Do you have a morning ritual, or a morning routine? You know, the set of actions that you perform in a sequence in order to get ready for the day?
If you don’t, you should. This is one of the habits of highly successful people. People who have a well-designed morning ritual are said to be 30% more productive than those whose morning routine is limited to checking their smart phones before even brushing teeth, taking a quick shower, grabbing a cup of coffee, and running out of the door.
How you feel, how you look, how much energy you have during the day, how productive you are (hence, how much money you make), how content you are with your life, and just about everything else – it all starts with your morning ritual.
Orderly habits like that improve your self-control in the long run by triggering automatic mental processes that don’t require much energy – and success, ultimately, is all about self-discipline.
Of course, each one of you, Home Healers, will have your own individually-designed morning ritual that fits the ecology of your life. Let’s make sure, however, that you include the most important fundamentals in it (and your Healing FUSION tools :-)).
Here are the 8 Key Points of a well-designed morning ritual.
- ACTION A. This is the first thing you do after waking up. The one that sets the tone for the rest of the day – and triggers the “domino effect” of the following actions in the sequence of your morning ritual.
Action A can be anything, but usually quick and easy – and colored with positive emotions. Personally, I like to “count my blessings”, so to speak. For ten breaths, I think of three specific things I am grateful for. It gives me a positive focus and invariably brings a smile on my face, and is there a better way to greet a new day than with a smile?
- WATER. It is one of the most crucial parts of your morning ritual. When you first wake up, your body is VERY thirsty. Japanese scientists recommend drinking at least 4 full glasses (better a liter) of pure water first thing in the morning arguing that it prevents and even reverses many common disorders and slows down the aging process. I keep a 1-liter jar of water on my nightstand and drink it first thing in the morning, right after I jump out of bed.
- SHOWER. It helps to get your blood circulation going and mobilizes your joints, especially if it is a contrast “hot-cold” shower. The contrast shower also boosts your immunity, and you will be well protected against seasonal colds or even flu.
What if, however, you do not like to take a shower in the morning and prefer it to be a part of your evening routine (it actually makes sense to take shower in the evening, because this way you let the running water take away all energetic and informational junk you accumulate during the day)? Then a great solution for you would be a dry skin brush, which has an additional benefit of stimulating the lymphatic circulation and having an anti-cellulite effect.
Actually, dry skin brushing is good anyway, regardless of whether you take a shower or not. It’s been a part of my morning ritual for quite a while, and once you feel its invigorating effect, it will become a part of yours too.
(BTW, I also do a self-administered “slap massage”, especially to the face and neck. It is great for face rejuvenation, waking up the thyroid, relaxing tight muscles, and improving lymphatic circulation. This technique is not well known in the West though, that is why I am not recommending it for your routine, but I thought I would mention it as an option.)
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STRETCHES. Everyone agrees that your body that was hypoactive for 6-8 hours during your sleep needs some physical activity to get back in shape. The problem is, however, that we either don’t have time for it in the morning or we just plain can’t make ourselves do it… Your solution: stretches!
Remember how cats and dogs stretch after a nap (or what you yourself used to do when you were young and a good night sleep was a given)? And the pleasure you used to get from it? Do just that! And additionally, do some stretches designed to empower your body.
There are many types of stretching exercises, and they are all good. I would, however, recommend looking at a specific one – the Makko Ho meridian stretches developed by Japanese Zen Shiastsu master Shizuto Masunaga.
Makko Ho stretches are quick (only six poses that you can complete under 10 min), very gentle, adjustable to any body type and skill level, and they work on opening all of the major meridians in the body getting your energy system ready to meet the challenges of the day.
Don’t be fooled by Makko Ho stretches seeming simplicity though – if done right, they are not so easy to do. On the playlist below there are three videos showing the Makko Ho stretches for different skill levels (can you imagine being like a guy on the last video? :-)). Select the level suitable for you – and follow along! I guarantee, you will like the effect.
