Monday Morning Slow Living Routine
I made a promise to myself a long time ago that when I went self employed I’d keep my Monday’s to myself as a day to rest, learn, move my body, be still & more present. This year I made good on that promise.
It’s hard to change the habits of a life time. Since I moved back to the UK in 2004 I have worked every Monday, be that in an educational setting as a student or as an employee. Two & half years ago I quit my corporate career to retrain as a Barre, Pilates & Yoga teacher & I knew I wanted to keep Mondays for myself.
Before leaving for a day of meetings across the UK I would take my dogs for a long walk & imagine I was beginning a long & easy Monday that would be full of the things that bring me joy. I’d talk to the dogs & say things out loud like “Aren’t we lucky to have the whole day to ourselves today”, feeling absolute gratitude for living a life where Monday’s were calm, peaceful & enjoyable. I’d carry that energy with me into my working day.
For the last 12 months or so I’ve taught a super chilled Restorative & Yin inspired Yoga practice every Monday, which I know so many of you loved & it was hard for me to give up but in making more of an effort to live my life consciously, the decision to stop teaching on a Monday was not a decision made on a whim, simply because I couldn’t be bothered anymore. No. This was a well thought out & intentional decision to keep the promise I made to myself back in 2020.
Whilst I now have Monday’s to myself to work on my business rather than in it I still feel those same feelings of anxiety & dread I used to have when I actually had to leave my house to work on a Monday morning. Perhaps this is something you can relate to & let me tell you, I’ve been self-employed now for almost 3 years & I STILL get those feelings on a Sunday. They are beginning to dissipate but it’s almost like an automatic response every time Sunday comes around & I have to consciously remind myself that tomorrow is another day for me to live my life, do what I chose to do & be mindful.
In the warmer months I love to get up with the sun & the birds, head into my garden & get a 30 minute Pilates workout in. I love being up & moving my body before the rest of the world wakes up. Yes, even now when I could choose to lie in. Sometimes I do & I almost always regret it. I’m an early bird what can I say?
After showering, washing my hair & giving myself a mini facial I make a smoothie full of fruits, vanilla protein powder, oat milk & Baobab powder. I then spend some time editing this week’s video & getting it uploaded before it goes out with my weekly newsletter. At 9:30am I host my weekly live Online Circle for my members where we observe & explore our theme in a little more depth, (this month is all about the seasons & how they relate to the elements, the Chakra & of course our own lives). We take the time to connect to our breath & find a moment of stillness before beginning our day. I’m excited for the relaunch of my membership next month because the weekly live Online Circle will be a whole hour exploring our topic for the season, meaning we get to dive in much deeper over a longer period of time.
Once we finish, I head back into the garden to bring more clarity to my mind with some breathing, Yoga & Meditation. This Monday was so glorious & I was thankful to be able to get back into my garden again. It’s the end of Summer so the air is cooling down & that means I get to spend less time outdoors than I’d like to so I purposely make the most of the last of the sunshine before Autumn is fully upon us.
With the full video here
Gyda cariad a cwtch
Sam
xoxo