Have you ever noticed how a baby wakes up? Soft, languid stretches, slow, deep breaths, gentle opening of the eyes and taking in all that’s around. A natural, peaceful ritual rushed and replaced with phone screens and walks through the mind’s maze even before our eyes open, as we grow older. There must be a reason (or multiple) why we don’t wake up happy and refreshed more often than not. And let’s face it, not proclaiming yourself as a morning person isn’t a good enough excuse to defend your resting-morning-face. Yes, no-talk pre-coffee time is sacred and should not be messed with, but we’re talking about the general feeling of gloom, low energy or lethargy we sometimes wake up with, as opposed to feeling well-rested and rejuvenated. By developing certain simple habits and giving up some, making mindful changes to our everyday routine and understanding our anatomy and mind, we can wake up easy, happy and just like a baby—peacefully. We asked wellness experts how we can make our mornings better, wake up happier and not feel sluggish at the start of a fresh new day. Here’s their piece of advice.
Make yoga a morning practise
“A yogic approach to your day is the best way to wake up happy,” says Kaavita Das, founder of The Pink Lotus Academia, a teaching platform focused on Indian classical artforms and yoga. Start with breathing in bed; she adds, “wake up, sit up, and do five minutes of breath awareness,” this means watching your inhalations and exhalations as they go up from your navel to your throat and down. She recommends starting your morning with the following asanas (in the sun and natural air if possible) and ending with anulom-vilom (the breathing technique that boosts immunity) to really awaken your mind and body.
Vajrasana: Performing vajrasana helps our digestive system in many ways. It obstructs blood flow to our legs and thighs and increases it in our stomach area, thus improving our bowel movements and relieving constipation.
Bhadrasana/ Baddha Konasana: This asana improves posture and concentration, and keeps the mind focused and relaxed. Bhadrasana is good for those who find it difficult to sit in more classical posture like Padmasana and Vajrasana.
Seated cat and cow: Practice this asana to bring movement flow back in your body as it relieves neck tension. It also allows you to release heat and open up your energy centres, regulating the body temperature.
Child’s pose: This gentle stretch for the back, hips, thighs, and ankles alleviates accumulative stress in the body and prepares it to perform throughout the day.
Sync with your circadian rhythm
Our body has an internal clock that sends signals to remind us when to wake up and sleep. We often ignore it. “Work and social life as per circadian rhythm is one the most effective ways to wake up happy,” says Kanchan Rai, emotional and mental wellbeing coach and founder of Let Us Talk. “If you find your circadian sleep phase out of sync, you can either shift your social life to match the rhythm or shift it to match your social life,” she adds.
Follow a calming bedtime routine to wind down
Having a bedtime routine disciplines your day, “if there is no bedtime routine, it can become easy for us to extend our work hours, stay engaged in gadgets and technology till we sleep, and have no clear-cut boundaries between our responsibilities and personal life,” says Luke Coutinho, holistic lifestyle coach, integrative and lifestyle medicine and founder of YouCare. “For our body to drift off to sleep, it is necessary to shift its state from a sympathetic (flight and fight) to a parasympathetic (rest and digest) phase. And that is where night-time rituals are helpful.” Adopt simple but impactful rituals like eating your last meal of the day at least two hours before bedtime, dim the lights after sunset, stay away from gadgets an hour before sleeping and use that time to organise your next day instead—a basic to-do-list will do. Meditation, warm baths and calming teas, practising gratitude and reading a book before bed will bring your mind and body to a state of solitunde and thereby bring sound sleep.
Make your own morning routine
How you wake up sets the tone for the rest of the day. Devise your own morning routine—whether it’s meditating or a walk outdoors, practising sun salutations, gardening or simply drinking warm water—and stick to it. Coutinho suggests waiting for 3 hours before your first cup of coffee or tea, and believes in the power of setting an intention for the day—“it all starts with you deciding to be happy,” he adds. Whatever you plan to do, take it one step at a time. Be easy on yourself. “Don’t push yourself to get up, get ready, and get started. Don’t think about the day in its entirety. Keep it simple. Embrace things around you. This may include making a cup of tea, going on a morning stroll, feeding your pet or taking a shower to freshen up,” says Rai.
Eat mindfully, before sunset and after sunrise
We know that sugary and processed foods, chocolate and caffeine, greasy, spicy food and alcohol are our sleep cycle’s worst nightmare. But it’s equally important to be mindful of what we consume and wake our body up with in the am. “With morning depression, we often tend to eat whatever we get our hands on that results in reduced blood sugar levels and worsen the symptoms,” says Rai. “Therefore, it is important to eat a nutritious whole-food breakfast to bring our body to a level where it can function more efficiently.” A healthy wholesome breakfast will also take away the tiredness, grogginess and charge you up for the day ahead.
Don’t let your alarm cause sleep inertia
You’d think your favourite Dua Lipa track played to you every morning would be a good way to wake up with a good mood. But loud, shrill alarms that cause a sudden jolt of wakefulness can lead to an increase in cortisol and adrenaline, which can shock the heart and disrupt natural cycles, according to Coutinho. Instead, set serene sounds of nature, birdsong or waterfall as your wake up call. And as hard as it may sound, set a fixed sleep and wake up time, even on weekends. Give your body time to accept this consistency and it will stop resisting.
Source: vogue.in
