5 Steps to A Magical Morning
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I’ve always been asked how I’m such a morning person or how I wake up early. I always used to laugh and answer “I don’t know” because truly I didn’t know until I sat down and thought about it. Growing up, I was never a morning person. I found it so hard to get out of bed, it would literally be a constant battle between me and my alarm clock (or my mom) until I was pulled out of bed.
So how did I become a morning person? There is no secret answer, other than I had found things to look forward to every morning. I’m probably not the first to tell you that as we get older our worlds can sometimes be filled with chaos, stress, and unexpected moments of pain and sorrow. There are days where it feels impossible to get out of bed, and sometimes there isn’t even a reason other than I don’t want to. That used to be my everyday but now it’s more once in a while and it’s totally okay to have mornings where you allow yourself to be lazy in bed, but for the mornings we have to get up why not start it on a positive note? These are my five tips to how I became a morning person, and have a routine I always look forward to rolling out of bed for.
When there isn't magic in your day, create the magic. Define how you want to start your morning, and bring the sunshine to your own life.
#1. Movement - The first thing I do when I wake up is go to the living room or my balcony and pop in my headphones and pick one of my favorite Spotify playlists and hit shuffle. For the first song, I let myself wake up a bit by stretching each of my body and allowing myself to just get in touch with myself which sometimes leads to meditation and a longer stretch period. For the second song, I hit shuffle until I find a more pumped up song or song I know puts me in a good mood and dance my heart out. There is no choreography involved and I’m sure I look ridiculous but it starts my day with a smile on my face.
#2. Morning Elixir and a morning coffee! - I’m all about adding ‘magic’ to my day which is where I came up with the idea for my morning elixir, because it sounds like a magic potion for a positive day and morning coffee, does it need an explanation other than but first coffee before anything.
Morning Elixir: I started incorporating this morning drink when I started my health journey with my naturopath and began focusing on balancing my Qi (Chinese Medicine term for managing balance within the body). She wanted me focusing on incorporating adding more heat to my body which is where I came up with this recipe! This elixir has loads of health benefits but also kicks off my morning with a healthy mindset.
Recipe: heat up some water in a kettle, wait till it boils and pour into a jar or mug with a bag of lemon balm tea or half the juice of a lemon, the rest is all to taste but I add cinnamon, cayenne, fresh ginger, and apple cider vinegar. Sometimes I added chia seeds for some extra fiber!
Morning Coffee: If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m ALL about coffee. I used to buy coffee almost every morning until I learned to make my own in a way that I enjoyed. Now there is nothing I love more than a homemade frothy iced coffee or a hormone boosting latte. Find a way to make your coffee feel like you’re treating yourself without having to leave your house or breaking the bank. My go-to coffee is a light roast, with french vanilla nut pods creamer, vital proteins collagen, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Some mornings I’ll elevate it by adding some MCT oil for a good source of fat, superfoods like Maca or Cacao to nourish my hormones, or a little sweetener if I want to make it fun. On the weekends, I love making my diy iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso. Play around with it and find what you love most.
#3. Get Outside - There is nothing that makes me happier than being outside and connecting with mother nature. Whether it’s for 5 minutes or an hour get outside and get some fresh air. For me, that usually means listening to a podcast or catching up with one of my friends on the phone while walking. If it's a quicker morning I’ll do my morning routine on my balcony. I spend a lot of time indoors and on a computer for my job so this is probably one of my favorite parts of my morning routine. Getting outside is one of the most important factors in my mental health, if I don’t spend some time outside I notice I start feeling a little down.
#4. Gratitude, Affirmations, & Journal - Making a list of things I’m grateful for every morning and writing what’s on my mind has changed my life.
Gratitude: I write at least three things I’m grateful for every morning, but sometimes I just keep writing until I hit a pause and can’t think of anything else. These things can be as big as being thankful for the universe having a plan for or as small as my morning cup of coffee. It’s just a way to help me get in a positive head space or slow down and recognize how much there is to be grateful for.
Affirmations: This has been a new practice of mine, where I write down an affirmation or mantra to help guide me through the day and in any moment of doubt reminds me to believe in myself and stay positive.
Journal: There is such a power to writing down your thoughts. One of my friends had told me to get a little black notebook to wreck. At first, I had a really hard time writing in it because it would get “messy”. The perfectionist in me was screaming but then I found the joy in it. Each morning, I either brain dump/subsconscious write or have a self check in with prompts to help me shape my thoughts.
#5. Reading a Chapter - Being honest here, I don’t always have time for this and it’s a love of mine I’ve been relearning but I have been doing my best to wake up early enough to make time to read. One of my goals this year is to get back into reading. I want to find that joy again of getting so lost in a book you don’t want to put it down or after reading you feel inspired. Sometimes that’s hard to keep up on the weekdays so I hold myself to reading one chapter a day which I prefer to do in the morning with my cup of coffee and kitty cuddles. It’s a nice way to start the day.
The most important tip I have is, make the morning YOURS. Take that time for you, and do what you love most. There is no right answer to how you start the morning as long as it sparks joy and has you feeling excited about the day. Find a morning routine that helps you look forward to the day even during those harder times, something that you can look forward to no matter what.
