Being mindful about how you start your day can be a game-changer. Adding meditation to your morning routine can offer you a sense of peace and calm that you can carry into each day.

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Whether you choose breathing exercises, positive affirmations, visualizations, gratitude or other forms of mindful meditation, spending time each morning in the present moment helps you stay centered and focused for a productive day.

Mornings can be a challenging time for many to start a meditation habit. With early starts, jobs to get to, family responsibilities, or simply not being a morning person, it can be tough to carve out time for mindfulness.

This post offers 10 tips that will help create a morning meditation habit. It will help you decide how long to meditate each morning, where you will practice your morning meditation, and, ultimately, help you create a morning routine that supports your goal of daily meditation.

Why Bring The Benefits of Meditation Into Your Morning?

While you can practice meditation at any time of the day, a morning meditation practice sets the tone for your day ahead. Beginning your day with a clear, peaceful mind will help you move through life with positivity and enthusiasm.

Some benefits to practicing morning meditation:

Boosts your enthusiasm and energy for the rest of your day
Improves mental health and wellbeing
Enhances clarity to make decisions with better focus and concentration
Promotes lower stress and anxiety levels throughout the day

How Long Should You Meditate Each Morning?

While meditating for any length of time helps release stress and promote mindfulness, a suggested attainable goal for beginners is to work up to 10 minutes of morning meditation daily. Most of us can realistically carve out 10 minutes in our busy morning routines to set a positive tone for the day. From there, you may want to work your way up to longer morning meditations. Ultimately, it’s up to your personal needs and comfort level to determine how long to meditate each morning.

10 Tips To Create A Morning Meditation Practice

Set aside time. Decide where meditation will fit into your morning routine. You may want to meditate first thing, before checking the phone, encountering distractions or having your coffee. Consider your responsibilities and when you might be less distracted. Maybe it’s once you drop the kids off at school or once you arrive at the office. Strategize how meditation will best fit into your morning and commit to a plan.
Prioritize your meditation practice. A benefit of morning meditation is that you likely can complete it before you get busy in your day. Even still, we can get overwhelmed when we think of our busy to-do list. Set this time for meditation as a top priority, remembering that one of the benefits of meditation includes more focus and productivity. Essentially, by taking this time to meditate, you will be more centered and productive when it’s time to attack your other to-dos.
Create your meditation space. Decide where you will meditate that will be peaceful and free from distractions. You may choose a place where you'll sit on the floor or in a chair. Prepare the space so that it’s always available and ready before bed. Keep pillows, a meditation cushion, or anything else you need nearby to remain comfortable, maintain good posture, and meditate with physical ease.
Plan for success. Seek stillness, working your way up minute by minute to your goal. If your goal is 10 minutes of meditation, you can start with 3-5 minute meditations and work your way up gradually.
Plan your meditations. Guided meditations, like the ones we offer on Aura, can help you cultivate a meditation practice. There are thousands of guided meditations to choose from on the Aura app, something for everyone. At the beginning of the week, consider which guided meditations you would like to explore each day and chart out a plan. Aura lets you save meditations and keep a “Listen Later” list. Planning the meditations will ensure you don’t get distracted searching for meditations and that you get right to your practice. Alternatively, Aura often creates “meditation challenges” offering you a chance to follow suggested meditations each day.
Explore different techniques. Meditations can include breathing exercises, affirmations, visualization, or other forms of mindfulness. Try out various techniques to explore what works best for you. Maybe you want to try a walking meditation or a gratitude meditation. Seeking some variety, especially when you are starting out, will help you find meditation styles that align with your needs.
Release judgment. It’s natural for thoughts to pop up when you are trying to meditate. If your mind wanders, don’t let your thoughts take over. Simply observe your thoughts without any judgment or expectations and turn your focus back to meditation.
Meditation is a practice. Be easy on yourself. Know that some days will be easier than others to find focus. The more you practice meditation, the easier it gets and the more comfortable you feel about it over time. Go with the flow and do your best.
Ask for support. Ask your family, friends, coworkers, or anyone involved in your morning routine to respect your decision of prioritizing morning meditation. Ask them to respect your time and space that you have dedicated to meditation. Of course, meditation can also be a group activity. You may want to invite them to practice silently with you!
Track your success. Explore how you feel and assess your progress after a few weeks. Perhaps take time for journaling and reflection to notice what benefits you are experiencing from your mindful mornings. Check in regularly and mark your progress. Looking back at your accomplishments will help with motivation and consistency.

Bonus Tip: Make Your Morning Meditation Fun and Motivating

When you create this morning routine for yourself, make it something that you can enjoy and look forward to. While I have been meditating for many years, I aim to meditate just 10-30 minutes each morning. I often have to get to work or other responsibilities, so this is a realistic expectation. While I love to have my coffee first thing in the morning, I start preparing the coffee and meditate while the coffee is brewing. Once I am complete with my meditation, I know the coffee will be fresh and ready. Including meditation during my favorite part of the morning motivates me, even though meditation is a reward in itself.