Another GREAT morning exercise (even though not exactly a stretching one) is known as the “5 Tibetan Rites”. Peter Kelder, who learned it from Tibetan monks and brought to the West, first introduced it in his book “The Fountain of Youth”. The exercise is said to improve and speed up the spinning of energy vortexes of chakras, and it provides you with vigor and energy for many hours. Here is how you do it.
- JIN JI DU LI exercise. Remember the ‘Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg’ TCM practice for preventing aging and dementia that is also known as a “Wake Up Call for the Unhealthy” and that I introduced you to some time ago (see http://healthboss.org/exercise-to-prevent-aging/)?
When practiced regularly, this exercise synchronizes the working of internal organs and restores the balance in your body. It is well worth 1-2 min. of your time.
- The Healing FUSION. You do not have much time for our beloved gadgets in the morning, but, if you have the QLaser, we suggest waving it all over your body for one 3 min. cycle to bring coherence into your energy field and strengthen it.
If you have the 808 Enhancer, use it for the same purpose, in somewhat “figure 8” motion.
If you have more than 3 min., charge the Heart Chakra on Mode 2.
If you only have a SCENAR/COSMODIC device, quickly run the Cross Points (Third Eye – Tailbone, Thymus – C7). Even 1 min. on each point will balance the body well, wake up the Immune system, and give a boost to the Parasympathetic Nervous system, which is important in stress prevention.
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BREAKFAST. Well, we all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and has to be healthy and nutritious. Unfortunately, we do not always have time to make it such and settle for a bowl of cold cereal or a microwave-something. Br-r-r… Do you really expect your body to function on THAT fuel?
My suggestion for Home Healers: invest in a good blender (like Vitamix, for example) and make yourself a good smoothie (or a “green drink”).
Here is what I put in mine: half a lemon, half a lime, an apple, a piece of papaya (with seeds), half a banana, small avocado, kale, swiss chard, spinach, cucumber, parsley, cilantro, seasonal berries, bee pollen, chlorella, spirulina, moringa olifera, chia seeds, and whey powder (I like One World Whey).
Ingredients may vary depending on availability of components.
Despite the scary green color, this drink actually tastes pretty good. You can share it with people you care about – or leave half in a fridge for next morning (in a glass jar, please, no plastic). It will provide your body with nutrition it needs during the day.
This way you can even eat your favorite cold cereal or the dead microwaved food (or “nuked” food, as some of our Home Healers call it) imagining that you are actually eating breakfast 🙂
It is better, of course, to avoid sugar and other carbs, dairy, and gluten in your morning meal.
- “I LOVE YOU.” Do not forget to say it to your loved ones every morning. You just never know…
These are eight fundamentals that, in our opinion, need to be included in any morning ritual. The order does not matter, as long as you follow the same routine every morning.
Even with all eight Key Points, the whole process should not take you more than 1 hour.
You also do not have to start all eight at the same time. You may begin with just one or two and, when they become habitual and almost automatic, start adding the other components (from the list above – and your own ones).
For your first ones, choose the actions that are the most pleasant and the easiest for you (I would strongly suggest to get used to your morning water ASAP though – it made a BIG difference for me, when I first started.)
I hope, you will find my recommendations helpful and worth implementing – and that your productivity and your success will grow along with perfecting your morning ritual 🙂
Many Good Mornings to you, Home Healers!
Dr. Irina
P.S. Many productivity experts suggest including daily Goal Setting in the morning ritual. Even though I agree that it is a vital thing to do, if you want to be efficient and productive, I view a morning routine as a sequence of almost automatic actions that you perform without much thinking.
Goal setting, on the other hand, requires quite a bit of thinking. That’s why I am not including it in the 8 Fundamentals of Your Morning Ritual, but that is not to say that I do not suggest doing it first thing in the morning. Quite in opposite, in fact.
You can turn on your thinking process and formulate your daily goals and objectives at any point during your morning ritual. You can wake up in the morning and think of just ONE THING that you want to accomplish during the day to make it successful. Or you can formulate your goals in a shower (I often do that). Or like Steve Jobs, look in the mirror and ask yourself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”
Just go and do your very best.
P.P.S. Alternatively, as per Mark Twain, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” 🙂
