I N G BETTER

G N DA
S I

YS
DE

start your day with purpose,

positivity and high vibes
 Morning Ritual

THE GUIDE TO CREATING GOOD MORNINGS AND DESIGNING

BETTER DAYS
Morning is a powerful, potent time that’s storm of input, information and opinions
positively full of possibility. It’s the ultimate thundering your way.
fresh start. An opportunity to set the tone
Or... you can start your day on purpose
for your entire day. But are you making
and with intention by spiraling inward with
the most of it?
a powerful, meaningful morning ritual that
As Eben Pagan put it, the “first ritual that will help you create good mornings and
you do during the day is the highest better days.
leveraged ritual, by far, because it has this
effect of setting your mind, and setting the
context for the rest of your day.”¹ What do you say? Are you ready
For many among us, our morning ritual to reclaim your morning and set a
is a little bit accidental. We wake up and positive tone for your entire day?
blearily paw around for our phones, eager Are you ready to live with more
to reconnect and see what we’ve missed
(and consequently, find out what the intention and to move the dial on
Stress Du Jour will be.) things that really matter?
As you have probably experienced, nothing Read on to discover how creating
derails a good day faster than this premature
a Morning Ritual is the secret to
procession of stressful emails, a parade of
negative news, or a dose of social media creating a life of purpose, positivity
induced self-doubt. When you start your and high vibes.
day like this you “accidentally” step into
the powerful slipstream of anxiety, fear,
worry, conflict and FOMO.

See what I’m getting at? When picking up

our phones first thing is our morning ritual,
we don’t even give ourselves a fighting
chance at a good day.

So this is the choice. To have an “accidental

ritual” with your phone every morning,
spiral outward and allow your day and your
vibe to be unintentionally dictated by the
MORE RITUAL, MORE REVERENCE
Why a ritual? For starters, routines are boring
AF, no? Routines bring to mind feeding the dog
or paying bills or taking the trash to the kerb
on the designated day. A habit, yes. But not a
very inspiring one. As habit-and-happiness guru
Gretchen Rubin puts it, “a ‘routine’ is a string
of habits, and a ‘ritual’ is a habit charged with
transcendent meaning.”2 I don’t know about you,
but I’ll take the transcendence, thanks.

Ritual elevates a routine into something more

meaningful. Ritual creates a purposeful pause in
the busy-ness of life. An intentional moment. An
occasion to reflect, reassess, realign. Ritual lifts
the veil between the everyday and the sacred,
leaving us with a stronger sense of connection to
ourselves and the world around us. FORMULA FOR A FRESH START
The more ritual and reverence you can build into I know time is of the essence for many of us, so
your life, the more satisfied, connected and in- I created a Morning Ritual that’s doable daily but
flow you will feel. That I can guarantee. packs a positive punch.

This 10-Minute Morning Ritual is comprised

of powerful priming practices and practical
processes that will help you:

• Balance your brain, harmonise your nervous

system, and harness energy
I’m all about a ritual. And though I’m into lush and • Set the emotional and psychological tone for
luxe special occasion rituals (full moon rituals, your day
new moon rituals, abundance rituals, evening
rituals, shit, I even do beauty rituals), the most • Gather focus and start your day with presence
prized ritual in rotation in my life is my Morning and clarity
Ritual. I do it on the daily. And I want to share • Cultivate compassion for yourself and others
the secret sauce with you. Because a powerful
• Pump up the jam on happiness through a
Morning Ritual truly is the secret to more good
simple but effective gratitude practice
mornings, and good mornings make for better
days. • Tune into your deepest desire for the day and
set intentions that support it
• Get clear about the day’s priorities so you can
move the dial on the things that matter most
• Raise your vibrations and get a dose of
inspiration
Plus, I’ve included a printable 7-day High-Vibe Day Planner
so you can design your days and map out a week of magic.

Next, I’ll walk you through each step of the

Morning Ritual. Let’s do this…

MORNING RITUAL 3
 1.
PA R T O N E

Priming
Practices
Your formula for a fresh start. Three essential
tools for balancing the brain, generating your
state and cultivating compassion.
 Breathe
1: BREATHE
Pranayama is a yogic technique that allows us to harness and direct
energy in our bodies in a variety of ways. There are heaps of different
techniques, each with unique outcomes. One of the simplest and
most useful techniques is alternate nostril breathing. This practice
uses a specific hand position and conscious control of the breath
to balance the hemispheres of the brain (hello clear thinking!),
harmonise the nervous system and energise the body.

