VINAYA Morning Rituals
The VINAYA team is made up of researchers, engineers, and designers, and we’re inherently interested in testing and trying methods that help us perform at our best. We work at a fast pace and have tight timelines, so we’re always researching ways we might be able to improve or our own potential and wellbeing. We’ve experimented with a plethora of ‘life-hacks’, but have found that one of the most effective changes we’ve made to our work day doesn’t actually take place in the office - it’s how we wake up at home.
Fascinated by human performance, our team synthesised research on sleep/wake cycles and routines in order to understand how they affect our capacity to perform to the best of our ability. Off the back of this research, we created a Five-Step Morning Ritual that not only helps reduce stress, but also sets the body up for more rational thought, increased memory recall and balanced blood sugar levels, making us more collaborative, more creative and even more motivated as a team.
Read more about the science behind waking up in our blog post “I Woke Up Like This”
1. WAKE - Your Sunshine Alarm Clock
If possible, wake up with the sun. Sunlight helps the body's internal biological clock reset each day. Light waves stimulate rod and cone cells in the eyes, which (through a cascade of hormonal and neurological pathways) tell the body that it’s time to wake up. There's a growing number of scientific studies that monitor the effects of light on the eyes, and how it may be used therapeutically to increase alertness (not just at the start of the day but strategically throughout the day as well).
"We're not getting enough bright light exposure during the day, and then in the evening, we're getting too much artificial light exposure. Both of those have the consequence of causing our rhythms to get out of sync," - Dan Pardi, Stanford University
Whilst waking up without an alarm is ideal, if you don’t trust your circadian rhythm just yet, try the Philips natural sunrise alarm clock (it’s not pretty, but it’s better than your smartphone, which should be kept clear of the bedroom!)
2. BREATHE - Your Oxygen Bath
Our lungs and diaphragm tend to breathe shallowly while sleeping. So starting the day with deep, oxygen-filled breaths help flush the brain and body with the oxygen required to kick start the day. Conscious, deep breathing is a practice we often forget, so waking up with this routine helps create a habit that can have ongoing benefits throughout the remainder of your day.
It’s often helpful if you focus on 'Yoga Breathing' - or 'Pranayama' - which involves envisioning the stomach rising and falling with each breath in and out. Simply place one hand on your chest and the other on your lower stomach, under the naval. With each inhale push the belly out, and with each exhale draw the belly in, helping to release all the air. These traditional breathing techniques not only help the body absorb more oxygen, they’re also calming for the mind.
3. STRETCH - Your Body’s Cleanse
Moving your muscles and joints helps wake up the body and mind in preparation for a taxing day of activity. Two minutes of stretching can do much more than a cup of coffee. No need to get out of bed immediately if that’s too much for you - start by peddling the feet back and forth for one full minute, this uses the powerful muscles in the calves to pump blood up the legs and through the body. Then raise each knee to the chest, helping release the hamstring and glute muscles. Finally, lie on your back and stretch your arms out as wide as they will go in a ‘T-shape’, then rotate your hands in both directions, releasing any tension stored in the wrists which typically comes as a result of typing on keyboards or texting on phones.
4. WRITE - Your Subconscious Messaging
They say that the subconscious mind is most in tune immediately after waking. These are the moments when our eyes are heavy, and we doze in and out of waking consciousness. That brief moment where we're able to recall our dreams before fully waking, and when we're likely to hit 'snooze' on our alarm clocks. It’s during this time that some of our most inspired and uninhibited thoughts, dreams, and ideas rise to our consciousness. This sweet spot is a moment we're extremely interested in at VINAYA, and we've been exploring it much further in our latest series of experiments. A simple exercise you can implement this week to explore your subconscious thought requires just a notebook and a pen. Keep beside your bed and as soon as you wake, record whatever comes to mind -- It could be a quote, a string of random words, an image, a formula, or your own creative creation! At the end of the week, review your 'wake up' pages, and see if you find any interesting recurring patterns. Perhaps there's something in there, prompting you to pursue a certain hobby or project, or spend more or less time with a particular person, or on a particular area of your life.
5. MEDITATE - Your Mind’s Magic
Allow the thoughts you just wrote down to marinate while you sit in silence with your eyes closed for 10 minutes. Let your mind settle, and then bring your attention to your breath; feel the cold air against your nostrils as you inhale, and warm air as you exhale. Notice your chest, diaphragm and tummy gently rising and falling. Allow your thoughts to come and go, and simply bring the attention back to the breath every time your mind starts to wander.
Whilst mediation should take place at whatever time of day works best for you, many find that mornings are easiest, before the craziness of the day sets in. This is a great way to get your blood flowing, as meditation has been shown to increase circulation in beginning meditators by 30%, and in experienced meditators by as much as 65%. Read what this Harvard neuroscientist has to say about how meditation affects the brain.
Try this VINAYA morning ritual for a week and share your results with us, if you manage to practice for 21 consecutive days, you’re more likely to be able to incorporate this new routine (and enhanced benefits) into your life on an ongoing basis.