Morning Meditation: How To Be More Productive

Allow this quick morning meditation to help you become more productive in your day. This exercise offers you time to visualize ways you can let go of unhelpful habits and practices throughout your day. How we start the morning sets the tone for our entire day. This practice focuses on mindful breathing, relaxing the body, and listening to our heart.

Transcript

Hello, And thank you for joining me for today's morning meditation. Our topic today is how to be more productive in your day. There's only so many hours in the day and a lot of us wish there were many more, But there are ways to get the most out of your day without feeling overwhelmed and without feeling time is running out. How do we do this? By bringing an air of mindfulness starting in the morning and committing to a practice throughout the day. So let's begin by sitting upright in our chair, Closing our eyes, Feet flat on the floor, Palms are relaxed at our sides or on our lap. We can even be lying down or taking a little walk. However this practice finds you, Become as comfortable as you can. And as always we start our practice by becoming aware of the body sensations, Focusing on the breath and then listening to what our heart tells us. So when you're ready, Exhale all your breath out, Take a deep rejuvenating inhale through the nose, Feeling your chest rise, Stomach expand and then as you exhale, Allow your exhale to be slightly longer than the inhale. Take a couple more of these on your own time, Inhaling deeply and exhaling completely. One more time, Inhaling deeply and exhale letting it go. As you breathe naturally and normally for yourself, Allow the muscles around the face to soften. Notice if you're grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw and allow for some space in this area. Maybe even envision the root of the tongue relaxing and softening. Allow your throat to settle and relax, Maybe turn your head right, Left, Up, Down, Swallow a few times, Maybe yawn or stretch your mouth wide. Whatever feels good for you to loosen the muscles and release the tension. Breathing deeply, If your mind wanders, No problem, Just come back to the breath and the sound of my voice. Recommitting, That is the practice even if we do this a thousand times, Mind wandering, Coming back to the breath, Mind wandering, Wandering, Coming back to the sound, Mind wandering, Coming back, That is the essence of a mindful practice. Noticing that our mind has wandered and then returning, That is the exercise. Noticing if there's any tension or sensation in the chest or stomach area and breathing deeply rolling your shoulders back and down, Allowing the neck and the spine in the back to soften, Release. Being alert and aware but not too rigid, Allowing the hands and the feet to soften, Noticing if there's any clenching or grasping in the stomach area. In our society, We're always taught to stand up straight and suck it in. Allow your stomach to be soft, Taking deep breaths, Relaxing and releasing. Now that our body is relaxing, Now that we're focusing on our breath, Maybe the busy mind has quieted a little and so tune into your heart space, The center of your chest. What do you need to be more productive? Only you can answer this so listen deeply and intently. For a lot of us, To be more productive, We have to let go of something, Of things, Of tasks, Of thought processes. What can you let go of to create the space to either be more creative, More productive, To get the most out of your day? For some of us, Being more productive means planning, Planning ahead. For some of us, It could be waking up earlier or going to bed earlier. What do you need to be more productive? Many of us need to ask for help and that's very hard to do but listen to your heart. What is your heart telling you you need to do? And honor it by setting one commitment right now. What will you do? What will you commit to doing today? Something small, A little pebble in the pond to ripple out, To cultivate the life you want to live. We all have the power in us to create the life we want and how do we do that? We start with each day. Each new day is a gift. You can be kind to yourself for yesterday and start fresh and anew today. If your mind has wandered, Come back to the breath and let's end our time together by taking two deep breaths, Exhaling everything out, Inhaling deeply through the nose and as you exhale, Let something go. Start the process of creating the space you need to be more productive. Last time together, Inhale deeply. And as you exhale, Lock in the one thing you're going to do later today to help create the life you want to live. Breathing naturally for yourself, When you're ready, Open your eyes, Take a look around, Maybe write down some things that you were thinking about. And don't forget to be kind, Have some compassion for yourself. Thank you so much for allowing me the precious gift of your time. Until next time.