I don’t want to be the person reaching for their phone first thing in the morning and I realise I am becoming a person reaching for my phone first thing. What to do?
Every day we are lucky to wake up to a new day. Body, mind and breath have hopefully been resting and we are stepping into something new. And then we reach for our phone… We go from a state of mini bliss to voluntary bombardment of external information. I am often guilty of this. I know it is harmful to my mind and unhelpful for full enjoyment of my day.
In my yoga classes and personal practice I always start by preparing my spine and joints before I do the bigger postures. I would like to bring the same type of kindness to my mind when waking up. And not give it a mental shock before I am completely awake! I know that if I don’t allow myself to “arrive” into a new day it will affect me for the rest of my day. The day will feel edgy instead of fluid.
Earlier this week I came across the English author, podcast host and former monk Jay Shetty’s take on what is happening when you open your phone first thing in the morning. He says none of us would let a hundred people into our bedroom the moment we wake up. He continues by saying that every morning we are letting a hundred people into the bedroom of our mind through our phone. The brain is trying to wake up and we are bombarding it with negativity, noise and notifications. This makes our brain exhausted even before we get out of bed! I thought this was a powerful illustration of what is happening. I will definitely keep it as a good reminder.
Here is my suggestion: Tomorrow morning, as you wake up, see if you can stop yourself from automatically reaching for your phone. Instead, take a moment to take in the daylight coming into your bedroom, connect with your breath, notice how your body feels, send kind thoughts to people you love and care about, notice what you are grateful for. And, perhaps as I (try to always) do, leave one hour between waking up before opening your phone.
Wishing you well! Annette X
