I did have a solid morning ritual most days until the world went a little mad #covid19. I don’t think I am the only person who has currently stopped their usual morning rituals and feeling a little lost. Our world has been temporarily turned on its head and in response, so have I.
So I am writing this blog for all of you….and myself.
What you do in that hour or 2 after waking, has an enormous impact on how your day pans out. A solid morning ritual can help bring you a sense of groundedness (sure, that is a word) and calm - ready to tackle whatever the day throws at you (well….most of the time). How do you start your day? What do you do in that hour after you wake up? Think about it for a second.
You probably already have some morning rituals without even knowing it- perhaps you have a shower, a coffee, read the paper, get the kids up and ready, check emails, water the garden etc. Whatever it be, ideally you ENJOY your morning rituals and they work for you, not against you. For example, is your morning ritual sleeping through your alarm so you seem to be chasing your tail until lunchtime? Or perhaps it is having a coffee first thing on an empty stomach? (tip here: this is starting your day in a stress response, eep!)
Having a few positive and health-promoting things you do each morning is a great way to help set you up for a successful day! As mentioned before, enjoyable morning rituals help you to feel more grounded, calm, in control and content, as well as enabling you to switch into productivity mode.
There are so many ‘morning rituals’ that you can do, just remember to make sure they SERVE you and WORK FOR you. What’s the point in having a ritual each morning if you actually don’t enjoy it? If you’re dragging your poor little self to have a cold shower or meditate for 10 minutes each morning….but you hate it…..why on earth do it!?
So here are 5 of my favourite ways to start the day;
Breaking the fast
I am probably breakfast’s number 1 fan, in fact I have been to every single one of their shows. I am a huge advocator of consuming a daily, delicious and nutritious breakfast. I know intermittent fasting serves some people, which is completely fine, whilst others just can’t quite stomach breakfast until a little later on. For me, I would be a blob without my breakfast (6/7 it is my home-made overnight soaked oats). My breakfast is what sets me up for a killer day. If your excuse is “I don’t have time for breakfast” I call bull**** on that hand - you have time for anything that you prioritise ;).
What a great ritual - pumping your cells full of nutrients, stabilising your blood sugar levels and providing your body and brain with fuel to kickoff the day.
Water first
I see a lot of patients starting their day with a coffee on an empty stomach (zero judgement of course - I have been guilty of this also). Especially without food in the stomach, water too, this coffee on an empty stomach is promoting your STRESS RESPONSE. We can experience enough stress in the day as it is, so let’s do what we can to prevent this first thing in the morning. Instead of reaching for that coffee straight away, think “WATER FIRST YOU LEGEND”, and ideally breakfast too! About 1-2 hours after your water and breakfast is then a great time to enjoy that well-deserved coffee.
* Want to be even more of a naturopathic champion? Splash a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in your morning glass of water to help kick-start your digestion. Breakfast here we come!
Deep belly breathing
Deep belly breathing is yet another great way to start your day, helping to activate your Rest/Digest (calm) response, rather than your Fight/Flight (stress) response. Taking a moment each morning before your day starts, and similarly at the end of the day... to just breeeeeeathe. Closing your eyes, place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Go on, do it now.
Take a deep breath in for 4 counts, making sure your breath gets all the way down to your belly - you want the hand on your stomach to move outward. Hold for a moment, then breathe out through your mouth for 5-6 counts, letting all that air out. Repeat for at least 4 deep breaths.
I get a lot of my patients deep belly breathing whilst still lying in bed before getting up….and then opening their blinds for that sunshine ;)
Open the blinds
Oh this is a good one, and so simple. One of the most important things we can do to help regulate our sleep-wake cycle is to allow actual sunshine (not our phones or artificial light) to hit our eyeballs first thing in the morning. This helps promote the production of cortisol - our awake hormone! So open those blinds as soon as that alarm goes off (or a minute or two after), eat breakfast outside if you can, have a stroll around the block etc. Let that sunshine in! Tip: avoid that electronic device for as long as you can to help reap the benefits of that morning sunshine.
Movement
If you are already an exercise-in-the-morning person - awesome! Keep it up. Such a perfect way to start your day - getting those muscles moving, blood and endorphins flowing and energy pumping through your veins. If exercising in the morning isn’t your thing - that is completely OK. But perhaps you could aim to still incorporate some INTENTIONAL movement in the morning - it might be walking around the block, watering the garden, stretching, doing a few yoga poses, putting some tunes on and dancing while you are getting ready for the day! This will still get your blood and endorphins (happy hormones) flowing first thing in the morning.
I encourage you to pick 1 or 2 rituals that you like the sound of and add them to your morning routine. See how you feel!
Nutmeg xxx
