Miracle Morning

Happy Monday Friends! Awesome to be home today on a snowy Monday, three day weekend. On deck today are all the chores I didn't do yet, like laundry, more meal prep for the week, planning out some things for school tomorrow, and getting paperwrok in line for my taxes tomorrow night. BUUUTTT, that stuff isn't fun, so instead I'm listening to Ariana Grande and blogging :-) Today I'm going to share a routine that is all about self care and putting yourself first. If you want to earn some of those self-care reward stickers, read on!

Today, like all my other days, I got up and started with Miracle Morning. This is a habit I've been working on since January and it's making such a difference in my life. It gets my mind set straight before any of the stressors of life enter. Let me tell you what it involves, and then tell you what I'm finding.

Six steps, order then as you wish, but remember "SAVERS" as an acronym to get all the benefits.

Silence
I'm talking meditation, prayer, breathing. Just be. Work on calming the mind and your thoughts so you can learn to be more fully present. I use the Calm app for this which has awesome, daily 10 minute meditations. If you're a teacher you can get a free account, just go here. No matter how you choose to do so, find some quiet silence to begin your day.

Affirmations
Tell yourself some encouraging words to live out your life's purpose. Think in terms of gratitude! Every day, I write down five things I'm thankful for as a way to affirm the good things that have already come into my life. When you get in the habit of looking for things you are thankful for, you start to see more and more of that as you go about your day.

Vision
To start with this, you need to get your goals down. They can be yearly goals, or goals for a 3-5 year plan, or even 10 years. Some people make vision boards as such a way to visualize them. Once you know your goals, you will write them every morning in present tense. Mine start out like this:

10 dreams I made happen (this is a la Rachel Hollis and her Start Today Journal, currently sold out, but pop to that link to get your name on the list!) Okay so in my journal, this Vision part looks like this:

10 dreams I made happen 
1. I have impeccable health, in mind, body, and spirit.
2. I have $10K in savings.

and they go on like that, all 10, written every day. By hand writing them, you spend a little bit of time on each, and if you have a vision board, have that close so you can visualize. Law of Attraction. It's the thing!

Exercise
Not a whole production, either. Just five minutes to get your blood flowing. I set my timer for 5 min and do the following, mostly yoga:

Sun A flow a few times
High Plank
Down Dog
Sleeping Pigeon
Pushups
Supine Twist
Happy Baby

No matter what you choose, just get five minutes of movement in to get your day going. While you're doing that, you can work on calming the mind. If you have a hard time with that, focus on deep  breathing.

Reading
Read some cool stuff to fill up your mind with positivity. I love The Book of Awakening for this. It's a day book with short passages each day to inspire you. Sometimes they inspire you to let stuff go. Sometimes they inspire you to reconsider some limiting beliefs. Sometimes they reaffirm a belief you hold. Sometimes it's poetry, sometimes its a quote, sometimes it pushes your thinking. No matter what, it's good stuff to begin a day and get you thinking.

Scribbling
Scribbling, a synonym for Writing so the "SAVERS" acronym works. Get to some writing. Sometimes you don't even know what ideas of yours are lurking beneath the surface because you need to take time to write, and in doing so, things come out unexpectedly that really illuminate where you are in life.

So that's it!

Like I mentioned earlier, I've been practicing this for about six weeks. I wake up at 5:00 and get to this first thing. My routine is as follows:

1. Write five things I'm thankful for (Affirmations)
2. Write the 10 dreams I made happen (Visualizing)
3. Read a bit
4. Write a bit
5. Exercise flow
6. Meditate

If I have to wash my hair, I usually do the exercise part first, hop in the shower, and then let my hair air dry a bit while I work though the rest.

If I'm running late, I do the meditation in the evening.

Sometimes I miss a day, or sometimes I miss the meditation.

I can tell you that my days are way better when I have this practice happening. I am in a happier mood, I see all the good in things, I am much more calm and collected in my moments of anxiety throughout my day. I've learned to slow down in those stressful moments - significantly. This practice will really make a difference for you if you can get up and get though the early-morning grind.

I have a little something for you! The little cheat-cheat picture at left is available here for you to download and print in case you'd like to have a reference point to get started.

Do you already practice Miracle Morning? The person who taught me is Faith, you should totally follow her if you're on Instagram! Thank you, Faith, for the inspiration and great habits you bring into my life!

