I often get asked what my morning routine looks like. If you are curious or need a little bit of direction or inspiration then feel free to read on. My biggest advice to you is to try a few ideas on, see what feels right, discard the others. We all have different needs and at different times in our lives our requirements may change. So throw dogma out the door and just window shop for a little while.

Mornings are my thing. It is when I feel most inspired, creative and energetic. 

I wake anywhere between 4:45am - 5am on a weekday. 6am on weekends. I've tried to sleep in, usually for the benefit of my poor partner but it never lasts long. I have decided to simply own and make use of this early bird trait.

 

I comfortably settle cross-legged  on my yoga mat and either get into some breath work for 10 minutes such as alternate nostril breathing, a couple of kundalini kriyas or the Wim Hoff method or a short Dr Joe Dispenza meditation. On occasion I may ditch the breath work and use Tapping otherwise known as EFT if I am feeling particularly anxious, overwhelmed or bothered by something.

I then get into some form of exercise. This generally looks like 50- 60 mins of dynamic yoga, yin yoga or a 15 minute tabata workout or high intensity training. Yoga is done at home or in a class environment.

 

I then flip open the laptop and while it loads (its old...it takes long) I sip on 1 tsbp of Apple Cider Vinegar in room temperature water. While the ACV gets my appetite and digestive system ready for food (around 5-10 minutes) I make a point to do at least one "courageous" thing that will grow the business or myself. Mornings are when my courage is less clouded by thought and "stuff". This may be simply sending an email to an influential person I want to connect with, it may be developing my health programs or putting the feelers out for workshop locations. Sometimes I get sucked into the outside world earlier than I'd prefer and start checking/sending emails and scheduling a social media post before the sun says hello. Not a habit I like to cultivate.

 

Then its time to fuel the body and mind with some brekky. My go to's are hearty smoothies that are packed full of healthy fats, quality protein, fibre and antioxidants like Choc Hazelnut Smoothie or I delve into a mousse or pudding like Creamy Brekky Mousse made the night before if I need to run out of the door early.

 

 

While I would like to say that I slowly enjoy my breakfast, chewing with awareness (yes chewing your smoothie is also important) the reality is often I wolf it down while tuned in to the internet. I like to stand while eating breakfast and playing on the laptop until I am ready to do a number two. I find that standing and avoiding rushing about really encourages a healthy morning bowel evacuation. As a naturopath/nutritionist I am obsessed with preventing chronic disease and make sure I do a healthy poo every day so that I get rid of unwanted waste and hormone by-products that may contribute to ill health. To guarantee a healthy bowel movement in the morning I have a cup of BetterMe tea the night before.

 

By around 7am the fella decides to join the world after a long meditation (he is much more disciplined in that department). We give each other a gigantic, "morning-breathed" hug. I must say, I look forward to that suffocating hug every morning. We walk down to a local beach-side cafe and enjoy a long black coffee and a good yarn for half an hour before we both head home and get stuck into work. We both work from home so this morning outing, along with an afternoon swim in the ocean keeps me sane and helps reduce the likelihood of becoming a hermit. As for the rest of the day well...I'll leave that for another blog post shall I?

 

Would love to hear what routine sets you up for the day. Leave a comment below.

 

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