CREATE AN AMAZING MORNING ROUTINE

I mentioned last week that I had made a new decision. A decision to replace my yummy morning coffee, with a even yummier, nutrient dense, vitamin rich, enzyme packed super food smoothie. Since then I have not looked back. 

While the focus of last week was on weaning myself off my soy latte's and english breakfast tea, this week has been about cutting it out altogether. And while last week was all about using super food smoothies as my 'crutch' to help me make that transition, this week I am all about green juice. I have been having a fresh pressed green juice every morning this week and as a result, I feel amazing. 

What I love about making new lifestyle changes is that they tend to flow outwards in to other areas of your life as well. Since making this health change this week, I have found that other aspects of my lifestyle have changed too. I have a beautiful, new morning routine that is now more aligned with my new healthy approach and which is supporting my self-nourishing path. I am finding I am seeing everything in my life through a softer lense. I am approaching everything I do, with a more present, grounded and calm energy. It is definitely changing the way my whole day unfolds. 

What I have found, is that by choosing to make this new decision, I was in fact choosing to become a new type of person. And when you change who you are be-ing, you cannot help but naturally start to begin do-ing things differently as a result.

MY NEW MORNING ROUTINE

I want to share with you the recent makeover that my morning routine has received. Here is the old way that my morning would unfold vs. the new way...

Old morning routine:

+ Wake up at 5am

+ Blindly put on some clothes

+ Swig down a bit of coffee (yes I am ashamed to admit I drank it THAT early) 

+ Hit the gym or go outdoors for a high intensity cardio workout

+ Rush home, rush in the shower, rush to get ready

+ Grab some food out of the fridge

+ Run out the door 

New morning routine

+ Wake up at 5am

+ Walk in to the kitchen and chop up a pile of kale, cucumber, lemon, celery and ginger and make a fresh cold-pressed veggie juice, 

+ Sip on the juice as I potter around

+ Roll out my yoga mat and do 20 minutes of yoga and then sit for 10 minutes in meditation

OR

+ Head to the gym or outdoors for a light workout with a mix of cardio and strength

+ Shower and get dressed

+ Blend together some raw chocolate pudding for breakfast (recipe below!)

+ Sit at my desk and eat it while I check my emails, update my facebook and twitter

+ Walk out the door with a big, calm grin on my face.

Notice the difference? 

Well, I have.

For me, the first one =  stress! And the second one = peace.

THE BENEFITS OF A SUPPORTIVE MORNING ROUTINE

Curious about what impact changing your morning routine may have? Here is what I have experienced;

+ Without my morning adrenalin-boosting coffee injection, my whole day unfolds completely differently; I am less rushed and stressed in all I do, I have far less road rage as I drive, I am less 'reactive' to external events, I am calmer and more grounded

+ I leave the house feeling like I have already achieved some amazing things
+ I am ten-thousand times more organised

+ I walk around all day feeling super proud of myself

+ Getting up early means I have plenty of time to get organised for the day, so I always have healthy food on hand at work

+  I am more present with life. By setting my day up in this way, the rest of it flows in a similar fashion

+ I handle life's challenges with grace. Eg: As I was driving to a job interview today, a car ran in to the back of me! (yes, of all days). But you know what, it did not phase me. In fact, it did not bother me at all. I exchanged details with the guy, got in my car, drove to my interview and totally kicked butt! If this had happened a few weeks earlier I would have fallen on to the floor in a crumpled mess of nerves and emotion

+ I am less stuck in my head and more present in my body

+ On the days where I practice yoga and meditation in the mornings, I feel more in tune, more in the flow, more aligned and I hear the whisper of my intuition more clearly

+ I just feel naturally happier

So, want to know what the last juicy component is of my new morning routine? It is, raw chocolate pudding! And I eat it for breakfast.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING FOR BREAKFAST

So, I mentioned last week how well my super food smoothies were helping me with weaning myself off my long term love of coffee. Now, I have a new trick!

I have found that one of the best little helpers in weaning me off coffee has been raw cacao powder. I have not been going overboard on the stuff, yet I have needed something else that felt just as indulgent to replace my yummy morning coffee. So, what am I having instead? Raw chocolate pudding.

I love to eat it out of a little mug (above)

HERE IS THE RECIPE 

All I do is get a blender and throw in

+ One small banana

+ 1/4-ish of an avocado

+ 1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder

+ Enough water to help it blend

If you do not have a blender, just mash it all together in a bowl. Top with yummy things such as almonds, coconut, goji berries, blueberries, cinnamon. De-lish!!

So, tell me about your morning routine? I would love for you to share what works for you! Leave a comment below x