And, connect with me on Instagram, too, if you're not already! I'd love to have you tag me in some awesome routines like this that set up some awesome self care! Or, leave a comment and let's hear what you're up to!

Create an Amazing Day in 5 Steps

I woke up this morning a bit before my alarm. That's no surprise, I usually do. I actually had about 20 minutes before I had to get out of bed, and as I was laying there, I could feel how tense my my shoulders were. I started thinking about the Sun A flow from Yoga, but the without really thinking further I reached for my phone to open up social media, like I usually do. (This is a serious addition I'm not particularly fond of, but that's a blog for another day.)

Instead, I put my phone back down, got out of bed and decided I would do some yoga for fifteen minutes, rather than start my day on facebook.

I go into my living room and turn on a soft light and start the poses - mountain, stretching up high, letting my shoulders melt down my back, gentle backbend, back to mountain, forward fold...and slowly flowed through each movement. My hair got in the way, so I got a hair tie, came back, and worked on stretching through the sequence a few more times. I had 15 minutes, I could really get some good stretches in!

Instead, I worked on my yoga for like 4 passes through the sequence. In total, probably only 4 minutes had passed, and then I quit, laid on my couch and opened facebook. (Do you see? Addicted.)

But in this case, it's good because I found myself on a blog that had a podcast that I then listened to and it shared five things you can do to start your day off in such a great way that it will keep on being awesome the whole rest of the day. I got in the shower and turned up the volume, and here's what I learned. (Also: these are not my ideas, just passing them on from Tim Ferriss.) (Also: these are not rocket science, either, well maybe #3 is, but that's all.)

1. Make your bed.
Yeah, do that. It will be the first thing you accomplish that day and will set you up to start and finish a bunch more things. Tim mentioned a monk or something who was sharing about this, but also the military. They always start their day by making their beds. You don't even have to make your sheets all crisp and perfectly folded, either. Just get the sheet and blanket on good enough (especially if your bed is like mine, surrouneded by walls on three sides). And let me tell you, if you are someone who doesn't usually do this, you will be so happy when it's time to go to bed later that night!

2. Meditate.
I don't know as much about meditation as I do about bed-making, but what I do know is enough to say it's good for you. Meditation forces you to slow down. Do you know how fast our society goes? And how much we have to do in a single day? How much information we take in and process and then share back out? And even more crazy are our thoughts, the constant, incessant chatter on and on and on.....

Meditation creates a space for you to slow down and not have to problem solve or worry or analyze or stress. You slow down, take note of how your body is feeling at the moment, relax, and prepare for a great day ahead.

I have done most of my meditation in Hot Power Fusion at the yoga studio but have done some at home, too. There are a bunch of great apps you can get, too. Some free. My favorite is Headspace. Check it out and stick to a routine. Make meditation the second thing you accomplish every morning.

3. Hang upside down.
This one was new. I don't have a space to do this, but from what I remember, he was saying it's important to strech out your spine. I don't remember the details at all, so check out the podcast (#105), but I image some bendy or stretchy yoga could also do the trick.

4. Drink some tea.
He had some crazy concoction of a loose leaf teas and herbs he used for varying reasons, but I equate this to drinking warm lemon water. Detox yourself. Most of us drink a cup (or 8) of coffee every day, but starting with lemon water or some other kind of detoxifying tea would probably be better. Coffee is super acidic, and from what I've learned about pH balance, it's not good for us (especially if you put a sugared creamer in it like I do). Alternative: hot tea to detox and get your organs inside functioning properly before you get your day going.

5. Write Daily Pages.
I've said it before that writing is so helpful for my state of mind. The writing Tim suggests was writing in a private notebook for two purposes. First, to express gratitude for all that is amazing and happy in yoru life. We all know that it's the grateful people that are happy. His second reason is to write through all your anxieties. Put them down on the paper, let them be heard, and then you're ready to start your day. After all, you know you're going to encounter some jackass in your day (random or someone you always encounter) so instead of building up all that anxiety in your mind and carrying it with you, put it down on paper and let it go.

So there you have it friends. Make your bed, meditate, invert yourself, drink some detoxifying tea, and do some writing. He said even if you can knock out three of these you're off to an amazing start.

Tomorrow I'm going to make my bed and do the writing.

What will you try?

Or, what are you already doing?
Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going!

Tree Thoughts

I don't know why I am so drawn to trees, but I am.

