January 14, 2025 • 26 mins
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
In this week’s episode of A Really Good Cry, we're getting into the magic of morning routines. I'm excited to share with you how these early rituals can activate your mind, body, and spirit, and truly transform your entire day. I’m going to share tips and a few secrets on how to craft a morning that feels both empowering and nurturing.
Whether you’re a morning person or just trying to sneak in a few peaceful moments before your day kicks off, this episode has something special for you!
What Was Discussed:
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00:00 Intro
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02:26 What is a routine?
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05:21 Why an early morning routine feels empowering
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07:34 Start waking up gently
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09:25 Do this in the morning before you touch your phone
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10:29 Morning practices to activate your mind, body, and spirit
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20:36 My morning routine
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
That mindset of starting the day with the things that
you choose to do over the things you have to do,
makes you feel like you can change your mood for
the entire day and the way you see and experience
the day. It is the sacred time and space that
you create just for you. I'm Radi Wkah and on
my podcast A Really Good Cry, we embrace the messy
(00:21):
and the beautiful, providing a space for raw, unfiltered conversations
that celebrate vulnerability and allow you to tune in to learn,
connect and find comfort together. Hey everyone, and welcome back
to this week's episode of A Really Good Cry. Today,
I actually wanted to discuss something that is very dear
to me. I wanted to discuss morning routines. Now. I know,
(00:44):
sometimes when you end up seeing people's morning routines online
that are so esthetic, so well put together, and so cutesy,
it can actually feel really daunting and sometimes quite unattainable,
especially if you're someone who's never managed to master your
own way routine before. But something you really need to
know before even starting this podcast is that a morning
(01:06):
routine is such a personal thing you honestly cannot just
copy someone else's or mimic theirs, because you need to
do what actually feels good for you and nourishes you,
and that honestly may be very different to your friend
or the thirty second version you saw of someone else's online.
I really wanted to call this podcast because I have
(01:26):
found so much joy and power in having my morning
routine over the past ten years. It has done so
much more for me than just change my mornings, and
I really want that for you. So I want to
talk about how we can create your morning routine, or
how you can create your morning routine, and then I'll
share mine at the end, just to give you an
idea of what it can look like. It is not
(01:47):
the most ideal morning routine. It is not the perfect
morning routine, but it is a routine that I really
enjoy at the moment. And honestly, it chops and changes,
you know, like it will change based on what phase
of life you're in. And I'm sure if and when
I have children, my morning routine will definitely change. I
always hear that from parents, so like, you wait till
you have kids and then tell us what your morning
(02:09):
routine is. So I'm sure that whether it's a different
time of life in work, or things that you have
going on in your life. Of course, your morning routine
will change. Mine has changed a lot over the past
ten years, but it's kind of fun changing that part
of you too. It changes as you change. So a
routine is actually just a sequence of actions that you
(02:29):
do repeatedly. So for example, brushing your teeth every single night,
getting ready for bed, that's a routine. Waking up at
six am or exercising every single morning is also a routine.
Listening to a podcast on your way to work is
a routine. Even eating chips every single night while you
watch your favorite Netflix show is also a routine. So
(02:50):
they're all just actions that happen again and again. It's
a rhythm in your daily life. But that does not
make them all good routines. They're simple routines because you
are doing them regularly. There's a really great quote by
Aristotle that says we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then,
is not to act but a habit. I always find
(03:11):
the words habits and rituals are often used interchangeably, but
there is actually a difference between them. Habits are things
that you do automatically, like checking your email first thing
in the morning, or putting your keys in a specific
spot when you get home. And rituals are like routines
with one key difference your attitude behind the actions. So,
(03:33):
for example, taking a walk every day at lunch could
be considered a routine if you think of it as
something you need to do for your productivity, or it
could be a ritual if you think of it as
a way to break out of your mundane and enjoy nature.
Most routines could be turned into rituals just by a
change of perspective. So for example, when you have to
(03:54):
walk to work every single day, it could just be
a habit because it's something that you do. You know,
you have to get from a to be and it's
just part and parcel of your daily thing that you do.
Or it could be a routine or a ritual when
you start thinking, this is actually great for my health.
It's a way that I'm going to do something for
my body. It's a way that I'm going to be
(04:15):
out in nature and experience nature around me. It's a
way that I'm going to clear my mind. And so
you can take something simple that's been part of your
life every single day, and you can turn it from
something that feels like a habit into something that feels
like a ritual or a routine. And I've actually had
lots of things in my life like that, you know,
Like I think about when I was growing up, and
(04:36):
I had a lot of things that I would do
out of a habit because my mum did them. So
even spiritual practices. Okay, in the morning, go and light
a candle, so I'd like to candle and I wonn't
really know why I was doing it, but I would
do it because every single day, that's just what we
did in the morning. Now, that became a habit for me,
and it was something that I did. But when I
figured out and I understood the reasons behind it and
(05:00):
why I was doing it and what the connection to
was it, it became a ritual and a routine. It
became something I wanted to participate in, that I was
present in, that I wanted to appreciate and participate in.
And so there's a slight difference between them, and I
think that change of perspective is what changes a habit
into a routine or a ritual. So the way I
(05:22):
started creating my morning routine was deciding what I wanted
to do for my mind, for my body, and for
my heart or spirit in the morning, so I would
break it down into those three areas, and honestly, tackling
all those areas first thing in the morning brings this
overall sense of accomplishment and direction to the day. Like
(05:42):
imagine you've done something incredible for your mind, for your body,
and for your heart before it even hits nine am,
before you even get to work. It is the things
that you choose to do before doing the things that
you have to do. You wake up with different energy.
