When it comes to getting up in the morning and feeling your best, you need a morning routine, and you can’t leave it to chance. If you leave it to just waking up and seeing how you feel, well, you will never feel like doing anything or want to do to have the best health possible.
When we first wake up in the morning, as long as we haven’t been woken up by a newborn child, it’s the only time we can control. It’s our choice as there are no demands on our time until we start checking technology.
So, set yourself up to reduce stress and be positive every single day.
Some important things to do first thing in the morning to reduce stress in your body are:
Get Hydrated:
Before you go looking for your morning coffee, have a glass of water. I keep mine beside my bed to keep it easy for myself.
Apple Cider Vinegar in Your Water:
Before you eat anything, help stimulate the digestive enzymes in your body by having a little apple cider vinegar in your water.
Say at Least One Gratitude:
It might be as your eyes are opening up, and you are grateful for the bed you slept in, for your partner, your family. Research has proven that gratitude brings down stress levels and creates more positivity in our lives. If you want to take it one step further, sit up and write three things you are grateful for in your journal. And if you want to set yourself up to complete even more goals in your life, do future pacing of what you are grateful for. This tool means that you are grateful for something in the future.
Spend 5-10 Minutes Completing a Mindfulness Exercise:
Deep breathing or meditation is a great mindfulness exercise. Once again, you don’t need to get out of bed for this one, but you can if you prefer.
Movement:
Most of us feel better when we move. It might be some simple yoga stretches on your bed, beside your bed or on your mat, or like me, you might commit to doing some sort of HIT training. Once again, I plan this ahead of time. Otherwise, I’m never going to get up.
Eat Well:
If you like to eat in the morning, make sure you have protein, veggies/fruit with some healthy fats. These healthy fats can include nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut products, dairy. This will get you nice and full and wake up your brain.
Set an Intention:
If you can fit in one last thing to make you feel amazing, set an intention for the day, we get to choose how we want our day to be. We are in control of our thoughts!
Go to the Bathroom:
Make sure you poop every morning. If you do not have what I like to call well-formed sausage poos EVERY morning, then your body is not eliminating its daily load of toxins, and there will be a buildup of toxicity in your body which we don’t want. Remember, poos are made up of fiber (veggies) + water (get hydrated) + toxins. So, if you are not going to the toilet every day, your body will be toxic.
The main thing is you don’t have to do everything in the morning, but you do need a plan. If you don’t decide in advance what you want to do in the morning, it’s too easy to hit the snooze button on the alarm, and I find with clients when they hit the snooze button they get up feeling annoyed at themselves and guilty. They often feel like they are playing catch up all day. An extra 5 minutes to do one of these things really changes your whole day.
