“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands,
one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” ~Maya Angelou
Take a moment to reflect on how much you help others in your life. Do you dedicate your time and energy to helping everyone else but neglect to nurture yourself? Have you forgotten Maya Angelou’s wisdom that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and one for helping others? Do you yearn to live a more empowered and inspired life, filled with peace, joy and meaning but don’t know where to start?
If you are like me, you might struggle balancing all the roles in your life like being parent, partner, business owner or employee, caregiver, and friend. You may find starting new projects challenging when you are pulled in so many different directions and focused on other people’s needs rather than your own. I have found there are so many ways we sabotage ourselves as women not knowing our value and worth and prioritizing everyone’s needs over our own. We often hold ourselves to unrealistic expectations, wanting to please everyone and do it all perfectly. And even though most of us know this is an unsustainable way of living, we continue to berate ourselves thinking there is something wrong with us that we can’t do it all.
I want to remind you there is nothing wrong with you and if you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted you are not alone. That is why I am delighted to share a transformative self-nurturing morning practice I begin my day with that will help you reclaim yours and begin prioritizing you in your own life.
This 10-minute morning practice will support you in connecting with yourself and will remind you that you matter, you are important, and you deserve to give to yourself the love and kindness that you spread in the world. When you start the day with this inspiring morning practice, you will learn to listen to yourself, develop clarity about your intentions, and stay grounded in gratitude.
I invite you not to underestimate the power of beginning your day connected to yourself and nurturing your relationship with yourself rather than starting your day tethered to your phone, focusing your attention on everyone else through texts, emails, and social media. You will be amazed how transformative ten minutes can be in reminding you of the power of helping and nurturing yourself first and then giving to others from the overflow in your saucer rather than the last drops in your cup.
You can give yourself the gift of beginning your day with three nurturing practices that make up this inspiring self-nurturing morning practice.
Begin your morning practice with mindfulness.
Upon waking and before leaving your bed, start this practice by breathing mindfully for a few minutes with curiosity, compassion and non-judgement. Bring your kind, loving attention to yourself by tuning into your breath, your body, your thoughts, your feelings, and what you need.
This mindfulness practice will support you in connecting with yourself, developing more self-awareness, and building a trusting relationship with yourself over time. When you start the day by pausing and reconnecting with your breath you will be able to stay grounded, recognize what is important to you, and make empowered decisions throughout your day.
Training yourself to listen deeply to yourself each morning will empower you to deepen your trust, wisdom, and confidence in yourself and inspire you to make more nurturing choices for yourself throughout the day.
Set an Intention for the day.
After breathing mindfully and checking in with yourself for 5 minutes, set your intention for the day and repeat it a few times visualizing your day unfolding with ease and grace. Choose an intention that inspires you like an intention for vibrant health, joyful experiences and abundant prosperity or to take inspired action and celebrate your progress and growth today.
Intention is powerful and focuses your attention on what you want to create in our day. You can return to your intention throughout the day to inspire to stay in alignment with what is important to you. If it helps write down your intention where you will see it throughout the day to feel empowered and uplifted.
Close the practice with gratitude.
To close your inspiring morning practice, place your hand on your heart and identify something you are grateful for about yourself. Then allow your gratitude to ripple out and identify what you are grateful for about your life. List all the things you can think of that you are grateful for.
Spend a few minutes focusing on what is going well in your life and appreciate your blessings both big and small. As you breath in and out, breathe in the goodness in your life, breathe out your gratitude, and feel your heart opening with your gratitude. When you feel complete open your eyes and bring all the nurturing benefits of this morning practice into your day!
This inspiring self-nurturing morning practice will help you prioritize you in your own life. The more you begin your morning connected to yourself, the easier it will be to make nurturing and empowered decisions. To reinforce your commitment to practicing each morning, I invite you to designate time on your calendar. I call it “sacred self-nurturing” in my schedule and it is non-negotiable. Think about what would inspire you and place it on your schedule for tomorrow morning! Remember the more you nurture yourself, the more you will love and value yourself. The more you love and value yourself, the more your will prioritize nurturing yourself creating a beautiful self-sustaining cycle.
May you engage in this inspiring self-nurturing morning practice as you nurture peace in the world from the inside out!
Sending you peace, love and gratitude, Kelley
