NOTE - your morning routine does not have to be in this order. Find your own rhythm as your rhythm is your truth, and your truth will set you free.

• A Mindful Morning
  • 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 GET UP
    • Avoid pressing snooze at all costs as to not experience the classic what I call “snooze hangover” hours later. Your brain really dislikes waking up in the middle of REM cycles.
      • Confession - I am guilty of this from time to time. I can feel the slight fatigue in the afternoon on the mornings I press snooze. They days I get up on the first alarm or wake up on my own, my energy throughout the day is profoundly more sustainable.
      • Choose an alarm that’s relatively peaceful yet will still wake you up. I would steer away from anything that creates a startle response as beginning the day in “fight or flight” stressed mode will not support a peaceful day.
  • Gratitude and Love
    • Before you check any phones, computers, etc…
      • Take a moment to express gratitude and love. It can be as simple as being grateful that you woke up that morning, to your family, friends, your job, your breath, shelter, water, food…event if it’s something as simple as the ability to walk upright. Simple things do not necessarily mean they have less value than big, grandiose things.
  • MOVE
    • Life is motion, motion is LIFE!
      • I don’t care if it’s taking a 20min walk around the block or attending your favorite 6am yoga sculpt or cross-fit class - get your body moving and blood pumping to your brain! Research continues to support the benefits of daily exercise not only on your body, but your BRAIN too.
      • If you get bored, start to add in some variety to your daily movement. I have loved learning to move and connect to my body in new ways - from boxing to yoga as well as dancing and jumping on a mini trampoline! Additionally, it’s important to give your body some rest and recovery from high intensity exercise (cross-fit, HIIT, explosive lifting, etc) and shift to more restorative movement (easy walking/jogging, yoga, Tai Chi) every so often. Remember that as you do heavy workouts, you are literally breaking down tissues that require time to recover, heal, and grow stronger. That way you can fully recover and perform at your peak potential for your next heavy burst work out! As Dr. Bruce Lipton states, “You cannot be in growth and protection at the same time.” So work hard, play hard, AND rest hard 🙂
  • Food + Bulletproof Coffee = 🙂
    • When it comes to what to eat, when to eat, how to eat, etc…I could write countless blogs. However, we’ll keep it simple for now.
      • NOTE - I do most of my food prep for the week on Sunday. That way, I don’t have to worry about making food late at night or buying unhealthy food on a lunch break.
    • Bulletproof Coffee for Breakfast
      • This, my friends, is my breakfast. If you’re curious to learn more about the benefits of intermittent fasting and adding GOOD fats into your diet, I suggest reading Dave Asprey’s book Head Strong. I will sip on my bulletproof coffee until my lunch break at 1pm. If I do eat something, it’s a light snack such as avocados, nuts, bone broth, or more liquid meals like a homemade smoothie (less fruit, more veggies if you can).
      • Bulletproof Coffee Recipe
        • 1 French Press of Bulletproof Coffee grounds (4 - 6 tablespoons; found at amazon.com)
        • 1 tbsp grassfed butter (I enjoy the Kerry Gold brand)
        • 1 tbsp Collagen powder (Bulletproof brand)
        • 1 tsp Brain Octane Oil (be forgiving with this as you add it to your coffee - a little goes a long way when it comes to your digestion system)
        • Brew and press the coffee, add to blender, mix for 15- 20 seconds and BOOM! A velvety delicious liquid breakfast awaits you
      • Curious about a kick butt smoothie recipe? Ask Community Wellness Leader Michael Krug for all the details as I truly believe he makes the best smoothies!

So…you’ve had a kick butt morning, downed your delicious, healthy-fat liquid breakfast, and now you’re in route home to:

• Feed the kids, do the laundry, soccer practice, finish emails, prep lunch for the kids tomorrow, do the dishes from the morning, watch your favorite show on Netflix…does the list ever end? You start to think to yourself, “How am I ever going to have time for not only my morning but this evening routine as well?!” My advice is this - start simple. Perhaps you add in ONE thing to each morning and evening that gives you a sense of control, peace, and calm. For my morning, I try give myself a good 2-3 hours as to not feel rushed. I will confess it did not start that way. It was 10min of reading or meditating and that was it. I’ve slowly added more and more as I began to really love my morning and evening routine. You have a choice and you can do as much or as little as you want! Do what makes you feel good. Do what helps you feel in control of your day and that you have a say in your emotions, feelings, and responses to the world around you.
• Here’s my Evening FLOW:
  • Begin to “wind down” a few hours before you desire to be asleep. What does this mean?
    • Limit exercise to 2-3 hours before bedtime as to help your body move into a more “rest and digest” state
    • Dim the lights around you (start using lamps, reading lights, no computers, phones, etc.)
    • Limit food intake 2-3 hours before bed. This will help your second digestion rhythm get a “deeper clean” so to speak when you’re asleep rather than trying to process what you just ate
    • Set up my essential oils diffuser (Young Living EO’s only - the highest quality)
      • I love defusing calming oils while I sleep like Lavender, Stress Away, Thieves, Cedarwood, Bergamot, etc.
  • Set phone to airplane mode
    • Limit the EMFs buzzing around your brain and try some gentle white noise instead
  • No screen time 30min before bed
    • It’s important to let our brains know we’re shutting down and moving into a sleep rhythm (not frantically checking emails or scrolling through social media)
    • Instead of reading about your friend’s cat on Facebook, perhaps find a light read or journal to help calm your mind. I love to read or journal in my cozy bed with my cute little book light (and perhaps some warm lemon-ginger tea)
  • Meditation/breathing/stretching
    • Again - all to help calm the bodymind and drift into a peaceful sleep
      • An app I really enjoy is the Meditation App as I can download guided meditations and listen without being connected to the internet
  • End with gratitude
    • I love to visualize what went well during my day and what I was grateful for. I also love this time to reflect on the intentions for tomorrow. I’ve found it very important to focus on the NOW and not get caught up in worry or anxiety about what “could” happen tomorrow…for the only moment we truly have is NOW.

As always my friends, keep inspiring!

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