Start The Day Clear

15 minutes in the morning, to begin the day with your own energy rather than your phone’s.It's a morning practice that doesn’t try to calm you down. Sitting up, facing the light. First, we clear whatever’s still running from the night: three cyclic sighs. Then we build, deliberately: the in-breath longer than the out, a physical section that wakes the body up, and a short round of brisk nasal breathing. Then, and this is the part most morning routines get wrong, you sit still and let the charge settle into you instead of immediately spending it on email.It finishes with one thing you want to be true about the day, and one honest question about whether you’re about to do something that would make that less likely.
Direction: up-regulating, then settling.
Seated, no props, no breath-holding. Includes faster breathing: skip that section if you’re pregnant, have a heart or respiratory condition, epilepsy, or a history of panic attacks or fainting, and stop if you feel dizzy or tingly.

Transcript

15 minutes before the day gets hold of you. It's about starting from your own baseline rather than from whatever your phone handed you in the first 10 minutes of being awake. It's a morning practice and it builds energy, So it isn't the one to use if you're already anxious or agitated. Sit somewhere with support behind you, Both feet on the floor, Upright, Not lying down. We're not going back to sleep. If there's daylight, Face it. If there isn't, You can maybe put a light on. And of course, If anything I say doesn't suit your body today, Ignore that instruction and breathe normally. Opening your eyes is always available to you. There's a faster round of breathing near the middle. If you're pregnant, Or you have a heart or breathing condition, Or epilepsy, Or you get panic attacks, You can skip that one. I'll flag it clearly when it comes. Eyes open to begin with. And just let them move around the room slowly. Maybe the far wall, The ceiling. Something close enough to touch. You're not scanning for problems. There aren't any. You're just letting your eyes move the way they move and there's nothing to handle If you can see outside, Find the furthest thing you can and let your eyes rest there Distance does something, A screen at arm's length never will to questions before we dive in. First from 0 to 10, How much is there? Not how wound up, But how much fuel. 0 is empty, 10 is fully charged. First number, Not the one you'd prefer. So how much is there? And second, And this one matters maybe even more, Where in your body did you get that number from? Chest stomach shoulders the back of your neck behind the eyes heaviness you can't quite locate see if you can go and find it You don't have to do anything about it, Just know where it is. We'll come back to that later. First, Let's clear the night. Most people wake up with something still running, Maybe a dream or a half thought or whatever yesterday didn't finish. So we're going to use three breaths to put it down. And they have a particular shape, A normal full breath in through the nose, Filling the belly first if you can. And then a second smaller inhale on top of that. And then after that, A long exhale out of the mouth as if you're blowing through a straw. So let's do this together, In through the nose. An extra inhale on top. And out slowly. As long as feels comfortable and then again in through the nose extra inhale on top expanding the lungs and then an exhale out through the mouth once more and let this be one of the longest in through the nose extra on top. And all the way out. That's yesterday dealt with and now we build. And we build the opposite way around to almost every breathing practice you have been given. So we're gonna breathe through the nose mouth closed and the in-breath is a long one now so slow full right down into the belly and then up and the out-breath is going to be shorter easy not pushing it out so in make it long and out Canon, Feeling right up. Fully fully and out easy and out. And And out. In and out. Keep that going on your own now, Longer in, Shorter out. Might feel slightly uncomfortable but we're bringing in more oxygen we're bringing an energy on the inhale So keep going, Try to stay with the rhythm, Making the in-breath the bigger one. Not trying to force it, By the way. You're not hauling air in, You're just taking it in. And now let your breath go back to normal after this slight activation. And we're going to wake up the body now This part is physical, Slightly undignified maybe. But nobody can see you. Or if somebody can see you, They love you no matter what So sit up properly, Not stiff, Just stop hanging off your spine. Feel the top of your head lift slightly. And press both feet into the floor. Hard, Like you're about to stand up, But you don't. Hold it, Five, Four, Three, Two, And let go. Again, Press them down. And release. Maybe notice the difference Roll your shoulders back, Slowly, Twice. And then make a fist with both hands, Really tight. And then spread the fingers as wide as they'll go. Twice more. And now your face. Open your mouth wide. Open your eyes wide. See if you can stretch everything. And let it go. And once more. Open, Stretch everything in your face. Doesn't matter how it looks. And let it go. And just sit for a second. Maybe something feels slightly different already. And now let's get into the faster round. You can skip this one if I told you to skip it. So if that's you, Just go back to the long in-breath for the next 90 seconds and rejoin us after. For everyone else, We're going to do 30 brisk breaths through the nose, In and out, About one a second. Let from the belly. Brisk, Not forced. If you get dizzy or your hands tingle, You can stop straight away and breathe normally if it feels uncomfortable. So start now in your own rhythm. In out in out in out in out in out Keep it going. Bringing that activation in and when you're around 30 breaths You can stop and start breathing completely normal again. Now you don't have to do anything with it. This is the part where some people might get it wrong, Building up something, But then immediately spending it on email or on social media. So sit still and let it settle into you. Just notice what's there. Maybe some warmth or some heat. Maybe a bus in the hands. Maybe something clearer behind the eyes. Maybe a bit more of you in the room than there was than 15 minutes ago. And go back to the number you found at the start and where that number came from And is it still there? Has it changed? 0 to 10, How much fuel do you have now? So if it changed, You made that. Not a coffee, Not good news, Not somebody else's energy. You did. On an ordinary morning, Sitting on a chair. And it's worth knowing that you can do that. And if you'd like a last part, And this is where the energy gets a direction, Not another to do, Just one thing, One thing you want to be true about today. It might be a piece of work that would make the day count. It might be how you want to be with someone. Just pick something. And put it somewhere in your body, The same way you've been locating everything else this morning. And let it sit there and one honest question to close Is there anything you're about to do in the next hour that would make that action, That direction that you just said, Less likely? You don't have to solve it, Just don't pretend you didn't notice. So gently come back now, Feel the chair, Feel the floor, Feel the air on your face. Lots of movement in maybe in the hands or the head or the shoulders Whenever you're ready, Gently open your eyes. If they were open, You can open them properly. You've started the day from your own baseline, With your own energy, Pointed at something you choose That's more rare than it should be So maybe go and do that first thing