You don’t have to start your day with coffee or a green smoothie. You don’t have to do an hour of exercise or alternate showers before breakfast. All you have to do is learn to listen to your body to find a morning routine that is really good for you. You can find out how to do this in this article. This guest post was written by Johanna from https://bowlsandbalance.de .
We humans are not all the same. Luckily. While some feel wide awake and full of energy at 7 in the morning, first go jogging and then have a hearty breakfast, others are anything but awake at this time. That is completely normal and a good thing, because otherwise the running tracks would be completely overcrowded early in the morning. 😉 We cannot all choose the time of day when we start the day and start working. But we have a big influence on the energy and mood with which we start the day. This has to do with whether we are following our nature and doing ourselves good, or whether we torment ourselves from the very first waking minute. In fact, your morning routine starts the night before. Because if you go to bed too late and can’t get enough sleep, getting up in the morning doesn’t work so well or you feel less fit than usual. The basis for a good start to the day is a restful and sufficiently long sleep. Some people get by with 7 hours, others feel better with 8-9 hours. This is individual, so listen to your body and arrange your daily routine so that you can get enough sleep regularly. Most people more or less clearly belong to one of the two types: morning person (lark) or morning grouch (owl). This can change a few times in the course of life. It can even be related to your current life situation. If your job makes you very dissatisfied, then you may be more of a morning grouch. But that doesn’t mean that everyone who loves their job is morning people. That is why it is so important to really feel inside yourself and to ask yourself honestly: What is good for me? What do i need in the morning? There is now so much advice on what a perfect start to the day should look like. but in my opinion there can be no one right variant for everyone. That’s why I’m going to introduce you to a number of options that you can easily incorporate into your morning routine – even when there is little time.
It’s worth trying different things over a period of at least 2 weeks to really see what works for you. If you only do something differently in one day, the chances are very small that you will find it great right away and stick with it. We are creatures of habit and need time to adjust to changes. 6 building blocks of a healthy morning routine
- Stretching in bed
Not everyone likes to jump into running shorts or yoga leggings first thing in the morning to actively start the day. But what also helps morning grouches to wake up and is good for the stiff body after the night is a mini-stretching in bed. So you get out of bed much more smoothly and have gently woken your body. In this video you will find a few simple exercises that you can easily do in bed.
- Breathe you awake
If you’re already doing yoga, I don’t need to explain to you how and why the breath helps us wake up so much. But if you are not yet consciously using your breath, here are a few tips: A deep breath brings more oxygen into the body. It fills the lungs and creates more space in the chest, which feels very tight in the morning. There are various breathing exercises that you can do, but 10 conscious, deep breaths are sufficient. You can combine it wonderfully with your mini-stretching in bed to save time or stand by the open window.
- Drink something warm
After the night in which we sweat out a lot of fluids, you need fluids to get the body to function again. The best way to do this is to use a warm drink, as this will save the body from heating up (if you were to drink cold water). Try out which drink is the best way to start the day. For some it is the coffee, for others the lukewarm lemon water or a soothing tea. Anything goes as long as you feel good about it. Ideally, the drink or the anticipation will even help you when you get up.
- Gratitude & Daily Goals
A little gratitude ritual is the easiest and most effective way to start the day on a positive note. To do this, take a few quiet moments (preferably with your eyes closed) in which you think of at least three things in your life or characteristics of your personality for which you are grateful today. Then formulate 1-3 goals for this new day. It can be as little as holding the door for someone or making bigger goals like an important decision. Imagine what it will be like when you have already achieved these goals by the end of the day.
- Have breakfast
The same applies here: everyone is different and needs something different. Maybe you love a hearty breakfast first thing in the morning. But if you don’t want to eat something right after getting up, but a little later, this is better for your energy level than skipping this meal completely. If every minute in bed is sacred to you as a morning grouch, then prepare your breakfast in the evening. You can find healthy breakfast recipes – whether warm or cold, simple or unusual – here, for example .
- Exercise in the fresh air
Before or after your breakfast – a little exercise in the fresh air helps enormously in waking up. I don’t mean jogging before work. But maybe you can walk or cycle for at least 10 minutes on your way to work . If you combine that with a few deep breaths, the waking effect is twice as high. As you can see, many components can be perfectly combined for a healthy morning routine. They are also flexible and do not take much time. Nevertheless, I advise you not to start everything at once if your previous start to the day looks very different at the moment. Take one point at a time and give yourself and your body time to experience what the new ritual feels like. Feel free to try a different order and remember: it can be fun and should feel good to you! Would you like to read more from Johanna ? On her blog she shares her enthusiasm for yoga, healthy eating and inspiration for a positive mindset. In their coaching and workshops you will learn to enjoy healthy habits and adapt them to your individual needs.