A layman's schedule

[misa.myro]

Hello!

Today, I was thinking how my morning routine could look like. I usually start with reading our forum or Shobogenzo for a few minutes after I wake up (yes, maybe I am too lazy to get out of the bed immediately ;D) and then I do 20 minutes of warm up yoga (this is a must because I work as a web developer and my neck/back needs the stretch). What activity follows after that? Well, it differs from day to day. Now I would like to change that. It would be very nice to start sitting zazen immediately after the stretching but our dogs usually wake up after my warm up. I should prepare a breakfast for them (we are on BARF so it is time consuming sometimes) and go for a walk before it (one of them is young irish setter girl and she is very active). So, I was thinking - what should I do at first ? I really like the idea of starting my day with zazen because it is easier to continue with insta zazens after oficially sitting for half an hour. Anyway, I decided it will be better to go for a walk and prepare their breakfast at first because I can try to do this with zen mind. If I sit zazen at first, they will be little unhappy about it. And especially, it just feels more right to take care of them at first and I think I will also feel more satisfied when starting sitting after that And after the zazen I am going to have my breakfast and start working. During the day I sit shorter zazens but I have no fixed times for this.. so far

So, the question is - do you need a few rules or a routine too or do you like to be more flexible on this? I guess every person is different. Personally, few basic rules like this helps me to stay more focused on the practice

Haha, I know this may not be very interesting, but I only read the forum most times because I don't know what to write. And I had this idea in the morning that I could share this maybe

Also I would like to say hello to all of you and have a nice day !

Gassho
Michaela
sat today, lah

[Mp]

Hello Michaela,

I am fairly strict on my morning routine. When I wake, I do zazen, then coffee, check emails, read and respond on the forum. Followed by breakfast, shower, and prep for the day. This is pretty much how it goes every single day like clock work. But again I like routine.

But that being said, practice is more than just my morning routine, it is every moment and experience throughout my day ... each experience has an opportunity to practice, share, and learn. =)

Gassho
Shingen

Sat/LAH

[Eishuu]

I think it's great to take care of your furry friends first if they are hungry. The first thing after we wake up, my husband gives the cat his insulin shot and food. I would find it hard to sit if the cat needed feeding.

I like to start the day with Zazen. It makes a difference. Ideally I do it before breakfast, but if I am starving I'll do the meal chant and silently eat breakfast mindfully first. Usually I just sit first, chant the heart sutra, and then do the meal chant and breakfast. Then I sit a few more times throughout the day and usually do some dharma study and Metta Verses in the afternoon. I'm trying to get into the habit of doing the Four Vows on waking and Verse of Atonement before bed too but often forget.

On weekends I tend to wake up and do the Zazenkai before anyone else gets up (unless I need a lie in).

I'm generally flexible, but as I'm very habitual I end up sticking to a routine anyway. But I don't feel bad if things end up a little different some days.

Gassho
Lucy
ST/LAH

[Sydney]

I more or less seem to need to stick to a routine.

These days that typically means zazen before work starts, although there's some flexibility in it (can be at home or at the office, for instance, and if I only have 15 minutes that's fine).

But first comes the cat. I have a cat with anxiety problems, and taking care of her (20 minutes is normal) comes first. I can multitask a little to the tune of making a cup of coffee & bowl of cereal while attending to her. The cereal and some of the coffee gets into me before zazen.

Fortunately, this routine allows for a lot of slack in the details. I find that a balance of routine and flexibility is key.

Sydney
SatToday

[Seishin]

Being retired you'd have thought I'd be more flexible but I seem to have settled in to a routine that suits me, my wife who's on a shed load of meds due to a heart condition and our German Sheppard who needs lots of exercise. It normally goes like this

Wake with light or central heating starting (depending of time of year)
Sit Zazen for 30 minutes circa 0815-0830 (normally reciting Heart Sutra) via Zendo and Insight Timer. Like Lucy Zazenkai weekend mornings rolling into Monday and Tuesay for the monthy 4 hour session.
Brew tea and let chickens out
Take tea up to my wife so she can take meds which take a few hours to kick in
Silently Recite Four Vows, Verse of Atonement and Metta Verse while tea cools
Walk dog for 50 minutes - longer if we're on the bread run.
Home make coffee, check forum and the day rolls out from there.