That mindset of starting the day with the things that
you choose to do over the things you have to
do makes you feel like you can change your mood
(06:04):
for the entire day and the way you see and
experience the day. At least that's what I've found since
I've been building my routine. That's a big reason why
I enjoy having an early morning routine. It is the
sacred time and space that you create just for you,
whether it's five minutes or two hours. And actually for
most of us, it's the only part of our day
we feel in control of, and so a lot of
(06:26):
our day is dictated by other people, and so when
you end up having this morning moment just for you,
it makes you feel like you're in control of parts
of your day like you aren't in other parts, and
so you get this sense of self accomplishment, the sense
of I have control of my life, and I choose
what brings joy into my life. I have the ability
to change my mood in the morning. I have the
(06:47):
ability to change my mindset in the morning. And that
feels really really good, especially when you're doing it before
you start the rest of your day. And by the way,
it can be five minutes or it can be two hours.
You can start with five minutes and end with two
hours in like a year, two years, ten years time.
Or you could start with five minutes now and decide
that all you want to do is five minutes every
(07:07):
single morning for the rest of your life. And that's
also okay for your sanity, for your health, and for
the benefit of everything that you hold dear in your life.
You have a right to consciously reclaim the first few
moments of your day for you. So rather than waking
up and going straight into habit mode, you're going to
(07:28):
turn those first few minutes into conscious participating moments that
are just for you. So starting off by waking up
more gently. So usually we wake up to these like
loud alarms. By the way, I don't know why alarms
are just so awful, so loud and so aggressive. They
do not need to be that way. Waking up more
gently allows you to take advantage of important better brain
(07:50):
wave states. Now, thetter brain waves occur when you are
first waking up in the morning, when the process of
waking up, our brain actually transitions from sleep brain waves
called delta waves, to setter waves, which is the in
between stages, to beta waves. When we end up getting up,
get going, our brain starts focusing, its energized, etc. Etc. Now,
theeter brain waves are when the brain is actually most
(08:13):
flexible and malleable, and it plays a part in our
emotional intelligence, our creativity, and our problem solving. But if
you wake up and you go straight to scrolling through
emails or checking social media and the news, you actually
send your brain straight into those beta brain waves. It's
literally like someone waking you up suddenly, you know, when
someone's like shaking you, or you hear a loud noise
(08:33):
and you end up waking up really surprisingly or suddenly
and it makes you feel really angry. Well, the difference
is you are doing that to yourself. You're doing that
to your own brain when you end up switching straight
from your sleep waves, from your delta waves all the
way to your beta waves without going through thetter. Essentially
you have to go through the process. It's like a
step by step thing. You do your your sleeping in
(08:56):
your delta, you then have to make it through the
ceta and then make it to the beat. It's a
sequence that actually helps you feel more awake and prepared
for your day and more grounded and focused. You know,
sometimes when I've woken up in that urgent way, or
my alarm's been too loud and it's been aggressive, it
really does make me feel more tired when I've woken up.
(09:16):
I don't know whether you've noticed that. So sometimes it's
just about making your way through the sequence and so
trying to have just a short amount of time. By
the way, it doesn't even have to be a long
period of time. Having five minutes just before you end
up touching your phone five minutes, give yourself those five
minutes in the morning. It can be three minutes, it
can be thirty seconds. But try and give yourself a
(09:38):
moment where your eyes are opening, they're starting to notice
your surroundings. You know what, try this, Notice five things
in your room, look at five things in your room.
Process five things in your room before you end up
reaching for your phone. That might be an easier way
to do it rather than having to sit there counting.
Allow your eyes to focus and notice five things in
(10:00):
your room before you actually get to your phone, before
your hand makes its way to your side table and
grabbing your phone. So that's definitely the first place that
I started. I've tried to do this. Then, you know
what's really helped me is actually doing a quick prep
when I wake up, waking up, opening your eyes and
saying thank you so much God for this breath, for
(10:23):
this life, for this body, and setting an intention for
the day. So that's the first thing that I recommend
you try to do. But the next part is, like
I said, picking one thing for each area of your mind, body,
and spirit. If you're starting from scratch, I'm going to
give you some examples or ideas for each area. So
when you think about your mind, you can think of
things like crossword puzzles, making your bed, reading, breath work, journaling,
(10:48):
intention setting, all of these things that start to not
activate your mind too intensely, but create a process of thoughtfulness.
Like you're becoming mindful and thoughtful in the process of
doing a crossword. It's stimulating your mind to be more
focused than attentive making your bed. It gives you a
sense of accomplishment for your mind. You're like, Okay, I
(11:08):
got this one thing done. It looks pretty. Everything's keen
in my room. Reading can help to build your imagination.
It helps you to feel like you are learning. Learning
something early in the morning just makes you feel like
your brain is functioning well and that you're absorbing information
that you can take through the rest of your day.
Breathwork is amazing. Breathwork is actually good for a practice
(11:31):
for mind, body, and your spirit, but for your mind.
There are different types of breathworks that can do different
things for your mind. And so there's a breathwork that
can help you with focusing and balancing out your left
and right hemisphere of the brain, and that is called
anulum villum or alternate nostril breathing. I actually have a
YouTube video with all of these breathworks on there. I
(11:54):
live on breathworks. Since I have learned breathworks, it takes
me through my day, whether it's building energy, whether it's
trying to get focused, whether it's relieving anxiety. And so
there are different types of breath works that can really
help to enhance your focus, attention, and calmness of your
mind too. Journaling, getting out all the things that are
in your mind, circulating, stagnant, whatever it is that you
(12:17):
no longer want in there, writing things out so you
can start your day fresh with a new mind, so
your mind is able to see the rest of your
day through clarity rather than fogginess of what has been
in the past. An intention setting if you didn't do
that in the morning, writing down the few things that
you really want to achieve today, whether it is in mind,
(12:37):
whether it is a physical accomplishment, or whether it's just
like how you want to feel by the end of
the day. I read somewhere and this goes back to
what I was saying, having those first few minutes of
the day in the morning just to yourself. So there's
a thing called three minute mornings. I can't of ely
remember where I read it, but I'm going to look
it up. Again it says, just try it for the
first three minutes of your day. Don't look at your phone.
