How many late nights and groggy mornings does it take for us to feel crappy? For me, only one. As our youth slowly fades and our quarter life crises (also slowly) end, we approach a chapter somewhere in between always feeling tired and compelled to discover our best selves. Nevertheless, our habits are often what make or break us when trying to defeat exhaustion. The common routine of staying up late and rushing when we wake is a hard habit to break. And so, as habits go, we become accustomed to our patterns, continuing to push, promising that "tomorrow we will do better."
Imagine waking up to the natural feel of your rested body, instead of the dreadful sound of your alarm. Envision feeling refreshed throughout your day, your routine guided by the cycles of the sun (waking, moving, eating, working, resting when the earth does). Sound dreamy?
Most of us are unaware of our body's innate craving to function in sync with the earth's natural circadian rhythms. In other words, most of us function by the flashing settings on our phones, not by the earth's natural moving clock. In the world of wellness, this is known as Ayurveda.
When we connect our bodies and minds to align with nature's schedule (the circadian cycles of morning, midday, and evening), we become more balanced and mindful; physically, emotionally, and spiritually (details about the practice of Ayurveda on next week's post @ www.natashawellness.com/blog).
Back to feeling crappy. How many times do we vow to change before we actually do make a change? "Tomorrow we will do better." If you've said this to yourself before, you are not alone. The good news is you can break the cycle! The even better news is that you can start to improve your energy and motivation TODAY through simple, yet powerful exercises, beginning with your morning routine.
To jump start your morning, try following this practice:
Wake up before sunrise (Vata time). And go to bed earlier. Waking up past 6am makes it harder to wake up (as Kapha increases)
Stretch in bed to wake up your body
Scrape your tongue with a copper tongue scraper (separate blog post on reading tongue)
Rub your body with your hands from head to toe to wake up your cells. You can use a dry brush if you have a lot of ama or silk gloves (http://www.azulfit.com/dry-brushing-daily-ayurvedic-self-care-for-glowing-skin/)
Flush your system out with 1-1.5 liters of water. If you're nauseous in the morning, you can use tea water--add lemon or lime to alkalize. CHUG, don't sip. The purpose is to flush and eliminate.
Move for 20 minutes (walk, yoga, stretch, workout). Let your body move and wake up before you sit down in front of a screen.
Eliminate. Drinking water and moving your body will both help this process. The goal is to remove all waste, all the way from your transverse and descending colon--that's 18 inches of waste! You'll feel like a badass b.
Don't check email right when you wake up. Try to leave your phone and computer alone until after your routine. You'll a notice a huge difference and feel prepared for the day if you do this.
Reflect on how you can incorporate this practice into your morning routine. Maybe you don't have time for all of these steps in the morning, and that's ok. Try one step at a time, one day at at time if you need to. Start by finding what works best for you and your schedule and what fits best for your body. It's all about EXPERIMENTING! Have fun with it!
For more fun (and more tips) join me for yoga and smoothies at my Bend & Blend workshop on 8/26/17 from 2-4PM. Details @ https://www.natashawellness.com/bend-blend.