I get asked pretty often what my morning routine looks like as a vegan/yoga/buddhist aspirer, so I thought I would finally make a blog to share this info! My routine, favorite products, practices, and what my favorite hobbies are in a typical day!
Let me preface this by saying the obvious – no one is perfect, and I am not going to pretend to be. I like being imperfect. It keeps life interesting. & my routine is certainly not perfect every single morning. There are many days where I skip parts of my routine because I’m running late, or simply forget. It’s not a very good excuse, but it’s life, and I think it’s important to give yourself grace when it comes to your routine and/or the expectations you hold yourself to (or that others might hold you to).
So without further ado, here’s what a typical morning looks like for me!
Before Getting Out of Bed
Wake up at 6:30-7am
Lay in bed for a few minutes.
This is more so because I’m still sleepy and taking it slow, but there has been research that shows that a slow wake up, and taking a few minutes of mindfulness before you begin your day, is extremely beneficial. Usually end up petting a dog or two in this time period of course. This is also a great time to do some quick breathwork as well, if you’ve got the time!
Take off my Tempdrop monitor.
I’ll sync this later with my phone, usually before I use it again before bedtime. If you are not familiar with what a TempDrop is – it’s a Basal Body temperature device I wear on the inner part of my bicep. It’ll take my body’s lowest temperature throughout the night, aka the basal body temp. A TempDrop has so many great uses besides the obvious – natural birth control. I’ll write a blog on this later and link it here.
Drink some water, usually it’s close to the suggested 8oz of room temp water that research recommends. This is really just because I am so damn thirsty in the morning!
Getting Out of Bed
Straight to the bathroom – NO LIGHTS.
I will not use artificial lighting for at least 10-20 minutes, if at all, in the morning. It’s rare that I do honestly. Research shows this improves your circadian rhythm (sleep cycle), better eye health, (same reason you should not look at your phone or an electronic device first thing in the morning.
In fact, I leave my phone in the bathroom overnight, but more on that later), and generally positively affects your mood, focus, productivity for the day, by getting natural light before artificial light in the morning. This has been a game changer for me. I used to have insomnia, and since starting this practice, along with a few others (i’ll write a blog about my nightime routine one day), my sleep quality has completely changed for the better.
After I see to the bathroom needs, I go straight over to brush my teeth (my preferred toothpaste – vegan, gluten-free, carrageenan-free, fluoride-free). Followed by a natural, organic colloidal-silver mouth wash by Just Ingredients!
Soak in the rays – going back to the earlier point of getting natural light in the morning rather than artificial light. I typically find myself outside within 10-15 minutes after waking up, rain or shine, cold or hot. I ground my feet and tilt my face up to the sun, taking a few deep breaths.
I’m outside for a good 5 minutes or so before I do anything else. I like to take this time to do some nice morning stretches too – extended mountain, mini backend, neck circles, side stretches, half lifts, forward folds, rag doll, maybe a little hamstring stretch or tree pose.
Breakfast Time
Breakfast/Protein shake – perhaps one of the most important things I learned a few years ago, is that it’s important to put something in your tummy within 30 minutes of waking up. Particularly something nutrient dense/protein rich. Especially, as a woman.
Too often we drink coffee on an empty stomach, which is very harsh not only for your gut health (which as we know, affects everything else in the body) but also for your hormones and menstrual cycle. DON’T DO IT! Years of poor gut health practices have ruined my gut and cyclical health, and it’s been long expensive work to get it all back right again. So take it from me, I promise, your coffee can wait until you eat first!
Having a protein shake within 30 minutes of waking up has had a significant impact on my cyclical and gut health, and I am so grateful for the naturopath who brought this to my attention those years ago (go follow her for more tips). My favorite vegan, gluten-free, organic whole foods protein mix.
It also doesn’t have to be a protein shake; if you’ve got time to make yourself a hearty breakfast, you can do that too! That’s even better actually. I usually will always have my shake in the AM because I just love the taste and it genuinely brings me joy, but weekends, I’ll usually make some breakfast afterwards.
Pre & Probiotics – over the last year I found that I had dysbiosis, which is fancy for having random levels and overgrowth of bacteria in the stomach. We don’t really know why , but I’m willing to be it was all the different pro and prebiotic supplements I was taking. We’ve since fixed this, among other things (and has an incredible impact on my cyclical health), and now I am honestly terrified of taking pre/probiotic supplements. I would so much rather get this naturally – and I DO.
With my protein shake, with or after it doesn’t matter when. I prefer it as a nice morning snack. I have one heaping spoonful of coconut yogurt (I’m not a yogurt person, never have been, but I love Coconut Cult’s chocolate mousse flavor, and it’s naturally filled with those good probiotics) and a couple forkfuls of raw organic sauerkraut (I like the plain one, or the garlic dill – yum!).
