Some mornings you can awaken with tremendous doubt, a sense that yesterday’s conclusions aren’t real, or the road you’re on goes nowhere. There are many different forms of this doubt, and like your thoughts that aren’t always accurate, there’s a need to determine the accuracy of this morning doubt.

Some doubt is based in the physical body . . . a reaction to not fully filling your body’s cells. Some doubt is based in the emotional body . . . a gauge indicating a need for more courage or focus . . . more time in the heart. Other doubts will indicate that your mental bodies aren’t aligning; you’ll either need to align the thoughts you have, or develop entirely new ones . . . recreate the picture. This last form of doubt is what is sometimes called “healthy doubt.” It’s the doubt that causes you to dig deeper into your beliefs and reassess your commitment.

The key to working with your morning doubt is to have a routine that determines which form you’re facing . . . a kind of litmus test.

First, with physical doubt — the one that comes when you’re not fully filling your body glove — it’s a simple gauge. Take some time for deep stretching, this doubt can vanish like the orange light on your gas gauge. When you don’t remove it however, this doubt will compound over days, weeks, months and years to establish a standard that limits the emotions that support your hope. Working with the heart center reduces emotional doubt; dispels the constant need for safety by replacing it with a determined courage. Alleviate emotional doubt with yoga postures that focus energy into the heart area . . . ‘down-dog’ and ‘archer-pose’ are two examples. Using your voice through syllables — known as mantra chanting — is one of many ways to realign your mental doubt . . . another method is to consciously determine your patterns of breathing. By doing some of this each morning, you use doubt to reset your standard of life.

Our prayer is that you live your life by using natural doubt as a stimulant to action; that these actions bring about a new alignment with courage . . . breathe into this extraordinary sensation of you really being you.

Guru Singh is a world-renowned yoga instructor, author, musician, and family man. Guru Singh works with the Dalai Lama, teaches with Tony Robbins, and has recorded an album with Grammy® Award-winning artist Seal. He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Check out Guru Singh’s most recent book: Buried Treasures: The Journey From Where You Are to Who You Are.

Image courtesy of Natalie Grainger.