How to Wake Up Early...and Why?

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" -Benjamin Franklin

How many times do you hit the snooze button on the alarm clock when it wakes you in the early morning? Just pause and think for few seconds…

We set the alarm before sleeping, only to stop it in the morning; not to wake up, but to sleep again. What a pity? I am not an early riser by birth. But I have experimented on it to a certain level and came up with fresh ideas. Some techniques really helped me to rejuvenate, especially the breathing exercise Pranayama. I loved my experiments and continuing them just for the joy of finding another new idea.         

I want to share with you two things: First, How to wake up early? Second, why it enriches your life?

How to wake up early?

1.    Search for a sense of purpose: When we try to wake up in the morning some mysterious voice inside us whispers…

a. “What miracles you need to do by waking up early?”

b. “It’s so warm and cozy in the bed, let us enjoy this moment”

This inner chatter stems because we are missing a sense of purpose in our life. When you find your true purpose by digging your dreams you don’t need an alarm to wake you up. You will rise by yourself unconsciously. All the achievers have a vision, first they create their vision later their vision creates them. They are lead by the sense of purpose.   

2.    Never make drastic changes: If you usually wake up at 7 am don’t try to change it to 4 am. Wake up just 5 to 10 min earlier than usual time. Now day by day increase that time until you reach one hour.   

3.    Eat dinner before 7 pm: Early dinner gives you better sleep and also increases your body’s healing power. When you sleep well you can wake up easily. Remember not to have spicy food for the dinner.    

4.    Wake up at the same time: Once you reach your ideal waking time (5 am is the best) stick to it. Whether you sleep at 10 pm or 12 pm you should always be ready at the same waking time. Thomas Jefferson once said “Whether I retire to bed early or late, I rise with the sun.” He continued with this habit for 50 years.

5.    Keep the clock far from your bed: I know that you know the reason behind this. Because we shut the alarm if it’s reachable and return to sleep. Never keep the alarm handy. Keep it in a place where you can hear it and also where you need to walk few steps away from your bed to shut it off.  

6.    Get out of bed as soon as the alarm bangs: This really helped me. Because the more you stay on the bed (even after alarm went off) the more you will sleep again. Jump out like a thunder bolt. Once you stay, you need to listen to that lazy inner voice which misleads you. Never surrender to the devil inside you. Be a king; win the battle of the bed…the greatest battle of all.

7.    Join hands: DO you have a friend (or a family member) who is an early riser. Seek their help until it becomes a habit. If this does not appeal to you try these

a.    Ask someone who is famous for their strict discipline, to wake you up daily or

b.    Join the ‘early risers’ community in your colony

8.    Give a reward to yourself: When you can’t appreciate yourself, how can you expect the world to do the same. Each day when you accomplish your desired time, give a little treat to yourself. An ice cream will do (or try your favorite things)

9.    Pranayama: This is my secret mantra. Some things in life are better to be experienced than to be explained. Pranayama precisely fits into this category. Typically we need to wake up our body at alarm time. But when you do this breathing exercise your body will wake you up.

How to do it > just take deep breaths (deep inhaling and deep exhaling) 3 times and give few seconds rest and repeat this for 5 rounds. Do this in a sitting posture, comfortably on your bed and closing your eyes. Now just lie down and do not open your eyes, just observe inhaling and exhaling in normal breathing and gradually you will fall asleep and you can wake up early.

 

Warning: Don’t overdo. Increase the rounds depending on your comfort ability. It takes practice to reach the desired level for optimum results. Drop me a mail (myinterface@gmail.com) if you have any doubts in implementing Pranayama

Note: What I explained above is just one unit of Pranayama. Try to implement it first, if you are interested to learn the full version of it; you can contact me.        

But …Why to wake up early?

Benjamin Franklin answered it wisely "Early morning has gold in its mouth." 

Many people ask this question and since they don’t get a believable answer, they find excuses to avoid it. I have enlisted 16 reasons why to do it and how your life gets enriched by embracing it.

1.            You can welcome the Sun

2.            It’s a Great start (because great beginnings will have great endings)

3.            Enjoy the calmness

4.            You  can create a new habit

5.            Use the new found time to attain progress in your chosen area 

6.            Meditate

7.            Just walk into the beauty of nature

8.            Read or write

9.            Exercise

10.         Reflect on yesterday or Plan your today

11.         Understand yourself 

12.         Do yoga

13.         Identify your strength

14.         Work on your weakness

15.         Simply do whatever that helps you grow

16.         You can increase your life-span by 4 years

Wonder how? 2 hours a day of your new found time will accumulate to 4 additional years (40 years from now) 

…and once it becomes a habit        

o    You will receive lot of appreciation from the people around you

o    Your confidence just boosts up

o    You will find a new you and… finally

o    You  will see clarity in your thoughts and can feel inner peace

All the best.. Welcome to the 5’ O clock club

Do have some cool ideas to wake up in the morning? Please share them in the comments below.

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