Just lay for three minutes. Lay your eyes, get used
(12:59):
to being set, your intentions for the day, say a prayer.
You can decide what those three minutes contained, as long
as it is device free, and that is so good
for your mind. And the last thing is I mentioned alarms.
Alarms do not have to sound scary or awful. One
thing I highly recommend that was such a game changer
for me is the Hatch. Oh my goodness is this
(13:21):
is not a promotion for the Hatch, nor have they
paid me for this promotion, but I have to share
it with you because it is so brilliant. It essentially
wakes you up with light or sounds of like oceans
or birds singing, you know, really gentle, lovely sounds that
allow you to go through those different brain waves in
the best way possible. And so you give it like
(13:45):
a time period that you want to wake up in,
and it will gently start to wake up, you say,
when you want to be awake by, and it will
start to play music or act as essentially the sun rising,
so it gets brighter and brighter in your room with
this device, and it can't wakes you up just how
you should be. So try to, you know, avoid having
your alarm clock going off with a terrible sound and
(14:08):
switch out for something that's a little bit gender mix
up with your body. Now, there's so many things we
can do for our body in the morning. My favorite
thing is movement, any kind of movement or mobility to
get your body stimulated. We have been lying down, stagnant,
in a state of slumber for far too long in
the even as we've been sleeping, and so what does
our body need. It needs to feel stimulation. We need
(14:31):
to like get up, feel energize, gentle movements to start
the day, getting us ready and prepped, getting our adrenaline pumping,
getting our serotonin levels high. All types of movements do that.
Moving our body gets our mind moving too, and so
any kind of movement movement has been part of my
morning for a very long time now, whether whether it
(14:52):
was yoga, whether it's boxing, whether it's running, whether it's
weight training. Any kind of movement to get your body
just energized is really important, and you can move as
slowly or as fast as you want. The next thing
is drinking water. Now our body's also been dehydrating, slowly
becoming a prune overnight as we've been sleeping, the water
(15:15):
that we have drunk is being used up in our
body and probably released in the morning when we wake up,
and so we really have to replenish water. Now. Water
our body is what seventy percent water. Our mind needs
hydration to function properly. Our organs need hydration to function properly.
And so as much as it is something you hear
all the time, like make sure you hydrate, I don't
(15:35):
think we really realize just how important water is to
every part of our body, how essential it is to
make sure that we are not feeling tired, to make
sure that our organs are able to function well, to
make sure that we are feeling focused, to make sure
that we're not craving things that we don't want to
be craving water and hydration is a key part of that.
(15:57):
So maybe it's just waking up in the morning having
a lovely cup of hot water. I have this hot
water with some spices in it. Such a great practice.
I do that just before my meditation, and it's a
ritual that I really enjoy sipit. Calmly. Slowly drinking hot
water is probably the only time you are forced to
do something slowly, and so it's a really nice way
(16:19):
to start your morning on the slower side. The next
thing here is breathwork. Like I said, breath work works
for mine, body and spirit. Breathwork helps to get oxygen
into your body. It can actually be classified as movement
depending on the type of breath work you're doing. There's
one called cup our baty, which is breath of fire.
Oh my gosh, you're so energizing. You feel the oxygen
(16:40):
bursting through your body. And then there's also a cup
our baty which is this skull shining breath. You're going
to have to look these up or check out my
YouTube for them. But the breath of fire is amazing.
I'm going to show it to you guys now just
so you can hear it. Well, not show it, make
you hear it, and you can hear just how energizing
it actually is just by the sound of it. So
(17:00):
it goes a bit like this. Essentially, you just feel
the oxygen flowing through your body. It increases the amount
of oxygen that you're getting in within that time, and
so it's little shallow breaths. It's pretty amazing. I'm feeling
(17:23):
very energized right now. And also you sometimes get this
tingling in your head because of the amount of oxygen
that's coming in at one time. Another thing you could
do to reset your circadian rhythm. That's our body's clock
that helps with sleep and being awake and being optimized
in both states. My little niece is actually in the
room with me, and she is being very patient and
(17:46):
very sweet while I record this, because I'm supposed to
be looking after her, and so she's drawing. So if
you hear little sniffles or drawing, it's my magical four
year old news doing things. So you say hello, she
does not want to say hello. So going outside for
at least ten minutes, so being under being under the
(18:10):
sunshine when it's sunny outside, especially first thing in the morning,
really helps to reset your sarcadian rhythm. I also believe
that going out at night when the moon is shining
helps with that too, but we're talking morning routine, so
I won't go into that part. Next up for your
spirit for your heart, meditation, prayer and journaling. I've tried
lots of different meditations throughout the years. The meditation that
(18:32):
I do now is called montra meditation. It is a
beautiful practice of using sound, vibrations and mantras and they
just flow through your body. Mantras are so powerful. Mon
means mind and tram means to transcend or to fixate.
And it says that all the meditation practices, whether it's silent,
(18:52):
whether it's there's so many different types, right, There's so
many differentes meditation, but out of all of them, doing
montra meditation actually helps a fit state your mind the easiest.
It's like the easiest form of meditation. But also you
can get the deepest with this practice too, So there
are different mantras that you can practice. You could do
it for five minutes, and I started off as a
five minute practice ten years ago and now I have
(19:13):
a two hour practice of my meditation. It's the largest
chunk of my morning routine for sure, and also the
part that influences the rest of my day the most too. Prayer,
waking up and having a moment where you are sitting
in one s case and having a connection to God
in the universe, having a connection moment where you are
sharing gratitude for every single part of your life, maybe
(19:36):
sharing a moment where you're going through something difficult and
pouring your heart out. It's almost like journaling, but even
better because you feel like you're connected to something bigger
than yourself. And then journaling again, we mentioned that before,
but this could be about your emotions, it could be
about something you're finding really difficult in your life. Sometimes
putting pen to paper instead of just saying it in
your mind can really help. And so having those moments
(20:00):
where yeah, you're just releasing I think a lot of
the morning is about releasing the things you don't want
to carry with you for the rest of the day.