One summer day I sat on my couch and could hear the leaves rustling behind me and I loved it so much I took an Instagram video of it.

When I wake up in the morning (when I don't have to leave early for work) the light that is cast through my kitchen and living room windows is so pretty - the light comes through the leaves outside my windows and dances around my apartment.

I love fall. (I know, so basic.) But seriously, look:

This book, of course.

And is it a coincidence that Arbonne, a product line and health and wellness philosophy I have come to love so much, means beautiful tree?

I'm drawn to art that includes trees, too. About 5 years ago at the Frankfort Fall Fest, there was this artisan who created these beautiful mosaics, and my favorite one was a tree. If only I had $300 at the time, that piece would be here on my wall at home.

And then just this week, on Twitter, I saw a tree that was part of a writing workshop, and etched into the trunk was "Writers grow together," and I am in love:

Speaking of etchings, I've always wanted to etch initials into a tree trunk with some special someone, you know, like this:

The past few days I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what it is about trees that draws me so much to them...?

Is it because living without trees in Arizona all those years has me really appreciating them?

Or maybe it's because of their roots that has them grounded firmly. The best people I know know who they are - when you go out into this crazy world, if you don't at least know yourself, you can be easily manipulated...

Which brings up another quality of trees, flexibility and bendiness. While you do have to stand for something, it's also important to be flexible enough to compromise.

Is it because the leaves change colors and fall away? Last time I had a breakup, this quote spoke to me pretty profoundly:

Or is it because the courageous few, who sometimes, step out onto that limb? Like having that hard conversation with friend or family member. Or walking up to someone you'd like to know to say hello. Or sharing Arbonne, even when people are so judgy. Putting yourself out there isn't easy, but it can definitely yield some pretty amazing results.

So this fall, as you go about your busy days, slow down to notice the trees around you. And, in a few weeks, stop by my classroom to see my Writer's Workshop Tree. It's going to be a daily reminder of all that trees bring into our lives!

Am I missing any other awesome tree references?

Leave me a comment to share them!

Friday Faves a few hours late

I had a great week! Here's a few of my favorites, meant to be published on Friday to make the alliteration work, but coming live on Saturday morning :-)

1. Book Club Book
I finally have a great book club book after like five months of just ehhh books. We're reading The Nightengale and even thought it's just beginning, totally holding my interest. Holocaust story that flashes back and fourth between 1940 and present. Every chapter ending will have you staying for just one more!

2. Building Relationships at work
Few weeks ago in common plan, one teacher jokingly called me a buzzkill when I insisted we work to the #lastbell and finish up a rubric for book clubs. It's these little things - jokes with teachers who once were strangers and now are friends - that make my work as a coach so wonderful!

3. Yoga on friday night
Best Friday night ever? 6pm hot yoga, cool shower, and then reading myself to sleep as the rain comes down. In case you didn't know, I'm kinda introverted and after being with people all day, every day, I need quiet time to myself to unwind and recharge. Perfect way to do it!

4. Love Letters
Got a note from a friend at work and it reaffirmed why I do what I do to the Nth degree. In case you didn't know, besides being kind of introverted, I'm also a Words of Affirmation person, so a hand written letter or note is 100% the way to  my heart!

5. Friends who got my back
My best friends would lay down over hot coals and let me cross on their back if I asked. And then other times, they do things for me just because they care for me and know me so well. Thank you for being in my life when I need you, besties!

6. Laying down boundaries
Did you read my post the other day about boundaries? I wish I knew what I know now in my 20's, I would have been a totally different person. If you really want to care for yourself, let the people in your life know what is okay and what isn't. It's hard to do, but so worth it.

7. Writing Marathon
Took the bloggers to the park this week and we did a mini writing marathon, which involves writing for a short amount of time (10 minutes to begin) then a share, then increasing to 20 minutes, then a share, and then powering through a 30 minute writing session. The kids are awesome and have a few new stories to publish on their blogs this summer. Just love writing along side students - and my writing friends who are adults, too!

and I'll end with an awesome commencement address via spoken word poetry...

8. Harvard's Graduate School of Education Speech
I love this time of the year when great speeches get online and go viral because they are amazing writing. I hope one day, in my composition notebook or here on my blog, I'm able to weave such beautifully metaphoric writing into something so good it brings tears to the eyes of the people who read or listen to it. Enjoy this beautiful poetry! and thanks to my principal for Tweeting it to me!

Best part of your week? Please share!