STMIZ / lah

[Joyo]

Hello Michaela,

I work casual at the hospital, so each week my schedule is different. I also have two kids who are very involved in sports and they keep me very busy. With all this variety in schedules going on, I try to stick to a routine, but it is very basic. I sit zazen each evening, and in the morning on days I do not go to work. I chant a morning gatha and metta each morning, and I read either a dharma book or some sort of dharma teaching that has been posted here as I have time throughout the week.

Personally, I like routine. Ideally, I would like to have a stricter schedule, but each time I have tried that it does not work. So this balance works for me. I think we all have to find what works and what will support our practice, without causing stress or pressure.

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today/lah

[Jakuden]

I can't do Zazen with restless, hungry cats and a dog that has to go out and pee. They have me trained to take care of them first. LOL

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH

P.S. As a veterinarian, I advise to cook all food given to dogs. There's no proven benefit to raw food, (although "real" cooked food is probably better than processed) but there are some proven serious health risks to both the dogs and their people.

[Kyonin]

Hi Michaela,

Morning routine is different for pretty much everyone. But what is universal? Experiment and stick with what works. If life changes or you are needed, elsewhere, then you adapt... but get back to your morning ritual in the first chance you get.

My morning routine even in weekends is:

Wake up at 4:30 AM.
Bathroom, mouth rinse.
5 minutes yoga asanas to stretch and pop back in the bones!
Coffee while reading, standing up! This is very important. I have seen that this wakes me up completely.
Sutra chanting, Zazen 40 minutes, Verse of Atonement, Four Vows.
Yoga 1 hour.
Shower.
Clean the house.
Work (I skip breakfast because I do that crazy intermittent fasting thingy)

And of course sometimes I have to change stuff or I have to go out... or I sleep a little more. Nothing is set on stone, but I tend to get back to this routine.

Like Shingen says, practice is all around in every moment of the day

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

[Jishin]

Hi Michaela,

In Heart Sutra terms it’s a wash. Form is emptiness and vice verse. Strict routine vs lax routine. It all works out. Do it exactly every day or here and there. It as all good.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Risho]

I work as a web developer and my neck/back needs the stretch

If you haven't, I highly recommend this book, especially for all desk workers - really good stuff

Gassho,

Risho

[misa.myro]

Jakuden:
Haha, true. My dogs could probably wait for the breakfast and their morning walk for half an hour longer (they are young, healthy and already peed earlier and also we usually played with a toy in the bed for a while) but I guess they trained me too ;D

P.S. Thank you for your care and advice ! We are careful about meet manipulation and we always discuss the food with our veterinarian (who is a little bit more into traditional dry dog food but is open to discuss this). We actually cook some kinds of meat (deer - I am afraid it could touch the wild boar meat somewhere and have Pseudorabies even when the seller says they control it, etc.) but we also feed quite a lot of raw meat or gut etc. which seems to look good. We also cooperate with our veterinarian closely, for example we did blood tests to check vitamins and minerals to be sure we know the right ratio of different food ingredients, especially in the puppy period and puberty (because of phosphor and calcium ratio). I know there is quite a big discussion and controversy out there but I have no strong opinion. We simply tried more ways and this seemed to help with few health troubles, that's all. Maybe we change that in the future, maybe don't. I am always grateful for any extra information so please feel free to write here or just send PM (maybe this section of the forum is not the best place for this) if you have some tips or advices now when you know more about our feeding Thank you.

Gassho, Michaela
Sat today, lah (I just forgot to write it here earlier, I am sorry)

[misa.myro]

Thank you Risho No I don't know this. I'll have a look at it. The introduction seems quite scary. Oh noo, now I am going to be afraid to SIT!