And that's why having a morning routine is really special
because you allow yourself the space to do that. You
can honestly just expend it how you like and decide
which areas you want to spend most amount of time in.
You know, I end up waking up at five or
(20:20):
five thirty in the morning because I have so much
that I want to do in the morning. I have
my ara and a half potatoe, our meditation practice, I
work out for an hour, and so I need a
juicy amount of time in the morning to get those
things done. So you can really adapt and change it
according to what you want to fit into your schedule
in the morning. So I'm going to go through my
morning routine with you. Now here we go. Are you
ready for it? This is my ideal morning routine. Sometimes
(20:43):
things get scared. Sometimes I pick and choose which parts
of it I want to but this is generally the
ideal routine that I try to stick to. So wake
up in the morning and I usually open my eyes
and I say a prayer, and usually the first prayer
that comes to mind is, Dear God, thank you so
much for this breath, for this life, for my family,
for every single thing and that you have given me.
I have so much abundance in my life, and I
(21:05):
hope that I can give that abundantly to other people.
Beautiful short prayer that I try and say from the
bottom of my heart and truly mean to my core.
And then I'll usually take a second, and then, to
be honest, I do look at my phone because my
family lives far away from me in another country, and
I always like checking everything is okay and well, so
my mind usually goes straight there after having a moment
(21:27):
of prayer. Then I go and I brush my teeth.
I use a tongue scraper. If you do not use
a tongue scraper, where have you been and your mouth
has not been clean for all this time? A tongue
scraper is so necessary. So if you're not familiar with
the tongue scraper, essentially it is brushing your teeth before
your tongue. It takes out all the you think about it,
You've been sleeping all night long, accumulating all the toxins
(21:50):
that your body has been processing, and they show up
on your tongue and so instead of swallowing it back
into your mouth and using a tongue scraper helps to
release them from your body. While I'm doing that, I
actually stand on a marma mat. Now marma mat is
a wooden or a plastic mat which has little spikes
on it, and you stand on it and it really
helps to regulate your nervous system. It helps with your circulation.
(22:12):
Your body's been stagnant. Essentially, it just like stimulates your
entire body. The bottom of your feet is where all
your nerves end, and so it is linked all the
way up to the rest of your organs and your body.
So just by stepping on this murma mat you are
also stimulating so many different parts of your body. Next up,
I get ready changed from my meditation practice, usually put
(22:33):
on something comfy. I have the same outfit that I
wear to my meditation room every single day. And then
I go and I warm up my hot water and
in my hot water where I put something called C
C F coriunder seeds, cumin seeds, and penel seeds. Now,
this trio of spices are like the Queen blend of
spices in our vader. They are considered a beautiful digestive
(22:56):
blend grape for all body types. Cuman seeds, coriander seeds,
fennel seeds, all in equal You can put a teaspoon
or half a teaspoon of each into your boiling water,
let it simmer for a little bit, drain them and
drink that water. Or you can make up a little
batch or a mix in equal parts of one cup
one cup, one cup, and then you just take a
tablespoon of that mix and put it into a hot
(23:17):
water and drink that. It helps to do everything from
detoxing your body, distiminating your digestive system, to reducing acid
in the body. There's just so much that it does,
and it is also very delicious. I then take that
water or that tea to my meditation area. I have
a little room that I like to meditate in. Picking
specific spaces helps. Having a space for a particular thing
(23:40):
ends up carrying a specific energy. So you car body
nose when I walk into this room, this is what
I'm going to do. Just like when you walk into
a toilet, you know that that's where you're gonna go
to the toilet. And so when you walk into a
meditation room or even have a meditation pillow, which I
used to have when I lived in New York, we
didn't have much space in there, so I used to
just have one pillow by the window, and I knew
when I sat on that pillow, it meant it was
(24:02):
meditation time. So I will do my monto meditation and
my breastwork and that goes on for about an hour
and a half and then it's time to go work out.
I've been sitting doing my meditation, that was time to
get hyped up, and so I'll usually leave for my workout.
I wait train three times a week, three to four
times a week, and then I alternate between boxing and
(24:24):
runs in between those days, and you know that movement
in the morning is just I can't even imagine my
life with that movement in the morning increases your blood flow,
releases then dolphins strengthens your body, makes you feel like
a beast first thing in the morning, and it just
prepares you for the coming day and it makes you
feel like anything is possible once you have all that
good energy in you. And I come home, I shower,
(24:46):
give myself a good scrubber dub dub, But after sweating
it out at the gym, I usually do a little
body oil massage quickly when I come out the shower,
just because I like to hydrate my body like that.
I'll do it in the morning or in the evening,
but usually after having a shower, I will do that.
Do my little skincare routine. I love a skincare routine.
Ones that's smell really good. Some of the products that
(25:08):
I love right now, Doctor Dennis Gross or a navet
her saffron oil delicious. Doctor Nigma who is my dermatologist,
Oh my gosh, some of her vitamin sea serum delicious.
So many good things. I don't even really make up
on doing the day because I work from home, get
myself ready, feel a little bit cute in whatever I
decide to wear, and then it is finally time for breakfast.
(25:30):
By this point, I'm so hungry, and it's when I
have my protein shake, maybe a snoothie, and then whatever
I fancy making off to that. So that essentially is
my morning routine before I start my day. A little
bit of bully, a little bit of mind, and a
little bit of spirit. So I hope this was useful.
I hope this encourages you to start your morning routine.