Pranayama is an optional first step in The Morning Ritual, but I

find it’s a very useful prelude to what comes next (you guessed it,
meditation). In my experience, pranayama is like a runway that lets
your meditation really take flight.

H E R E ’ S HOW T O D O I T :
• Set a timer for 1 minute.
• Close your eyes.
• Fold the pointer and middle fingers of your right hand down
towards the palm of your hand. Your thumb, ring finger and pinky
finger are extended.
• Bend your right elbow, bring the ring and pinky fingers to rest
lightly on your left nostril and your thumb to rest lightly on your
right nostril.
• Block the left nostril using with the ring and pinky fingers. Apply
pressure on the nostril where the soft cartilage ends at the top of
the cavity of the nostril
• Inhale through the right nostril.
• Seal the right nostril with the thumb, breath out through the left
nostril.
• Inhale through the left nostril.
• Seal the left nostril with the ring and pinky fingers. Exhale through
the right nostril.
• Repeat. As you continue breathing in this pattern, focus on
keeping the breath smooth and even. Sense the breath moving
up through the nostril, filling the opposite hemisphere of the brain
with energy, and then descending down on the exhale. Continue
for a few more cycles, balancing the brain and harmonising the
nervous system.
• Finish by exhaling through the left nostril. Then, keeping the eyes
closed, take a few slow, smooth breaths through both nostrils.

UPGRADE
Once you are comfy with this technique, try introducing a hold after inhale. This has
an energising and enlivening effect, ideal for supercharging your energy in the a.m..
Example: inhale to a count of 4, pause holding the breath at the top of inhale for 4,
and then exhale for 4.

MORNING RITUAL 5
Meditate
2: MEDITATE
Meditating first thing allows you to set the psychological and emotional tone
for your day, and helps to prevent reactivity, stress, anxiety and overwhelm
from hijacking your vibe. When you meditate in the morn, you establish
yourself in the calm and stable centre of sovereignty and set out into your
day with solid footing, a map of self-awareness, and a compass with the
needle pointing towards your intentions. When the time comes step out into
the world, you’ll find that you aren’t easily triggered or pushed and pulled
by whatever comes your way. Because when you meditate, you choose
your vibe.

Not only that, but meditation also imbues your waking hours with fierce
focus, enhanced productivity and creativity, and undoubtedly upgrades the
quality of your presence.
I’ve designed this Morning Ritual to take 10 minutes based on a 7-minute meditation. Help yourself
to the 7-Minute Magic Morning Guided Meditation for free in the Heavily Meditated App. If it’s a
longer Morning Ritual that your heart desires, simply extend the meditation portion with a
longer meditation such as the 15-Minute Magic Morning Guided Meditation (also available
in the app!) Or swap in any other meditation of your choosing (DIY it, or pick another one
from the library in the Heavily Meditated app.) Use the QR code or visit: [Link]/hmapp

New to meditation? No worries, I’ve got your back! Download

your free Get Sit Done Meditation Cheat Sheet on [Link]

MORNING RITUAL 6
 Peace Out
3: PEACE OUT
Start your day in service and you’ll not only bring more meaning and
connection to your day, but you’ll also cultivate more compassion. Offering a
little loving-kindness to the world reconnects us with our humanity, reminds
us of our kinship, and helps us lean into compassion and connection rather
than judgment and separation. So take a beat to make an offering from the
heart and drop a bliss bomb of benevolence into the world.

IT’S SIMPLE TO DO:

• With your eyes closed, focus your attention on someone in the world who
could do with a dose of love, tenderness, and compassion.
• It could be someone you know who is going through a challenging time,
a group of people who are suffering, or just a general wish for the world.
(It might even be someone who you have beef with. That’s black belt shit,
but it’s magic. Try it and watch how it transforms your feels.)
• Whoever is the benefactor of your blessing bomb today, hold them in
your heart for a moment and direct love their way. Embrace them with
good vibes. For you, this might take shape as a feeling, visualising light
around them, or simply repeating a blessing like “may they be happy,
may they be well, may they feel safe, may they feel free.” Send a Peace
Out, in whatever way feels most natural to you.

Now that you’ve breathed, meditated and cultivated compassion,

you’re positively primed for your day. Next up: a simple six-step
template to Design Your Day.

