This summer I aimed to cultivate a nurturing and nourishing morning routine to start my days. Before beginning I had a few ideas in mind, but also did some online searches and looked to people who inspire me.

Before I share what has become my morning routine I want add a couple words of encouragement.

When you see my routine you might think its a lot to add into a morning. I want to stress that I do not do all these things every day. Some mornings I do, some mornings I don’t. However, I have found that even adding two or three of these things greatly improves my mood, focus and wellbeing throughout the day.

I would also stress that the time allotted to each thing can vary greatly day by day. For example, some mornings might be a 15 minute meditation, while other mornings it might be a 1 minute meditation.

For me, the point of the morning routine is not to add more to my to-do list and beat myself up if I don’t check all the boxes. The point is to give myself a great start to my day with a little self-care before all the demands of life.

Finally, I will add that the order I do these things is a just rough framework. Some days I mix things up. Again, the important thing is to be kind and loving to myself, listening to what my needs each day

My Morning Routine

-Wake-up, my alarm is set to binaural beats

-Do a little body scan and breathwork

-Go to the kitchen for a tea, while waiting for tea step outside and greet the day (I often give my feathered friends a little food)

-Turn on essential oil diffuser with invigorating oils (for morning I particularly like citrus, mints, and rosemary)

-Go back to my bed for a meditation

-Mala beads with affirmation

-Cold Shower (see Wim Hoff’s website for more on this)

-Another tea, and some journalling

-Yoga or other movement

-Practice my French or Welsh

-Read poetry

-Move into my day

Now I know on paper this looks like a lot. Honestly, this morning routine can take 15 minutes or an hour. It really depends on what my day looks like, how many things I choose to do, and how long I choose to do each thing.

You might also notice that breakfast is not on this list. I am a big believer in the importance of breakfast. However, I am also a big believer in eating when you are actually hungry. As I tend to rise quite early I am just not hungry yet. The evening before I prep juice in my juicer, store it in a mason jar so it is ready for me in the morning, no work required. Usually when I start to move into my day I will grab this juice. Then, after working for a couple hours I will take a break for breakfast.

The point of this post is just one of reflection. I invite you to think about your morning routine. Is it nurturing? Is it nourishing? Does it give you a positive start to your day? Are there things you might like to do to tweak your mornings?

I encourage you to play with these ideas this month. I also invite you to like my Facebook page where over the next few weeks I will be posting some videos and going into a little more detail about the things that make up my morning routine https://www.facebook.com/LivingSkyYoga