If you want to push for more, below is an added on sequence to the top that I move through! I love really moving in my practice though! Just do what you feel comfortable with!

⁃ So you just came back to Mountain Pose after your neck rolls!

⁃ Let’s go down to Downward Dog!

⁃ Breath! Take a moment in this.

⁃ Down to all fours. Hands and feet. Make sure you Re-situate yourself!

⁃ Time for some Cat and Cow! Make sure your breath is alined for each. Don’t rush this! When your in Cat, check your shoulders, how do they fill? When your in Cow, hows your lower back? Be aware of your body in each pose!

⁃ Back to Tabletop.

⁃ Come back into a Child’s pose and breath.

⁃ Breath here for three good full breaths.

⁃ Come up and flip around to where you are sitting with legs straight out.

⁃ Stretch down to your feet. If you can’t thats completely okay!!! This takes time, and this is will come!

⁃ Hands up! Reach as far as you can with your hands while sitting!

⁃ Lay back all the way down!

⁃ Breath!

⁃ When your ready! Flip over!

⁃ Flow from plank to Downward Dog in one motion. Breath through this!

⁃ Once in Dog, walk yourself back up to a Forward Fold. (Half way is great too!!)

⁃ Breath in and reach up to Mountain Pose one last time!

⁃ Breath out and bring your hands to your heart!

⁃ Close your eyes and let go. Dont focus on poses or breath or any of it. Just be.

⁃ Open your eyes, take one more big breath in! Breath out and use those Vocals! Make it a breath that you are pushing Everything bad out of your body!

⁃ Then, SHAKE IT OFF!

You did it!!! How do you feel?

The time you take matters! Don’t rush through these just to say you did them. The time you make for yourself is your oasis. Own it, and Grow it.

Happy Mondays Loves! Go forth and make today and each day after YOUR DAY!

Morning Affirmations You Deserve

Say it with me, “I love who I see in the mirror!”

Again!

I love who I see in the mirror!

Now say, “I am happy, I am healthy and I am full of love!

Take a second. How did that feel to say? Are you just thinking it or actually saying it out loud?

What you say and how you say it mean everything when it comes to speaking to yourself.

Words are important!

Without words are world would be a blank canvas of untapped beauty. We need words.

From speaking to each other, being able to read and write, and most important speaking to ourselves words are what make up our lives.

Words are power and words are important! If you’re not use to speaking these types of affirmations out loud I challenge you, once a day for 30 days speak one of the below out loud. Go stand in your mirror or sit up in your bed in the morning and speak these words.

⁃ I am healthy

⁃ I am strong

⁃ I am full of love and happiness

⁃ I will be a flame for others

⁃ I will full my positivity

⁃ I have the energy to bless others

⁃ I am deserving of kindness and respect

⁃ I am beautiful

⁃ I am no less than anyone I meet

⁃ I love who I am

⁃ I love all that I have achieved

⁃ I love all that I can become

⁃ I will overcome anything

For 30 days, that is all I ask! Say at least one of these to yourself. If you can go to a mirror and look at yourself when you do that’s even better, you need to know who your talking too.

When you look into the mirror really look at yourself, the curves of your face. The dimples on your checks. Does your nose wrinkle? When you smile do you show teeth? Really look at yourself, study yourself and repeat at least one if not all of these affirmations. Don’t just whisper them…I want you to yell them!

Yell,

“I love who I see in the mirror!”

You are beautiful. You are strong, and You deserve unending happiness. No if, ands, or buts about it! You DESERVE it all!

Morning Tarot Reading- Questions to Ask to Connect to Your Day

Today I am here to share with you my morning tips and practices to help get you in the right mindset to conquer your day!

First let me say, I know tarot readings are not for everyone! I know and understand that each of us have their own beliefs and I am in no way trying to get you to give up something for something else! I only want to share with you my practice and how it has helped me, not only, feel better about myself and my days, but how it has helped me to connect better to the world around. It has helped me find a inner balance within myself, and has allowed me more confidence in my everyday life.

Sounds impossible to achieve doesn’t it?

I promise you though Hun, it isn’t!

Its honestly one of the easiest ways to have one of those feel good moments in your day!