MORNING RITUAL 7
 2.
PA R T T W O

Design
Your Day
A six-step template for designing a high-vibe day
with positivity and purpose. Print out and use your
High-Vibe Day Planner with this section!
Attitude of
Gratitude
1: ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
As humans we’re wired to look for what’s wrong. And while that can be a
useful tactic to survive, it’s not all that helpful when you’re looking to thrive.
So how to unstuck your brain from having DJ Debbie Downer on repeat?

Make note of what you’re grateful for. Sounds simple, but it’s powerful
enough to literally change your brain. That’s the magic of neuroplasticity.
A regular gratitude practice can be an effective way to develop a positive
mindset, or what Harvard happiness expert Shawn Actor calls “the happiness
advantage.”³

Here’s why it works. A gratitude ritual retrains your attention and broadens
your perspective to include the positive. It helps you to notice the things
you might otherwise “see-through.” The invisible goodness, the invisible
acts of kindness, the invisible relationships. Those positive aspects of life
that are so easily overlooked by our critical perspective. In short, a gratitude
practice helps us pay attention to the positive.

I dig Achor’s advice on how to structure your gratitude practice (he is the
expert, after all!) He suggests writing down three things you’re grateful
for from the last 24 hours. This is an effective approach because it keeps
your eye on the ball. It can be easy to slip into a gratitude rut, repeating
the same “big” things every day (my health, my family, etc.,) but zooming in
on the last 24 hours keeps your gratitude fresh, relevant and detailed. You
start celebrating the small things that you are deeply grateful for. You keep
your eyes peeled, so to speak, for all the many blessings in your life. It can
become gameful and fun (like a word search or one of those Where’s Wally
books) and this helps to make it a ritual (not just a routine!) that you’ll want
to return to every day.

Plus, this consistent attitude of gratitude sets you up to receive even more
to be grateful for. As Dr. Habib Sadeghi says, “feeling is the language of the
universe,”4 so generating feelings of gratitude and recognising all that you
have to be grateful for invites more of the good stuff into your life.

Action: Go forth and be grateful! Jot down 3 things you’re grateful

for in the Attitude Of Gratitude section of your High-Vibe Day Planner!

MORNING RITUAL 9
 Goal Digger
2: GOAL DIGGER
Studies show5 that people who write down their
goals accomplish more than those who don’t put
pen to paper. By a long shot. So take a moment
to reflect on what you’re moving toward. This is
the basket for hopes, dreams, aims, goals, and
big-picture purpose.

You can approach this in one of two ways: Hone

in on a specific goal for the for the day, week, or
month. OR use this as a check-in for big picture
projects and staying on point with life-purpose. A
reminder of your mission.
Hot tip for crystal clear goals: Ask yourself “What really
matters? Who or what is most important to me?” Then, make
sure the action you take for the day moves you in the direction
of what or who matters most.

Action: Set your goal for the day, week or

month (or check in with a big picture goal)
in the Goal Digger section of your High-
Vibe Day Planner!

MORNING RITUAL 10
 Word Up
3: WORD UP
Setting an intention for your day is a powerful Maybe your desire is to be more present with
way to support your goals. your kids. Your intention might be, “clear, calm,
pure presence.”
In The Upanisads (an ancient Vedic text), it is
written “As your desire is, so is your intention. As Maybe you need to say “no” to some people, so
your intention is, so is your will. As your will is, so “boundaries, integrity, courage” might be useful
is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.” words to tuck into your pocket for the day ahead.

That’s some ancient advice that still holds true. Other lyrics that might light you up (these are in
Let me break it down: your intention is the link heavy rotation for me): harmony, grace, abundance,
between your desires (dreams + goals) and your purpose, nourished, fluency, connection, spacious,
actions (the force of your will + the deeds you do). potent, agency, ease, joy, buoyant, radiance.

You with me? When you set an intention based On the other hand, if an affirmative phrase is more
on your desire, dream or goal, it guides you to useful for you, here are a few you’re welcome to
act in alignment with the desire, dream or goal. In adopt or adapt:
this way, setting an intention first thing can chart
I am an ocean of understanding.
your course for the day and act like a compass,
steering your toward the next right step on the I am a portal for peace.
path toward your goal.
I am slow and steady. I am nourished,
Put another way, setting an intention is a way
to generate your state. It puts the focus on how I flow forward with ease and grace.
aligning yourself with your desire or goal feels.
I find the spark of joy in all things.
Which makes achieving them a whole lot more
likely. I let my heart lead the way.

