How to Set up Your Morning Routine
Do you fall out of bed into a bowl of coffee? Or are you up with the sparrows?
The way we start our day, dictates the way it unfolds. Taking an extra hour in the morning to take control of our day, rather than our day taking control of us, creates a completely different experience. Everyone has the same amount of time in the morning, and it’s how we use it that counts.
Making that extra effort in the morning to set the day up, will determine; how much energy we have, how productive we are, how we react to surprises and unexpected events, how much we enjoy our day, - and it actually changes the way our brain reacts to certain events. Habits turn into days, which turn into months, and years - and it’s the small habits we create for ourself on daily basis that create our experiences.
You may have heard me talk about micro alignments before - these are the tiny habits and beliefs we make on a daily basis that form the macro of our life. When we are working towards a goal, we often believe that we must make big changes in order to get there. But in fact, it’s the tiny actions that need adjusting to meet our vision. Where in your life do you have a goal or desired manifestation, but are taking actions that don’t align with it? Morning rituals are the perfect way to take control of what we are aligning to, what we are energetically signalling to the universe - both consciously and subconsiously. If we are only just keeping up with our day, there is no space for new energy or opportunity to come in.
I find it fascinating hearing about how others set their days up for success. I asked 6 inspiring friends, to share with me their morning rituals
When setting your morning routine - ask yourself: How do you want to feel? What sort of day do you want to have? How do you want to show up for others? How do you want to meet to challenges? Our morning routine starts the night before the day begins. Does this include prepping breakfast or lunch, laying out your outfit for the next day or packing your gym bag?
Olivia Scott
This year my morning routine has become very simple, at least for this current season of my life. My morning routine starts the night before. The first thing I do for my morning routine is make sure my room is tidy and organised before I go to bed. I see it like a blank canvas or fresh start for the next morning. I find it stressful waking up to chaos, and I want to mitigate any stress ahead of time if I can!
My body naturally wakes about 6.30. The first thing I do is self reiki on my heart. I feel into how my heart is feeling and notice what my body wants. I crawl on to my sheepskin rug near my bed and set my timer for 10 minutes. I sit and meditate. I usually do body and breath awareness meditation, chanting or if I am feeling tired I do a guided meditation. I sit upright during the meditation so that it can properly wake up and tune in, and let my body tell me what it needs.
I then have a big glass of water, brush my teeth, put on my activewear, and head out into my morning walk. I stop in for a coffee at my local and sit at the waterfront with my coffee for anywhere between 30 mins-1 hour. Sometimes I listen to a podcast, music or just silence. This time of my day I set my intention, mentally plan my day, plant seeds and get excited about what the day will bring. Having this empty space in the morning I believe helps to invite in new ideas and possibilities I hadn’t thought of. Once I arrive back home, I write down any downloads or ideas that come through on my morning venture, and get the most pressing/important things done first. I get the majority of my work done in the morning and use the time between 9-12 to really focus on productivity, so the afternoon can be used for creativity and more space. I usually eat breakfast around 10am - a smoothie or oatmeal. I go to the gym 2 mornings a week instead of my walk, and save my yoga practice for the afternoon/evening, 2-3 days week.
Bridget McNamara - Psychologist, Spirit Wellbeing
I try to plan what I am doing in the morning the night before which includes some form of movement, something brain boosting, and something to look forward to!
I wake up early (this is a success habit that nearly all leaders follow) and rarely by an alarm which is due to my extremely strict sleep hygiene habits! As soon as I wake up, I do a body scan and check in to notice: How am I feeling in my body today? Am I feeling energised / sleepy / joyous etc.? I try not to judge whatever is going on for me, just noticing with curiosity and self-compassion.
I then get up and move by body. I know this is the best thing I can do for both my body AND mind. But, before this, I will drink a lot of water. I tend to wake up super dehydrated :/. Exercise might include going for a fast-paced walk with my man or heading to a yoga class.
When I get home from exercise, I try to do something brain boosting. This might be a meditation, reading the news, doing some study, listening to a podcast.
Something to look forward to - too often, we wake up late and rush through our mornings, without slowing down to enjoy the start of our day. I might make a yummy, wholesome breaky for my partner and I, we might drink a coffee together, and connect over what our days look like, and what we want to achieve.
Jess Crowhurst - Wellness Coach
1. Each morning, I set my alarm for 10 or so minutes before i need to get up (normally around 5:30am) This allows me to gently wake up and make sure I get my fill of cuddles with my partner and our cat (she is the biggest morning smooch) before I get out of bed.
2. My bathroom routine starts off with 6 splashes of warm water on my face and repeating “I am” statements. I then tongue scrape and brush my teeth. When I’m brushing my teeth, I think about what I’m going to be grateful for that day. Then it’s time to apply a natural face oil, giving my face light smacks to get the blood circulating and to wake me up.
3. Once I’m upstairs, I’ll do some breath work and tune in, setting some soul intentions. From there I’ll have a hot cup of Jing tea, which is a tonic of Chinese mushrooms and herbs - great for energy. I’ll either meditate outside (the best feeling when the world is waking up) or I’ll meditate when I get to yoga.
4. Yoga is me most mornings and I am beyond in love with it (okay okay borderline obsessed). Once I get home, I’ll make myself a vegan bullet proof coffee and pull two tarot cards - 1) what’s the invitation for today? 2) what’s the medicine for today? and note down my messages for the day from these cards.
5. Only once this is all done, do I turn my phone off airplane mode. The final step is to play some uplifting music while I’m getting ready, setting the tone for the day - lately it’s been Jack Johnson. Then it’s out the door, feeling ready and aligned for the day!
