A lot of people have been talking about morning routines, so I thought I would share ours.
Morning routines are THE way to start the morning with intention and balance.
It’s so easy to get off track by reading all those emails, jumping into Facebook, or clicking on the news.
When you desire an intentional life, want to respond instead of react, and feel that calm confidence at the center of your being no matter what’s swirling around you, a morning routine will help you get there.
And, of course, while there are many variations on what a routine can look like, the beauty is that you get to design exactly what you want and need AND you have the rest of your life to have it evolve!
So, let’s get to it!
We have done daily meditation for years, and we consider it the cornerstone in our morning routine. So, when we wake up, we meditate for 20-30 minutes. Sometimes that means setting the alarm a little earlier, and on very, very early mornings, we skip it, but that’s life, and the next day we start again.
And here’s a confession…we meditate lying in bed! So, anyone who doesn’t meditate because they don’t want to sit in the middle of a cold pre-dawn room, DO IT IN BED!
But really, if you prefer to sit up, or think we’re sissies for lying in bed, go for it, sit up on a pillow or not, light a candle, say your mantra, or be in silence or in breath. AWESOME!
After we meditate, we get up and do a few stretches. (I’ll describe those another time – and I must admit I’m not doing the stretches right now – but I will be getting back into them very soon because they make my body feel so much better!)
So, after meditation, we get up and go for a walk. We have based this part of our morning routine on the teachings of Dr. Mark Hyman. He recommends that you get up and immediately do some prolonged physical exercise.
We love to walk, so we walk about 2 miles. But if you want to do yoga or spin or pilates or PiYo, or whatever makes your boat float, DO IT! The point is to get your metabolism moving. Just make sure you aren’t sightseeing: you’re actually moving your body so your heart quickens a little and perhaps there’s a little heavy breathing involved! You get my point?
After walking we come home, we make a whole food shake for breakfast, get in the hot tub to enjoy it, and then get on with our day.
So, we suggest Wake, Meditate, Exercise, Eat to start a fu lly awake, aware, and healthy day!
Go for it! Make up your beautiful morning routine and let us know how it works for you.