120910. A reader recently sent me an email that got me thinking. She wanted to know how I manage to get up in the morning for yoga and meditation. And the thing is … I recognized myself a LOT in her email. Here's her dilemma:
I desperately want to get up early before work to do some yoga/meditation, go to the gym and get to work at a decent time. This would then allow me to come home at a decent time and have time to relax / study (Indian Head Massage) or catch up on minor housework chores.
Instead I reset the alarm clock, get up at the latest possible moment, get to work later than anyone else, have to stay later at work, have to go to the gym after work (which I'm failing to do), have less time for study (which I'm failing to do), housework and relaxing (fail, fail). This all combines to make me feel that I'm failing at everything and it all becomes a downward spiral.
I have a clue that the answer may be in changing my thinking about getting up early before work, and the benefits that will bring. I just find it extremely difficult to motivate myself.
I just wondered if you had any words of advice.
Here’s my thinking about what happens when we keep hitting snooze:

First off, we make all these grand plans: “I’m going to get up an hour early, get to the gym for an hour of cardio … or there’s a yoga class at 7 … if I can get there and get home by 8:45, I’ll have time for a quick shower and still be to work by 9:30.”
Uh huh.
They are great plans.
We set our alarm clocks with the best of intentions. We know that it’s a good thing to wake up early, practice some yoga (or move your body in some way), meditate, get settled and focused for the day ahead. Really good. The world is easier to deal with when you start the day with a little sweat … a little laughter … and a little meditation.
But then the alarm goes off.
And our mind gets to work (If you’re anything like me, there’s a real dialogue that goes on in your head):
“Five more minutes.” “I can still get to the gym if I skip a shower.” “I’ll take a yoga class during lunch.” “I’ll get to the gym after class.” “It's only five more minutes.”
Snooze.
ZZzzzzzzz.
Alarm.
Snooze.
ZZzzzzzzz.
Alarm.
Snooze.
ZZzzzzz.
Alarm.
“Crap. Now I’m late.” “No time for yoga.” “No time for the gym.” “No time for the meditation.” “I can’t go during lunch because I have that meeting … hmmmm.” “I can still get there tonight. … Oh no … I forgot I have that thing tonight … Aaaargh.”
And it’s proof-positive that our minds/egos are pretty powerful.
You see, the ego likes to have that control – keep us doing what it wants, ratherthan what we want/know we need.
It’s just so dang easy to get caught in this cycle.
But there is a way out.
Although it does take a little effort.
I’m speaking from experience here … I had the same problem when I was just starting out in my own practice.
Two things helped me make a shift (to take the power away from my ego and give it to my "soul" or "self"):
1 - START SMALL. Instead of making grand plans (to get out of bed, get dressed, get to the gym, get home to shower and dress and get to work ... basically adding more than an hour to my morning), I started small ... if all I did was wake up and do 5 sun salutations and meditate for 3 minutes, I was a winner. Some days, all I did was a 3 minute wake-up set (1 minute of stretch pose w/breath of fire, 1 minute of knees to nose with breath of fire, 1 minute of ego eradicator with breath of fire) and 3 minutes of a simple meditation before jumping in the shower to start the day. After about a month (probably more like 40 days), I wanted to do more ... so I kept adding more ... Ishnaan (cold shower), kriya, meditation ...
The other thing I did:
2 - CREATE A SITUATION THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU AN "OUT." What I mean by that is ... if someone is waiting for you to pick them up to take them to the gym or yoga studio, you can't very well turn off your alarm. Or, if you invite a friend to your house to practice with you ... you've got to be up and ready when they arrive ... you've created a situation that won't let you turn off your alarm. Early on, I had a neighbor who agreed to meet me for walking meditations 2 or 3 mornings a week. We started out walking for 30 minutes ... worked up to about an hour ... we both lost weight, we both "got happy." And she just completed her third marathon. The idea of her waiting outside my door in the morning got me up and out ...
I don't know if these suggestions will help you ... but I hope so ... because I think if you add yoga and meditation all of those other things (work, home, study) get easier.
Q: How do you quiet your mind when it's working against you??