Happy Fall!! Here in New York, we had our first truly chilly day today, and it really made me want to curl up with a book and a huge pot of tea, and put off all the work I had to. I obviously couldn’t quite make that happen today, but the feeling reminded me that I need to slow down, chillax, and take some time for myself.
In my holistic health counseling practice, the excuse I hear most often for why someone just can’t make time for a healthy breakfast, a morning workout, or meditation is “I’m not a morning person.” I’ve got news for you: That’s a load of hooey! Any staunch night owl can become a super productive person before 9am if they want to. I’ll tell you how I know this.. I did it! I come from a family of night owls. We stayed up LATE in my house, and mornings were a time to sleep until the very last minute, rush around getting ready, and frantically arriving late wherever we needed to be. I kept up this M.O. well into my late 20’s. And then I decided to change. I craved calm, nourishing mornings. I craved time. I hate the feeling of rushing. So if I can do it, so can you, if you choose to. Here’s how:
This is so obvious, but always overlooked. If you want to wake up, totally rested, before your alarm, with time to get some stuff done in the morning, you need to get to bed earlier. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you do ok on less than 7 hours of sleep. You don’t, and pretending is what’s making you a tired, grumpy zombie in the mornings. Figure out when you ideally would like to wake up, leaving time for whatever you would like to accomplish in the morning (see below), and get thee into bed at least 8.5 hours before that time (leaving yourself a 30 minute buffer to actually get to sleep). If you have trouble getting to sleep, check out my article, How to Sleep Better, Naturally!
Morning is a perfect time for exercise, meditation, a healthy breakfast, and some chill time before work. Figure out what your priorities are and set your intentions for the morning. Figure out how much time you want to dedicate to these activities, and go to sleep accordingly the night before (see above). Create a little morning ritual for yourself that incorporates everything you would love your morning to include. A ritual is an amazing way to create and stick to a new habit, injecting it with calm and meaning (check out my article, The Power of Ritual!). Here’s my morning ritual: I wake up, walk the dog, feed him, take my morning vitamins, meditate for 15 minutes, make breakfast and watch the news for about 20 minutes… all before even starting to get ready for the day! I set my alarm to leave myself time for my ritual, and make sure I get to bed at the right time to allow myself at least 8 hours of sleep (preferably 9 ; )
Regardless of what you want to accomplish in the morning, leave yourself enough time to do it all calmly.T he number one way to ruin your morning is to rush, or even just to feel rushed. So always give yourself a buffer to account for any unpredictable events, as well as all the basics of getting ready. The more time you feel like you have, the calmer you will be.
Make sure your morning includes something you find pleasurable (like meditation, checking your favorite blogs, or watching the news). You’re not going to be motivated to get up early for your awesome mornings if they’re not pleasurable, or if they’re filled with more stuff you have to do. Morning is an amazing time to start the day with some you time, which sets the tone for a more enjoyable and less stressful day. So dig deep and connect to what you’re really craving in the mornings. Maybe it’s tons of time to do your hair or pick out the perfect outfit. Or sitting down at the table for a real proper breakfast. It’s YOUR morning, so make it count! The more enjoyable your mornings, the more you will look forward to them. And, wait, what? Suddenly you’re a morning person.
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I'm Natasha Uspensky, holistic nutritionist, Ayurvedic practitioner and healthy lifestyle expert. I created The Organic Beauty to be your resource to celebrate and learn about everything from healthy eating and living for your whole family, to natural beauty and sustainable style. I hope to inspire you to live beautifully and healthfully, in a life you love!
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