Now I usually do my practice in the mornings. I have a whole, “wake up an hour before to start the day” rule I set for myself. This hour gives me time to just be and reflect on myself, and my mind gets to focus on everything it “doesn’t have time for” during my actual work day.

I know we all can feel that!

I strongly recommend if you haven’t before, try it! Get up one hour before your normal time! Unless you’re getting up at like three In the morning then, in that case, girl sleep! This morning ritual isnt for you, make yours a night time ritual! Anytime of the day is a great time for a reading!

My point is one hour of your day! Just one! Dedicate it to yourself. Dedicate it to time that allows yourself to grow. To find peace and balance. Time that will allow you to love yourself even more. You deserve that!

Below are a list of questions that I normally stick around for my morning practices. I listed them from single card layouts to a three card layout. Obviously there are so many other layouts and questions out there, and please I encourage you, if your interested in learning more go for it! For myself though, I have found the below really has help me focus in on my life, and myself, and allowed me to open up more of who I am to others.

Single Card Layout Questions:

⁃ What can I focus on today to help my path?

⁃ What do I need to let go of to help me today?

⁃ How can I embrace today?

All of these really help to have a main focus point for your day. Make sure to embrace what is being said as well, even if it’s not something you like or understand yet. The point is to have a connection. To have a time for yourself to just breath and connect to the energies around you.

Two Card Layout Questions:

⁃ Talk to me – have a conversation with your deck. Your deck is pure energy so sometimes its nice to just let it talk instead of asking it a question about yourself or life. I do two card spread on this and ask, “what do they see?”, and “what do they have to say?” But you can do a one card as well if you’d like.

⁃ What’s holding me back – this can be done as a two card or three card spread. First, shuffle or mix, your deck. Next, concentrate and focus in on your energy; you will need to find your Death card in the Deck. For a TWO card spread you will look for the card BEHIND your Death card. This is the “let go” card. If you do this as a Three card spread, then along with the card behind the Death card you will pull the card IN FRONT of your Death card. This is what you should put focus on. I say this can be done as a two card only because sometimes we don’t need a “new focus” we only need to know what to let go off and focus on that completely. To each their own though, I have used my deck for both and both ways have helped me!

Three Card Layout Questions:

⁃ Embrace/ Let Go/ Understand or Accept – this spread is to help you find what you need to embrace, either about yourself or your life. What you should focus on letting go of. And message to help you better Understand or Accept this reading.

⁃ Past/ Present/ Future – as obvious as this one sounds I do want to point out, don’t just ask for a broad understanding of each. Be specific. Don’t ask, “what do you see for my future.” Ask, “what do you see in 6 months for my future.” Narrowing down your thoughts helps for a better focused practice and a better connection to get the answers you need from your guides.

Sounds like fun right!

Now I use these questions as sort of my guides for the day. I keep whatever cards I pull out for the whole day and either that night, or the next morning, I’ll reflect.

Now have you heard of Baader-Meinhof phenomenon?

Short story, you notice something new, or new to you and you start seeing it everywhere. Like if you just got a new red car, suddenly, you’re seeing red cars all over the place.

I use the semi same concept for myself.

If I pull a card that says, “spiritual overflow” then I’m going to be looking for places and times thats coming into play today. If I pull a, “trouble focusing” card, then when I start to get distracted throughout the day I can recall this and take note of the thing that makes me distracted.

It’s really, simply put, you ask for a sign you’re going to get one.

I love signs though, I love connecting to a form of myself that I can trust my instinct and the feelings around me! I’m an empath though, so focusing of feelings and energies is what I’m good at and what I enjoy being able to do!

Like I said though, tarot reading may not be for everyone. You may have your morning car rides from home to work you like to just pray. You may do bible studies or gather with friends and discuss beliefs. You may use other ways and beliefs to connect to your world and yourself, and that’s okay! That is awesome actually! I only want you to realize, you DESERVE that time. Not, you need it, or see if it can fit into your busy schedule, but you DESERVE it!

Use this morning practice as a way to kick start your flame!

