We hear this a lot.. a lot! “What’s your morning routine?” is like life coaches first question to ask. and how many of us are going ahead thinking: “falling out the bed into my clothes because I have snoozed my alarm 18 times!” but then scramble together half decent reply about having be up on time, get shower and dressed, take away coffee and musli par to take with you… Ou yes! We all have been there.
The fact is that, yes good morning routine DOES set you up for the day but not everyone are same in the mornings. Some are morning people: they get up and they go! Some are NOT morning people and they would take quite some time with 4 mugs of black soothing coffee to get going.. and then there are ones who land just in between.
I can say that I have been all three and now landed to somewhere in the third category as that does suit me perfect. I don’t do it everyday, as some days I am lazier than others, BUT – I try to keep it in the capsule as much as possible. It just has huge impact on my productivity for the day. And as I work for myself, it helps with my day of hustling.
1 Wake up with sunrise
And just right now you are ready to move on… I know! I see! But hear me out..
I just believe in the seasons and that the sun is part of start of the day. So summer time, I get up earlier and winter time later. What’s the point to force yourself up 5am in middle of the cold winter days – erh Ney Ney! The bed is warm and cozy and if by any chance I have woken up before the dawn, I will refuse to leave my bed. The unhealthy habit of phone might keep me in company.. or my boyfriend… or I will pickup that book beside my bedside table.
And when it is summer, it is not that hard to leave your bed when it get brighter. I also believe that during the winter we should hibernate more and when it gets warmer we get more active. If I also take on our body anatomy, and the build of human skull and how our forehead is the thinnest part of our head, so when you face the sun – brain can sense the light and produce D-vitamins. So waking up with the sun – rather than screaming alarm on the ungodly hour – will instantly make me in better mood. Does that make sense to you?
2 Hydorate and warm drink
So, when I am up, then I nearly always make my way to the kitchen. Before i make myself my coffee – and yes, I do drink coffee, but for you it could be any warm drink – I drink two large glasses of boiled water. Water is boiled but not hot, just room temperature. I actually boil it day before. I have been considering to get water distiller and not because all the nasties in the water but more because I LOVE the soft taste of it. Anyway.. It helps to restart my digestive system. I find that cold water or hot water gives me heartburn or even nausea, so I keep it in room temperature. Then adding coffee a little later to it, won’t give me the jitters and actually is easier to my stomach. My mum adds honey to her coffee to help her spleen and pancreas to start the day – I think it is clever idea. Maybe one day, when I start again to grave for sweeter drinks, I will add this to my coffee ritual.
3 READ
I take my coffee and go usually back to bed to read – YEP! Back to bed. Now this is spot tho, that it might happen after I have dropped my kids to school… depends on season. If it is spring or summer season, when sun comes out earlier – before my kids get up – then I get to do it before the morning rush, but during the winter, I wait for the quieter times to indulge myself in the book. Some weekends, I might even sneak away to sun room or downstairs tv room to read… especially if kids are awake and the tv’s and tablets are on..
4 Shower
Ou well, this is ritual of any yogi and it is just not a simple shower. What I try to say that washing ourselves have become to us everyday task that we do automatically, without paying too much of an attention to it. But Yet, when we can’t do it as we usually do – no runny water, no sponge, no soap etc.. we get irritated. The way we move under the shower is pattern in our unconscious mind. Some wash their hair everyday, some dry brush them before they get into shower… so many ways, yet we pay very little attention to it. Again, some do it before they do anything else, but for me shower means GO! After shower there is no down time for me. After it I get dressed, do my hair, my make up and head to my home office or out to hustle. This is the culmination of the morning and now we are heading to the goals of the day.
5 Yoga of physical activity
I left this as a one of the last point because it,s not something I do every day. It depends how my morning is going. Some suggest it to do it first thing in the morning, but because I am pretty stiff in my joints, it just does not feel good to my body. But I would do it at some stage of the morning progress.. And sometimes I wait until bedtime to get to it.
6 Meditation
Again, this is something that I do as I rise, but not always. My meditation happens usually, when I am just after waking up. My head is still in the resting mode and not clouded with the thoughts ahead. I can re-tune my day then and there to it, set my intention and also make my manifestations. But yet again, it could be something I would do at the end of the day with some Pranayama exercise as I close my day off. It’s perfect in both times and should not to be added to your mornings if it only going to cause you extra stress.
7 Journaling
This is something I add to my morning routine roughly once a week, only if I feel like it. I find that if I have my morning routine with first six above points, I hardly need to do journaling. My journaling is again, if it happens, then in the evening time to release the day and plan for the next day, but not necessarily in mornings. YET, i know how much some people it helps to set their mindset to have for the day. Writing out mantra or inspirational quote for the day. And that is why it is so loved added point to the morning routines.
So these are my morning routine capsules I guess. Im sure many have your owns to add. But my main point would be: that whatever is your way getting up and going – if it works for you then don’t think you are doing something wrong or that you should change things in your life. We are continuously evolving. Its normal that someone who has no kids would have totally different routine to someone who is parent. Or someone who is older has different routine to someone who is younger. As I said at the beginning, mine has evolved from non-morning person to early riser-and-go and now to somewhere in between. Drinking water would have been not that big of priority for me two years ago when now I feel like I have forgotten to brush my teeth if I don’t take it in the morning. And never mention of me not having my coffee!!
Morning is wonderful. It’s only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day.
Glenn Cook, Sweet Silver Blues
It’s all about balance and what suits to your current needs.. So Have a GOOD MORNING!
MissAnnulaLaLand 