For many years now, I have begun each morning with yoga stretches — after a warm shower to wake me up, that is. While I do not profess to be any sort of yoga expert, I have become fairly adept at a few key poses. Most days, I do a set of stretches and poses that only take up about ten minutes of my morning, but they are enough to keep important parts of me limber and stronger than they’d be if I hadn’t been doing these daily stretches all these years. Occasionally, I pull out the yoga mat and commit to a half-hour session of focused yoga.
I mainly work on stretching and strengthening my back. I used to have horrible lower back pain, but since I began the morning yoga stretches, that pain is all but gone.
I begin with Downward Facing Dog Pose (pictured above — that’s not me, though — ha ha) and move from that into a Plank Pose. Then I move down into Cobra Pose and then into Child’s Pose. From there, I stand and do my favorite, which is the Triangle Pose.
I love how much it stretches my sides and back. If I’m doing a longer yoga session, I will work in a variety of Warrior Poses.
I do some deep breathing exercises and then do my best to do the Tree Pose — I haven’t ever been able to get my heel up that far on my inner thigh, though, and despite doing this pose every morning for years, my balance still sucks at times, but I keep doing it because it feels good.
There are a few other stretches I do, but these are the main ones. As long as I’m home, I never fail to do my yoga stretches, but when I travel and take myself out of my normal routine, sometimes I forget to do the stretches. I always realize it a few hours later because my lower back will be noticeably tighter.
A few months ago, I started adding morning pages to my daily routine. These are 3 handwritten, stream-of-consciousness pages that are meant to awaken the creative part of you, and they are something that Julia Cameron invented and advocates for in her bestselling book called “The Artist’s Way.”
Many writers and other creatives swear by them and say they changed their lives. Since deciding to dedicate my time and life to my passion of writing — after leaving my 30-year teaching career — I have studied things that other successful writers have done to improve their craft and their productivity. This is one of those things, so I decided to give it a try for a year at least. I enjoy handwriting things, so I like doing the pages simply for the feel of my pen gliding across the paper. Time will tell if they impact my writing and creativity the way they are meant to do.
When I was teaching, I had reason and opportunity to practice my Spanish and keep it sharp since I taught it all those years. After leaving the classroom, though, I knew my Spanish would suffer if I didn’t commit to keeping it fresh, so I opted to start using Duolingo.
I’m on a 1,139 day streak. I only do five to fifteen minutes of Spanish practice every day, and sometimes I practice Italian or a different language instead, but it’s enough to keep me fluent in the language that I spent so many years perfecting. I plan and hope to spend a lot of time in Mexico and Spain (and in Italy) in the coming years, and I want to be able to communicate with people in those countries. I don’t think the program really “teaches” anyone the language, but it is definitely a good tool to use to practice and refresh what I already know while also adding some useful tidbits here and there.
While all this may seem like a lot, all together these three things (plus my morning shower) only take up about an hour of my time. Once they are done, I’m ready to start writing and editing or doing whatever thing I need to do that day for my writing.
Without these three things, I feel off and unmotivated. I should add that once I sit down to write, there is always a cold travel mug full of Diet Coke at hand, too. So many authors are coffee addicts, but not me. I’m a Diet Coke one. I switch to ice-cold water later in the day.
Don’t lecture me that I need a good breakfast to start the day. I’ve never been a breakfast eater, mostly because I’m not hungry until noon or later, and I don’t like to eat when I’m not hungry. I have a small glass of juice after my shower and before my yoga stretches, so I get a healthy dose of Vitamin C to jumpstart my day.
As a writer who sits for long stretches of time, the morning yoga stretches help me avoid becoming a slouched slug. I also get up often from my writing table and walk around the house, lie flat for a while on the sofa, and walk the dogs.
There you have my normal and usual morning routine. Staying true to it helps me in body, mind, and spirit.
This is another pose I attempt to do every morning. I only wish I looked as graceful as she does while doing it! (and as skinny, and as toned, and as young!)
Another thing I do, on a weekly basis, to keep my Spanish fresh is that I write another Substack publication called “Cognate Cognizance.” If you’re not a subscriber, please check it out and see if you’d like to become one. Each post is very short, and you can even opt to listen to me read the post to you instead of reading it yourself.
Here is the link: Cognate Cognizance
I’m working hard to complete the full draft of my sixth novel. It’s now 74,000 words long, and I hope to have it around 85,000 when it’s finished. Once again, if you’d be interested in being a first reader and providing feedback, let me know. You can contact me via email on the Contact Page of my website: Tammy Marshall Author Website
If you’re interested in what I’ve been reading lately, let me recommend that you give the following a try:
This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year and is a modern retelling of Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield.”
I am LOVING this series by Patrick Taylor. If you like feel-good reads that also contain a different country, its land and culture and history and people, then give it a try.
I’m a sucker for a book about words!
This is my column read for July. Its settings of Rome, Italy, and the Low Country of South Carolina really appeal to me.
I have MANY books on my TBR list, but if you have a great recommendation for me, comment below.
Until next time.
Tammy Marshall