There has been a lot of talk about morning routines the last few years; I don't remember it being a thing when I was younger. Of course, by contrast, the spiritual morning practice of, say, meditating and then doing an asana (posture) practice has been around for eons. I personally love a morning routine that keeps me in contact with my heart, and sets the day off on the right footing. Mine has dropped off recently, as it does frequently before I restart it - again, over and over (isn't this a theme in our lives, starting and restarting again and again?) - so this post is as much for me as for you!
One caveat here is that, whilst practising in the morning specifically is great and arguably the ideal time for a spiritual practice, it's not always possible. Take my situation at present as an example: my son sleeps with me, still. He's 6. And I am not loving it, I'll be honest. It has loads of downsides, so whilst the odd cuddle is nice, it's mostly far from ideal and has a knock on effect for the whole rest of the family. Hey-ho. It's a work in progress. I digress... the point being that when I wake up, early as I like to, he has an internal alarm that wakes him up, no matter how much I creep out of bed, he wakes up and is attached to my side all morning until I get him out the door to school. This means my morning practice often shifts to later in the day - and that is totally fine. In fact my Human Design coach says in my profile it's ideal as I can be flexible with my practices and still stay 'in touch'.
For most of us, if possible, a routine that happens just after waking is ideal, it means we get it done and don't feel guilty later for not having done it, we set the tone for the day, and we also honour that quiet, more holy feeling time of day which just seems perfect for the type of practices I'm about to suggest.
On the yoga teacher training I just returned from, before I got there, the cohort had been practising their sadhana, choosing 3 things to do every morning at 6.30am for one whole hour before breakfast.
Before we go any further, let's get a definition of Sadhana from Yogapedia.com:
“Sadhana (Sanskrit: साधन) is a Sanskrit term used to refer to a daily spiritual practice. Sadhana represents a disciplined surrendering of the ego, in which the practitioner uses tools such as asana, pranayama, meditation and chanting on a daily basis.”
It's worth noting here that they say daily, not morning specifically.
So, as this quote says, your practice might traditionally comprise, yoga postures (asana), breath work (pranayama), meditating and chanting (the last one I would say is more esoteric, however well worth looking into). It also might feature journalling, some other form of mindful exercise like tai chi, or pilates, or similar instead of yoga. Maybe some essential oils feature, placed on on certain acupoints. Lighting a candle, or using sage or pal santo to cleanse your energy field is often a favourite element for many. Connecting to spirit guides and ancestors or anything like that, is a lovely thing to do. Making a cup of cacao, mindfully, and then sipping it on your own in a quiet space. Pulling an oracle card or Tarot. Praying, whatever that looks like to you.
All of these things are awesome ways to connect with your self, the divine, and to regulate your nervous system.
We had a great chat on the training about sadhana, and we grilled our yoga teacher facilitator about what could be considered sadhana, outside of the normal type of things. It was really interesting. I for one am a great fan of being open minded and practical about meeting ourselves where we are at when it comes to fulfilling our own spiritual needs. Some suggestions about what sadhana might look like were: walking the dogs in quietude; taking any sort of walk in silence (a walking meditation); making tea, mindfully and then sipping it on your own in a quiet space; even cooking, or art... for me, the act is secondary to the state it puts you into. Is it a quiet practice that helps you go inward? Can you deepen your relationship to yourself or your God with this practice? Or could self care non negotiables also be considered a type of sadhana? Maybe? Going to the gym; eating 5 fruit and veg; hydrating?
Let's pull apart that quote a little to see if we can dig deeper. It says two things which stand out to me:
1) it's 'disciplined'; which suggests we do it daily, come what may (even when it's hard and we don't want to). Phew! This is the tough bit, as modern life means it's hard to make time and space for this.
2) 'surrendering the ego'; which means, to me anyway, that the act has to make you forget your exterior self. Who you are in the outside world, dropping the mask, bowing down to something greater than you. Being humble in the act of devotion.
After all this consideration t's time for me to commit to my own sadhana. For a while now I have been ticking off 3 things that help me stay sane and connected. Walking the dogs in nature; doing yoga; and attending a sober meeting. They were, unwittingly, a type of sadhana. If I tick all those boxes, I feel grounded, I generally wont drink, and I feel spiritually connected.
I love these as choices for self care non negotiables could totally be your way of practising a sadhana. I am going to continue with these.
For me though, I also want to really deepen my spiritual journey with a daily morning practice (even if it's late!) that, even if I cant manage to do it at 6.30am, I commit to doing every day.
Here is my sadhana, which I've broken into 3 parts:
At 6.30am or 10.30am - for 30 mins.
Preparation - set the scene: sip herbal tea or Cacao if not fasting. Sage to the cleanse energy field and invite in any spirit guides, ancestors, angels etc. Essential oils to certain acupoints (crown, third eye, throat, heart, solar, sacral or root). 10 mins.
Movement - get into your body: Embodiment - moving in an intuitive way to music or not and / or short Yoga practice. 10 mins.
Meditation - go inward, then reflect if time: guided using an app or silent. Then Journalling about what came up, free-writing one page. Pull a card to finish. 10 mins.
Although this may sound complicated it's quite simple and could be shortened. What could you take from this? What would you add in?
The key thing is to make it your own. Also to make it something you love doing. In terms of making sure it happens why not explore habit stacking? This is when you add it onto a habit that is already there. So, for example, brush teeth and loo, chuck on comfy clothes, let the dogs out, feed them, get your coffee / tea / cacao - if this is what you already do on waking - then add on, go to room / altar / space to take 30 mins for you. Does this mean waking 30 mins earlier? Rememeber to go to bed 30 mins earlier then. Success in rituals and practices has to be planned for and prioritised.
Good luck!
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Remember I offer Embodiment workshops throughout the year, that lead into my Embodiment Program, a 10 week group experience where we explore embodiment week to week, leaving you with a new sense of groundedness and peace in your body. Go to this page to see when the next one is! Also, I do sell DoTERRA essential oils, as they are the ones I use exclusively. Email me to set up a Zoom if you wish to chat about me supplying you with some oils to enhance your practices.
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