Years ago I went on a weekend long yoga retreat in upstate NY. I look back with sweet memories of the self-care weekend but also always remember the irony of me sleeping through every morning yoga session. Yes, I had shown up to the retreat exhausted. Yes, I still benefited immensely from it.
For those who know me, this story won’t surprise you. See, for most of my life, I struggled to wake up and on the weekends it was definitely the norm that I would sleep way past noon. “I’m a late sleeper, I can’t wake up early, my body can’t do it…” These are some of the many stories I told myself (and anyone who asked on the topic) over and over again.
Today, I proudly wake up around 8:30am each morning. A perk of working for myself is that I can start my days at a time that works for me. The difference, is that on the weekends I generally also wake up around the same time. In 2020, I (somehow) reset my sleeping patterns, and while a handful of times since then I have stayed in bed til 12pm… in general it doesn’t happen. Not because I don’t want to or can’t, but because I switched my narrative. For me, waking up before 9am MOST mornings, is morning(ish) person material!
I spent the second week of January in Costa Rica on a yoga retreat. I was not thrilled to learn that our daily morning yoga started at 8am!! I reminisced on my Upstate NY experience & hoped I would wake up for a few of the morning sessions. On the final night of the retreat, I shared with the entire group how proud of myself I was for not only making it to each morning yoga session but also for how impressed I was with my physical ability. I couldn’t believe how strong I felt after a week of twice daily yoga.
Most importantly, I couldn’t believe how I had also been holding onto another old narrative “my body is not awake or ready to exercise in the morning.” There is nothing quite like proving yourself wrong. Proving to yourself that you are stronger than you could possibly imagine. Proving to yourself that certain thought patterns just are not true.
This was one of many takeaways from a week long retreat. Did I think that I would continue yoga two times a day… absolutely not and that would never have been a goal. Some mornings I practice yoga, pilates or go for a walk. The more meaningful piece is that almost three months later the mindset shift I experienced has stayed with me.
What is a story you have been holding onto? Is that story true?
xoxo,
Amanda
PS In case no no one told you today, I love you
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