morning rituals

Each day, you have an opportunity to set off on the right foot, making the rest of the day less stressful and more enjoyable. Every morning, we wake up with determination and positivity. Sleep cleanses us from the previous day. All the hardships we faced are now in the past.

Throughout the day, situations happen, stress returns and we are faced with the choice to enjoy or dislike this new day.
I strongly believe we need a strong foundation in order to cope with our problems, and see the positive when we need it most. This foundation can be built in the morning by practicing morning rituals. If you start your day out right, you will already be one step ahead of the gang. The following four tips can increase your daily productivity, while making you happier and therefore healthier!
1. Wake up 20 minutes earlier than you currently are. Feeling rushed in the morning? How do you expect to have a productive, positive day if you are already hating it? This is a simple step to feel better all day. Set your alarm to wake up 20 minutes earlier than you usually do. Stand up, stretch your body slightly, enjoy your shower, start your day out right. It almost makes it too easy!
2. Lemon Water. Once you are up, do this next. Before taking a shower and especially before drinking your coffee. Squeeze a quarter of a lemon into a glass of room temperature water. Even better – boil some hot water and drink warm water with lemon (warm up the body from the inside). After sleeping for (hopefully) eight hours, your body needs to hydrate. It amazes me that so many people don’t do this. Learn that your body needs a glass of water as soon as you wake up. Why the lemon? If you haven’t already read (my Nature’s Medicine article on Fitness Goop last month), lemon cleanses the blood and liver, while alkalizing the body and strengthening the digestive juices in the stomach. Why wouldn’t you want to add all that good into your body after a whole nights sleep?! This simple step only takes a minute in the morning, while improving your body in a dramatic way.
3. Breakfast. We all have heard this one. Of course we know that breakfast is important, but I don’t think we necessarily need a big meal. In fact, I hate large meals when I wake up. Breakfast is good for starting up our digestive system for the day, while stabilizing our blood sugar. It also provides nutrients that we so badly need after fasting all night. So, what should we have? I like to keep it simple, but everyone is different. Are you in a rush in the morning? Most of us are. Try to hard-boil 5-10 eggs at the beginning of your week. Cut up half an avocado every two days, with some tomato slices and cracked pepper. This tiny evening routine just made your mornings that much easier. Pack two hard boil eggs, with those vegetables in a container to grab and go! Or if you have five extra minutes (good thing you woke up early), enjoy your meal at home. This meal plan is great for people like me, who need to stabilize their blood sugar right off the get-go. Another great idea for morning rituals is green smoothies. Again, keep it simple. Blend one banana, frozen berries and a handful of spinach in either water or your favourite dairy alternative. Add chia seeds to boost the nutrition further. Adding cashews or almonds is a great way to stabilize the blood sugar if needed.
4. Plan. What is on the agenda for today? Write down 1-3 priorities for that day. Maybe you need to pick up some groceries, clean the bathroom in the evening, finish a paper for work, or some other errand. We all have them! Write it down and cross it off. We get so busy in our days, its crazy how easily we can forget what we planned to do. If we forget, we will chance that tomorrow will be more stressful.
Starting out your day with morning rituals doesn’t need to be complicated. Wake up a little early to get organized, nourished and motivated for the rest of the day. It’s that simple!