4 Activities to Start Your Mornings
Waking up in the morning can be difficult for many people, including me. However, over the years I have found a solid, reliable morning routine comprised of 4 essential things that get me awake and ready to take on the new day. These four things take place after I wake up, but before I leave the bed. Today, I’d like to share these steps so that you can conquer your mornings, too.
Step one: Eye-Palming
As the name suggests, this action involves your palms and eyes. After waking up, I sit on my bed and rub my hands to create friction. Then, I place them on my eyes, allowing the heat I generated to relax my eyes. This step is repeated 2-3 times. You can find a visual demonstration here. There are many benefits to this exercise, my favorite one being that it acts like a warm-up for all the activities my eyes will have to do in the day. Rubbing your palms together also activates a large part of your brain, getting you ready for a productive day.
Step 2: Belly Breathing
In this step I close my eyes and take deep breaths, placing one hand on my stomach to ensure it expands when I inhale and deflates when I exhale. I take anywhere from 5 to 10 belly breaths each morning. You can find a visual demonstration here. The benefits of doing this step vary but the most obvious one is that it opens up your lung alveoli, or the oxygen-absorbing pores in your lungs. By opening the lung alveoli up in the morning, you are able to increase your total lung capacity.
Step three: Setting Intentions
There are two parts to the step, the first one being observing and planning all that you have to do in the upcoming day. After I have organized my tasks for the day, I like to set my goals for the day. These goals can range from Today I will pay full attention to my Bio teacher all the way to Today I will attempt to do an act of kindness for my co-worker Bob. It's best to continue keeping your eyes closed and sitting comfortably. This morning practice helps prepare your mindset for the day ahead.
Step four: Stretching
This step is a very common step that most people already do, but I included it in my list because of how important it is. Right before leaving the bed, I make sure to stretch out my limbs and muscles to activate the rest of my body for the day. There are many stretches to choose from and by no means do you have to do the same ones every day. However, I like to make my final stretch before I leave the bed the Child’s Pose stretch. This is a yogic pose where you get on all fours and lean all the way backward, like so. I use this as my final stretch because it does a great job of stretching my back, hips, and thighs.
Conclusion:
I find that on the days I am able to do all four steps, I get out of bed feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to ace my day! You can find a video of all four steps combined here. Catch you on the flip side of your mornings!