(25:50):
Like I said, do not compare your morning routine to
anybody else. That's just make sure that it is something
that inspires you, nourishes you, and gets you ready for
your day and puts you in the right mindset. And
you can start as small as you want. Let me
know if you have any questions, DM me on a
really good cry. I would love to hear from you,
hear your thoughts about this, and I really hope when
(26:11):
you do second morning routine you let me know just
how could you feel. I hope you have such a
wonderful weak sending you so much love, and you can
need to have a really good cry, have a really
good cry
That mindset of starting the day with the things that
you choose to do over the things you have to do,
makes you feel like you can change your mood for
the entire day and the way you see and experience
the day. It is the sacred time and space that
you create just for you. I'm Radi Wkah and on
my podcast A Really Good Cry, we embrace the messy
(00:21):
and the beautiful, providing a space for raw, unfiltered conversations
that celebrate vulnerability and allow you to tune in to learn,
connect and find comfort together. Hey everyone, and welcome back
to this week's episode of A Really Good Cry. Today,
I actually wanted to discuss something that is very dear
to me. I wanted to discuss morning routines. Now. I know,
(00:44):
sometimes when you end up seeing people's morning routines online
that are so esthetic, so well put together, and so cutesy,
it can actually feel really daunting and sometimes quite unattainable,
especially if you're someone who's never managed to master your
own way routine before. But something you really need to
know before even starting this podcast is that a morning
(01:06):
routine is such a personal thing you honestly cannot just
copy someone else's or mimic theirs, because you need to
do what actually feels good for you and nourishes you,
and that honestly may be very different to your friend
or the thirty second version you saw of someone else's online.
I really wanted to call this podcast because I have
(01:26):
found so much joy and power in having my morning
routine over the past ten years. It has done so
much more for me than just change my mornings, and
I really want that for you. So I want to
talk about how we can create your morning routine, or
how you can create your morning routine, and then I'll
share mine at the end, just to give you an
idea of what it can look like. It is not
(01:47):
the most ideal morning routine. It is not the perfect
morning routine, but it is a routine that I really
enjoy at the moment. And honestly, it chops and changes,
you know, like it will change based on what phase
of life you're in. And I'm sure if and when
I have children, my morning routine will definitely change. I
always hear that from parents, so like, you wait till
you have kids and then tell us what your morning
(02:09):
routine is. So I'm sure that whether it's a different
time of life in work, or things that you have
going on in your life. Of course, your morning routine
will change. Mine has changed a lot over the past
ten years, but it's kind of fun changing that part
of you too. It changes as you change. So a
routine is actually just a sequence of actions that you
(02:29):
do repeatedly. So for example, brushing your teeth every single night,
getting ready for bed, that's a routine. Waking up at
six am or exercising every single morning is also a routine.
Listening to a podcast on your way to work is
a routine. Even eating chips every single night while you
watch your favorite Netflix show is also a routine. So
(02:50):
they're all just actions that happen again and again. It's
a rhythm in your daily life. But that does not
make them all good routines. They're simple routines because you
are doing them regularly. There's a really great quote by
Aristotle that says we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then,
is not to act but a habit. I always find
(03:11):
the words habits and rituals are often used interchangeably, but
there is actually a difference between them. Habits are things
that you do automatically, like checking your email first thing
in the morning, or putting your keys in a specific
spot when you get home. And rituals are like routines
with one key difference your attitude behind the actions. So,
(03:33):
for example, taking a walk every day at lunch could
be considered a routine if you think of it as
something you need to do for your productivity, or it
could be a ritual if you think of it as
a way to break out of your mundane and enjoy nature.
Most routines could be turned into rituals just by a
change of perspective. So for example, when you have to
(03:54):
walk to work every single day, it could just be
a habit because it's something that you do. You know,
you have to get from a to be and it's
just part and parcel of your daily thing that you do.
Or it could be a routine or a ritual when
you start thinking, this is actually great for my health.
It's a way that I'm going to do something for
my body. It's a way that I'm going to be
(04:15):
out in nature and experience nature around me. It's a
way that I'm going to clear my mind. And so
you can take something simple that's been part of your
life every single day, and you can turn it from
something that feels like a habit into something that feels
like a ritual or a routine. And I've actually had
lots of things in my life like that, you know,
Like I think about when I was growing up, and
(04:36):
I had a lot of things that I would do
out of a habit because my mum did them. So
even spiritual practices. Okay, in the morning, go and light
a candle, so I'd like to candle and I wonn't
really know why I was doing it, but I would
do it because every single day, that's just what we
did in the morning. Now, that became a habit for me,
and it was something that I did. But when I
figured out and I understood the reasons behind it and
(05:00):
why I was doing it and what the connection to
was it, it became a ritual and a routine. It
became something I wanted to participate in, that I was
present in, that I wanted to appreciate and participate in.
And so there's a slight difference between them, and I
think that change of perspective is what changes a habit
into a routine or a ritual. So the way I
(05:22):
started creating my morning routine was deciding what I wanted
to do for my mind, for my body, and for
my heart or spirit in the morning, so I would
break it down into those three areas, and honestly, tackling
all those areas first thing in the morning brings this
overall sense of accomplishment and direction to the day. Like
(05:42):
imagine you've done something incredible for your mind, for your body,
and for your heart before it even hits nine am,
before you even get to work. It is the things
that you choose to do before doing the things that
you have to do. You wake up with different energy.
That mindset of starting the day with the things that
you choose to do over the things you have to
do makes you feel like you can change your mood
(06:04):
for the entire day and the way you see and
experience the day. At least that's what I've found since
I've been building my routine. That's a big reason why
I enjoy having an early morning routine. It is the
sacred time and space that you create just for you,
whether it's five minutes or two hours. And actually for
most of us, it's the only part of our day
we feel in control of, and so a lot of
(06:26):
our day is dictated by other people, and so when
you end up having this morning moment just for you,
it makes you feel like you're in control of parts
of your day like you aren't in other parts, and
so you get this sense of self accomplishment, the sense
of I have control of my life, and I choose
what brings joy into my life. I have the ability
to change my mood in the morning. I have the
(06:47):
ability to change my mindset in the morning. And that
feels really really good, especially when you're doing it before
you start the rest of your day. And by the way,
it can be five minutes or it can be two hours.
