A little back story, a few years ago, i was doing the Tone It Up Beach Babe workout series. The kettlebell exercises stated getting really hard for my wrists to handle. Similar to how I struggled with CrossFit. I was feeling frustrated.
My psoriasis was really getting bad at the same time. I was looking into seeing a dermatologist.
I came across this race series called the Ragnar Relay. I was really intrigued by thought of doing a relay race, so I told my friend Nicole about it.
When I went in to a dermatologist about my skin, he seemed more interested in my wrists an chronic tailbone pain. He prescribed me some medication and referred me to a rheumatologist. He was leaning towards me having psoriatic arthritis. I started researching diets for anti-inflammation.
Nicole decided to sign us up for the Ragnar Relay, which meant I needed to start running. Running can be kind of boring, so I started looking for podcasts to listen while I ran. I came across this one called Achieving Your Goals with Hal Elrod. I was so intrigued by the episode, I went back to the beginning and listed to every podcast episode he had done to date.
When I met with my rheumatologist, I told him that I had just taken up running and was on the re-introduction phase of the autoimmune protocol diet. He was supportive of me doing whatever seemed to work for me. He also said that he wouldn’t tell me to stop running, or to run shorter distances. If running ever became a problem, we’d have to look at biologic medications.
Hal has this book, that is really a kind of lifestyle, called The Miracle Morning. I listened about the 6 different steps, and how it had helped change and shape some of his guests. He wasn’t even asking questions about the Miracle Morning, it was more like these people couldn’t help but share. I decided that I had to give it a shot myself.
I have not been the best student with my miracle morning practice, but I can tell a huge difference when I am consistent and when I start to fall off. I have found that my day is much more productive, and I am much happier, when I start my day grounded in my routine.
The Miracle Morning is 10 minutes each of Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing, at it’s core. I have found that I can veer a little to work best for me, in both the time and what I use for my practice. For silence, I use a guided mediation from the Buddhify app. Affirmations, I use Think Up, where I have recorded my own affirmations. So I listen to a recording of myself saying them, over music. Visualization, I have a vision board that I like to use, Life Vision Board. Some days, I visualize my planner and how the perfect day would look, according to my planner. Exercise varies. Sometimes it is just some stretching, getting my body ready for a new day; especially if I have a workout planned for later in the morning. I like to do at least 5 minutes on the row machine, or 100 squats on a day that is typically a rest day. Sometimes, I get that workout in at 4 AM. Reading is anywhere from 5-20 minutes. I love to read, it just depends on how my day is laid out. The book I read during my miracle morning is always a self help or business book. I also read a Bible devotional. For scribing, I use the 5 Minute Journal.
I titled this how the miracle morning changed my life, and I haven’t even covered that yet. I think, in part, because it is hard to quantify. Hal’s podcast motivated me on my runs. I went from a girl struggling to open a sippy cup, frustrated that exercise killed my wrists before anything else; to a runner. I went from someone who rolled out of bed barely before my first clients walked through the door, to someone who enjoys her alone time in the morning. I am happy and grounded when I start my day with these 6 little steps. I have developed awesome friendships with a couple accountability partners, we check in about our progress and growth through the miracle morning. I have read so much on business and self help, that I find myself always trying to grow and better myself, to become the best version of myself. I’ve even changed my relationship with God through my morning devotionals.
Have you ever heard of the miracle morning? Are you willing to try it? Let me guess, you’re not a morning person? Well, most people aren’t, but when you get up and take action before you give yourself the chance to go back to bed, magical things happen.
Reading the book, or listening to Hal interviewed on other people’s podcast about The Miracle Morning can really help with the why you should do the different steps. He even gives suggestions different from what I have found to work for me. Don’t let it become a doing problem. You don’t need the perfect plan to start. Just start, and then perfect the plan as you go.