Curious about morning routines and interested in getting started with your own Mindful Morning Routine? Sign up here to get access my free guide that will give you some quick and simple steps you can take today!

I am not a morning person. I am not by any stretch of the imagination an early bird. In fact, I would go so far as to say I am an anti-morning person. Sleep is one of my true loves and I can easily go for a 10-hour stretch, no problem (sadly, this does not occur often in my life). The idea of waking up earlier to implement some sort of Mindful Morning Routine — or, really, any kind of morning routine — into my life was pretty much anathema to me for quite a while. I’ve spent most of my life struggling to wake up in the mornings, despising my alarm clock and wondering what kind of hell this is where you are required to leave the cozy, blissful, peaceful cocoon of your bed to greet the harsh light and imposing demands of the day ahead. The notion of adding extra items to be completed first thing upon waking, in my sleepy, motor-deprived state, just seemed like absolute insanity to me. Why would I willingly subject myself to that torture? So, it’s a wonder to me that I have now had a much-loved and very appreciated Mindful Morning Routine for over a year…and I’m finding that I can’t live without it!

Mindful Morning Seeds Are Watered

My second attempt at implementing a morning routine came about a year later when I was working with another rockstar of a woman, the entrepreneur coach extraordinaire Bri Seeley. At the time, Bri was still doing life-coaching and I was working with her one-on-one for six months to try to get my shit together. I was in a very transitional period of my life and she was helping to guide me through it. I had made a big personal and financial commitment to this coaching program, so when Bri suggested I get started with a Mindful Morning Routine, despite my previous misgivings, I felt that I should give it a serious try (again). This time around, though certain practices — meditation, visualization, journaling, inspiring playlists — were recommended as a way to get me going, it was left to me to choose activities that felt right and in alignment with my truth and what I desired for my life. But I was still at a loss. 

At first I struggled to get anything going and started to feel that same resentment I had experienced during my first attempt. Sleep deprivation was not a good look on me. And I felt overwhelmed by the idea of having to do all the things that are “recommended” by morning routine gurus who have studied the morning rituals of highly successful people and suggest upwards of an hour spent on everything from meditation to journaling to working out to yoga to setting intentions to planning out your day and on and on. Noticing my discomfort, Bri reminded me that a morning routine, especially a Mindful Morning Routine, really has to be geared towards you — what you want to get out of it, how you want it to make you feel, how you want it to set you up for the day ahead.

Ultimately, having a set of morning practices that you do every single day is all about creating space first thing — before the rest of the world has a chance to usurp your energy and attention — to dedicate some time to the most important person in your life…YOU. It’s a chance to connect with your deeper self and your body, take note of how you are honestly feeling and do some self-reflection. It’s an opportunity to check in with your goals and intentions, and evaluate whether you are taking the inspired actions that are going to get you there. It’s a space where you get to give yourself permission to just be, as you are in the moment, without the expectations of the world weighing on your shoulders or the pressure to be “doing”, to be productive, to be more. In essence, a Mindful Morning Routine is really a radical act of self-care.

Having come to this realization and feeling some of the pressure to do “all the things” ebb away, I began very cautiously and with zero expectations. At first I just listened to an Abraham Hicks 10 minute morning meditation in between snoozes. That seemed like a fairly non-threatening place to start. After a week or so of this, I noticed I was feeling more awake and aware during those 10 minutes. I was actually present for the meditation, I wasn’t snoozing every few minutes and I suddenly found I had the urge to write down some of the insights that were emerging within myself as I was guided in the same meditation every morning. That is how I came to start a journaling practice as part of my mindful mornings.

Once I was on a roll with the meditating and journaling first thing (almost) every morning (I won’t say I didn’t succumb to snoozing and getting some few precious minutes of shut-eye now and then), I discovered that waking up an extra 15-20 minutes earlier wasn’t so bad after all. Not when the practices that had replaced my 15 minutes of snoozing were making me feel so much more alert, energized, present and in a positive mindset to get my day started. Before I knew it, I had added some gentle movement and a bit of breathwork to my morning rituals. Within a month, my Mindful Morning Routine consisted of meditation, visualization, journaling, setting intentions and choosing affirmations for my day, foam rolling and a bit of breathwork. I even started to consider taking my dog out as part of my morning routine when I began listening to inspiring podcasts during our walks. All in all, I was spending about 30-45 minutes on a set of morning rituals and though I did miss that extra half-hour of sleep occasionally, I could tell that the benefits far outweighed the costs.

