My Morning Routine
My sister shared her morning routine to create a mindful life almost 8 months ago...its about time I shared my own routine! While I had somewhat of a morning routine before her post, having Kat share hers as part of her guest series, Bringing Balance Back, was very inspiring for me to cultivate my own routine. I talked about my routine briefly here, but today it's time to elaborate!
One of the main reasons I decided to form a morning routine was I found I felt so much more positive and present during each day. Sure, being more positive and present helps me focus and get more work done. But the benefit to me is I just feel so damn good. When I feel positive and present, I take gratitude in so many small things. Like cleaning dishes, sipping tea, writing a blog post or cuddle sessions with my husband and puppy. I cherish each moment and focus on the present with ease. Which is something that has taken time to do. I used to be highly anxious, always thinking about the future, worrying and fearing everything all the time. I can even honestly say when I don't do my routine, I can feel those anxious behaviors return. Luckily, I'm able to identify it pretty quickly, take some deep breaths, and get back to the present moment. It's a constant work in progress.
As Kat mentioned in her post, the goal with forming a routine is to not to have a perfect, strict routine. I don't always hit every all 12 steps everyday. But I will say, the more I slowly start to form these habits, the easier they become to do on a daily basis.
My Morning Routine (for my current life- no kids, office job that I need to be at by 8am):
Wake up. Don't judge me...but on the weekdays I usually wake up between 4:30-5 am. I am NOT suggesting you do the same too! I just really, really love mornings. I go to bed insanely early so I am getting plenty of rest and if I ever need to sleep in, I don't hesitate to do that. As I am waking up, I do some stretching while laying in bed and state a mantra or word I want to focus on for that day. It's often just "be present". As I mentioned, that's a constant work in progress for me.
After I get out of bed I immediately check my basal temperature as part of my birth control (Fertility Awareness method, read more about that here), turn the tea pot on to warm up water and scrape my tongue.
Drink 4 cups of warm water (occasionally I'll add lemon to it if I am in the mood) and take a shot of diluted apple cider vinegar (it's 1-3 tsp of ACV to a lot of water). Both of these really help to wake up my digestive system. Added: Lately I've just been loving warm lemon water and taking the ACV shot at nighttime, for no particular reason other than that's just what I prefer right now!
Put together the ingredients to make my Jacked Up Java. This is my version of bulletproof coffee, you can read more in the post for why I drink coffee blended with fats and superfoods. On days I lift weights, I add a scoop of collagen. I blend it all together, pour the deliciousness (seriously it's so good) into my big coffee mug and go sit on the couch so I can spend my coffee time cuddling my husband and puppy dog. It's the best. A lot, well most, of the time I usually read during this fifteen minutes of slowly sipping coffee and cuddling. Nick watches the news, but I find it puts me in a really negative mood (especially lately considering how depressing the news is) so I just read to tune out the news. I would rather read articles later in the day about what is going on in the world so I can formulate my own opinion and not start the day off negatively.
Go to the bathroom. Yup I just wrote that. I don't care if that's TMI for you, going to the bathroom on a daily basis is a very important part of your body working optimally. If you are having issues with this, contact me. I would be happy to work with you in improving your digestion!
Wash my face with cold water and almond oil, sometimes I roll my face with this jade roller and then get ready. It's time to work out!
Work out. I lift weights three times a week and do BUTI yoga two times a week. My workouts are quick, 30-45 minutes is all I typically do. I have a lot going on right now and honestly it's all the time I have to commit to it. And that is perfectly fine with me! I am definitely a believer that less is more with exercise. I do not believe every workout needs to end with you drenched in sweat and fatigued the rest of the day. My goal is to just simply move my body. A lot of the time that means lifting heavy or getting my sweat on through my kind of cardio. But if I am not in the mood or know my body needs to relax, I will happily do yin yoga, a couple quick minutes of rebounding or some basic stretching instead of lifting or cardio based yoga. Plus, I would rather spend those extra thirty minutes later in the day walking my dog. On the weekends, I work out if I am in the mood (like a quick Tabata) but lately, it's just been 5 times a week of quick workouts on the weekdays. I don't work out for the "results" but if I am open and honest with you, I've actually gotten better "results" by working out less. I think for a period of time I was accidentally over-exercising. I'll elaborate in another post soon- promise!
Shower and meditate. I end my showers cold (read benefits here) and then meditate afterwards. I am not perfect about meditating daily, but continue to slowly form that habit overtime. I am currently at a point where I am doing it probably 4-5 days of the week. Sometimes it lasts for five minutes, other times its fifteen minutes. But I will say, it has the biggest impact in making me feel positive and present for the rest of the day. Read this post if you are interested in beginning a meditation routine and this post to help you find the time to add it to your day.
Now that my body is in "rest and digest" mode, I eat! Sometimes this is a full meal of veggies, (quality sourced) bacon, eggs, etc. and sometimes its another cup of bulletproof coffee and a cup of bone broth. Totally dependent on what my body is telling me it wants! Read my What I Ate Wednesday posts to get an idea of what I'm eating for breakfast.
While I eat breakfast, I write three things I am grateful for. It always makes me feel insanely grateful and happy for this beautiful life I get to live. Happiness does not come from owning everything you ever desired or making a large income. It comes from appreciation for the life you have right now and being present.
Get ready for the day. Lately, I've been wearing way less makeup for work and it has helped shorten my time getting ready to a maximum of 10-15 minutes. Don't get me wrong...I love makeup (especially cat eyes and red lips!) but I despise feeling like I have to wear makeup everyday to feel "presentable". I've been challenging myself to wear less make up to work and it's been really refreshing. Plus, my face is thanking me- so few breakouts and my skin just feels and looks so much better!
Lastly, I put all my food that I packed the night before in my lunchbox, sometimes make a matcha latte (probably 3x/week) and then get 15-30 minutes of work done on my own business before I head to work. It doesn't sound like a lot of time, but when I concentrate I can get work done! On the weekends, this is usually when I get the bulk of my work done on this blog and my business.
And that's it!
Trust me, it didn't start immediately with 12 steps. Each of these has been added slowly overtime and I am sure it will continue to evolve and change as my life changes. In the near future, I would like to add oil pulling and daily use of the neti-pot. I tried oil pulling once and thought it was disgusting, but I know it has a lot of benefits, so I am going to try again! I also typically have a stuffed up nose in the morning (which is totally of my own doing considering I encourage my cat to sleep right next to my face all night!) Aruyvedic practices recommend daily use of the neti-pot to detoxify your nasal passages, so I am intrigued to see if it helps minimize my earlier morning nasal symptoms. I'll let you know how it goes! I also want to get back to the habit of dry brushing. I use to do it all the time but honestly I just keep forgetting to do it.
Now it's your turn! Share below one step or all of your morning routine in the comment section. I would love to hear from you and let's all inspire each other to live a more positive and present life!
