I want to make you a deal.
Give me ten minutes in the morning before the phone,
Before the kids.
Before the coffee if you can.
And I'll show you how to change the entire trajectory of your nervous system for the day.
Okay?
Not motivationally.
No,
No.
Physiologically.
The first 20 to 30 minutes after waking are the most neurologically significant window in your day.
Your cortisol is at its natural peak.
Or,
It should be.
.
.
And your system is setting the baseline tone it will try to sustain over the next 12 to 16 hours.
What you do in that window either confirms to your nervous system that the day is safe,
Or it confirms that the threat is still active.
Most of us.
The moment we wake up,
We reach for the phone.
Within 60 seconds.
We have introduced cortisol spikes,
Dopamine hits,
Social comparison,
News,
Other people's demands,
All the things,
Right?
Now our system reads that as alert,
Mobilize.
Zone two begins before we've even put our feet on the floor.
So what I'm going to give you instead is a 10 minute morning sequence.
That sets your system to zone 1 first.
And you build everything else on top of that.
And the difference you feel.
By 11am is significant.
I've seen it in clients consistently.
So let's do it!
Now the morning practice works on three inputs simultaneously.
The first is breath,
And we've already covered this.
Slow exhale activates the parasympathetic system.
The second is movement,
But not exercise.
Gentle,
Slow,
Exploratory movement of the spine and joints.
And this is called interceptive movement.
And it has a very specific function.
It sends signals to your brainstem confirming that your body is intact and it's mobile and it's not in danger.
Your brain is constantly running a background check with your body's status.
Slow,
Easy movement says everything is working.
Nothing is under threat.
Now the third input is stillness with intention.
And that's not meditation in the formal sense.
But a brief period where you deliberately place your attention in your body rather than in your thoughts.
And this is the hardest one for busy,
High-functioning women because the brain wants to start planning immediately.
But even two minutes of body-based attention in the morning shifts your baseline.
And together.
These three inputs,
Your breath,
Your movement and your stillness,
Take about 10 minutes.
And together.
They tell your nervous system,
This day begins from regulation,
Not from alarm.
Okay.
So this practice is designed to be done in bed or on the floor next to your bed.
You don't need a mat,
You don't need to be dressed.
Start lying on your back or sitting if you prefer.
So take three breaths in,
Just to arrive.
In through the nose,
Breathing into your belly first.
And a slow exhale.
Three times.
Keep going.
Peel here.
Now,
Bend your knees with your feet flat.
And very slowly,
Let your knees drop to one side,
Just a few inches,
No stretching required.
And feel the gentle rotation of your lower spine.
And then bring them back to the center.
And do the other side now.
Knees slowly dropping,
Just a little.
And then back to center.
Do this 4 or 5 times at whatever pace feels right.
Unhurried You're not warming up.
It's not a rice.
There's no fire,
Okay?
You're telling your spine it can move today.
So keep doing this four or five times.
Flow repetitions.
At whatever pace feels right,
But unhurried.
Remember you're not warming up.
And when you've done that,
Now straighten your legs.
Flex your feet.
Toes towards you.
And hold briefly.
Before you release.
And then point them.
Face your toes away.
And hole briefly.
And then release.
And do this three times.
And then I invite you.
.
.
To bring your arms out to your sides,
Palms up.
Take a slow,
Long breath in and let your chest really open.
Gently.
All of this is gentle.
It should not be hurting you in any way.
And if it does,
Just back it off a little bit.
And on the exhale,
Let everything soften,
Your arms,
Your jaw,
Your belly.
No forcing,
Just a conscious release.
And now bring one hand up to your sternum in the centre of your chest and let it rest there.
Feel the warmth of your own hand.
Feel the rise and the fall underneath it.
This is your heartbeat.
Your breath.
Your body doing its work without your management.
So breathe here for 2 minutes without doing anything.
Not trying to feel anything in particular,
Just be present to it.
And if thoughts come,
And they will,
Notice them without following them.
Let them float past like a cloud.
You can have that thought in 10 minutes that right now you're here.
If it's important,
It'll be back.
Right now,
You're here.
Give yourself permission.
To just be right here,
Right now.
And before you move on with your day,
Take one more slow breath,
And as you exhale,
Just notice.
How does your body feel compared to when we started?
Not better or worse,
Just different.
And that difference is your system registering the shift.
And that is your morning practice.
So ten minutes,
No equipment,
No special location.
No getting it right!
There's no right or wrong way,
It's what works for you.
The single most important thing about this practice is consistency,
Not perfection.
To even 5 minutes of this,
3 days in a row.
Begins to shift your baseline cortisol pattern.
Your system starts to expect safety in the morning.
And when it expects safety,
It prepares for it.
And if you miss a morning,
It's okay.
You don't start over,
You just do it the next day.
There's no street to protect.
It's just the practice and whenever you come back to it.
And in episode five,
We're going to talk about your skin.
Because if you've noticed changes in your skin in the last few years,
Like sensitivity,
Inflammation.
Breakouts that feel wrong for your age or dryness that doesn't respond to products.
I want to explain what's actually happening and it's not a skincare problem.
So I'll see you there.
