Are you looking to create some healthy, grounding practices so that you can start each day with positivity, intention and a feeling of well-being?  That first half hour after you wake up is a key time of day and I’m a huge fan of developing a grounding, empowering morning routine that incorporates movement medicine, nourishing food and positive affirmations. If you’re needing a little inspiration to get develop your own morning routine then please check out myblog for my  favorite morning rituals that keep me glowing all day long.  But for now let’s dive deeper into affirmations.

Taking the time to repeat positive affirmations in the morning can have such a powerful impact on your day.  There are a few ways to do affirmations and it’s really just about experimenting and finding what works for you.  Some people write affirmations down in a journal.  Some people like to say them out loud.  Some write them on Post-It notes and put them on their mirror.  Personally I like to repeat them in my head, almost like a meditation mantra.  Whatever way you do them, morning affirmations are an opportunity to set intentions and ground yourself before facing whatever challenges the day throws at you. So if you want to add this quick and empowering ritual to your morning, keep reading for the inside scoop on affirmations. 

Why should I repeat these phrases every day? 

Repeating positive affirmations in the morning is my favorite way to connect with my thought patterns and to reset my mental state with clear, positive intentions for the day.  When I repeat these affirmations in my head, I soon start to elevate my emotional state and feel more vibrant, balanced, and happy. It’s really about choosing how you want to approach your day.  Even if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, take a few minutes to reset your mind, and allow renewed energy to flow through your body. Since our bodies ‘hear’ the words we are saying (or writing), our thoughts, and our feelings, and our lives reflect that energy. So, choose the thoughts and feelings you feed your body wisely - they can become our personal reality. 

This is the deeply powerful aspect of affirmations - it’s really all about quantum energy.  If we repeat something enough and truly believe it, the energy in our lives will begin to reflect the energy in those  affirmations back to us.  It might sound “woo woo” but it works!  So if you want to live each day embodying positivity, feeling grounded and confident then you need to figure out what you want to invite in and speak it, believe it and truly feel it in your body - and your life will begin to reflect it. Focus on the positive, try your best to avoid negative self-talk, and you will start to feel more balanced and vibrant. 

How do I practice affirmations? 

I love to repeat affirmations in the morning to reset my mind, body and soul for the day to come. I usually take a few minutes before I have my morning coffee and either repeat an affirmation in my head and sometimes I will also write it down a few times in a journal. If there is more than one affirmation that resonates with me, I will repeat all of them, or simply focus on one that I feel especially applies to my life at that time. This is where you can get creative and find what works best for you - maybe you want to repeat the affirmation for 5 minutes, or possibly write the affirmation 20 times over in your journal. You can write the affirmation on a post-it on your bathroom mirror so you see it whenever you look at yourself, or you can incorporate the affirmation into another wellness routine to really feel it in your body, too (more on that in a minute). As long as you repeat the affirmation, and ingrain the words into your subconscious, you can practice this ritual however works best for you. 

If you are movement-oriented, and want to incorporate affirmations into a more physical routine, you can absolutely do that too. One of my favorite wellness rituals is dry-brushing - dry-brushing in the morning is so powerful for cleansing the body and skin of dead, dry skin, toxins, and negativity (check out this  blog for the skinny on dry brushing!). I love to combine these rituals and do it all at once.  So while I brush, I set an intention to release and physically brush away negative emotions by repeating an affirmation such as “every little cell in my body is well.” Combining these wellness rituals is incredibly powerful, and truly helps me feel like I’m cleansing my mind and body all at once and resetting my thought patterns to align with positive intentions. 

Exercise can be extremely empowering, so if you want to set your intentions during your morning sweat sesh, you can do that too. When I want to cleanse negative energy and let go of emotional baggage, I get my body moving with a bounce session on the rebounder, practice smudging (with sage), and repeat an affirmation to really embody and envision a total reset. If you want some inspiration for combining your workout  and your affirmation, check out my  Smudge and Bounce to Clear Negative Energy wellness video on the  Aligned Life Studio. 

What should I say? 

Are you ready to implement this powerful, grounding regimen into your morning routine? I thought so! You may already be inspired by a certain affirmation that you want to embody and allow to manifest in your life. If not, I am sharing a list of some of my favorite healing and empowering affirmations that I use to find peace, inspiration and balance in my own life. 

“Every little cell in my body is well.”

"I effortlessly and gracefully live in the body of my dreams”

“I embody wellbeing” 

“I am enough”

“I am strong”

“I am love”

“I choose hope over fear”

“I am courageous”

“I trust in the magic of the unknown

“I am abundant”

“I am grateful”

Now that you have the tool to begin each day feeling empowered and grounded, you are ready to set your intentions and really get your inner glow on. If you are looking to reset more than just your morning routine, and want a reboot for the mind, body and soul, then please check out my 11 week program,  Elevate, which is a curated program that takes you through the full variety of workouts, sequences, and wellness rituals in the Aligned Life Studio (skim through my  Elevate blog to learn all about it). When you join the Studio you will automatically have access to Elevate - and if you aren’t a member of the Aligned Tribe yet, you can give the Studio a try with a  free 7 day trial. 

P.S. I learned a little more about the power of affirmations from this beautiful article courtesy of  MindBodyGreen. Absolutely take a look if you are interested in using these affirmations to attract energies into your life.