Today’s blog is about the one person, the one most important person in your life, that is yourself. With the beginning of 2020 I formed a morning ritual which helps me to focus my energy and connect with myself. I’ve learned and adopted strategies from Kathi Hönig and other inspirational people to customize my very own morning ritual. When I wake up I need at least a whole hour of  peace, silence and meditation before I’m ready to interact. The ritual consists of 7 steps, that have a big impact on my overall wellbeing. It is not the big decisions that change our life permanently, it is the small decisions we make every day. Changing these small decisions, one by one, towards our goal, we will find ourself in a better place after some time.

I set the tone for my day, so every morning I wake up and take a few minutes to appreciate that I actually woke up, welcome the new day and feel grateful. Only when the feeling of gratitude has spread throughout my body do I get up and start my routine:

1. Ayurvedic Tongue Cleaning

I use an antibacterial ayurvedic copper tongue cleaner and it is literally the first thing I do after waking up because during sleeping hours our body detoxes and pollutants are deposited on the tongue and in the oral cavity. If we drink a coffee first thing in the morning, we will take everything back in.

2. Oil pulling

After brushing my tongue, I pull oil for 10-15 min. Meanwhile, I prepare my detox shakes, take out the supplements, or just sit there doing nothing. Moving the oil in my mouth. 🙂

3. Water & Detox Shakes

One of the best ways to stop feeling foggy in the morning and generate energy, is to drink enough water. I drink 3- 4 glasses of lukewarm water with the following ingredients:

a) Glass of water with Psyllium husk and healing earth to activate my intestine activities

b) Glass of water with lemon juice, unfiltered cider vinegar, turmeric and cinnamon to help my body create a basic milieu and strenghten my immune system

b) Glass of water to protect the teeth from the lemon juice / you can also drink b) with a straw but I prefer it this way

c ) Glass of water with various supplements like Vitamin D3 + K2, Vitamin C, Omega 3, Antioxidants, Zinc, B12, Magnesium, Probiotics

d ) Glass of water with nettles capsules, barley grass juice or I try something new. 🙂 this step is optional I don’t do it everyday

At this point it is important to mention that it is best to talk about your personal supplements with a medical professional. Every individual has different needs, so my advise would be to get a CBC and find out what is right for you individually.. 🙂

5. Meditation

 It has become such a powerful part of my routine and I can not imagine to start my day without meditating. Here I dedicate myself to healing and aligning with my divine myself. I am just there. Existing, breathing, connecting, practicing mindfulness. My meditation practice changed over time. At the moment I start with Anapana (observing the breath) and a 1hour Vipassana sitting (observing body sensations). To create a vibe I light a beeswax candle and Palo Santo, I love the relaxed mood this creates as the scent of the wood has a stress-relieving and emotionally balancing effect. When it comes to Palo Santo, it is important to use only wood from fallen trees from sustainable cultivation. I order mine from Mein Palo Santo, their products come directly from the producer in Ecuador and they only offer the wood of the tree „Bursera Graveolens“. The tree died on its own, was left in the wild for at least 3 years and this tree species is not endangered or on the the red list.

For those of you who are not into meditation yet, I can recommend the series Headspace Guide to Mediation on Netflix with Andy Puddicombe, the founder of Headspace. By the way, Andy Puddicombe also guides me in my running app, so every run becomes a wonderful meditation.

4. Movement

We wake up in the morning because our brain releases the stress hormone cortisol. That means in the morning we actually have stress in our blood and if we reduce this level, we will be more relaxed and above all, more stress-resistant throughout the day. That’s why I always do a moving session in the morning. I trust my intuition and listen to my body to decide every day which movements are good for me. Sometimes it’s a morning run or a HIIT workout, other days it’s a yoga flow, an intuitive dance or a stretching session.

I like HIIT work outs or on days my body asks for a gentler program: I dedicate myself to this yoga flow by Mady Morrison:

6. Shower & Dry Brush

After movement and meditation I jump under the warm shower and brush my body with a wooden brush in the direction of the lymph. This helps the body detoxify.

7. Cold Shower

The last step of my morning routine is the cold shower. This challenge always takes an effort. I see it as one of the first of the many challenges that I encounter during the day. If I check the box here, I don’t want to interrupt my flow throughout the day. When I leave the shower I smile at myself in the mirror. 

I hope you take something out of it! If you have questions or valuable tips on how to design a morning routine please write them in the comments. Until then Light up, my Love!

xx

Julia Dalia