Mindful Mornings (mostly)
When I listened to my favorite podcasts back in the day, I would always remember them asking about “morning routines”, and every time my reaction continued to be practiced- the infamous eye roll.
“Who ACTUALLY has time for this kind of morning routine?”
Well fast forward a year or two and I’m that girl- loud and proud.
It didn’t happen overnight, nor did I come up with some “move the world” type of practices, but I just decided to practice one thing at a time. I promise you- not only will you have more energy during the day, but there’s a sense of calmness that creeps into your heart throughout your morning instead of that negative self-talk I used to endure. So if you’ve been trying to make a bit of a lifestyle change, here are some of my practices that I try to get to every day- because let’s be real, sometimes my bed feels way better than tongue scraping (ohh, don’t you worry- we will get to THAT).
Light
My schedule changes all the time so as much as I wish I was one that went to bed and got up at the same time, that just never happens. Regardless, I’m a psycho about getting 7-8 hours of the sleep each night so I’ll just make it happen. I’m usually up around the time the sun is too, which is where I’ll start- LIGHT. The amount of natural sunlight you receive each day has a direct impact on your energy, absorbing vitamin D (which includes calcium and promoting bone growth), your mood, and your vision. Just opening up your blinds and increasing the natural light in your room will automatically jump start your engine without even taking a sip of coffee.
Tongue Scraping
From there I go directly into my bathroom to brush my teeth and tongue scrap. I’ve heard a lot of people drink water immediately after waking up, which is great- but let’s wait till after this second step is done. While you are asleep, your digestive system remains awake to remove toxins from our body and transfers them to the tongue. This can lead to digestive issues if not “cleaned out” before drinking. Now everyone knows how and why to brush their teeth, but it’s what comes after that’s really important. Your tongue health can lead to tons of answers, which is why tongue scraping has come back to the surface. This Ayurvedic self-care ritual can remove bacteria, toxins, and (BIG ONE) bad breath just by a few scrapes. I use this tongue scraper for 10 seconds- make sure to rise it and store where my toothbrush. Easy.
Water
Once that sexy part is over, that’s when my morning mocktail happens- PH balanced water, lemon, and pink sea salt. All those things mixed into one will reset your electrolytes and “prep” your system for the rest of the day. Water is an incredible tool that so many of us underestimate or even worse, forget about.
STAY OFF THE PHONE
I should have mentioned this earlier, but at this point, I have yet to touch my phone. Rule of thumb for me is to stay off my phone, and more specifically social media until I have all my morning routine finished. There’s a sense of calmness I get when I turn away from my phone and put all my attention selflessly on MYSELF- and my dog 'cause, you know, child duties. I realized when I created this space for myself I was able to get so many other things done and my anxiety decreased tremendously. Again, not a thing I’m 100% perfect on and definitely didn’t get there overnight, but I promise it’s one you’ll never regret starting.
Movement
After this is done, I’ll take my morning water and walk my dog outside for just 5-10 minutes. This could be a 10-minute sun salutation in your living room, an actual workout, or just a walk around the neighborhood, but it gets the body moving and ready for the day. Not only a free energy boost, but
At this point, I’m maybe 10-15 minutes after wakeup. Really this stuff seems like a lot but once it’s practiced, it doesn’t take much time. And now we insert my favorite part, MY MORNING MATCHA.
Morning Matcha
For almost a year I was an avid Bulletproof coffee drinker and absolutely loved it- but unfortunately with my IBS, my stomach did not. I decided on vacation to LA with my fiancé, I’d rid of myself of the coffee and only stick to tea. I truly can’t explain the difference it made on my digestive system and my energy levels. The frequent run to the bathrooms and the 2pm wall hit completely disappeared. That’s when I found my love for matcha. Not only is matcha so much easier on your stomach, but it’s filled with 137 times more antioxidants than your regular green tea. Mixed with healthy fats, you’ve got your self the best “alert calm” due to it’s naturally occurring l-theanine, which induces relaxation without the drowsiness. I’ll sometimes add adaptogens to it, especially depending on what I have that day. I did a blog post on this so if you want to major details on why I switched from coffee to matcha, check that out.
Here’s my current morning Matcha recipe-
- 1 tsp Four Sigmatic’s Matcha with lions mane
- 1 tbsp Bulletproof’s Brain Octane Oil
- 1 tbsp Cacao Butter (easier to digest than regular butter to me)
- 1 tbsp Laird Superfood Creamer
- 2 scoops Vital Proteins Collagen
- 1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
Intentions
While I’m making that, which is usually on auto-pilot, I’ll set my intentions for the day.
- What I need to accomplish first
- What and who I want to pray for
- What is something on my heart that I’m not tackling
- When I’m going to have time for myself
All of those are important to me when planning out my day. I know if I don’t give myself space to answer them, my day seems to be a little off.
Now is when I give myself permission to get on my phone, but I’ll make sure to get the important things first- texts and emails are a priority, then social media comes second and I’ll give myself a 10 min max. Mindless scrolling can take up more time and mental energy than needed.
Podcasts/Reading
My routine from here changes day to day, whether it’s getting ready to coach at 5am, take a workout at 6am, have a meeting at 8am, consult at 9am, or just get to chill for a while. But while I’m getting ready to do any of that, a couple of things happen. I immediately put on a podcast to listen to, some of my favorites are Ben Greenfield, Elevation, Mind Pump, the Skinny Confidential, Social Media Marketing, The School of Greatness, and Tribe of Mentors. Just having that playing in the background gets mind refocused for the day and always accepting of learning new things, even if it has nothing to do with “area”- I always like to stay a student of my craft and this is a great way to keep up to date with things. Oh, and I’ll do it while making my bed. You’ve always heard that “a clean bed create a clean head” and I always thought it was for the crazy people. But it’s true. Just that one step can create a sense of accomplishment within the first few minutes of waking up and next thing you know your whole house is deep cleaned (ok, probably not but you get what I mean).
Dry Brush
One of the last things I like to do is dry brush. Again, these Aryuvedic practices have something going for them, I promise. It’s like having a round brush all over your body. Just like mentally we need to be woken up, our lymphatic system needs to be as well. Almost like a detox, it can not only sweep away dead skin cells and improve the appearance of skin, but it can support digestion. I will do this before taking a hot/cold shower and finish with body oil, like my favorite, Skin and Senses. I'll brush every part of my body and make sure I'm working towards the heart. Every 2-3 weeks, make sure to clean it as well.
Now believe me, I’m not perfect and this list gets done maaaybe 85% of the time. And sometimes, I have time to do more than what I listed here. But the point is, I ATTEMPT. You can’t expect to learn all of your morning routine overnight nor get it every day, but it’ll happen. Even if you choose a 5-10 min routine, kudos to you because that’s better than most of the people I’ve met! I promise you will never regret starting any of these. Best practice is to pick 1 of these items and implement them into your routine and start a new one each week until it becomes a habit.
Any practices you do in the morning? What helps you get your day started? Comment below!
XO Halle