You can start with five minutes and end with two
hours in like a year, two years, ten years time.
Or you could start with five minutes now and decide
that all you want to do is five minutes every
(07:07):
single morning for the rest of your life. And that's
also okay for your sanity, for your health, and for
the benefit of everything that you hold dear in your life.
You have a right to consciously reclaim the first few
moments of your day for you. So rather than waking
up and going straight into habit mode, you're going to
(07:28):
turn those first few minutes into conscious participating moments that
are just for you. So starting off by waking up
more gently. So usually we wake up to these like
loud alarms. By the way, I don't know why alarms
are just so awful, so loud and so aggressive. They
do not need to be that way. Waking up more
gently allows you to take advantage of important better brain
(07:50):
wave states. Now, thetter brain waves occur when you are
first waking up in the morning, when the process of
waking up, our brain actually transitions from sleep brain waves
called delta waves, to setter waves, which is the in
between stages, to beta waves. When we end up getting up,
get going, our brain starts focusing, its energized, etc. Etc. Now,
theeter brain waves are when the brain is actually most
(08:13):
flexible and malleable, and it plays a part in our
emotional intelligence, our creativity, and our problem solving. But if
you wake up and you go straight to scrolling through
emails or checking social media and the news, you actually
send your brain straight into those beta brain waves. It's
literally like someone waking you up suddenly, you know, when
someone's like shaking you, or you hear a loud noise
(08:33):
and you end up waking up really surprisingly or suddenly
and it makes you feel really angry. Well, the difference
is you are doing that to yourself. You're doing that
to your own brain when you end up switching straight
from your sleep waves, from your delta waves all the
way to your beta waves without going through thetter. Essentially
you have to go through the process. It's like a
step by step thing. You do your your sleeping in
(08:56):
your delta, you then have to make it through the
ceta and then make it to the beat. It's a
sequence that actually helps you feel more awake and prepared
for your day and more grounded and focused. You know,
sometimes when I've woken up in that urgent way, or
my alarm's been too loud and it's been aggressive, it
really does make me feel more tired when I've woken up.
(09:16):
I don't know whether you've noticed that. So sometimes it's
just about making your way through the sequence and so
trying to have just a short amount of time. By
the way, it doesn't even have to be a long
period of time. Having five minutes just before you end
up touching your phone five minutes, give yourself those five
minutes in the morning. It can be three minutes, it
can be thirty seconds. But try and give yourself a
(09:38):
moment where your eyes are opening, they're starting to notice
your surroundings. You know what, try this, Notice five things
in your room, look at five things in your room.
Process five things in your room before you end up
reaching for your phone. That might be an easier way
to do it rather than having to sit there counting.
Allow your eyes to focus and notice five things in
(10:00):
your room before you actually get to your phone, before
your hand makes its way to your side table and
grabbing your phone. So that's definitely the first place that
I started. I've tried to do this. Then, you know
what's really helped me is actually doing a quick prep
when I wake up, waking up, opening your eyes and
saying thank you so much God for this breath, for
(10:23):
this life, for this body, and setting an intention for
the day. So that's the first thing that I recommend
you try to do. But the next part is, like
I said, picking one thing for each area of your mind, body,
and spirit. If you're starting from scratch, I'm going to
give you some examples or ideas for each area. So
when you think about your mind, you can think of
things like crossword puzzles, making your bed, reading, breath work, journaling,
(10:48):
intention setting, all of these things that start to not
activate your mind too intensely, but create a process of thoughtfulness.
Like you're becoming mindful and thoughtful in the process of
doing a crossword. It's stimulating your mind to be more
focused than attentive making your bed. It gives you a
sense of accomplishment for your mind. You're like, Okay, I
(11:08):
got this one thing done. It looks pretty. Everything's keen
in my room. Reading can help to build your imagination.
It helps you to feel like you are learning. Learning
something early in the morning just makes you feel like
your brain is functioning well and that you're absorbing information
that you can take through the rest of your day.
Breathwork is amazing. Breathwork is actually good for a practice
(11:31):
for mind, body, and your spirit, but for your mind.
There are different types of breathworks that can do different
things for your mind. And so there's a breathwork that
can help you with focusing and balancing out your left
and right hemisphere of the brain, and that is called
anulum villum or alternate nostril breathing. I actually have a
YouTube video with all of these breathworks on there. I
(11:54):
live on breathworks. Since I have learned breathworks, it takes
me through my day, whether it's building energy, whether it's
trying to get focused, whether it's relieving anxiety. And so
there are different types of breath works that can really
help to enhance your focus, attention, and calmness of your
mind too. Journaling, getting out all the things that are
in your mind, circulating, stagnant, whatever it is that you
(12:17):
no longer want in there, writing things out so you
can start your day fresh with a new mind, so
your mind is able to see the rest of your
day through clarity rather than fogginess of what has been
in the past. An intention setting if you didn't do
that in the morning, writing down the few things that
you really want to achieve today, whether it is in mind,
(12:37):
whether it is a physical accomplishment, or whether it's just
like how you want to feel by the end of
the day. I read somewhere and this goes back to
what I was saying, having those first few minutes of
the day in the morning just to yourself. So there's
a thing called three minute mornings. I can't of ely
remember where I read it, but I'm going to look
it up. Again it says, just try it for the
first three minutes of your day. Don't look at your phone.
Just lay for three minutes. Lay your eyes, get used
(12:59):
to being set, your intentions for the day, say a prayer.
You can decide what those three minutes contained, as long
as it is device free, and that is so good
for your mind. And the last thing is I mentioned alarms.
