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.
This site seeks to explore the heart and soul of downshifting to a more sustainable, ethical and holistic way of living and working, in keeping with the needs of the planet, humanity as a whole and ourselves as individuals. 
Beautiful post, Sally, and I love the imagery of the Rumer Godden quote. This will certainly make me more aware of visiting every ‘room’ each day, and maybe flinging open the metaphorical windows for a few minutes.
And no, I had no idea about the two different singing periods for birds.
I wonder which room we should enter at the end of the day. Perhaps we should walk through the emotional room before arriving at the mental room which can allow us to reflect on the experiences of our day.
Hi Sally,
I like to remind people that when they transform their stress, they are balanced; go when they need to go & sleep when they need to sleep.
This post beautifully depicts this.
One of the definitions for sustainable is: Capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment.
What more immediate & real environment than the one within? Having awareness, knowledge and application will enable us to sustain our life.
Tess – thanks for your encouragement and comments. I find that quote a useful reminder and I like your ideas for what to do at the end of the day. I like to reflect on my experiences of the day and then do a short meditation before bed as I find this seems to put all the activity (physical and mental) to rest.
Marianna – welcome and thanks too for your kind comments. It can be so easy to just keep going all day and let the stress accumulate. I agree with you about the need to take care of our inner environment – so true.
Hi Sally,
Great reminder post.
You write:
someone who is leading a sustainable lifestyle will often wake naturally at or before
I’d like to share some of my experience with this.
Once I started living sustainable (now about 8 years ago) I used to have no curtains in my bedroom. I held the belief it was good to be woken up by nature’s sunrise.
Then I read how rejuvenating it is to sleep in a totally darkenend room. At first I totally dismissed that concept, strengthenend by the feelings a darkenend bedroom evoked.
The concept kept lingering in my mind and over time I decided I’d give it a try.
And low and behold….From the first night I installed the thick curtains I slept like a baby….
What I never expected happenend, I woke up much more rested, earlier and without an alarm, nor the rising sun.
So all n all I am happy to have finally surrendered to the rejuvenation hidden in the darkness. ;-)
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
When I wake up feeling rested and ready to face the day, that seems to me to be a sign that I have had an adequate amount of sleep and even more convincing when I’ve woken naturally, rather than with the help of an alarm. For me, part of living sustainably is about observing nature and on a personal level observing that in ourselves and what works best for us. It’s great to hear that you’ve found a way of sleeping that works for you too and leaves you feeling rejuvenated, and also that you were willing to experiment with that to find a happy solution.
I’ve noticed recently that as the sunrise is happening earlier and earlier, so I’m also waking a little earlier as the weeks go by. I also go to bed quite early, usually by 10pm and find that definitely helps with feeling rejuvenated. I wonder how things will go as the nights get shorter. Will I need much less sleep than I have been in the winter, or will I be sleeping through some daylight hours, either in the evening or the morning?
Hi Sally,
I couldn’t agree more Sally.
I particulary like your insight on observing the natural rythm within ourselves. Sustainable living soes that, it’s one of the amazing side effects I so appreciate.
You say you go to bed around 10pm, I usually dive in around midnight. Although I wake early, I strive to go to bed at the time you do. I am wondering what else will happen….
I also believe when moving into the time of year when the sun rises earlier, our body adjusts to it as well. Especially here in northern countries, for being outside in the sun allows our bodies to fill up on large reserves of vitamin D.
Anyway sustainable living offers so much once you get used to it. It has such an amazing ” travel itinerary” ;-)