Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Wake Up & Stretch - Impermanence

Episode Date: September 26, 2022

This morning, wake your mind and body with mindfulness and yoga designed to help you appreciate all of the highs and lows of life. Enjoying Wake Me Up? Get ad-free access to the entire WMU catalog + bonus content by joining the WMU Premium Feed. Sign up and start your 7-day free trial at https://wakemeup.supercast.com/. Follow the show on Spotify - Apple Podcasts - Amazon - Podchaser Say hi or request an episode at www.wakemeuppodcast.com/contact. See visual guides for the yoga and stretches in WMU episodes at www.wakemeuppodcast.com/stretches. And find the podcast on Instagram and TikTok. **Only partake in the physical movements suggested in Wake Me Up episodes if you are physically able and in safe surroundings. All movements are done at the individual's own risk. Be safe, and always consult a doctor if you have any questions or concerns.** Have a wonderful day 😃 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you'd like to enjoy Wake Me Up completely ad-free and get access to exclusive bonus content, check out the link in the show notes for the Wake Me Up premium feed. Hey there, good morning. Welcome to Wake Me Up and to this wake-up and stretch episode where we'll get out of bed and prepare the mind and body for a great day. This week's episodes are all based on a common theme of impermanence, the idea that everything is temporary. These episodes will help you develop a sense of stoicism, which is the idea that you can be stable and unwavering despite the highs and lows of life. And that can be a really powerful thing to cultivate. It will help you with stress and anxiety,

and it will help you cherish the good times when they come. Before we get started, I want to say thank you so much for listening. It really means a lot to have you here, and I appreciate your support. simply by listening, you're helping to support this show through ads. And that makes it possible for me to keep making Wake Me Up. This has always been a solo show until very recently, and I've just started hiring a couple of writers.

And it's because of your support and your listenership that I'm able to keep doing this. If you'd like to support the show even more and listen, ad-free with bonus episodes, then you can do that by subscribing to Wake Me Up Premium. And you can do that directly in Apple Podcasts through an Apple Podcast subscription, or you can sign up through Supercast using the link in the show notes. It's the exact same experience, and it supports me just the same. So do whatever works the best for you. Again, thank you so much for being here, and now let's get started.

I recommend you begin this episode while you're still in bed. But if you're already up and about, then don't worry, that's just fine too. But wherever you do find yourself right now, let's all just pause for a moment and take a couple of deep breaths. So inhale and fill all the way up. Fill deep into your belly. Hold at the top.

And then exhale. Release. Just let the air fall back out. Once more, inhale, filling up even deeper. Hold. And exhale. release. And just enjoy the peace and quiet you have here in this moment before the day begins. It won't last forever. Soon you'll be returning to the goings-on of your day. And that's a wonderful

thing in and of itself too. But here and now, just enjoy the opposite of that. A pause. And I'll let you have a few seconds to yourself without disturbing you. There's a quote that I love by the Roman philosopher Seneca. And it goes like this, nothing to my way of thinking is a better proof of a well-ordered mind than one's ability to just stop where they are and pass some time in their own company.

I think that's a really lovely idea because the truth is that you spend more time with yourself than anyone else in life. In fact, the self is the only thing that's truly permanent in life. So don't run from yourself. Appreciate yourself. Seek to understand who you are

and what fuels your fire. It will change from time to time, and so will your relationship with yourself. And that is perhaps the best part of this journey. Now, what do you say we get going? Because there's another day to enjoy on this journey of life. So take a big breath in, filling up with gratitude for being you.

And on your exhale, if you're in bed, roll over and make your way to standing up. All right, now that we're all up and out of bed, let's continue on with some stretches to warm the body. And as always, just a quick word of warning, my stretches are just suggestions. If you can't do them safely or if you'd prefer to do something else, please do. If you want to see a visual, you can find a link to do that in the show notes. And I'd like to encourage you that in line with our theme, pay special attention to the sensations in your body as we do these stretches. Notice how tension begins to change over time throughout a stretch,

and your body loosens up and adapts as we go along. The first thing we're going to do is some standing side stretches. So plant your feet firmly on the ground, raise the crown of your head to the ceiling, and relax your shoulders. Interlace your hands in front of you. And then inhale, reach all the way to the sky, keeping your hands together.

And when you get to the top, reach up and over to the right. You'll feel a big stretch down the left side of your body. Hold here. Let your air out if you haven't already. Take a full round of breath. Inhale, and exhale, and then release back down, come back to center.

We're going to do the same thing on the other side now. So inhale, reach your hands up, keeping them interlaced. And when you get to the top, reach up and over to the left. Again, you'll feel a big stretch down the right side of your body this time. Let your air out if you haven't already. And let's do a full round of breath. Inhale and exhale. Release back down.

Beautiful. Now, let's do a couple of forward folds. This first one, we're going to change a little bit from how we usually do it. But just follow along and I'll guide you. So inhale, reach your hands to the sky, add a little back bend at the top if you'd like, and then exhale fold forward at your waist. Let everything relax down.

And when you get settled into this forward fold, slowly step your feet out a little bit wider. As wide as feels comfortable for you, I'd recommend not going too far and always feel free to bend your knees and place your hands on the ground to keep yourself stable. Breathe here, inhale, and exhale. Now slowly roll all the way up to standing.

And when you get there, bring your feet back together about shoulder width apart. and we're going to do another forward fold again. Inhale, reach your hands to the sky. Add a little backbend if you'd like at the top. And then exhale, fold forward at your waist. Let's keep this one in our usual way. So let everything soften down.

Relax your neck. And just hang out in whatever way feels right to you. I'll give you a little time to settle in here. and just notice how your body adapts to this pose. You've started to move a little. There's some blood flowing. And just notice what happens. Take one full round of breath.

Inhale and exhale. And instead of rolling up, I want you to put your hands on the ground, bend your knees, and carefully make your way to all fours on the ground. So hands are on the floor directly beneath your shoulders and knees are on the floor directly beneath your hips. For our last stretch,

we're just going to sit back into child's pose. So drop your bottom back towards your feet and just settle in. Rest your chest, rest your forehead on the ground. Reach your arms out in front of you. Spread them along the ground. And again, just enjoy this moment of peace and quiet. Close your eyes.

if you'd like. And feel how your body slowly settles deeper and deeper into this pose. All right, friends, so it's about time to wrap up. I'm going to leave you here in child's pose. So if you want to get on with your day, feel free to go ahead and get up. If not, feel free to hang out. Either way, I hope your body is feeling nice and loose now, and you're ready for a great day. And as you go about your day, remember this.

whatever happens, whether good or bad or somewhere in between, it will not last forever. So cherish the good moments and do your best to ride through the sour ones. You've been given the gift of another day to enjoy this journey of life, and I hope you make the most of it no matter what comes your way. Tomorrow, we'll dive deeper into the idea of impermanence in our meditation. It's going to be a really relaxing one. and I think you'll enjoy it. So I hope to see you there.

If you enjoyed this episode, then it would mean a ton to me if you left a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or whatever podcast player you use. You can find links for those in the show notes. So thanks again. Now I'll talk to you tomorrow.

And until then, go out and have an absolutely fantastic day.