What's the first thing you do when
you wake up in the morning? If
it's a work day, you probably hit the snooze button a few times, then spring out
of bed in a panic, propelling yourself into your day with your mind on
everything you have to do to get out the door. Or maybe you find yourself in
the shower, without any real memory of how you got there. Sound familiar?
Turns out, just a few simple movements can
help you relax and ground yourself for your day, rather than zooming
through your morning full of stress and a racing mind.
Jack Wiener, a certified and
licensed psychoanalyst, founder of the former School for Creative Movement in
NYC and author of The Way of the 4th Toe: Into the
Feeling Body, believes that the most important thing you can do
as soon as you wake up is to gently bring your awareness fully into your body,
so that as you move through the rest of the day, you maintain a sense of
grounding that can help you cope with the physical and mental stresses of daily
life.
“When you sleep, your body goes into
itself,” says Weiner, explaining that while you’re snoozing, the sensations of
your muscles become very minimal. In other words, you’re not consciously aware
of your body; you’re not in a physically or mentally grounded state of
being.
This state of being works for the
purposes of sleep, but not for your waking hours. You want to be “in” and aware
of your body during the day. When you experience stress or anxiety throughout
the day, says Weiner, these emotions and sensations can cause you
to instinctively “pull in” to yourself, which, ironically, is the opposite
of being grounded in your body. Weiner describes this process as a literal
contraction and tension of your muscles. If you’re not aware, this happens
automatically, and can affect everything from your breathing to your
circulation to how the events of your day affect you.
If you can bring yourself back into your body and release
the tension in your muscles, then, says Weiner, you’re more able to cope with
stress, and you’re more emotionally aware and alive. Not only are you carrying
less tension in your neck and shoulders, but if you can maintain an awareness
of being in your body, then it’s easier to not get caught up and swept away in
the worries and anxieties. “It’s so simple, yet so profound,” says Weiner.
So, how should you start the
day? By doing these three simple things:
Before you even get out of bed …
1. Gently flex and point your feet for 15-30 seconds. This, says Weiner, is a good way to gently begin to activate your musculature and to bring your awareness to your feet, which is literally grounding. Then, wiggle your fingers and gently open and close you hands into a fist shape for 15-30 seconds. “Those are small little things,” says Weiner, but they can really help you if your standard MO is to immediately activate your whole body by springing out of bed with your mind on what you have to get done.
Next, as you get out of bed …
2. Consciously place your feet on the floor. Stand there for a moment, fully aware of the floor beneath you, and concentrate on feeling grounded.
Finally …
3. Do a gentle hamstring stretch. “This will sustain your connection to the ground,” Weiner says, and delay the pulling up into your upper body that leads not only to a lack of feeling grounded, but to tension in your neck and shoulders. The more grounded and “in your body” you can start your day, says Weiner, the more you will be able to carry this feeling and awareness into the rest of your day. Good morning, indeed!
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