Mindful Mornings Flourish

Over the next year, my Mindful Morning Routine changed and adapted based on my physical, emotional and spiritual needs. I paid attention to what rituals and practices were really serving me, nourishing me, replenishing me, choosing to spend more time on them, and I released some of the other practices that didn’t feel quite as aligned. Eventually, I settled on a version of the morning routine I have now, which has remained pretty steady for the past 6 months or so and has impacted my life dramatically. Every morning looks a little bit different and I will admit that there are even days when I still opt for that extra 30 minutes of sleep and skip my mindful morning practices altogether; but I undoubtedly show up to my day with more clarity, purpose, energy, passion, focus, positivity and presence on the days that I spend the first hour and a half of my morning dedicated to the mindful rituals that resonate with me. 

It blows my mind to say this, but, yes…my Mindful Morning Routine is now ordinarily over an hour long. In fact, it is closer to an hour and a half on most days. It has become such an anchor for me and such a necessity in getting my day started — not to mention that it is the most blissful practice! — that I would gladly spend 2 hours immersed in mindful practices every morning of my life. For me, it has truly become that radical act of self-care. And I have gotten very serious about my self-care…especially throughout the train-wreck of a year that we just experienced. It is often in the most challenging times that these practices are most useful, and this proved true for me as I navigated 2020’s unprecedented downs and, well, black holes. I leaned heavily on my Mindful Morning Routine to keep me sane, grounded, (somewhat) positive and grateful.

It should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the worst way to get your day started is by getting sucked into your smartphone soon after waking. Once you find yourself caught up on social media or checking emails or catching up on the news, your day is no longer your own. You have given others — work, people on social, the news cycle — permission to dictate what you should be focusing your attention on and how you should be spending your time and energy. Bottom line, keep your phones as far away from your morning routine as possible! (Full disclosure: I do use mine to wake me up and to use some meditation apps, but I NEVER use it for anything beyond that until way later in my morning.)

These days, my Mindful Morning Routine goes something like this:

Gentle Wake Up

I use the Sleep Cycle App to wake me up gently and naturally over a 30-minute period (this is a recent development and is so much nicer than being shocked awake suddenly by the jarring alarm on my iPhone…I highly recommend!).

Hydrate

First things first; I guzzle about half a liter of water. I keep my 32 oz. reusable bottle ready to go so that I can replenish my hydration after a long night of no water intake. Seriously, guys, hydrating well in the morning will make a huge difference in how your body (and brain) feels!

Intuitive Dance

Next up is a sleepy, mini dance party. I have a high-vibe playlist ready to go and just let loose for about 5 to 10 minutes. I drop into my body, let it move however it feels like moving and enjoy! This is such a joyful and playful way to greet the day and does wonders to vanish the vestiges of sleep stubbornly clinging onto my psyche.

Breathe

Then it’s time for some breathwork that helps stimulate my sympathetic nervous system so that I feel more awake, energized and ready to get my day started. I use a yoga breathing practice known as Breath of Fire. I usually do this sitting on the edge of my bed for about a minute. 

Self-massage & Meditation

Still sitting on the edge of my bed, I use my Yoga Tune Up Therapy Balls (they are magic!) to massage my sore feet (I suffer from Plantar Fasciitis) while meditating to a 10-minute affirmation meditation on Insight Timer (my favorite meditation app). This whole ritual is just bliss!

Morning Pages

I take the next 20 to 30 minutes to do my Morning Pages practice, as taught by Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist’s Way. Morning Pages is essentially a free writing practice that helps invigorate your intuition and inspires your creative process.

Yoga

For about 10 minutes or so, I’ll do some gentle morning yoga poses and maybe a few sun salutations to greet the day. At this point my brain is pretty awake but my body takes a bit longer, so this practice helps to further wake me up physically and also gets me into a more present state of mind.

Foam Rolling & (more) Meditating

Next, I like to stretch out my back and neck using a foam roller. I can get pretty comfy on this thing and will often meditate while laying on it lengthwise and spreading my arms out wide to open through my heart. I tend to do a 10-minute mindfulness meditation in this position, sometimes guided, sometimes not.

Journal

At this point in my practice, I feel connected, grounded and present enough to do some serious self-reflection and crack open my journal. I check in with myself honestly and then free write for as long as I feel the need (probably about 15 minutes, on average). Then I write out my intentions, affirmations and gratitudes for the day.

Plan My Day

The final step in my Mindful Morning Routine takes me about 10 minutes. I use the Best Self Journal to help me plan out my day, writing out what my goal for the day is, what inspired actions will get me there, what tasks I have to complete and I schedule it all in. My days don’t always go according to plan, but it helps to have something to guide me and keep me accountable. 

Don’t forget to Pin this post to save it for later!