How sweet is a morning meditation upon waking up. How lovely it is. It truly feels like a sweet start to the day. I’ve been meditating with the Headspace App and have really been enjoying it. I have even gone so far as to buy a year long subscription because I see the value it has and has added to my life.
Starting out the day with clarity of mind and thought, is a massive improvement of waking up and just scrambling to get ready. For me it usually involves having to quickly get up because the baby is in need of attention in the other room. The baby doesn’t wake up gently and quietly. Rather he wakes up with a full force of why are you leaving me in here, come get me now! That can be a jarring morning experience one that sets the day on high alert, and a bit of grogginess.
On days where I wake up naturally before baby wakes up, and have the time to stretch and meditate, the day is exponentially better. I feel ready, prepared, and very clear, it’s wonderful and a remarkable difference.
The key is when doing a morning meditation, that I’ve just woken up from a night of dreams, and it is so easy to slip into the meditative state because my mind hasn’t already been filled with the trappings of the day. I haven’t talked to anyone, I haven’t emailed, or read anything, I just go right back into my own mind and body, it’s beautiful, and easy.
When sitting a course at Vipassana Centres, every morning I would wake and meditate immediately. It was a part of the routine. I would literally realise I was awake and then promptly sit up in my bed right there, and close my eyes, focus on my breath and start my meditation practice. After my own personal meditation, then I would go to the hall or to my own meditation cell and continue my practice. All of this well before breakfast time. I could get in a good couple of hours first thing in the morning this way.
The whole purpose of sitting for meditation at a centre like that is so that there are no distractions so the meditator can solely focus on their practice. The reality of being at home and being a house person rather than say a monk, is that life is so much more complex, and I accept that. Having a little slice of morning meditation before getting into the day, feels like luxury to me and I’ll take more of that please.