7 Morning Rituals for a Balanced & Nourished Day

7 Morning Rituals for a Balanced and Nourished Day

The way you start your day can set you up for feeling stressed and hassled, or centered and optimistic. 

Before reaching for your phone or rushing to get the kids ready, carve out some time to focus on your own needs first.

If you like the idea of starting the day on your terms, but feel overwhelmed or concerned about taking on even more, know that you don’t need an extended period of time if that doesn’t feel realistic for you.

Identify the activities that will truly move you in the direction you’re headed. Customize a morning routine that is best for you, not some celebrity, business titan or wellness guru.   

Here are 7 ways to make a morning routine totally doable:  

• 5-minute meditation: If you’re brand new to meditation, starting with just one minute each day may make the process more attainable. Once you’ve accomplished that, move on to five. What you may not know, is that consistency is more important than duration when it comes to meditation. If you tend to experience more uneasiness in the morning, work up to 20 minutes or more.  

• 7-minute movement: Gone are the days when we needed to spend an hour a day at the gym to get in a workout. Not only are shorter, more intense bursts of movement more popular, they are backed by science. Start with where you are now and a form of movement you enjoy, whether walking, cycling, dancing, lifting weights, or yoga for example. Vary your routine for maximum benefit.

• Drink 16-20 ounces of water: Hydration is critical for numerous functions throughout the body, affecting everything from energy to digestion to detoxification to mood to physical and cognitive performance. To make it easier to drink water first thing in the morning, set out a full (reusable) bottle on your bathroom counter the night before.

• Read 1 to 5 pages: Take the pressure off to get through a certain number of books or to read a full chapter each night. Here’s a great example of where small habits, repeated consistently can really move the needle. While it may not seem like much to read just a few pages, completed daily, it will keep you engaged and motivated to come back sooner.   

• Write down one thing you feel grateful for: If you haven’t started a gratitude practice yet, this can be a manageable way to begin. Capture the details of your appreciation. For example, instead of writing, “I’m grateful for my family,” write, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to have dinner together as a family and that we have teenagers that still want to hang out with us.”  

• Set your intention for the day: If you have more time, identify one to three priorities and envision yourself easily completing them while feeling productive and accomplished. If you only have a moment, identify how you want to feel or a commitment you have made to yourself or another such as to be more patient, or to take a deep breath when you notice you are holding it in.  

• Let in the light:  While it’s ideal to get outside to spend time in morning light to regulate your circadian rhythm, if this is not feasible, open the shades throughout your home. Even on a cloudy day, letting daylight enter your space has benefits. Light connects us to the outside world, signaling the brain and body to feel more awake and alert. Pause to notice the sky and any nature that surrounds you.