Let this time fill you with so much energy and happiness that your overflowing! Let it be, when you do go to work, or school, or even just to see someone for the day, let it overflow you so much you’re able to give some energy to someone else!

You deserve happiness, you deserve love, and you deserve peace. We all do, and we all can have if we help to build each other up in our lives and our practices! Good luck!

For I know, I am, and I Will Become all that I can be and More!

Fuel Your Flame- A Daily Reminder

Talking to my family, and friends it feels like we all have so much going on. So much already scheduled out in our days, heck weeks really, that we go, go, go till we eventually burn ourselves out.

We get to a point where everything is just to much; we either lash out at others, shut down and block everyone out, or break down and feel completely worthless.

Sensory overload maybe?

A way of dealing with internal emotional baggage?

Maybe a complex of how you were raised?

Well I am here to tell you, this is noy okay Sis! These feelings, these burnouts. This sense that you have to continue on this neverending cycle of go, go, go, burn out, hurt someone or worse yourself, then do it all again.

That is not okay!

You need to refuel yourself. You need to stop and take in what is around you. Stop and breath new life into yourself. Make sure your internal flame is burning bright!

If your enternal flame gets deprived of oxygen to where its nothing but a burning ember trying to hold onto the heat, who does that help? How does you being run ragged helping anyone? How is you going till your completely burned out bringing any happiness or joy to you or those around you? Your flame deserves to always burn bright! To always bring light, warmth, and comfort to your life.

Every living person has that flame! Its our enternal being, our soul, our deeper consciousness. Some flames burn so bright you feel their radiation, you feel their warmth and are drawn to them. There are some that you connect too, you both fuel each other and y’all continue to help grow both your flames. Some flames help to fuel yours, they are the givers, they are always the ones that make you feel good after being with them. You may know a flame that just inflames yours, you can’t be around theirs or it doesn’t end good? Others you may feel off about. Some, theirs are barley holding on, their flames have been stolen of oxygen and are fighting to stay alive.

My point is, we all have one. We all work hard every day to keeps ours going, fueling it with whatever happiness and joy we can. Pushing ourselves to find more so we can continue to burn.

That inside burn you get deep in your stomach when you’re truly happy. When you come up with a new idea for a project or business. When you make a bomb dish for the holidays and everyone loves it! When you score the winning shot at the buzzer! When you propose to the love of your life, and they say yes!

This is what you should work for everyday. This is what you need to take a moment everyday and think about, focus on, and push to refuel, everyday! Without your flame burning, fueling you, how can you invite happiness, how can accept happiness?

How can you give happiness?

You need your to refuel yourself!

We sometimes forget, we are not built to constantly go. We are not meant to have every part of our days mapped out for us, and sometimes we need to just recharge. We need to refuel out flames.

You need to take a breath. Flames can’t grow without oxygen and if you push yourself to go, go, go then your going to start to loose your breath and essentially you’re stealing your own oxygen. Your own push to go constantly, and be and live, thats you putting yourself out.

I guess our society has painted us all a picture of how we should go about about our days, and then we get upset when we fall short of those expectations. Please know, that is not your life! That Hollywood style life you see in the movies, the magazines, all the online social media profiles, all this is not your life! Your life is your life! This is what you have built and you need to love it, own it, and respect it! Don’t let yourselves burn out being put out because you feel you’re not measuring up to everyone elses life! Take what you have and love it, work to make it better, and remember to breath while you do it!

We are living, breathing, flesh and blood humans who, at times, need to stop and take a breath. Take a break. And refuel our flames!

One of my biggest refuels is my husband! He always helps to “fill” me back up when I start to run low!

Morning Routine – A Daily Checklist to Empower You To Start the Day!

Your day begins with an fast paced wake up call, either by an alarm, kids, or my case three needy dogs. You roll out of bed, throw whatever you can piece together on. If you’re lucky, you can grab a piece of toast or a shake out the fridge and Then your off.

Does this sound like someone you know?

Or better, does this sound like you?

I know for a while it was me.

