I have a confession to make. I read Hal Elrod’s book called “The Miracle Morning” and got instantly hooked.

Lately, I’ve been looking for books that would shake things around and not necessarily change my life (because I do love my life) but to challenge me to think differently and try new things. So I found this particular book on Amazon while I was putting other inspiring reads in my shopping basket, such as “The 4-hour workweek” and “Essentialism“. I was VERY skeptic about the title (using “miracle” in the title immediately activates my eye-rolling and “oh this is so hyperbolic and so american“), but after reading a couple of very positive reviews, I added it in. So mainstream, right?

It arrived about ten days ago. For some reason, I reached towards it and opened it out of curiosity. And I started reading. And reading. And reading. I finished it in one setting, just like that.

So what is this book about? Well, I’ll tell you what: it’s about waking up earlier. That’s it.

But, it’s not only about that. It’s about a whole ritual that you can create for yourself before the day begins, so that you can get transformed as a person, reach specific goals or sort your life out.

It’s not an incredible book, it’s not incredibly written either, but the idea behind it and the principles displayed in it are pretty compelling. The “miracle morning”, as Hal sums it up, is about blocking time for yourself before the day begins. It is made of 7 pillars: Silence (Meditation), Affirmations, Visualisation, Exercise, Reading, Scribing (Journalling). All these things combined together can create an hour (or more) for self-development.

The day after I received and finished the book, I was too curious to give it a try, so I did, in my own way. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to start taking notes and journalling, like the book suggests, but I was quite convinced that taking an hour to myself before the day begins would be a good idea.

I put my alarm clock at 6:00, which is about a couple of hours (or more) earlier than I would usually wake up and get right into work mode. I generally hate to wake up earlier than the sunrise, because the darkness just makes me want to keep sleeping, so in winter the start of my day is usually quite delayed. What I had to do in order to drag myself out of bed this early was to be a little pushy about it and leave my alarm clock out of reach. It was a little rough to turn it off but it was ok. I splashed my face with cold water, got dressed up, downed a glass of water and started living out what was supposed to be a “miracle morning”, in the complete darkness of the morning. I thought:

“All right, now I got an hour to myself, so what should I do?¨

I came up with this simple routine, and got it all done before the sun rise:

• I rolled out my mat and set a 10-minute guided meditation on my phone. I meditate often and love the benefits, only this time it was in complete silence. No noises, no voices or anything whatsoever. It was just me, sitting in this complete darkness all alone with this space all to myself, which made it feel so intense!
• I practiced a short, 25-minute session of intensive yoga, core exercices and stretches, which served both as a workout and a way to energize the body and mind for the day.
• I finished up with a 15-minute deep relaxation, using a yoga block beneath my back, which felt blissful and corrected my posture at the same time.
• Wrapped it all up with a quick shower, followed by making a healthy breakfast. The day could finally begin and I felt incredibly balanced.

I have now been doing this exact routine for 10 days straight and can already feel how it is changing me and my perception of the day ahead.

When I usually get up, my mind starts ravelling and I can get easily overwhelmed about all the things I have to get done before the day even begins. So this simple practice helps a lot to calm those thoughts and to keep a balanced mind. To also be present in the moment and be grateful for this new day. I can assure you, if you try to wake up earlier and dedicate this time to yourself, you will get closer to the notion of how lucky you are to even get up in the morning, and to be alive. This little hour of “self-connecting” will allow you to truly be grateful about all of the things in your life and to be truly present. It can be especially helpful for people who feel that their lives are “passing them by” and that they are constantly disconnected and drenched in (too many) thoughts. Having to block time to just do nothing and be by yourself, do good to yourself, will get you accustomed to the fact that everything else is never as important as your well-being. And doing it first thing in the morning will help you to really confirm this, making you tackle everything else with ease and a clear mind.

I noticed this practice also made me more productive. In the morning hours following the practice, my mind is SO clear that I have a great ability to visualize tasks and to get so much done in a very little amount of time, focusing on the essential and leaving out the rest, not panicking when receiving an urgent email and just going with the flow.

I am not exactly sure how I’m going to continue this practice during the Christmas holidays, where “sleeping in” is part of the deal, but it’s definitely a must on every normal weekday. I’m looking forward to experience how it can possibly transform me further as I continue doing it.

So, lovely people: give it a try, you won’t be disappointed! It will make you into a morning person and you as you might know, morning people are the happiest 🙂