Start The Day: Wake Up To Joy

Start your morning with connection and joy. Feel fully alive as you are guided with the words of Thich Nhat Hanh as part of Laurie's daily morning practice. Orient your heart towards compassion for all beings, infusing your day with interconnection with one other and the world we inhabit.

Transcript

Good morning.

I'm Laurie Cameron.

I'm delighted to wake up with you and support you in beginning your day with joy.

I didn't always wake up to joy.

These were not my time.

Like my brother Johnny,

I'm a night person.

My mind gets super clear and sharp.

I am my most creative late at night.

And I never thought of myself as a morning person.

Finally,

In the recent explosion of sleep research,

We know now that 70% of the population are morning people,

And the rest of us have a circadian rhythm that loves the night.

So for years I didn't welcome the morning.

I resisted it.

And when I did wake up,

I'd often have a surge of racing thoughts,

Things I needed to do that day or things I didn't complete the day before.

It felt heavy.

But over the years,

As the stronger I became as a teacher in mindfulness meditation,

The deeper I journeyed into my work as a leadership development expert in positive psychology,

I started to integrate more and more of these teachings into my morning.

And I noticed that my life changed,

Even the mornings.

So I'll take you through my morning practice,

The one I use to wake up to joy,

Even before I walk the dog,

Do yoga or movement or journaling.

This is the very first thing I do,

The way I walk over the bridge from sleeping and into the aware,

Conscious,

Awake state of the day,

Walking into the light,

Inviting into my body the energy,

Gratitude,

And joy that is available each day.

I'll begin by sharing this quote from my teacher,

Thich Nhat Hanh,

The wonderful Zen master and mindfulness teacher,

Poet and author and artist,

And most of all guide to so many around the world.

I have this quote written on a card that sits on my nightstand.

I read it each morning.

Here it is for you.

Waking up this morning,

I smile.

24 brand new hours are before me.

I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

Just reading that for you now brings a smile across my face.

I hope it does for you too.

So let's practice together.

This practice really has four parts.

You can do it while still laying in your bed in the morning or after you brush your teeth,

Or perhaps you want to sit in your favorite chair inside or outside.

Just begin with scanning your body.

As you wake up,

Move the beam of your attention into the body,

Beginning with your feet.

Feel the contours of your feet.

First the right foot,

Then the left.

Noticing the arch of the foot.

And then the feet as a whole.

Bring your attention up from to your ankles,

Lower legs,

Right knee,

Left knee.

Moving up to your quad muscles,

Your thighs,

Right side,

Left side.

Bringing your attention to your hips,

Pelvis.

Feeling contact with a chair or bed.

Moving attention to the lower back.

Sensing the arch,

The curve in the back.

And moving attention up through the back to the upper back.

Moving a little there in the bed or the chair,

And slight little twist.

Sensing what's here.

Seeing the body wake up to the day.

Bringing attention up to the neck,

The shoulders.

Feeling the right side,

And then attending to the left shoulder.

Now pulling the shoulders up together and letting them drop.

Feeling them as a whole,

Both shoulders at the same time.

Now coming around to the front of the body.

Feeling the abdomen,

The belly area.

Sensing the energy center just below the belly button,

Sometimes called the hara.

Moving in and out right here.

Bringing attention up into the chest area.

As you're laying there in your bed or sitting in your chair,

Even standing outside,

Pulling your shoulders back a little,

Opening the chest.

Just feeling the body,

Sensing what's here in the heart,

In the lungs,

As your body breathes.

Coming up to the neck,

The throat,

Inviting the air to flow.

Opening up the throat channel for freedom today and communication,

Allowing your voice to be heard.

Coming up to the jaw,

Relaxing the jaw,

Noticing the mouth,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Teeth.

Feeling a slight smile,

Just pulling up the corners of the mouth,

Maybe feeling smiling in the eyes,

Smiling to yourself.

Good morning,

Dear one.

Coming up to the eyes,

The face as a whole.

Now moving awareness and attention to the top of the head,

Noticing any tingling or liveness as you walk over that bridge into the day.

Gently bring your attention down to your arms and into each hand,

The right hand squeezing it,

Releasing it,

The left hand squeezing,

Releasing,

Feeling sensations in the hand as they wake up for the day.

