Early mornings are easily my most favourite, important and productive time of day. Honestly, nothing feels better than going to bed early, waking up with the rising sun feeling well rested and ready to start your day! Living in Costa Rica, I often wake up to the sound of the Howler Monkeys outside my window, some might say it sounds like jurassic park, I would say it sounds like heaven. But I totally get it, it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s like waking up in the East Coast of Australia (home for me) to the sound of crows and kookaburra’s laughing (which I still love), or rainbow lorikeets screeching in the wattle trees (don’t love so much). To anyone that hasn’t grown up accustomed to these sounds, it might be a cool experience, but to the locals, you’ll probably hear people screaming at the birds to “SHUT THE F**** UP” … to each their own. Of course living in Costa Rica there is also the very real chance that you wake up to the sting of a scorpion on your left boob, you just never know (yes I am speaking from personal experience).

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But it’s not only the sounds of nature that I love waking up to in the morning, it’s the knowing that today is a completely fresh start, and who’s to say it can’t be the best day of your life so far? That’s why I think it’s so important to start each morning off with a strong mindset, so having a morning routine where I try to do things that make me feel good and set me up for positive thinking, is exactly how I achieve this. I think for women in particular, we love to feel organised, structured and prepared, there is just something about a nourishing morning routine that our feminine energy really thrives off. Also as humans in general we tend to be creatures of habit, we love to create routine in our lives, perhaps seeking comfort in the repetition.

Of course, everybody leads such different lives and for some, a morning routine other than rolling out of bed and putting clothes on to run out the door just might not be feasible. Maybe a night time routine is more your jam, or if you’re like me, you love both. Maybe you’re someone that just never sticks to a routine or maybe you have kids which adds a whole other level of difficulty in finding ANY TIME for yourself, let alone in the mornings. Maybe the only days you are able to instil routine is on your days off, a slower paced morning where you don’t set an alarm, your body wakes up when it’s ready, you open your eyes and maybe set a positive intention for your day, a sankalpa as we say in yoga (the Sanskrit term for intention). It doesn’t have to be long or complicated, just a few words that sets the tone for a positive start to your day, “I am able to take time for myself each day”, “I’m grateful to be happy and healthy”, “I am worthy and successful”. The beauty of a quick sankalpa is, even on those busy mornings, we have the capacity to give ourselves 30 seconds before reaching for our phones or jumping out of bed, to set that intention. Maybe this is all the routine you need in order to start practicing mindfulness. If this is a new concept to you, challenge yourself by giving it a go, start by aiming for 7 days of not looking at your phone for the first 15 minutes of your day, and start your morning with setting an intention, a way that you would like to show up in the world each day.

After setting an intention, rather than reaching straight for my phone, I try getting some natural sun light before subjecting my eyes to the intense blue light. Going over to a bedroom window or just walking outside, giving our bodies the chance to slowly wake up with our natural rhythm is a small action that can have profound benefits. Particularly if you’re someone that works on your phone or a laptop/computer like I do, we spend much of our day staring at a screen anyway, the least we could do is give ourselves the morning to connect to our own being before checking in with the rest of the world through social media. If your eyes get easily strained like mine, and after an hour or so you start to get a headache or find it hard to focus, you could consider investing in a pair of blue light blocking glasses. I will leave an affiliate link below for my favourite pair of blue light blocking glasses, I genuinely love working in these because, well, I look cute when I wear them, but also they really do make a difference to reducing my eye strain and headaches, I’d recommend doing a quick google search if you’re not sure about what all this blue light talk is about!

(Blue light blocking glasses: https://amzn.to/3wslK0O).

In today’s society it seems to be the norm to wake up and check your phone straight away, is it an absolutely terrible thing to do? No, at the end of the day, you do whatever feels best for YOU! All I know is, if I give myself the first 30 minutes of waking up to look at some natural light, stay in bed with my partner, get myself a glass of water, do some gentle stretching, whatever it is I do when I wake up, instead of opening my eyes and immediately checking my messages and then suddenly scrolling through instagram? I start my day feeling much more productive and motivated, stronger in my mind and less groggy, so I think it’s worth sharing!

My morning brew, enjoying a hot drink is just, ugh, there are no words. Honestly when I’m going to sleep at night I’m already anticipating waking up early to make myself a cacao, or to go and get my favourite coffee the next morning, seriously… I. CAN’T. WAIT. Surely I’m not the only one? These days, I try to limit my coffee intake where I can, so more often than not I’ll make myself a cacao (you can find my creamy energising cacao recipe in my “Ceremonial Cacao” blog), or I also love a good coconut matcha latte too! Even living in high humidity, 35 degrees celsius + most days, I’m still a warm drink gal in the morning, it has to be a special occasion for me to switch to an iced brew!

As a Libra girl, I also love aesthetically pleasing spaces, it helps me to think clearer when I have a fresh, clean and tidy area. So in the morning, I love to make my bed as soon as I get up, I light a nice candle or sage or palo santo, play some relaxing lo-fi beats on youtube and sit and drink my brew, my partner and I love to do this together, before he heads off to work, I think it’s also a really nice moment to share with your partner or a loved one, taking the first moments of your day to cultivate connection. Maybe while I’m here or after my partner leaves the house I’ll grab my journal or diary and start to plan my day, give myself some goals to encourage productivity or motivation, or sometimes I’ll just write down some thoughts & affirmations, it completely depends on the day. By now if I haven’t already I will be checking my emails and messages on my phone (surely passed the 30 minutes of being awake by now).

As a yoga student and teacher, I am a lover of movement, and morning movement will always be a priority for me. Exercise in the morning, anything from gentle movement to slowly awaken the body, to pilates, or a stronger power yoga flow or cardio workout (often depends where I am in my cycle), it has to be one of the most nourishing and motivating activities I can do for both my physical and mental body. After all, movement is medicine and the strength and discipline it provides is second to none. As I have just recently moved from Australia to Costa Rica, I don’t yet have a local gym to attend, so most of my workouts or yoga are done at home (when I’m not teaching). Whilst I love having a home practice, it definitely isn’t the same as going to a yoga studio or a gym. Just the energy of having others around, or a teacher guiding the flow and encouraging you to push your limits, it always just makes me go a little bit harder. But I have to say, I am really enjoying the journey of finding that discipline and consistency in my home practice. I don’t think I’m alone in saying this, it’s always a little harder working out alone or at home, our minds love to give us a list of reasons as to why we shouldn’t get on our mats today or how to procrastinate with a bunch of other tasks. Soon I will be releasing a little guide on how I keep my practice as consistent as possible, ideal for the travellers/nomads or anyone wanting some tips on finding and maintaining that discipline.

From the moment I wake up in the morning, awakening all of my senses with the smells of sage or candles, creating the atmosphere by having a clean or cosy space, the warming ritual of a drink and moving my body, setting an intention for my day. All of these small actions really help me to ground into myself, connecting the mind and body to start the day with a strong foundation. Practicing gratitude and being mindful of the breath are beautiful ways to bring yourself into the present moment. These mindful practices I’ve shared that I use to start my day whenever I can, really help me to come into the present moment and check in with myself, something most of us don’t do often enough, before heading out into the big wide world. Since moving overseas, it has become even more important to me as my environment and all my regular comforts have changed. Although life is unpredictable and at times it can be challenging to find this time, my mind and body are always grateful for putting myself first, whether I have time to do one of those things or all of those things. Let me know in the comments what kind of morning rituals you have for yourself or how you like to start your day!

Love D’Arcy Simone xx