Morning routines are what “successful” people do. These routines set us up for a day of purpose and intention. This routine is the bedrock of our self-care.
This is what we’re taught by any wellness personality, podcast, blog entry about “living our best lives.”
And sure, we all would love to enhance our morning routines in service of becoming our best selves. You can wake up and meditate straight away. You might follow Julie Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way” and begin the day with morning pages. What about a quick workout? Let’s cook ourselves a nutritious breakfast every morning! Or maybe turn a tarot card and journal about it.
It’s all too much. You’d need a 4 hour chunk of time before leaving for work to do every recommendation that you’ve read will bring you peace of mind, success, manifestation of your goals, etc. So many people feel overwhelmed by wellness. They’ve been struck with “whellmness.”
My advice on the topic comes from my favorite fount of wisdom: Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation”: “Never half-ass two things; whole-ass one thing.”
I’ve been working on abiding by that law myself for quite a while. And it’s incredibly hard to do when you’re a multi-passionate being following your dreams off into the sunset on your unicorn. There’s just too many adventures to be had.
However, there is much more to learn by taking a deep dive on a singular topic. It’s taken me a straight-up year to get meditation to really stick in my daily routine. A fucking year. Partially because I would get distracted by other types of self-care and beautiful rituals. My morning routine gets stirred up and starts to fluster me when I don’t just stick to one thing.
So if you’re feeling like all you ever do is grab coffee and run out of the door, arms barely in your coat and searching for the keys you knew you put in your purse (but where could they have gone?!) -- Just pick one thing. Find something that works for your morning and start to luxuriate in the 10 minutes or however long it takes you to honor yourself and your practice. Try it for a few weeks and if it feels like too much, give yourself permission to let it go and allow something else that comes naturally to you to fill its place.
Here’s a list of awesome ways to take a moment for you in the morning:
Meditate -- for however long feels reasonable to you!
Work out -- You can do a High-Intensity Interval Training session in just 10 minutes
Yoga -- Practice for just 20, and link your breath to your movement… oops! Did somebody just meditate while moving?
Journal -- Dream journal, morning pages, whatever form it takes.
Eat something healthy -- Cook up a hot breakfast or make a smoothie to go.
Affirmations -- Set your intention for the day by looking into those gorgeous eyes.
More and more healthy behaviors, on and on until the sun goes down...
Remember, just pick one! It’s that simple. There’s no pressure to do it all or be perfect at it either.
If you are looking for a little guidance on self-care and how to create sacred routines, my dear friend LaVonne and I are hosting a workshop for you! It's at Maha Rose on October 30. Here's a link to the sign-up!