Morning Routines
“When you arise in the morning think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive; to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
There is something to be said for those who rise early and greet the day through a series of intentional movements and moments. I have heard many times of the power in setting morning routines. And of course we've all heard the wisdom, "the early bird gets the worm", but what prepared that bird in the morning?
I asked four friends to share their morning routine with me, they are all into similar health practices but they each have their own way of beginning their morning in a meaningful and life-giving way.
The Infamous Regotti Routine:
- Wake up at pre designated time, and I mean like right when the alarm goes off, get out of bed before you can even think- like as if you were late to your own wedding, even rubbing your eyes is to long of a moment
- Then make the bed, this is easy for me since all I do is flatten every pillow and sheets and flying squirrel style put my one blanket on the bed then fold the other blanket.
- Do basic hygiene, by now the lazy feeling you had in bed is gone and now you can say, "fuckkk this"
- Then I go to the gym, mine is 10min drive away so I listen to public radio...music is for the gym
- Get back home and immediately have a brotein shake and then shower
- Lastly I pour a cup of coffee, black, as I frantically look for my keys that somehow disappeared when I got back from the gym, then to wherever the wind takes me
*Paul's jumping out of bed routine was his own idea and shared it was the only we he could talk himself out of staying in bed, he also incorporates The Daily Stoic into his morning whenever he has the chance.
The Lancaster Morning Ritual:
- Wim hit (aka Wim Hof routine)
- Gymnastic bodies stretch routine (from Coach Simmers)
- Bulletproof coffee with my mushies (aka Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee)
- Bible scripture (NKJ version reading through the book of Psalms)
- Stoic (aka The Daily Stoic daily contemplations)
- Ab workout if motivated (from Athlean X by Jeff Cavaliere)
- Breakfast: 3 eggs over easy with green peppers, mushies, jalapeños, diced ham, and onions over a bed of raw Spinach because keto
*Joe came up with his breakfast recipe from researching the keto diet and combining that knowledge with what food is available at his chow hall. He also recommends the panda planner
Gabriel's Daily Routine
- Wake up at 0430 and make my bed. There is a great book by William McRaven called Make your Bed and explains the benefit of doing so first thing in the morning.
- Stretch for 10 to 15 minutes with a max set up of pushups, some sort of abs and a neck exercise for Jiu Jitsu.
- Write in my 5 Minute Journal, review my daily planner for the projects and tasks that need to completed that day and read The Daily Stoic.
- Shave and either go to the gym, run or swim by 0530
- I also make sure to drink at least 32 ounces of water.
(All done within one hour. Sometimes it will vary depending on how I am feeling or if I have some other things going on, but for the majority of my mornings, this is what I do)
*His stretches include yoga poses and are based on what his body needs that morning and he practices Wim Hof breathing during his stretching. He is also a coffee drinker but usually makes it after his routine. Gabriel drinks 32 ounces of water in the first 20 minutes of waking up after hearing about the importance of consuming 20 grams of protein and 20 ounces of water in the first 20minutes of waking up to get your body going for the day and give it what it needs.
Juan's Meditative Morning Ritual
- Wake up, open blinds and hit the restroom
- Prepare my ingredients and brew my coffee
- Get that early morning light exposure and stretch in whichever way feels natural that given day
- Coffee, ninja, bulletproof (I've recently been including a page of The Daily Stoic while I drink my coffee)
- Breathe, absorb, and just Wim Hof on through
- Focus on my breathing and try to meditate as I am packing for work
*He uses the ninja to blend his bulletproof adding his brewed coffee, butter, cacao butter, coconut oil, MCT Oil, Heavy cream, shrooms, but sometimes he just drinks it straight black too. And by 'absorb' he means taking in that present existence and getting in the right mindset; a form of meditating to set the tone for the day.
DJ and I have already begun to establish some new morning routines. For morning's now we wake up and run around the block and then take a cold shower while doing Wim Hof breathing. Then DJ makes us bulletproof coffee while I make us a smoothie and then I read The Daily Stoic on our drive to DJ's class. I also of course, read my A Year With Hafiz poem of the day, but I definitely want to add journaling into the mix. So far we've only been able to achieve this whole routine once but we still pick up parts of it throughout the week.
I hope this was as inspiring for you as this was for me! Morning routines are great, but for me it's hard to do the same thing every morning. Just knowing different parts of my friends routine's is helpful for me to always have an idea of how to begin my morning with intention. Feel free to share your morning routine below!