When setting an intention, I like to keep it short Whichever phrasings feel right, let these words
and sweet and jot down a handful of words or an sing out to you throughout the day, guiding you
affirmative phrase to guide my way for the day. toward your dreams and goals.
This makes it simpler to set intentions and easier
Bonus: Visualise and memorise. Take a hot minute to
to check in with them throughout the day.
imagine yourself moving through your day with these words
Here are some examples: in action. Sense how that feels in your body. Memorise the
feeling in your bones.
Maybe your dream is to turn your side-hustle into
a full-time gig. So being productive and focused
would be the state you want to generate. An Action: Write down 3 to 5 words that lift
intention to get you from point A to point B(e Your
you UP today in the Word Up section of
Own Boss) might be “focus, flow, freedom.”
your High-Vibe Day Planner!

MORNING RITUAL 11
 Action Plan
4: ACTION PLAN
Let me ask you a question. Is your inbox your boss? Does your
day get swallowed alive by tasks that tell you’re they’re urgent
when they’re really not? Ever feel like you got absolutely zip
done at the end of the day, or did nothing to move the dial on
the things that matter most? It happens to the best of us. Having
our day hijacked by things that really make no difference is the
default. Distractions are pervasive and overwhelm seems to
be the order of the day. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

The antidote to a downright dissatisfying day is one that feels

purposeful, on-point and productive. And the key to that is to
prioritise. It takes a little practice, but learning to filter through
all the non-urgent and unimportant tasks, identify the most
critical items on your to-do list and then tick those boxes like a
boss is productivity gold.

This is about more than box-ticking though. It links back to

your Goal Digger desires and your Word Up intentions. This is
about taking meaningful action, moving toward your goals and
living your life on purpose. Your to-do list is a powerful tool if
you treat it as such.

When planning your day, always begin with the Top Three VIP
(Very Important Priorities). Limiting it to three keeps it doable
and forces you to be very clear on what’s most important.

Remember, to make it on the VIP list, the task should be both

important and urgent, not just one or the other. (Nod to the
Eisenhower Decision Matrix.)

Other tips for making a to-list that moves the dial: Make sure
the items are actionable (verbs, people!) and specific. “New
website” doesn’t cut it. Break that shit down into bite size
pieces and pick one you can chew today. “Draw up a wireframe
for new website” would be more like it.

Pro move: Once you’ve jotted down your action items, schedule
them in on your calendar for the day!

Action: Identify your priorities for the day and write

them down on the Action Plan section of your High-
Vibe Day Planner!
Pro move: Once you’ve jotted down your action items, schedule them in on
your calendar for the day!

MORNING RITUAL 12
Bonus
Round
Drop
Inspiration
5: BONUS ROUND
Next you have your bonus tasks, three to five items that aren’t
as urgent or important as your VIPs, but would be icing on the
checklist cake. Don’t get too wild here, keep it realistic, and
remember that the urgent/important rule still applies.
Hint: These bonus tasks can also be a preview of the VIPs to bust out
tomorrow.

Action: Write these down on the Bonus Round section

of your High-Vibe Day Planner!

6: INSPIRATION DROP
Sit back and relax, your work here is done! At
the end of each day’s template, I’ve left you a
little (gangster of) love note. A few words to
help you vibrate higher. From my heart to yours.

MORNING RITUAL 13
That’s a wrap!
HOW WE SPEND OUR DAYS IS HOW WE
SPEND OUR LIVES
Remember, as Annie Dillard reminds us, “how we
spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

I hope this Morning Ritual helps you design a day

(and therefore a life) of purpose, positivity and high-
vibes. Now go rise and shine, baby!

Big love, Caitlin xx

P.S Have questions? I’m here to help! Email me
caitlin@[Link] or DM me over on Instagram
@caitlincady
 R E F E R ENC E S

¹ Pagan, E. “The Secret To A Successful Day.” Accessed August 2018. < [Link]
watch?v=L_4JB_WYsrU>

2 Rubin, Gretchen. 2015. Better than before: Mastering the habits of our everyday lives. New York: Crown.

³ Achor, S. “The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success
And Performance At Work.”Accessed August 2018 <[Link]
happiness-advantage/>

4 Sadeghi, Habib. 2014. Within: A spiritual awakening to love & weight loss. New York: Open Road Media.

5 Murphy, Mark; Forbes; April 15, 2018; Neuroscience Explains Why You Need To Write Down
Your Goals If You Actually Want To Achieve Them. Retrieved from [Link]
markmurphy/2018/04/15/neuroscience-explains-why-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-if-you-
actually-want-to-achieve-them/#6e2d0e777905
 [Link]

Rise and
shine,

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