Alarms do not have to sound scary or awful. One
thing I highly recommend that was such a game changer
for me is the Hatch. Oh my goodness is this
(13:21):
is not a promotion for the Hatch, nor have they
paid me for this promotion, but I have to share
it with you because it is so brilliant. It essentially
wakes you up with light or sounds of like oceans
or birds singing, you know, really gentle, lovely sounds that
allow you to go through those different brain waves in
the best way possible. And so you give it like
(13:45):
a time period that you want to wake up in,
and it will gently start to wake up, you say,
when you want to be awake by, and it will
start to play music or act as essentially the sun rising,
so it gets brighter and brighter in your room with
this device, and it can't wakes you up just how
you should be. So try to, you know, avoid having
your alarm clock going off with a terrible sound and
(14:08):
switch out for something that's a little bit gender mix
up with your body. Now, there's so many things we
can do for our body in the morning. My favorite
thing is movement, any kind of movement or mobility to
get your body stimulated. We have been lying down, stagnant,
in a state of slumber for far too long in
the even as we've been sleeping, and so what does
our body need. It needs to feel stimulation. We need
(14:31):
to like get up, feel energize, gentle movements to start
the day, getting us ready and prepped, getting our adrenaline pumping,
getting our serotonin levels high. All types of movements do that.
Moving our body gets our mind moving too, and so
any kind of movement movement has been part of my
morning for a very long time now, whether whether it
(14:52):
was yoga, whether it's boxing, whether it's running, whether it's
weight training. Any kind of movement to get your body
just energized is really important, and you can move as
slowly or as fast as you want. The next thing
is drinking water. Now our body's also been dehydrating, slowly
becoming a prune overnight as we've been sleeping, the water
(15:15):
that we have drunk is being used up in our
body and probably released in the morning when we wake up,
and so we really have to replenish water. Now. Water
our body is what seventy percent water. Our mind needs
hydration to function properly. Our organs need hydration to function properly.
And so as much as it is something you hear
all the time, like make sure you hydrate, I don't
(15:35):
think we really realize just how important water is to
every part of our body, how essential it is to
make sure that we are not feeling tired, to make
sure that our organs are able to function well, to
make sure that we are feeling focused, to make sure
that we're not craving things that we don't want to
be craving water and hydration is a key part of that.
(15:57):
So maybe it's just waking up in the morning having
a lovely cup of hot water. I have this hot
water with some spices in it. Such a great practice.
I do that just before my meditation, and it's a
ritual that I really enjoy sipit. Calmly. Slowly drinking hot
water is probably the only time you are forced to
do something slowly, and so it's a really nice way
(16:19):
to start your morning on the slower side. The next
thing here is breathwork. Like I said, breath work works
for mine, body and spirit. Breathwork helps to get oxygen
into your body. It can actually be classified as movement
depending on the type of breath work you're doing. There's
one called cup our baty, which is breath of fire.
Oh my gosh, you're so energizing. You feel the oxygen
(16:40):
bursting through your body. And then there's also a cup
our baty which is this skull shining breath. You're going
to have to look these up or check out my
YouTube for them. But the breath of fire is amazing.
I'm going to show it to you guys now just
so you can hear it. Well, not show it, make
you hear it, and you can hear just how energizing
it actually is just by the sound of it. So
(17:00):
it goes a bit like this. Essentially, you just feel
the oxygen flowing through your body. It increases the amount
of oxygen that you're getting in within that time, and
so it's little shallow breaths. It's pretty amazing. I'm feeling
(17:23):
very energized right now. And also you sometimes get this
tingling in your head because of the amount of oxygen
that's coming in at one time. Another thing you could
do to reset your circadian rhythm. That's our body's clock
that helps with sleep and being awake and being optimized
in both states. My little niece is actually in the
room with me, and she is being very patient and
(17:46):
very sweet while I record this, because I'm supposed to
be looking after her, and so she's drawing. So if
you hear little sniffles or drawing, it's my magical four
year old news doing things. So you say hello, she
does not want to say hello. So going outside for
at least ten minutes, so being under being under the
(18:10):
sunshine when it's sunny outside, especially first thing in the morning,
really helps to reset your sarcadian rhythm. I also believe
that going out at night when the moon is shining
helps with that too, but we're talking morning routine, so
I won't go into that part. Next up for your
spirit for your heart, meditation, prayer and journaling. I've tried
lots of different meditations throughout the years. The meditation that
(18:32):
I do now is called montra meditation. It is a
beautiful practice of using sound, vibrations and mantras and they
just flow through your body. Mantras are so powerful. Mon
means mind and tram means to transcend or to fixate.
And it says that all the meditation practices, whether it's silent,
(18:52):
whether it's there's so many different types, right, There's so
many differentes meditation, but out of all of them, doing
montra meditation actually helps a fit state your mind the easiest.
It's like the easiest form of meditation. But also you
can get the deepest with this practice too, So there
are different mantras that you can practice. You could do
it for five minutes, and I started off as a
five minute practice ten years ago and now I have
(19:13):
a two hour practice of my meditation. It's the largest
chunk of my morning routine for sure, and also the
part that influences the rest of my day the most too. Prayer,
waking up and having a moment where you are sitting
in one s case and having a connection to God
in the universe, having a connection moment where you are
sharing gratitude for every single part of your life, maybe
(19:36):
sharing a moment where you're going through something difficult and
pouring your heart out. It's almost like journaling, but even
better because you feel like you're connected to something bigger
than yourself. And then journaling again, we mentioned that before,
but this could be about your emotions, it could be
about something you're finding really difficult in your life. Sometimes
putting pen to paper instead of just saying it in
your mind can really help. And so having those moments
(20:00):
where yeah, you're just releasing I think a lot of
the morning is about releasing the things you don't want
to carry with you for the rest of the day.
And that's why having a morning routine is really special
because you allow yourself the space to do that. You
can honestly just expend it how you like and decide
which areas you want to spend most amount of time in.