I already saw some of my colleagues standing when working. I guess I'll give it a try too

Gassho, Michaela
Sat today, lah (I forgot to write it here earlier, I am sorry for that)

[Jakuden]

Jakuden:
Haha, true. My dogs could probably wait for the breakfast and their morning walk for half an hour longer (they are young, healthy and already peed earlier and also we usually played with a toy in the bed for a while) but I guess they trained me too ;D

P.S. Thank you for your care and advice ! We are careful about meet manipulation and we always discuss the food with our veterinarian (who is a little bit more into traditional dry dog food but is open to discuss this). We actually cook some kinds of meat (deer - I am afraid it could touch the wild boar meat somewhere and have Pseudorabies even when the seller says they control it, etc.) but we also feed quite a lot of raw meat or gut etc. which seems to look good. We also cooperate with our veterinarian closely, for example we did blood tests to check vitamins and minerals to be sure we know the right ratio of different food ingredients, especially in the puppy period and puberty (because of phosphor and calcium ratio). I know there is quite a big discussion and controversy out there but I have no strong opinion. We simply tried more ways and this seemed to help with few health troubles, that's all. Maybe we change that in the future, maybe don't. I am always grateful for any extra information so please feel free to write here or just send PM (maybe this section of the forum is not the best place for this) if you have some tips or advices now when you know more about our feeding Thank you.

No I won’t comment further, my professional conscience prods me to poke my nose in where it probably doesn’t belong sometimes, as I would feel responsible if I knew something that could prevent harm and said nothing, or inadvertently promoted unsafe actions by my silence.

For all here who have a daily routine, here’s a little different perspective for you: I am a little envious of that ability. I have come to be OK with my ADHD, and the fact that following a simple daily routine is extremely difficult for me. I do of course, because I must—Treeleaf was instrumental in finally settling me into a daily sit after years of randomness, simply because I had to sit in order to be a member here! So I can say thank you to all of you here.... who created a space tolerant of those with organizational disabilities... and I can say yes, I have a routine where I get up, help hubby pill the cat if she’s around to get caught, wash up and get dressed, get my coffee, leave early every morning before traffic gets too bad, and sit in my car with IT before work. The routine is not comfortable at all for me and on my days off I’m all over the place, (but I’ll always do Zazen and chant and all my other commitments in there somewhere, just not at planned times).

Hope this doesn’t seem like a thread hijack, just advocating that no routine might be an okay routine for some [emoji4]

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[misa.myro]

No problem at all I think it is nice and responsible you tried to warn me. I totally agree there can be some dangerous aspects to be aware of and people should be informed that there are two sides of the coin. I am still not sure what is the best way and I probably never will be. So please keep poking your nose whenever you feel it could help !

Your schedule seems to be quite similar to mine in my previous job. Now I am working remotely so things are easier. And I totally agree Treeleaf helps to keep the practice more consistent. Before meeting our community I practised quite irregulary. I never thought that being part of sangha can keep me so motivated and much more active.

Thank you for sharing your routine/no routine

Gassho, Michaela
sat today, lah

[misa.myro]

Hi Michaela,

Morning routine is different for pretty much everyone. But what is universal? Experiment and stick with what works. If life changes or you are needed, elsewhere, then you adapt... but get back to your morning ritual in the first chance you get.

My morning routine even in weekends is:

Wake up at 4:30 AM.
Bathroom, mouth rinse.
5 minutes yoga asanas to stretch and pop back in the bones!
Coffee while reading, standing up! This is very important. I have seen that this wakes me up completely.
Sutra chanting, Zazen 40 minutes, Verse of Atonement, Four Vows.
Yoga 1 hour.
Shower.
Clean the house.
Work (I skip breakfast because I do that crazy intermittent fasting thingy)

And of course sometimes I have to change stuff or I have to go out... or I sleep a little more. Nothing is set on stone, but I tend to get back to this routine.

Like Shingen says, practice is all around in every moment of the day

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

Hi Kyonin,

How do you do it you are able to get up at 4:30 and stay fresh ? I am glad for my 7AM. It would be nice to have more time in the morning (I prefer morning time for practise) but I am tired or lazy, I don't know.

Gassho, Michaela
Sat today, lah