After all of this is out of the way, I usually make my tea or coffee before I leave for work, or grab it on the way if I’m feeling lazy or naughty! I love an English Breakfast or Oolong tea in the morning with some maple syrup and homemade almond milk – iced or hot. Ugh, so satisfying and I feel much less guilty than I do when I drink coffee.
I think as a society, we all know deep down that coffee is not very good for us. It’s hard to admit; it’s delicious, and we love some caffeine to get us through the grind. I’m with you. But it also usually has mold from the processing, heavy metals, and pesticides. I think we also hate to admit that caffeine in general is not good for our bodies. I won’t go into this because it’ll take me too long, and I am also a lover of coffee so ignorance is bliss right?
After this, if there is time left in the morning, I like to take my tea or coffee and head out to the patio with whatever book I’m currently reading. Even in St.George, the morning weather is usually perfect. I LOVE when I have time in the AM to read, but it doesn’t always happen that way. I love mornings, but I have a hard time waking up early. Like damn, why is it so hard?!
If it’s a weekend morning that I don’t teach a yoga class, I will either join a yoga class, or practice in my yoga room. Typically after relaxing and reading for a few hours. I like to take my weekend mornings nice and easy.
Getting Ready for The Day
If you know me, than you know I’m not a very flashy or high-maintenance person. I rarely wear makeup, or do my hair, Therefore, my getting ready time is short. Usually just picking an outfit, brushing my hair, and putting it up in a clip or braid it. If I do choose to wear makeup, it takes about 10 minutes. I’ll go over this in another blog as well, with the products I prefer.
This is also the time I will pack my lunch or snacks for the day and gather all the things I need to take to work; water bottle, coffee/tea, glasses, phone, laptop bag, etc.
Harmony Gassho, Intention Setting, & Journaling
Usually in the process of getting my laptop bag, which lives in my office/yoga room, I will make time to set my morning intention and journal. I call this process Gassho, which is a Buddhist practice. Gassho looks different for every person, so don’t quote me on this, or think that the way I do it is wrong or right. This is just how I like to practice my Morning Gassho.
The morning Gassho is called the Harmony Gassho. This is a little honoring practice done in front of a rendering/statue of Buddha, a candle/incense, prayer beads, and a bell or sound bowl. I have a little setup in front of my yoga mirror of all these things.
Firstly, I find a seat on my meditation pillow that is before my worship set up. I turn the candle on (it’s an electric one; it is so much easier, quicker, and less messy this way). Then I hit the sound bowl 3 times, which calls in the practice/sets the tone.
Then I grab my prayer beads and wrap it around my hands. Prayer hands to my heart or forehead, deep breath in, and on the exhale, hum out in three syllables “har-mo-ny”. You want to feel the vibration in your chest.
Quick note on the “humming” or “chanting” of Harmony: Exhaling with vibration helps activate the vagus nerve, calm the body, and balance the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous systems. Great for digestion in particular. But it also helps to center and ground yourself, reduce anxiety, and so much more.
Then I will bow my head while choosing 3 intentions for the day; sometimes more, sometimes less. Always the first is “I am harmonious” because of the nature of the morning Gassho. Then I typically choose the next intentions based on what I know is in store for my day, what I want to cultivate for my day, or how I’m currently feeling.
If I know I have a particularly stressful day coming up, I might say “I am balanced” or “I am mindful” to remind myself to come back and center throughout the day.
If I slept badly, or maybe woke up not feeling well, I might cultivate “I am healthy” “I am pain-free”.
You get the jist.
To close my practice, I rise back up from my bow, and hum out “Namu Amida Buda” which roughly means “I take refuge in Amida Buddha” . The chant invokes the compassion and benevolence of Amida Buddha, seeking his guidance and protection. It is believed that calling upon Amida Buddha with sincerity can help purify the mind and lead one closer to enlightenment.
After my practice is closed, I journal those intentions, easy as that! I start by writing the date, and then my 3 or so intentions that I set for the day. Writing my intentions down, personally, helps me solidify and remember to invoke them throughout the day. After my intention writing, I close that out just as I did my Gassho, by writing “Namu Amida Buddha”.
If I have time, I will journal in a typical fashion following the close. About my plans for the day, how I’m feeling, what I did yesterday or how I felt, manifesting, etc. I always close any journal entry after that point, with “Namaste” – I bow to you. I honor you. There is nothing so important as honoring and showing gratitude for yourself. Just as you say Namaste to others as you close a yoga practice, so should you say Namaste to yourself. I recognize and honor the light within you. Within myself.
On that note, I will close out this blog in a similar fashion! That concludes my morning routine/ritual. Nothing too crazy or out of the ordinary, just some things that I have learned over my years of existence. I hope you also learned something and adjust your morning routine with anything from this blog that you liked! I’ll be back with a nighttime morning routine soon.
As always, with so much love and light,
Namaste ॐ
Leah