If you’re skeptical of the power of daily meditation, you’re not alone. Maybe you feel a bit hesitant to start a guided morning meditation because you find the whole concept of meditating too daunting, or you lack the time to invest in a morning meditation practice. Maybe you’ve told yourself that meditation is too quiet for the thoughts inside your head, and probably surmised that you’re not good at it. If you said yes to any of these, let’s break down the barriers to guided morning meditation and lay out all the benefits you get in return. Lastly, learn some basic morning meditations to add to your everyday routine and some simple tips to follow for meditations to make a positive difference in your life.
Morning Meditation for Energy, Body and the Mind
According to yogic philosophy, Prana or ‘Life Energy’ flows through you at all times. When this energy is in tune, it aligns your body, mind, and soul to work in harmony. Unfortunately, most do not know how to efficiently align these three elements, leading to energy leaks in your state of being. Your unconscious thoughts can dictate how much life energy you expend throughout the day. Since positive thoughts are hard to resist, your energy would stay well connected to the source of life supplying you. Unfortunately, no one is immune to experiencing negative thoughts, emotions, and stress. Just like a dam, every time you engage and persist in negativity and negative emotions, you’re building on the barrier blocking your life force from flowing freely. Studies have shown that mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy is most effective in reducing incidents of anger and aggression. [1] Through morning meditation, you can channel your energies towards a healthy balance between body and mind which will bring significant lifestyle changes.
Clearing the Obstacles to Morning Meditation
“I Don’t Have Time”
Not true – you can meditate in as little as 5 minutes. Just commit to starting small and add more time as you go along.
“I Can’t Sit Still”
Do meditation your way. Some people don’t like sitting, but they enjoy walking meditations. Try a 10-minute walking meditation and pay attention to your body, your breath, the wind on your skin, and everything you can hear and see.
“My Mind Never Stops”
It is normal to feel frustration while learning to meditate. With your racing thoughts, it might seem like there are other things that you can spend your time instead of meditating. The answer is all in mind: shift your expectations from thinking or doing to being.
7 Benefits of Guided Morning Meditations (and Examples)
A morning meditation has many outstanding benefits for your mental and physical well-being.
1. Stills and Focuses Your Mind
When was the last time you counted zero thoughts floating through your head? Meditation declutters your mind, helps you let go of past traumas, and allows you to collect your thoughts in a safe space. As you become more conscious, you will be more able to act rather than react to the circumstances in your life. You can move with intention and focus on solutions rather than problems. Enjoy moments of peace, deep relaxation, and silence regularly after a morning meditation session for a positive start.
2. Reduce Feelings of Anxiety and Depression
Research has shown that meditation can improve mindfulness, which helps reduce negative feelings of anxiety and depression.[2] A daily meditation practice can help you get acquainted with your higher self—your soul. It allows you to detach and sit peacefully above your thoughts. Through conscious awareness, you will also find it easier to reflect and rationalize any limiting beliefs.
3. Lowers Your Heart Rate and Blood Pressure
Meditation has been shown to decrease the impacts of the sympathetic nervous system, commonly referred to as the fight or flight response that goes on overdrive when we are stressed. Your heart rate and blood pressure will drop as your blood vessels open up in your relaxed state.
4. Help Create and Influence Your Desired Future
Guided meditation will often require you to use positive mental imagery for visualization. As you become increasingly capable of visualizing and feeling positive emotions in the process, this will influence and attract more positive future circumstances in your life.
5. Improve Sleep Quality
Meditation looks to hack into your deeper brain waves to instill a state of deep relaxation. The more relaxed you feel and the stiller your mind, the easier you’ll find it to fall and remain asleep. Why does this matter for morning meditations? As your practice becomes regular, you will need less sleep to wake up feeling recharged. Living with ease will help your body conserve its energy and operate efficiently.
6. More Happiness
Practicing mindfulness through daily meditation allows us to live in the moment and see the good rather than cluttering our minds with the multiple possibilities of what could go wrong.
7. Foster Spiritual Growth
It doesn’t matter if you’re religious or not, spirituality is all about connecting to the creating source of life. Regular guided meditation sessions deepen your connection with your spiritual self, grounding yourself with the people and the world around you.
5 Best Guided Morning Meditations
Now that you know how daily meditation can help increase energy and motivation, here are the 5 best guided morning meditations you can try.
