I'm getting psychologically and physically ready to the short nights coming up!!!
How do some people manage to look so darn
perky as they sip coffee and smoothies in their Instagram stories in the
morning? It all comes down to establishing a winning routine, one that’s easy
for you to do every day and leaves you feeling awake, alert, and inspired. You
don’t have to steal an entire routine from these fitness and wellness experts,
but they have some pretty great suggestions of places to start.
Once you begin to develop a routine of your
own, optimize it to your specific needs. Meditation for 20 minutes might not
work for you, but maybe you can handle five minutes. Yoga might not be your
jam, but what about a few basic stretches instead? And journaling can feel a
little cliche, but what about a Google Doc where you list one thing daily that
you’re grateful for? We don’t all need to be fitness and wellness junkies, but
we can all get a little bit better at managing our mornings and crushing the
rest of our day.
Stay Offline
“I’d say my number one tip is to get ready
for your day, whether that be breakfast, journaling, meditation, or working out
before looking at your phone,” Sophie Gray of WayofGray.com says. “I recommend
being off of your phone for at least 30 to 60 minutes in the morning! I like to
do this because I can check in with myself first, before checking in with
others.”
Productivity gurus and the authors of Peak
Performance, Brad Stuhlberg and Steve Magness, also back this one up. The more
time you can stay off your phone and not be distracted, the better. Getting
your primary workout for the day done before the flood of emails, Instagrams,
and text is going to make the day feel a lot smoother.
“This year has officially been the year of
slowing down and learning to give myself what I need in order to thrive
throughout the day with sustained energy and inspiration,” adds The Balance
Blonde blogger Jordan Younger. “You could say I am a notorious overcommitter
and a workaholic-slash-iPhone-aholic—who isn’t?—so I decided to get serious
with my morning routine, to start to cultivate more peace and serenity in my
daily life. I start each day with a digital detox where I do not look at my
phone until I feel ready to be on and communicate with the world!”
Get Some Sun “Working from home can
sometimes mean there’s no need for you to leave the house, but, for me, getting
outdoors every day for fresh air, a sense of vitality, and vitamin D is so
important,” says Melissa Hemsley of the Hemsley Sisters. “Daylight helps to
reset your internal body clock, also known as the circadian rhythm, leading to
better sleep and allowing your body to tune into what it needs. I’ve got a
staffy called Nelly who I take for runs around my local park, so it’s a
non-negotiable for me!”
Studies bear this out: We need vitamin D to
stay happy and energized. One such study even linked vitamin D deficiency in
young women with depression. You don’t need to start supplementing to get it.
Just getting sunlight should do the trick. And if, like Melissa, you work at
home, a walk outside can give you the divide between “you time” and working
hours.
Add a Yoga Flow It’s no shock that Strala
Yoga creator Tara Stiles starts every morning with a yoga flow, though as a new
mom, her routine varies daily depending on what she needs and how she feels.
And that’s a good thing! Even if you’re not nursing a newborn, switching up
your yoga flow makes the morning a bit more exciting. Just do a few sun
salutations and poses that make you feel particularly good!
A regular yoga practice—10 minutes a day is
over an hour a week!—can increase strength, balance, and flexibility, calm the
mind, and reduce stress, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
It can even help battle things like lower back pain, according to a recent
study.
Scrape Your Tongue (or Whatever)
″Tongue scraping with a copper or
stainless steel tongue scraper removes the toxins that brushing and flossing
your teeth doesn’t,” says the other Hemsley sister, Jasmine. “Quite frankly, I’d rather forget to
brush my teeth!” If tongue scraping isn’t for you, that’s fine, too, but having a morning beauty/cleansing
routine can go a long way toward making you feel more awake and alert if you’re
having a tough time crawling out of bed and perking up.
Meditate
“I wake up, make a matcha tea or coffee in
my kitchen, stretch on my yoga mat, and do a mindfulness meditation practice,”
says Younger. “I have also gotten very into crystals, sage, essential oils, and
palo santo. The morning is my ‘me time’ to play around with all of my yogi,
kundalini grounding practices and also get some reading or journaling in. Then
I head off to teach yoga down the street and feel like a new human! Also
breathing. It sounds simple, but it’s been a game changer to really focus on my
breath.”
Meditation also makes you more creative –
especially in the morning, when we’re at our most spiritually aware.
It’s not just the yogis who are doing
morning meditation, fitness junkies are into it, too. “Everyday is different
for me, but no matter where I am, I make sure to spend a few moments alone setting
my intention and purpose for the day through meditation,” says Karena Dawn of
ToneItUp.com. It really helps me stay centered and focused. After that, I head
out for my workout. If I don’t workout in the morning, it usually won’t
happen.”
Get in a Quick Workout
Dawn also digs a morning workout to get the
blood pumping. If you’re an early riser and can sneak in a quick run or
strength workout, it’s a great way to kick off the day. And bonus, if you do a
low-key workout before you eat breakfast; you’ll reap the benefits of fasted
state training and gain extra strength and aerobic capacity in the process.
Bonus: You can burn almost 20 percent more fat if you exercise pre-breakfast,
according to one study. Plus, let’s be honest, breakfast will taste a whole lot
better when you’ve really worked for it.
Source: https://www.nylon.com/articles/morning-routines-fitness-wellness-gurus#
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