What’s the best way to start your day and what does it matter anyway?

“There is an Indian Belief that everyone is in a house of four rooms: A physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room everyday, even if only to keep it aired, we are not complete.”  Rumer Godden

There’s an ancient science of life, a kind of universal truth about how to live in harmony with the planet and it’s known as Ayurveda. According to Ayurveda, in the cycle of energy that we call our day, there’s a special energy that abounds between the hours of 3 and 7am. It’s known as “vata” and it’s nature is creative and conducive to supporting our spiritual nature. So, early in the morning is the best time for new ideas, inspiration and for getting in touch with our inner wisdom through daily spiritual practices such as yoga, meditation, T’ai Chi or prayer.

The birds know about this. You may have noticed that they are starting to sing a lot more in the mornings now. Were you aware, though, that they have 2 separate singing periods? There’s one about 1 ½ hours before dawn which, according to Ayurveda, is the best time for spiritual practice, and then there’s the dawn chorus that happens as the sun rises.

Sustainable living is all about living in harmony with the natural world rather than exploiting it. One of the ways in which we can help ourselves to do this on a personal level is by being sensitive to the natural energy cycles in our day and in particular at the start of our day.

The way in which we start our day can give us some useful clues as to whether we are still stuck on the treadmill, or whether we’re now leading a more simple, slower, peaceful way of life. A typcial rat race day often begins with waking to a loud and often irritating alarm, feelings of resistance, reluctance or even dread about the day ahead, followed by a rush of frenetic activity, including a hasty breakfast, eaten on the fly.

In contrast to this, someone who is leading a sustainable lifestyle will often wake naturally at or before dawn feeling fully rested and ready to welcome a new day that they anticipate with enjoyment. It then becomes easier to take early morning activities at a leisurely pace, including eating a nourishing breakfast.

We can add to this by beginning the day with a peaceful spiritual practice, to the uplifting sounds of the birds singing in the background and so set ourselves up to live and work in alignment with nature for the rest of the day.