1. Sun Salutation Morning Meditation
A Sun Salutation is a sequence of strategic yoga poses. Focus is placed on moving mindfully with the breath through the postures. If done mindfully, one can enter a flow-like state while practicing a Sun Salutation.
First, take a deep inhale and reach your arms up overhead. Exhale, then fold forward, leaving a slight bend in the knees. On your next inhale, straighten your spine while placing your hands on your thighs. Exhale and melt down into a forward fold once more. Place your hands on the mat and step your feet into a plank pose. Lower down from straight legs or bent knees with your triceps just grazing your rib cage. Your whole body will be flat on the mat. As you inhale, keep your hands on the earth and lift your head, neck, and chest off the mat. Exhale and press back into downward-facing down. On your next inhale, walk your feet back to the top of the mat and hang in a forward fold. Roll your body up, letting your head and neck come up last. You can choose to finish your practice here or flow through the sequence once more.
If you are new to yoga, practice alongside a trained instructor or find a yoga video that walks you through the correct alignment to ensure you do not injure yourself as you practice. Allow yourself to be guided through the practice so you can focus on your breath as you move from one pose to the next.
2. Walking Morning Meditation
Walking meditation combines movement and mindfulness. Similar to exercising outdoors, this can help to boost serotonin and increase endorphins for increased energy and a positive mood.
Step slowly and mindfully, as if you are walking on thin ice. Slowly begin to inhale through the nose and count the number of steps you take. Then, slowly exhale and count your steps. As you walk, keep counting your steps with each inhale and exhale. Try to keep your pace even while focusing your attention on your breath and body.
Try to avoid busy areas with lots of people or traffic to reduce distraction. A walking path with lots of open space is ideal. Once you have finished, you can bring your attention to the sights around you and mindfully breathe in and out as you slowly return to a normal pace.
3. Mindful Morning Shower Meditation
If you shower in the morning, you can easily incorporate mindfulness into your routine. It is best to remove any distractions while you shower, but if you would like, you can play gentle instrumental music in the background. Focus on the sensation of the water running over the crown of your head and down your entire body. Imagine the water cleansing stress, tension, and worry from the body and mind.
Bring your attention to the five senses. This can aid in grounding for decreased stress and anxiety, improving long-term energy and focus. Notice the temperature of the water and the air. Smell the different soaps and shampoos as you wash. Allow yourself to indulge in the moment by closing your eyes as you stand under the water. If you get distracted, come back to one of your senses.
This shower meditation does not take any extra time from your day; it is simply a way to incorporate present-moment awareness into your routine.
4. Breathing Morning Meditation
Deep breathing is another way to increase energy and attention.
Begin by inhaling through the nose. With a forceful exhale, contract the diaphragm as you breathe out through the nose. Inhale and allow the belly to expand, and then exhale and allow it to contract. Aim for three breath cycles a second, and do not practice for more than 15 seconds without taking a break. As you become more advanced, you can add 5 seconds, working your way up to a minute of practice.
Discontinue practicing if you experience any negative side effects and return to normal breathing. Reverse breathing, where you expand the belly on the exhale and contract on the inhale, is common but should be avoided.
5. Mantra Morning Meditation
Science suggests mantra-based meditation can significantly lower anxiety levels.[3] To begin, simply inhale, and chant “OM” out loud when you exhale. You may choose to set a timer on your phone for as long as you have to practice. Once you have finished, take a few moments to sit in silence and observe any new thoughts or sensations that arise.
Tips to Start Your Morning Meditation
If you are new to meditation or are getting back into the practice, start with 5-10 minutes and ladder up to longer periods as you go along. You can set an intention before you begin, but start your practice without attachment to any particular outcome or how your meditation practice “should” be. The best time to meditate is early in the morning to set yourself up for a peaceful start to your day. Follow these simple steps to start your morning meditation:
Final Thoughts
Daily meditation isn’t just for yoga practitioners; it is a practice that can benefit anyone’s body and mind by harnessing the positive energy inside them. The concentration, time, and effort might seem intimidating at first, but daily meditation brings many benefits that you will only realize later. Try out the guided morning meditation ideas and take the tips to heart as you start on your daily meditation journey. Whenever you feel disheartened, just keep going. Like physical exercise, the results of daily meditation only come with practice. Enjoy your time for yourself, and in no time, you’ll be glad you started. Featured photo credit: Stocksnap via stocksnap.io