Anna Squelch - Holistic Life Coach
I wake up naturally between 6-6:30 and get up right away. I recently activated Downtime on my iPhone so I can’t access any apps until 7am. It’s great if you tend to start the day scrolling.
First thing I do is scrape my tongue and then have a large glass of room temperature water with chlorophyll—it is a fresh, minty start to my day and an amazing blood tonic.
Then it’s whatever I feel like doing. It might be a 20 minute meditation with Insight Timer, or a quick breathwork set. Typically I’ll open up my laptop and get to work shortly after.
My brain tends to be the most active first thing in the morning so I need to maximise that time. I make a cacao potion every morning with different adaptogens like maca, ashwagandha or astragalus, so I’ll sit and savour that over emails or with a book, and make breakfast about an hour later.
Two mornings a week I hit a reformer Pilates class. It’s not super regimented or structured but it works for me.
Briony McKenzie - NLP Master Coach
1. I wake around 5.30am. Why I say “around” is because I use the ‘Sleep Cycle’ app which tracks when you are coming in and out of REM sleep, and it gently wakes you when you are your lightest phase (you can have a customisable wake-up window). It’s a much more natural and relaxing way to wake up! First thing I do when I wake up is give thanks for another day to be here . Roll over and give my partner a cuddle.
2. Open curtains and get some sunshine on my face. Natural light hits our pineal gland and starts producing serotonin to wake us up effectively!
3. Put on a pot of hot Ceremonial Grade Cacao. I’ve recently swapped out my morning coffee for Cacao, as my nervous system was feeling really wound up with coffee. Cacao is nature’s elixir, it’s bliss. Filled with way too many good natural properties to ignore, my morning Cacao feels like my most scared time of self-love and nourishment.
4. Meditate. I’ve take over 9 months to integrate a consistent meditation practice and it’s been one of my most challenging journeys. Now I can finally say, I have a daily ritual of a 20 minute guided visualisation (and the Cacao has really upgraded my surrender and visions during meditation )
5. Journal. Consistent ritual here. First any ideas or insights from meditation. Then Mission Statement to realign me to the greater vision. 6x Affirmations that I am expanding on at that time (courage/love/leadership etc). One Big Thing I‘m working towards at the moment just to prime the mind for focus. Gratitude Gush - writing all the goodness I am blessed and grateful for! What you appreciate appreciates.
7. Feeling goooood. Now it’s time to move the body with some high-vibe F45 (functional fitness training!)
I love early mornings, when it feels like the whole world is still asleep and it’s a chance to realign your Heartset, Mindset, Soulset, HealthSet before embracing the world
Yelena Bebich, Kundalini Teacher
I am definitely what you would call a morning person, I love waking up early before the sunrise. It’s vital for me to take quiet time in the morning to connect with source, ground into myself and be in gratitude.
I set my alarm for 5am. When I wake, I do a cat stretch in bed and a little right nostril breathing, which is an energising breath, this gives me a chance to centre myself and gently ease out of bed.
Once I’m up, I massage body oil into my skin, currently I love pomegranate seed oil, but I often use sweet almond oil as well. I then jump into a cold shower and massage the water into my skin vigorously. This practice helps with circulation and gives my skin a glow, It also ‘gives you grit’ meaning that by facing the challenge of cold, you are then ready to face any challenge that may arise throughout the day as well! Once out of the shower, I pop on my comfy white yoga clothes, brush my hair and put it into a top knot.
I set my self up in front of my altar, which is a table of sacred and meaningful items I have collected, to do my Kundalini yoga and meditation practice.
I light a candle, draw a tarot card as daily guidance, then tune in with the Adi mantra. I’m currently doing a yoga set called ‘Kriya to become intuitive’ and a meditation to increase creativity.
After my Kundalini practice, I’ll quickly jot down any inspiration that came during my meditation practice into a notebook.
My family wake up around 6.30am and come down stairs. I have two sons, Milan 9 & Niko 8. They wake up hungry! I make breakfast for them, usually oats or eggs and help them get ready for the day.
I sit down to eat my breakfast, which is normally a chopped up banana in a bowl covered in seeds, cinnamon and cashew milk on top. I do seed cycling, so I have pumpkin and flax seeds from days 1 through 14 of my cycle. Then sesame seeds and sunflower seeds till my next period starts. Seed cycling is a food based approach to balancing hormones, I sometimes get hormonal breakouts and I have found this helps.
I’ll then take the time to pick out an outfit & adorn myself with the clothes, jewellery & fragrant oils that make me feel great. I love to wear statement earrings and a dab of rose oil on my wrists and décolletage. Dressing for me is a chance for expression and everyday creativity, dressing up should not be just for special occasions. I dress for myself every.single.day, because it makes me feel beautiful and confident.
My beauty regime is simple. I spritz my skin with organic rose water. Find your wild ‘venus’ rosewater is my favourite, then I massage my face with ‘glow face oil’ from The beauty elixir. Most days I wear a little concealer and cream blush/ lip tint from ‘aleph beauty’ and my favourite ‘dr Hauschka’ mascara. I’m a fan of full fluffy brows, so I’ll always fill my brows with Eco brow, brow wax.
My work days are super varied so if I don’t have to be at work early in the morning, I’ll walk the boys to school, enjoy the sunshine & get espresso from my local cafe. I then walk home, jump on my laptop to check emails and get on top of admin, do some study or get stuck into a creative project ⚡️
Olivia Scott is a qualified reiki healer in Auckland, plus a life and business coach, author, podcast host & speaker. Get in touch here.