By This past week, I was finishing a workout with my trainer, and he told me that I am not getting enough steps in daily. He said 10,000 was the minimum I should be aiming for. Of course, my response was, “who has time for 10,000 steps a day?!” He laughed, then asked me about my morning routine. I told him, and he asked if I could get up an hour earlier and walk in the mornings. I told him I’d think about it but ultimately decided that was a hard NO! Here is why.
I have never been a morning person for as long as I can remember. Mornings always stressed me out. Waking up to an unnatural jolting noise, rushing to shower, get dressed, get my son ready, walk the dog, feed all three of us, and get out of the door for work and school on time was awful. It felt like I never had a moment to breathe from the second my feet hit the ground. I vowed that at some point in my life, I would change the way my days started.
Since my son now lives with his Dad full-time, I have been able to cultivate a morning routine that I unapologetically refuse to waiver from. I call them soft mornings, and they look like this.
1 – No alarm clock. My body naturally wakes up between 6 am, and 6:30 am. I usually lay in bed and fall back into a light sleep until after 7 am.
2 – When I finally rise, I do some light stretching to get my body moving.
3 – Next, I meditate for 20 minutes. Earlier this year, I fulfilled a long-time dream to learn the practice of Transcendental Meditation. It is a super simple practice, but it grounds me for my day.
4 – I take a nice shower. It isn’t terribly long; however, I don’t rush through it like I used to. I take my time, use beautiful cleansers and treat myself.
5 – I take a morning walk with my dog. Again, it is not terribly long. Somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes. But it gives me an opportunity to be outside and enjoy my neighborhood and nature before I start my day.
6 – Coffee. Enough said!
7 – I don’t start work until 10:30 am. No meetings unless Oprah is calling. No returning emails (most days). Nothing.
I encourage you to find ways to protect your morning and allow a soft entry into your day. Even if you are still tethered to a 9-5, there are ways that you can still have a soft morning. I’d love to hear what you come up with that works for you. You deserve it, sis!
What do you think?