I was the Queen of waking up, throwing myself together and just going. I felt like I was always going. Like it was just a constant state of my being that I couldn’t control. I was burning myself out without even knowing it, and worse when I finally did notice I still didn’t have a clue what to do to help stop it! I felt like this was the normal part of being an adult though. Like constantly going was just what everyone was doing and I needed to just accept this was life, this was all apart of growing up and being an adult. You loose you time cause as an adult you’re supposed to focus more on work, or school, or family.

Bull junky!!

Yep, I said Bull Junky.

I’ll say it again!

Bull Junky on that!

It took me years to finally realized that that is not an acceptable way of living. Heck that’s barley living at all!! We all deserve a moment to stop! We all deserve a break to breath!

So I wanted to share five tips that has helped me to break out of the go, go, go state of anxiety, that circles us all, and focus on building myself up to help prepare me for a better day. Please, even if it’s only one, try to incorporate it into your life. Even with doing just one of these a day I promise it will help. Let the time you do this be your reminder everyday that your important too, your thoughts, feelings, dreams and desires all matter too!

One:

Follow the fifteen min rule. If you don’t know what that is don’t feel bad, i just made it up, but it seriously is my favorite tip I can give.

Whatever time you wake up, rather that be at five in the morning or at seven or even at two in the afternoon, wake up fifteen min before. So your alarm is already set for 5:45, turn it to 5:30. Supposed to be up at 7? Set it for 6:45. 2 in the afternoon? Set that baby to 1:45. Make sense?

I know it sounds crazy but those fifteen minutes are a huge breather to start the day. Rather you use them to just lay and wake up, and i mean really wake up not just fall back asleep, or you get up and stretch, make coffee, or actually make some real foods for breakfast!

Sorry, half my blood stream is coffee so that’s my go to every day!

Use these fifteen min as you time. Relax and just sit and think. Sit and read a chapter of your favorite book or go stand outside and soak in the morning.

Which brings me to my next tip.

Two:

Take a step outside!

I’m not sure what all your schedule has, but nine times out of ten you will have a window your not doing anything for one minute. Literally one minute. Even if it’s just walk out take a breath and walk right back in. Take a step outside and breath in real fresh air.

My view every morning when I take a step out!

Three:

Eat something!

I know this really isnt a tip, more commen sense, your supposed to eat. But you will be surprised at how many people don’t eat breakfast!

We all need energy and fuel and the best time to get it is in the mornings when your body needs it. I know, its hard to stop and make a meal if you have deadlines, and kids, and appointments to make but no one is saying make a five course meal! Grab you some peanut butter crackers, or those little muffins that come in a package, or heck even some trail mix! My favorite is a piece of toast with butter!! Mhmm, seriously there is nothing toast with butter can’t make better!

Four:

Pray.

Everyone has their own belief’s and thoughts, and opinions on religion.

And I swear, I do not care by any means who you pray to or how you pray or even if you don’t believe in anything at. That is your choice as a human being and we all have free will! That’s a world thing not just am American thing.

Just pray though.

It doesn’t matter who you pray to but take that time and be in peace with the higher power you love.

I can not tell you how much this helps, even if you’re like me and sit and just talk about your struggles or worries you may have, essentially to yourself, do it. Talking it out really helps to get you on a good mindset for the day.

Lastly, Five:

Go look in your mirror, smile, and say, “you are beautiful!”

Heck this one needs to be done like a hundred times a day if you can!

Smile at yourself. Give yourself a compliment. Speak kind words to yourself. Take a moment to show yourself true love.

You spend your days being nice to others and smiling at them so why not give yourself one. They say smiling at a stranger helps promote peace and radiates positivity so just imagine if just once a day you smiled at yourself. You gave yourself some peace and allow yourself to be filled with positivity. Just imagine.

One of my favorite “selfies”, just cause I got my girls in on it with me! This was the night before my wedding and they were already pooped for the night! It was only 8:30pm!

I really do hope these help! You deserve love, you deserve peace and happiness. And you can get those things! Even if your entire day isn’t rainbows and lollipops you deserve a minute everyday to breath and break free from your struggles. Try one of these a day, try all five if you can, and give it a week. After that week see how you feel, see if you notice a difference in yourself and how you Perceive the world around you. See if you’ve found time to breath more or smile at yourself more.

You deserve it.