From Punishment to Curiosity: 5am Sucks
I’m slowly starting to realize habits are there as stability for when life changes. Habits are actions you can rely on for both good and bad outcomes.
When sh*t hits the fan, you’ll still meditate or you’ll still bite your fingernails or pull out all your hair.
One big thing I’ve learned while living with the pandemic is that we are not all created equal when it comes to when we should move our bodies with intention (workout). I mean, I did know this already, but I probably read way too many books about waking up at 5am and joining the 5am Club so that you can have the best day ever.
I’m not going to lie, I had an awesome routine and morning habit during that first spring and into summer of the pandemic. I was waking up, working out, meditating, making everyone breakfast, teaching online yoga, getting lunch done, recording another online class, cleaned my house, swim, drink an afternoon margarita by the pool, make dinner, put the kids to bed, watch a show with my hubby, fall asleep….then do it all over again the next day. In my own little bubble, life was easy when we were all at home working/schooling and doing all the at home things, I had everything down pat.
Then as we morphed and fast forwarded into the end of 2021, I felt a lot more chaotic with my habits and routine. My wine drinking started a lot earlier, my workouts were sporadic if none at all, no need to make lunches or dinner, when you door dash or eat out. It was a different kind of easy….it was the easy trap door to chaos.
Frustrated, I went straight for the books I talked about earlier. I was going to wake up at 5am and crush the world ROAR! Ha, except I can’t freaking wake up at 5am to save my life. I tried just about everything. I even tried working out in my pajamas…hard no on that one.
So, I got really curious. Do I actually need to wake up at 5am to workout, or does it benefit me to workout at a different time in my schedule?
DING! After experimenting and working on when my body most craves and needs movement, I realized that 5:15 am to 5:30 am is a perfect meditation time. My body loves to sit and be still and listen. I light a candle or burn some incense, I put on my under eye masks or one of my favorite sheet masks, and I sit. Back to easy.
I also realized I can actually focus and do a full workout if I workout during the afternoon. Post lunch, pre-kiddo pickup. Since my schedule is flexible, I put my time that I can focus on my body moving at a time that actually works for me.
I got curious and am no longer punishing myself for missing a workout or my alarm. I’m not mad at myself for not having enough energy to move.
Maybe you don’t need more motivation to come to yoga or move your body, maybe you are just doing it at the wrong time.
Get curious about how you ACTUALLY feel when you workout, and notice if you need to make a courageous choice and change your routine so that you can free up some headspace so you can say YES for something else.