Morning Momentum Supplies List
Good Morning!
These supplies are recommended for the program but are not mandatory. These tools are available from a simple search at amazon.com or ask your favorite local supplier.
Day 1 - Yoga Mat and blanket
(or a comfortable seat)
Day 6 - White Sage Smudge Stick
Day 8 - A fresh journal
Day 9 - Inspirational non-fiction book
Recommendation: Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo
Day 10 - Intention Cards
Recommendation: Selves in a Box by J. Tamar Stone
(any intention cards will work)
Day 14 - Candles
If you are allergic to high smelling fragrances get scentless candles. Any candles you have on hand will do.
Day 14 - Essential Oils / Incense (see below)
Be mindful of any allergies or reactions to smells.
ESSENTIAL OILS
While each of these essential oils have many properties the use during Morning Momentum is based on using it mildly either by candle, diffuser or applying to the skin.
Bergamot
Properties: Uplifting, euphoric.
Emotional: Optimism, spontaneity, calms nervous tension.
Basil
Properties: Fresh, spicy, refreshing.
Emotional: Confidence, insight, courage.
Jasmine
Properties: Euphoric, calming, uplifting, aphrodisiac
Emotional: Harmony, delight, creativity, use for fear and apathy.
Lavender
Properties: Calming, balancing.
Emotional: Calm, composure, emotional overload, tension and panic.
INCENSE
You might want to try a few and see which one you like best. There is a great assorted box of incense cones from Hem available on Amazon that includes the following scents:
Coconut
Lotus
Patchouli
Lavender
Vanilla
The Moon
Frankincense
White Sage
Tangerine
Dragons Blood
Myrrh
Sandal
Morning Momentum is hosted by Cheri Ruskus, CEO of Business Victories. We are a coaching organization based in Boulder, CO that empowers business owners to increase self-confidence and discover new ways to adapt to modern marketing tools. If you are ready to grow your business to the next level we encourage you to check out The Victory Program.
Stay Inspired:
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1. Own Your Morning
Good Morning!
Cheri Ruskus here and I am excited to spend the next 21 mornings with you to share with you the elements of what I have come to know as Morning Momentum. The practices that have literally have changed my life. The biggest reward I have received is that knowing that I am more joyful and happier in my core than ever before in my life. Simply by giving my body and mind the attention it deserves each and every day.
A quick note before we get rolling is that you might be surprised to discover that most of the your daily messages from me throughout this program will be delivered to you in an audio message. I am intentionally doing this so that you stay in your own head. You don’t need to see my face or get distracted by anything other than the message you need to hear. The only exception will be tomorrow when I have a little surprise video for you.
So let’s begin…
All too often we start the day perhaps slapping the snooze button on the alarm clock (more on breaking the alarm clock habit on day 4), perhaps over sleeping and then rushing towards your day in perhaps a bit of a panic mode.
If the best way to describe your first hour of the day is chaos – together we help you to make the needed change to remove that from your life.
By taking the time to orchestrate your morning you are giving yourself the gift to walk into your day at your pace. This morning momentum time can take anywhere from 15 minutes to even better yet, a full hour each morning to step fully and gracefully into your mind and body.
If you are thinking wait…If I take out this extra time in the morning won’t it give me less time? Here is the deal, when you start the day looking from the inside out you will be amazed at how different the world will look to you and the grace it can add to your life.
I will be sharing more about the role our conscious and unconscious mind plays in all of this as we go. The key is going to be to get your conscious mind to not be in charge first thing of the day. Pushing you towards things that may not be in your best interest.
Take a look at many of the successful people on the planet and most you will find embrace this morning time whether it’s a workday or a play day.
Why? Because all too soon when you begin to embrace the power of this morning hour – work really does become play and play becomes more thoughtful and less thought filled because you enter the day graciously and with a strong inner momentum. Again this will make more sense to you as we go.
This element of morning momentum is not just about the days you have to get up to go to your work life. In order to fully get the habit going you need to think about it everyday. At least for a while until it becomes a habit and then you might just love it enough to want it everyday.
For example, on a recent weeklong vacation at the beach with my best girlfriends while they slept in I woke every morning at the crack of dawn, which can be anywhere from about 5am to 7am depending on the time of year, in this case it was July so it was about 6am.
