9 Ways to Have a Great Morning
1. WAKE UP BEFORE YOUR HOUSEHOLD
Only you know what time this is. We recommend allowing yourself a solid hour before you hop in the shower to get ready for work and/or before carpool duties begin.
2. SIP WARM LEMON WATER
We recommend heating your water over the stove or via a tea kettle rather than using your microwave. Squeeze the juice of 1/2-1 lemon into your water, sip slowly and enjoy. This supports detox pathways, gut health and immunity. If you want to overachieve and if you can handle the taste, drop 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in there for added liver support as well as 1 tsp of Glutathione. Glutathione is an amazing antioxidant pertinent to our immune system function and the body’s ability to properly detox.
If you need your morning caffeine to even begin to function, do so after your lemon water is finished and try to limit to 1 cup per morning to catch the buzz without the jitters.
3. DEEP BELLY BREATHING
According to our Co-founder Taylor Dukes, this is especially important for anyone prone to anxiety. Deep belly breathing naturally stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system to promote balance and focus. While sitting down or lying down, count to 4 as you inhale, hold for 4 countes, exhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts. Continue for 3-5 minutes or more, and feel free to incporate this throughout the day, especially before and after a stressful situation.
4. INCORPORATE QUIET TIME
We cannot stress this enough! The most important way to armor yourself for the day is to carve out time with the Lord studying his word and praying. Read your Bible or favorite devotional and spend time praying or meditating. We love the She/He Reads Truth App and New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp if you need a good starting point.
5. JOURNAL +/OR BRAIN DUMP
Use this time to reflect on what you learned in your study or to simply record whatever is on your heart or up in that brain. This is a great time to make a Gratitude List as well!
Brain dumping is especially helpful if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Setting aside any perfectionistic tendencies, simply write down anything and everything clouding your thoughts or occupying the to-do list sector of your brain. From here, you can hone in on priorties of the day, week, month and revisit as needed.
6. GROUNDING
We’ve got a great post on grounding here to help you understand the benefits and how to incorporate to maximize the benefits.
7. LIGHT STRETCHING
We love a good sweaty workout, but we highly recommend something lighter in the mornings —especially in seasons of stress. Low-impact stretching, yoga and pilates support the parasympathetic nervous system to better equip your body to handle stress in a healthy way.
8. SELF-MASSAGE WITH A GUA SHA
A gua sha is a small piece of jade in a shape designed to promote lymphatic drainage in and around your face and neck, to remove toxins and pollutants for clearer skin and to stimulate blood flow to brighten your complexion.
Keep reading for how-to use!
Gua Sha and Jade Roller pictured above available for sale at R+R! Call 817-720-6220.
For lymphatic self-massage with the Gua Sha:
Apply a light oil to clean skin.
Place the long edge of the gua sha at the bottom of your chin angled almost flat to jaw line.
Using *gentle* strokes, pull the edge along your jawline to the base of your ear 5-7 times on one side.
Using the same edge and angle, then start at the base of your ear and *gently* pull straight down toward your collar bone 5-7 times.
Repeat on both sides.
Pro-tip: Do not forget the step to pull toward your neckline because this essentially drains the lymph - a very important step!
You may also take the smaller more pointed or curved edge toward the back of your head where the base of the skull meets the top of the neck and rock back and forth with the gua sha along the base of the skull. This feels amazing!
For depuffing and skin brightening, use the same gentle pressure starting at the side of your lip and pull toward cheekbones all the way to your hairline. It is helpful to place the opposite hand gently along your lips as you stroke.
9. EAT BREAKFAST
Nutritionist and R+R Co-founder Dabney Poorter recommends eating within 1 hour of waking and to be sure to incorporate protein, healthy fat and thoughtful carbs (ie berries and or veggies).