You know, I end up waking up at five or
(20:20):
five thirty in the morning because I have so much
that I want to do in the morning. I have
my ara and a half potatoe, our meditation practice, I
work out for an hour, and so I need a
juicy amount of time in the morning to get those
things done. So you can really adapt and change it
according to what you want to fit into your schedule
in the morning. So I'm going to go through my
morning routine with you. Now here we go. Are you
ready for it? This is my ideal morning routine. Sometimes
(20:43):
things get scared. Sometimes I pick and choose which parts
of it I want to but this is generally the
ideal routine that I try to stick to. So wake
up in the morning and I usually open my eyes
and I say a prayer, and usually the first prayer
that comes to mind is, Dear God, thank you so
much for this breath, for this life, for my family,
for every single thing and that you have given me.
I have so much abundance in my life, and I
(21:05):
hope that I can give that abundantly to other people.
Beautiful short prayer that I try and say from the
bottom of my heart and truly mean to my core.
And then I'll usually take a second, and then, to
be honest, I do look at my phone because my
family lives far away from me in another country, and
I always like checking everything is okay and well, so
my mind usually goes straight there after having a moment
(21:27):
of prayer. Then I go and I brush my teeth.
I use a tongue scraper. If you do not use
a tongue scraper, where have you been and your mouth
has not been clean for all this time? A tongue
scraper is so necessary. So if you're not familiar with
the tongue scraper, essentially it is brushing your teeth before
your tongue. It takes out all the you think about it,
You've been sleeping all night long, accumulating all the toxins
(21:50):
that your body has been processing, and they show up
on your tongue and so instead of swallowing it back
into your mouth and using a tongue scraper helps to
release them from your body. While I'm doing that, I
actually stand on a marma mat. Now marma mat is
a wooden or a plastic mat which has little spikes
on it, and you stand on it and it really
helps to regulate your nervous system. It helps with your circulation.
(22:12):
Your body's been stagnant. Essentially, it just like stimulates your
entire body. The bottom of your feet is where all
your nerves end, and so it is linked all the
way up to the rest of your organs and your body.
So just by stepping on this murma mat you are
also stimulating so many different parts of your body. Next up,
I get ready changed from my meditation practice, usually put
(22:33):
on something comfy. I have the same outfit that I
wear to my meditation room every single day. And then
I go and I warm up my hot water and
in my hot water where I put something called C
C F coriunder seeds, cumin seeds, and penel seeds. Now,
this trio of spices are like the Queen blend of
spices in our vader. They are considered a beautiful digestive
(22:56):
blend grape for all body types. Cuman seeds, coriander seeds,
fennel seeds, all in equal You can put a teaspoon
or half a teaspoon of each into your boiling water,
let it simmer for a little bit, drain them and
drink that water. Or you can make up a little
batch or a mix in equal parts of one cup
one cup, one cup, and then you just take a
tablespoon of that mix and put it into a hot
(23:17):
water and drink that. It helps to do everything from
detoxing your body, distiminating your digestive system, to reducing acid
in the body. There's just so much that it does,
and it is also very delicious. I then take that
water or that tea to my meditation area. I have
a little room that I like to meditate in. Picking
specific spaces helps. Having a space for a particular thing
(23:40):
ends up carrying a specific energy. So you car body
nose when I walk into this room, this is what
I'm going to do. Just like when you walk into
a toilet, you know that that's where you're gonna go
to the toilet. And so when you walk into a
meditation room or even have a meditation pillow, which I
used to have when I lived in New York, we
didn't have much space in there, so I used to
just have one pillow by the window, and I knew
when I sat on that pillow, it meant it was
(24:02):
meditation time. So I will do my monto meditation and
my breastwork and that goes on for about an hour
and a half and then it's time to go work out.
I've been sitting doing my meditation, that was time to
get hyped up, and so I'll usually leave for my workout.
I wait train three times a week, three to four
times a week, and then I alternate between boxing and
(24:24):
runs in between those days, and you know that movement
in the morning is just I can't even imagine my
life with that movement in the morning increases your blood flow,
releases then dolphins strengthens your body, makes you feel like
a beast first thing in the morning, and it just
prepares you for the coming day and it makes you
feel like anything is possible once you have all that
good energy in you. And I come home, I shower,
(24:46):
give myself a good scrubber dub dub, But after sweating
it out at the gym, I usually do a little
body oil massage quickly when I come out the shower,
just because I like to hydrate my body like that.
I'll do it in the morning or in the evening,
but usually after having a shower, I will do that.
Do my little skincare routine. I love a skincare routine.
Ones that's smell really good. Some of the products that
(25:08):
I love right now, Doctor Dennis Gross or a navet
her saffron oil delicious. Doctor Nigma who is my dermatologist,
Oh my gosh, some of her vitamin sea serum delicious.
So many good things. I don't even really make up
on doing the day because I work from home, get
myself ready, feel a little bit cute in whatever I
decide to wear, and then it is finally time for breakfast.
(25:30):
By this point, I'm so hungry, and it's when I
have my protein shake, maybe a snoothie, and then whatever
I fancy making off to that. So that essentially is
my morning routine before I start my day. A little
bit of bully, a little bit of mind, and a
little bit of spirit. So I hope this was useful.
I hope this encourages you to start your morning routine.
(25:50):
Like I said, do not compare your morning routine to
anybody else. That's just make sure that it is something
that inspires you, nourishes you, and gets you ready for
your day and puts you in the right mindset. And
you can start as small as you want. Let me
know if you have any questions, DM me on a
really good cry. I would love to hear from you,
hear your thoughts about this, and I really hope when
(26:11):
you do second morning routine you let me know just
how could you feel. I hope you have such a
wonderful weak sending you so much love, and you can
need to have a really good cry, have a really
good cry
Host
Radhi Devlukia
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