Now keep in mind I love these girlfriends dearly and have known them most of my life. Since we rarely get to see each other as we live in different parts of the U.S. we were up late each night having all kinds of fun and catching up on our lives.
But, what I found, was that since I have instilled this early wake up time habit deeply into myself, and since we were together 24/7 this gave me a little “me” time (more on the critical elements of “me” time in a minute) and had me set to start a fun day with them when they were ready to get up a couple of hours later.
Most mornings I took my morning momentum time to the beach and even found the time for long walks along the shoreline with hardly anyone around which is another great advantage to the morning light - you get to see the world with less people in it. Less people equals less outer noise to infiltrate this quiet time of day for you.
I love people – just don’t need them during my quiet times. Those early morning moments are some of my fondest memories from this great vacation. It was a time of deep introspection for me.
What I have found over the years as I have completely dedicated myself to the importance of starting my day in honoring the early morning hours with “me” time is that I am happier and not just happier on the surface, happier from a place of deep inner joy.
What is does “me” time stand for as you embark in making Morning Momentum a ritual and a habit in your life? Me time = Mind Enrichment. A time to fully allow you to choose the thoughts you want to have in your day. Not what the world dishes out. Not yet anyway in the early morning light.
Let’s get started creating this for you by carving out a morning time to fits into your life so that it happens. Do you need to change your schedule a bit to insure that your morning momentum can happen consistently?
Consistency is key, again, 7 days a week getting started to create this habit. Sure there are some days that you want to sleep in … and when you push yourself it’s worth it, especially if you have distractions such a children waking up or other human or animal needs in your life. This is m.e. time.
I currently have a growing puppy named Luna who sleeps in her crate. My goal each morning is to have my full hour before I have to release her so that I don’t have to have the puppy craziness going on. On the weekdays I find myself up at the crack of dawn and on the weekends perhaps up at 7 or so, just as long as I get her out of her crate by 8.
So work around these types of circumstances that require you to focus on someone or something else and could take you off course from only getting a short morning momentum time to missing your morning momentum time altogether. Remember the more you enforce this time for yourself with those who live with you the more it will be respected and acknowledged by them.
Think about the best location in your home that you can have the privacy you need – better known as your happy morning place which I will share more with you about tomorrow.
Your yoga mat will be a constant through all 21 days and we will add other items as we go as I mentioned in the intro to this program.
If you don’t have a yoga mat grab a pillow or something soft to sit on until you can get one – because you really do want to get one. I like the yoga mat because it gives me a sense of space and a good place to do stretching when we get to that part of the program.
Listen to these recordings on your mobile device making sure that you simply grab the one morning email from me and nothing else. I want to stress that it is very important not to let yourself get distracted by all the going on’s of that can get you to start looking at other peoples agenda’s and not your own.
Remember touch is a sense that comes into play here from a soft blanket to perhaps a pair of soft leggings and sweater to wear during your meditation time. Comfort is really important because if you are uncomfortable you will start to focus on the discomfort such as being cold or wearing stiff clothing.
My final request is to once again request that you stay strong in your conviction with others you may live with that this is non-negotiable time for you that you must have each day to yourself.
I know in my case I used to make my focus on everyone but myself in the morning and it was anything but “me” time. The days for me would start as they do for so many frazzled and always playing catch-up.
It was a bit of a tough adjustment for myself and those I love and care for but today my husband knows how important this time is to me and he honors it with great respect. Perhaps he keeps in mind – happy wife – happy life – I just know it’s one of the reasons I love him as much as I do.
Keep in mind that today’s recording will be the longest of them all because I wanted to really get this into perspective for you. My goal in the days ahead is to keep them pretty short and sweet to you can get into your own mind.
If you have any questions just send them to me in the comments section below and myself or someone on my team will get back to you in 24 hours if not sooner.
Until tomorrow … Here is to you, your morning momentum and the m.e. – mind enrichment - time in your journey ahead!
This is a sample lesson from the Morning Momentum program. Join this program →
This lesson is hosted by Cheri Ruskus, CEO of Business Victories, a coaching organization based in Boulder, CO that empowers business owners to increase self-confidence and discover new ways to adapt to modern marketing tools. If you are ready to grow your business to the next level we encourage you to check out The Victory Program.
Stay Inspired:
Instagram | iTunes | Weekly Newsletter