Daily Disciplines

Much is made of morning routines and the ‘best’ way to start the day. It’s often said ‘win the morning, win the day’.

All I’ll say is I’ve had times waking up with no plan and times waking up with a morning plan. I find it easier not having to negotiate with myself. At this point in time, here’s what floats my boat.

Stretching

Kata x 2 (Sanchin & Tensho)

Drills & exercises (things like footwork, wrist lock sequences, TT’s, etc)

Meditate/gratitude  

Read a poem (currently Samadhi) and learn new ones

Breathing exercises (5min-10min)

Sunlight (if sunny)

Water immersion (pool, beach or cold shower)

Lime or lemon water & micronutrients 

That’s it.

A bunch of these are done simultaneously. For example the kata, drills/exercises and pool are all done outside in the morning sun. Stretching, breathing exercises and poetry are done concurrently too. Reading poetry is the most recent addition and I’m loving it. I committed to reading Samadhi by Paramahansa Yogananda daily for 12 months. Currently 5 months in. Rumi’s ‘Let Them Sleep’ is another favourite.

If I have an early start (early training session or an early surf planned) I’ll get up early enough to do this. It takes between 15 min – 30 mins depending on what I’m doing each day and how I feel. This isn’t about intensity, it’s about consistency and compounding the stimulus I want my body and brain to accumulate throughout life.

On occasions when time runs out or I miss it entirely, I’ll do it later in the day. No guilt or stress. Things happen.

It’s energising and adds quality of life. If any part of it felt like a burden, chore or fatiguing, I’d remove it.

In no way am I suggesting anyone else does this routine or that this is something special other than special to me.

Why not experiment with a couple of things you enjoy every morning and go from there?

It’s not a contest, there’s no prescription. It’s simply a process of figuring out what’s optimal for you. Without trying different things, you’ll never know what long-term impact they could have on your life.

Give it a go.

UPDATE 21st September 2022:

Just recorded this YouTube live session with Cameron Quinn on daily disciplines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0CH9xDnXek&t=6

Cameron’s routine starts at the 14min mark and mine at the 26min mark.

Enjoy!