Sunrise: Intention and action

When we wake up, we set the tone for the whole day. When we set the tone for the whole day, we find we have impacted our whole week. Keep going and we have lived with greater intention all month, year, life.  

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to be more in shape. I'd never been an early riser and my school day started at 7am. I had an active toddler boy at home and I couldn't really imagine waking up too much sooner than my early bird himself. Phoenix would often wake up at 5 am, yipes. This is after mostly interrupted night time sleep. A fast grower, he was hungry for milk a lot in the night and I was doing my part to offer bottles when Patty was done nursing. So, I had already struggled to drag my booty out of bed when he woke up, how could I possibly start a new routine BEFORE him? 

Yet, the afternoons were often a series of adventures based on his whim, the activities required of mama hood (cooking, cleaning, etc.) and the slogging back and forth between after school activities at his child care center or my school. It seemed nearly impossible to focus a workout or movement on my own needs with a busy little boy and life at the helm.

Still, years later, many of us struggle to develop workout or movement in the afternoons... as so much around us demands so much of our attention. We run from this to that, check off the to-do list, clean up, prep food, eat, clean again and then we just really want to put our feet up. The likelihood of getting that movement in later tends to be slim.

So, what happens when we actually schedule that alarm and (after what seems a million days of ignoring it) we actually get up, move across the room and grab our workout sneakers?  Well, if those feet carry us around for even ten minutes, a sense of pride washes over. Then, there is that waking-up effect. After a short time, we feel more alert- not just cup of coffee alert- there is a clarity that a cup of Joe doesn't compete with. After ten minutes, we might be sweating, but we think, I can do five more minutes. Then, after five more minutes, we might think... man, if I strung enough of these  short morning workouts together I might feel stronger for sure. We look at the things our body can do that we are surprised by. Wow... who knew I was able to curl that? We notice where we've neglected our bodies.. wow... since when can't I touch my toes? And we can think clearly enough to consider that this way to start the day- spending 20-30 minutes in motion might be worth it after all. 

You won't be fully convinced that you need your am workout until about 3 weeks later when you've felt (for the 15th+ time) that surge of energy in your step midday. You'll realize that the reality is- there are few things that will wake up in your house as early as you and beg for your attention. It's so much easier to ignore the full sink first thing in the morning when you have a reason to walk right by it and out the door for your morning stroll. You will set intentions for a better day, for a kinder inner voice, for a cuter bod, for a loving heart and you will start to see that movement develops all of those things and more... grit, self confidence, belief in your ability to COMMIT to yourself. If we can't keep promises to ourselves, after all, what have we got for faith?

Share today your tricks for working out. When works best for you? If you work out in the am, what motivates you? What goals have you been able to achieve with the sunrise? What struggles do you still face? Let's share our journey.

Oils that support awakening and workouts:  Motivate, Citrus Oils, Mint, Breathe
Amazing Energizers: Life Long Vitality, Mito 2 Max
Oils that Support wise nutritional choices: Slim & Sassy
Nourishing Shake: Slim & Sassy
​Post workout: Deep Blue, lemon grass, aroma touch, Copaiba

#strongeratsunrise #wakeupwithclarity #intentionandaction #selflove #wellness #journey #commit #don'tgiveup