Lifestyle: Healthy morning rituals
You have hit the snooze button about three or four times now, with dreary eyes and a tired body you have managed to get yourself out of bed, dressed and out the door. However, there comes a time, when being fashionably late is not attractive anymore and the saggy dark bags under your eyes camouflaged in concealer can ruin your professional impression at work.
Night time routines are usually given more importance, but how wisely one spends their mornings is equally important for a healthy body and mind.
How do you feel every morning after waking up? Are you excited for what awaits? Or are you willing to hide away under your blanket shutting it all out? If your answer was the latter, then there are some tweaks you could do to your morning routines to let go of all that stress, be more productive and make your body thank you.
ABANDON YOUR ALARM
You read that right! Waking up to a harsh ring can ruin ones sleep pattern and throw the body off its natural rhythm resulting in tiredness and fatigue even after a full nights rest. However, this takes time to adapt to but with constant practice on the weekends of waking up with the sun can eventually make it a habit, and you can get rid of your alarm for good.
TICK OF TASKS
Even the smallest of tasks can help one kick start their day, even something as menial as making the bed. Start off by making your bed before leaving the house, or other small chores such as cleaning your desk or organising your shelf, this helps you get in motion, which stays all day long and helps you accomplish bigger tasks of the day faster and more efficiently.
FLEX YOUR MUSCLES
Give your muscles some flexibility by stretching every morning, be it for 5 minutes or 15. Find movements that resonate with your body and with time you will notice how the body feels relaxed and let's go of the tiredness it accumulates right after waking up.
When there is more time to spare, do some sun salutation, ergo yoga. This helps improve the posture, eases muscle pain and increases blood flow. Although this involves less stretching but has similar benefits. A few minutes of morning meditation can help increase focus and drop stress levels.
HARDEST FIRST
In a day of 24-hours, numerous tasks are thrown our way, out of which some small, while some overwhelmingly tough. Mornings are when our brains are at their best so start off by tackling the latter type first thing in the morning. This decreases procrastination, and reduces workload - now that is something to look forward to!
CREATE YOUR OWN PLAYLIST
Music has a certain effect on our minds. Just like how soft music can help one fall asleep, upbeat music can help us liven up. Customise your playlist according to your days.
For a long day packed with work opt for upbeat loud music, preferably with lots of beats to help you get in gear and wake you up. For a stressful day opt for a soothing music to calm your senses and help you stay relaxed all day long.
So if you are feeling drowsy on your way to work or school plug in your earphones and turn on your favourite music to help you wake up, be productive, and to achieve the right mindset.
JOURNALISE
Waking up with the idea of having to accomplish a hundred tasks can make one lose hope. In order to get back on your feet, start taking notes. Make a checklist of everything you would need to finish by the end of the day, from grocery shopping to important meetings, starting with the most important one. This gives it a routine and structure. So now you know what to do first thing in the morning without having to lose it.
THIS OLD TRADITION!
Having lemon water every morning is something we all saw growing up, and our mothers and have never failed to embed upon us its importance. That is because this one step in the morning can not only hydrate the body but help in numerous other ways such as eliminating toxins, increasing enzyme production, and tones more which in turn helps the body stay replenished for the rest of the day. Think of it as a lubricant for your car.
Last of all, give thanks, be grateful, take some time to sit down and think of all the good things, send a friendly email, a text to an old friend or family, take time to see the trees and start your day on a positive note. But remember, whatever routine one might choose to follow, they must stick with it and make it a habit, only then can you see results.
By Anisha Hassan
Photo: Collected