16 February 2012

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

12 comments:

  1. I love this post. It fascinates me to read about other people's morning routines, because I'm so passionate about starting the day right. I've been practising yoga every single morning since last summer. I think I've only missed one day (that was Christmas Day - and I missed my yoga!).

    "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."

    You're totally right. The benefits of morning yoga have been amazing to me.

    Now I just have to find out where I can get my hands on that raw cacao powder and give that chocolate pudding a try...!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Rebecca,

    I love hearing about other people's morning routines too, and I love experimenting with mixing mine up. I really admire your commitment to your yoga practice. I can only imagine what a phenomenal change that would make to your day. My yoga practice is a little inconsistent, but I usually practice at least 3 times a week. My aim is to do it daily!

    If you end up getting your hands on raw cacao powder and you are able to whip up some pudding, I would love to know your thoughts. Please let me know if you enjoy it as much as I do

    xx

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  3. Hi Love!

    I really want to wake up at least at 6 am but it's so hard during winter time. I know it will be much better for me and my upcoming day - it's just hard when it's cold and dark!
    I know it's in my head - and it's a must to make change.

    But I should say to you "bravo" - good for you!!! As I am reading you I want to to make this change NOW:)

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  4. loving your new morning routine .... and that you can get up at 5am!! I had a pretty cool morning routine and then last week happened and rather than stick to my morning routine I let it go... and during times of high stress and uncertainty in our life - that's when we need it more than ever :)

    one thing I have still continued with and love is my barre classes x 2 mornings a week :) nothing better to start the day then with calming stretching excises - yay for your yoga :) xxx

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  5. this is such a fantastic post! I'm currently on holidays for uni so I've been alternating my mornings with a 4:55am to get to a 75min yoga class followed by delish muesli & fruit, otherwise a little bit more of a sleep in followed by a swim & then breakie. I'm not looking forward to when uni goes back & i won't have as much time in the morning to do things my way :( xx

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  6. I've been thinking a lot about this lately! It started with wanting to make sure I eat breakfast everyday and also trying to workout in the morning before heading to the office. For now I have a pretty horrible morning routine, which usually consists of me getting up later than I should, rushing out the door, and eating oatmeal at my desk when I get to work, lol! I really need to work on getting to sleep at a more decent hour, and getting up on time!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have only just stumbled onto your blog today and I am loving reading your posts!!

    I am currently experimenting with lots of new life style changes, such as juicing, body brushing, oil pulling, meditation and soon I am going to try yoga (I am so scared of it for some reason)
    Your morning routine sounds amazing and you are so right when you comment how much an awesome morning changes your whole day! I too am starting to be much more relaxed and not affected by drama that use to upset me so easily. Thanks again! ^-^

    ReplyDelete
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  9. Your morning ritual sounds delightful! I am in no way a morning person but strive to be, I hope one day I can have a similar morning routine like you! Keep up the good work

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  10. Chocolate pudding for breakfast, YES PLEASE!!! I tried this out this evening and it's so something I could get addicted too. It is delicious and healthy all in one. BINGO! Thanks for the recipe. x

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  11. Hello, I came accross your blog as I was thinking about my new morning routine and looking for some inspiration. I have never been great at getting up early, but lately I have realised that I feel a lot better if I get up early rather than sleep in (even though it doesn't always feel like it when I'm trying to get out of bed). Also, I totally agree about how great it feels to have accomplished something early in the morning. This is going to be my new morning routine, which is possibly subject to change as I get more ideas or see how this one goes:

    -wake up at 6am
    -drink a warm glass of water with lemon
    - eat breakfast (either a green smoothie or ginger granola with plain yogurt - alternating days)
    -exercise (either gym or early morning yoga class) alternating with researching/writing for my blog with a cup of herbal tea
    -sking brushing + shower, then get ready.

    I think the key is dragging my butt out of bed early...then from there things usually are ok :) Good luck with your new routine, hope it has been going well.

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  12. Hi Connie,
    Do you follow a yoga routine on youtube? Do you have any recommendations?
    Thanks,
    Sammi.

    ReplyDelete

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