Morning Ritual

Billy and I drink tea and coffee in bed every morning. We started this ritual back in January when I was teaching the 200hr teacher training intensive and didn’t have a lot of time (or energy) to talk. After a long day of holding space for others, all I wanted to do when I got home was retreat inward and be quiet. Since the training had rearranged our daily routine, we decided to make time in the morning to be together.

The routine stuck. I go downstairs to the kitchen every morning and make tea for Billy and a cortado for myself, and then I bring them upstairs and set them down on our bedside “coffee table” (the stamp collection my parents pawned off on me when they moved out of my childhood home, which we shoved behind our bed months ago when we had some guests coming over for dinner). I love the time we share together. Some mornings we sit in silence and stare out the window. Other days we talk and laugh. We may dive into a deep conversation, or we may talk about nonsense. The important thing is that we’re focused on each other and making space for communication.

It’s literally the best part of my day.

Mindfulness and intention have the power to transform our everyday routines into opportunities for connection. Rituals bring significance to our lives; they offer us a meaningful outlet for our energy and attention. Our morning ritual has enriched our relationship and deepened our connection to each other. A simple cup of tea and coffee has brought us closer together.

Patanjali offers many techniques in the Yoga Sutras to cultivate attention. He’s open-minded in his approach—maybe observe your exhalations, or try concentrating on someone you find inspiring, or how about focusing on your attitude towards yourself and others? Ultimately, he suggests that we can steady our minds with any practice that we find personally elevating (sutra 1. 39). If we pour feeling (bhavanam) and purpose (artha) into our routines, we can elevate a simple act into a devotional ritual.

What kinds of rituals nourish you and your relationships? How do you live your yoga everyday?