And now feeling the body as a whole,

As an integrated system of aliveness,

The miracle of being fully alive this morning.

Now for the next step in this morning wake up practice.

We bring attention to the felt sensation of breathing from this embodied place.

Feeling the breath as an anchor of attention,

Take a deep breath in through the nose,

And a slow relaxing exhale.

Take another deep breath in,

Breathing in energy,

Positivity,

Love,

Breathing out purpose,

Meaning,

Focus.

Letting that be what you breathe into the world today.

Breathing in peace,

Breathing out joy.

And now we move to the third part of this morning meditation.

Our minds are so powerful.

Focus and awareness give us the skills to deliberately generate positive emotions.

We can uplift the mind by using our mind and our heart skillfully.

A wonderful way to do that is with gratitude.

In this third part of the practice,

We generate gratitude,

Cultivating a positive mind that will carry us through this day.

Scan your life.

Think about the roles that you inhabit as a friend,

A parent,

Or child,

Sibling,

Roles you play at work or in your community.

What are you most grateful for in your life right now?

Name three things.

Be as specific.

Be as specific as you can.

Instead of saying health,

Perhaps you say that I have energy to do great work,

Create a loving home,

Have fulfilling relationships.

And now tune into the emotion that arises when we turn our heart and mind to gratitude.

How does it feel to know that you receive such benefits in the world?

Gratitude is connected to receiving benefits or blessings from sources outside of ourselves.

There are causes and conditions and people.

And if this is the way you believe,

A higher source that contributes to the benefits in your life.

So just turning attention,

Opening the heart to fully inhabiting the uplifting emotion of gratitude,

Inviting a smile and setting an intention for the day,

Whatever feels most meaningful for you today.

If you've been feeling overwhelmed lately,

Set an intention for focus.

If you've been feeling turbulent,

Set an intention for balance and equanimity.

If you've been feeling lonely or isolated,

Set an intention to connect,

Allowing this embodied calm presence that you generated with a body scan,

Focusing on the breath and uplifting the mind with gratitude.

Be the way that you move through the day.

Thank you for practicing with me.

May you be happy and peaceful.

May you be healthy and strong.

May you be safe and protected.

May you move through this day with ease and joy.

Reviews

Very complete. Will try to play practice a couple of times

Thank you so very much, perfect for where I am at right now. Your voice is soothing and I heard everything I needed to hear today. Blessings🙏🏻🙏🏻🕊️💖

May All Beings Be Happy
Be Healthy
Be Safe
May All Beings Be Loved By All
Namaste 🙏🏼

Thank you for this beautiful medatation.Perfect way to start the day.I will be using this daily and in corporate it into my morning routine. You inspire me to be my best.

Thank you for a nice little journey of awareness! Namaste
🌺🙏🌺

Such a well rounded morning meditation, touching on all the right themes with softness and compassion. Thank you 🙏

Really nice, gentle and affirming way to start the day.

Excellent! I'm a morning person anyway, but I love this extra input to get my day started on the right foot!

For a long time I didn’t feel myself floating… now I am. thank you!! ❤️

Thank you💜🙏

Wonderful guidance to start the day. Thank you so much. Namaste 🙏🏽

Completely wonderful just perfect and I plan to use it every morning. Thank you so much. Namaste.

Amazing, grounding, supportive way to start your day! Loved the quote you read, it softened my heart instantly❤️

I feel grounded , centered, grateful and awake!🌺thankyou for this supportive way to start the day !

This is one of the most beautiful meditations I’ve done in a while. I found it so healing, so centering, such a delicious way to start the day. Thank you so much 🌸💖🌸

Wonderful 💜💫 This was like being at Laurie’s Sunday morning live .. filled with wisdom from Thich Nat Hahn (Thay) and soothing voice and uplifting message . Feeling sad today and this helped . Breathing~ connection and love was felt . Namaste . Bookmarked and shared 💜

Very good way to treat yourself and set your mind for the new, 24 hrs. ahead, 🙏🏼 thank you!

Absolutely Beautiful 🙏 may you move through your day with love compassion and kindness ⭐️💛⭐️

Perfect way to start a new wonderful day!

Wonderful practice to begin my day! Grateful for the rain today.