My Morning Routine
Believe it or not, exercise isn’t the only thing that makes one “healthy.” Healthy looks like a lot of different things and it’s certainly more than what the cover of a magazine looks like or says. How you start your day can help set the tone for the rest of your day. I find it inspiring to hear what other habits people incorporate into their days that help them feel their best. Such as this, I figured I would share my take on what helps me start my day and makes me feel “ready for whatever comes my way.” While I am not a doctor and I am certainly not trying to prescribe any of these things to you, they are tried and true and have been recommended to me by health practitioners which is why I commit to these daily activities.
I will start this off by saying: I am a creature of habit. Likely, it’s just part of who I am. But also: habit and routine help me stay committed to my health by making conscious choices that are easy to maintain. Not to mention, I am in such a rhythm that these simple tasks take very little time - something I know must sound good to anyone reading this. Most of these things I have done for probably a decade and I truly believe that they help me feel better and live a healthier life.
There are endless studies about how going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps your sleep. It’s easier to get up early if you do it daily. Monday through Friday, I in general get up at about the same time - on the weekends I “sleep in” a little. I have a 2 year old so sleeping in is about 7 FYI!
Here’s what my mornings in general look like:
5am alarm clock - snooze a bit but generally up by about 5:15am
Turn on kettle for about 12 oz. hot water with juice of 1/2 of a squeezed lemon. I throw in a few ice cubes to help it cool faster. This is great for stimulating your digestion.
I then use the hot water and lemon to take my daily probiotic - I love Seed it’s truly the best I’ve found and has research to prove it. Also, their packaging is sustainable which you can’t beat. Then I take V-Mune by Vasayo as their Liposomal Technology is amazing and truly effective. This product is for your immune system and has 2 herbs my accupuncturist has prescribed for me for my allergies and immune system (Cordyceps for immunity and Quercitin which has been a game changer for my allergies).
I then make myself a triple oat milk cappuccino. While I do not completely avoid dairy, I have found cutting back on it has really helped my digestion and bloating feeling. I love Rise Brew Co oat milk - it’s so good! My favorite coffee go to is Cosi by Nespresso. I use one Truvia (stevia packet) in my coffee. In general, this is my only coffee of the day.
I typically do some kind of exercise in the morning be it pilates (obviously!), my Peloton, a run, or a little yoga with my absolute favorite, Sky Ting. Sometimes I meditate too but I often find it too rushed and meditation is supposed to help me relax not stress out so I often choose to meditate in the evening to help me wind down and get ready for sleep. More on this another time!
I then make a green juice with lemon, a good knob of ginger and a head of celery. I like to give this some time in my stomach before I eat breakfast.
By now I am definitely ready for a shower! I try as often as possible (this is probably the one negotiable thing in my morning routine) to do a good dry skin brushing before hoping into the shower to help wake up my lymph system. This isn’t the one I own, but I love this store and everything they sell - check out this brush from Botanica Bazaar. However, an absolute must for me every morning in the shower is using the neti pot. By now the water in my kettle has cooled enough that I can use it with out getting burned. I do a healthy scoop of salt for the pot and save it for the end of my shower so the membranes in my nostrils will have time to soften throughout my shower. I love this ceramic neti pot so I avoid any toxins from plastic.
At some point throughout the morning I tune into some news so I have an idea of what’s going on in the world. My favorite newsletter is from Katie Couric she always gives a great recap - you can sign up here for it. For a news app, I love Brief because that is exactly what it is - brief and always gives a great neutral perspective of the news. Download it here.
By now I am ready to throw on some leggings, a little makeup by my fav clean beauty brand RMS, eat some breakfast (check out this blog for some recipe inspiration) and head out to teach.
So obviously these things ideally happen every single day. But if I’ve learned anything since becoming a mother and living in Covid is that we have to have space for flexibility. If something doesn’t go as planned, let it go and go on with the flow. Tomorrow is always a new day! Thanks for reading - I’d love your feedback so drop them in the comments below!
xx, Ashley