5 Simple Morning Self-Care Rituals

How we start, our morning can make a difference in how we approach our day. For a long time, my ritual was to get up, brush my teeth, shower, and get ready for work. I’d grab an Eggo waffle or a quick bowl of cereal on occasion, and when I did, it was considered success. It took me till my early 30’s to understand how a morning ritual could enhance your performance and not only set your day up for success but also your weeks and seasons. My morning rituals are something I go back to when I feel offset.

Now, you may be assuming it is a requirement to be a morning person to have any type of morning ritual, but that isn’t the case. I am the ultimate night owl and snoozer.

I love sleeping in and like most love the feeling of my comforter wrapped around my shoulders in the AM. I got over my adoration for sleep and replaced it with a morning ritual by adding one routine to my morning at a time. I quickly realized that the ultimate reward for accomplishing your morning ritual was the real satisfaction of doing something for yourself before you get pulled in a thousand directions by your team, clients, or given situations in the day. I knew that I had my morning ritual, and that was my safe space to create and protect every day.

1. Avoid tech for 1 hour

Our phones and devices present us with a lot of stress. For a long time, I had the habit of checking my phone every morning before I got up from the bed. I would be tempted to respond to emails from the UK office or feel bad about forgetting to respond to a text the night before. Guilt and panic are no way to start your morning. For over two years now, I have created DND (do not disturb) settings on my phone – it on at 10 pm and goes till 7 am. Now, whenever I tell people this, they always ask me what happens in case of an emergency? Do not fret my pet. You can customize settings to accept calls upon multiple tries (aka my boss is desperately trying to reach me to alert me of a work crisis). Or, you can include those on your favorite list (aka my mom desperately needs me).

This habit is super hard to kick. I am a total Instagram junkie and love to check out one more thing in between getting ready in the morning. Still, the minute I stopped, I realized how much noise it was creating for me in my life, space that could be filled with less reactive thoughts and more proactive ones about how I want to drive my day.

2. Hydrate your body

About a year ago, I started using this app designed to create new habits, called Fabulous. It served me for a season, but the biggest thing I got out of it was the habit of waking up in the morning and drinking a big glass of water. The app gamified routines, and so my husband and I took on the challenge together. We missed a couple mornings and hit others, but in two short weeks, we really could just feel the difference in ourselves when we didn't hydrate in the morning. Your body depletes so much water at night to restore your body and flush toxins. And, what do we do each morning – drink loads of coffee, a diuretic that dehydrates your body? Now, it usually takes me a long time to finish a glass of water, but what I noticed was that my body just sucked up a full glass of water. I was able down a whole glass in three or four big gulps. My body needed it. As a reward I bought myself this beautiful BKR bottle, it is actually designed to make you want to drink more water!

3. Savor your coffee

Now, good lord, I'm not suggesting you do not drink coffee if you need it in the morning. However, I am going to commit blasphemy by suggesting you actually savor it. I am not a mother yet, and so I cannot speak to a mama's morning routine. Still, all I want to do is to encourage you to think about this time as sacred and see if you can create space to drink your coffee and just do that one thing, even if it's just for 5 mins. Do you have a window you like to look out of or a favorite chair to lounge on? Take your coffee and just sit there with only the intention of drinking your coffee. What do you hear, what do you see, what do you smell? If your mind shifts away from your coffee, gently bring your attention back to the cup. Be grateful for the warmth of the drink, the coffee beans, and the people who worked hard

to source them for you, the soil, and earth that we owe to generate such amazingness. Just get lost in your coffee for a few short minutes. The rest of your day will pull you in a thousand different directions, but at least you have your coffee.

4. Slow down your brain

My brain is always on overdrive, and I'm constantly thinking. My thoughts start stirring before I even get out of bed and just as I rise out of REM state. I used to wake up and feel like I was bogged down by all of my thoughts until I started writing it all down in a journal. I keep a journal by bed stand, and every morning after my coffee, I take a moment to write down everything in my brain. I write down all the passing thoughts in my head. For example, are my parents aging faster than expected? Is my marriage strong enough? Do I feel ready to become a mom? Do I have what it takes to make it through today's presentation? Am I a complete idiot, and have I just got everyone fooled to think I'm smart. You get the point…none of these thoughts will serve me in the day, nor are they quicks ones to tackle. It's just chaos taking up precious headspace. So, I literally open a page in the journal, date it, and start scribbling until I have nothing left to share. It feels like it takes 10 mins, but I've timed it, and it is really only 2-3 mins. The writing actually forces you to slow down your brain, and something about writing it all out helps you feel like you are acknowledging it.

5. Create a new intention

Now that you have headspace, I suggest you fill it up right away with something precious. Set your purpose for the day. Now everyone talks about intention, and you may wonder what the heck are they and what makes a good one. Well, I have a hack I like to use – I refer to self-help books I have loved over the years, or I have a few feel-good coffee table books that are full of positive reminders for the day. If I decide to pick up a professional leadership book, like Seth Godin's Linchpin, then I flip to my favorite chapter or highlighted quote. If its the part about inspiring staff, I may set my purpose "to inspire others." If it's a quote about fear, perhaps I encourage myself to "act without fear and to be open to risks." If I decide to pick up a coffee table book, I pop it open to a random page and look for inspiration. A few of my favorite coffee table books are Love Your Life by Domonique Bertolucci and 365 Days of Your True Home by Thich Nhat Han.

Now, starting a morning routine can be daunting. If this sounds far-fetched to you, start by incorporating one or two of these into 30 extra minutes each morning for one week and I swear you will experience a change in how you approach each day. Slowly add on from there and the mornings will pay off in dividends.

Love, Sahana

#MorningRitual #Habits #Selfcare