My morning struggles

As I talked about last week, I do my best to take advantage of the lovely calm and creative energy each morning to ensure that I start the day off on the right foot. I have also mentioned that I am continuing to refine my daily practices so that I am always moving towards greater health. With that in mind, I thought I would also share where my work lies with regards to optimizing my morning routine.

If you know me or have read my blog posts, then you probably know that I have had a love/hate relationship with Dr. Pepper for years now. Even though I am very aware of how unhealthy sugary sodas are, Dr. Pepper has been my go to any time that I am stressed, exhausted, or need a little pick me up. This has become such a habit, that for years I reached for it every morning without thinking about it. I no longer made a decision whether or not to drink the soda, I sought it out instinctively. While this hit of caffeine and sugar is emotionally soothing, it leaves me jittery, negatively affects my morning mindfulness practice, and leaves me feeling guilty and embarrassed (I mean, I definitely know better!). My growing edge with my morning practices is therefore to kick this habit once and for all.

Since I have done a lot of study into habit formation and changes, I know that the key is to begin by envisioning myself as someone who only drinks water and herbal tea (And the occasional glass of wine, let's not get too crazy!). In order to change our habits, we must change our perception of ourselves. As long as I believe that I am someone who needs Dr. Pepper to get through the day, I will not be able to go through my day without it. Next I am starting with small habit changes in the right direction. For example, I am currently working on drinking unsweetened tea instead of my morning Dr. Pepper. Once I no longer instinctively reach for a soda, then I will begin to switch to drinking only water or herbal tea. Changing habits is hard. It takes persistent and gradual work towards the end goal.

In what ways do your mornings need some work?

My Morning Routines

A few weeks back, I wrote about how I got started on my journey to healthy living and feeling great in my body. You can click the link HERE to read all about what got me started. As I mention in that post, I expect this to be a lifelong journey. One that I continue to tweak and refine as the years go by. So with that in mind, I thought I would spend a few posts talking about what my day looks like right now, what practices I currently do, and what practices I am trying to incorporate.

The early morning is such a special time of day. It has an atmosphere of clarity, calm, and focus. In order to take advantage of these qualities and to start my day off on the right foot, I try not to rush through my mornings and there are a few key habits I regularly do.

1. When I wake up, I always brush my teeth, scrape my tongue, and oil my gums.
2. Next, I do something to move my body (running, yoga, Insanity :-), and walking are my favorites!) and breathe deeply because getting my prana (life force or breath) moving first thing ensures that I start the day feeling refreshed and energized.
3. I also drink a bunch of water.  After fasting all night, my body is dehydrated so it is important to begin hydrating first thing. Drinking water in the morning also kick starts the process of elimination, if you catch my drift.
4. I always aim to eat a nutritious breakfast. I love fruit and nut butter smoothies and any breakfast recipe from Deliciously Ella (check our her website for awesome recipes, www.deliciouslyella.com). 5. Finally, I try to spend anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes, just relaxing without electronics. I take this time to plan my day, take a few really deep breaths, meditate, or spend a few moments with my husband. Sometimes I even go for a walk. Ensuring that my morning is not rushed means that the rest of my day will feel less hurried.

So all of that probably sounds like a lot, but in a crunch, I can get all of it in within about 30 minutes. I just shorten each step a bit. If I miss any of the above practices, I definitely notice that the rest of day seems more stressful and anxiety filled.

How do you start your day?

Ingredients for a delicious breakfast!

Sleep Great Every Night!

Did you miss the free talk I gave last week? We talked about how to develop a pre-sleep routine that involves relaxing non-work, non-computer/phone/TV activities so that when your head hits the pillow you are truly ready for sleep. Incorporating simple practices like these into your evening routine will allow you to wake up feeling rested and ready to face the day ahead! Those that were able to attend are reporting back that they are sleeping better than ever!

Now I bet you wish that you had been able to make it, right?! Well, you are in luck. I gave a similar talk last year and it was recorded! Click HERE to access that recording and then contact me (beth@bethmarek.com). I want to answer any questions that you have so that you too sleep well every night!

Stress Management Practice #3: Be Grateful

“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” Marianne Williamson

My final stress management suggestion is to incorporate a daily gratitude practice. I often find myself dwelling on everything that is going wrong in my life, especially when I am overwhelmed. In these times, I find it really hard to look for the good in my life and to be grateful for all that I have. I would therefore like to encourage you to develop a gratitude practice. There are many ways to do this (just google “gratitude practice” for other ideas), but my favorite is to keep a gratitude journal. Every night before going to sleep write down three things from the day that you are grateful for. For example, today I am grateful for an awesome yoga class, my sweet cats that love to snuggle, and my laptop that makes it so easy to get work done anywhere! This doesn’t have to be some deep, spiritual type journal (unless that makes you happy). It is simply a way to ensure we are regularly recognizing how many good things we really do have in our lives.

Click HERE to download a pretty and simple way to record what you are thankful for. Print out as many copies as you like. If you don’t have time to write these things down, don’t worry, just take a moment to reflect on three things you are grateful for that day or even share it with your partner, friend, or a family member. You will be amazed at how much smaller your worries get when you take the time to be truly thankful for all of the good things in your life.

Let me know how it goes! 

Stress Management Practice #2: Breathe!

The second stress management practice is a short breathing and meditation practice that absolutely saved me when I worked in the high stress corporate world. This super simple practice can be done at night to help you relax before bedtime, if you find yourself lying awake at night unable to sleep, or anytime during your day that you need clarity and calm. I have even done it standing in line at the grocery store!

Click HERE to download the 5 minute how to video. Once you get the hang of it, do this practice often, even if you only have a minute. It is so powerful!

Let me know how it goes!

Stress Management Practice #1: Get Upside Down!

Look, I get it, you are dying to have more energy, get more sleep, and/or lose weight but you are so stressed out and overwhelmed that starting a new diet, exercise plan, or even getting 30 minutes more sleep seems totally impossible. And I know that some days you feel like you are absolutely drowning in to-dos, conflicts, and obligations and you just don’t have any time for yourself. Therefore, to help you get your head above water, I have three stress reducing practices to offer you. And because you are so busy, each one can be done in less than 1 minute.

Your first stress management practice is a simple yoga pose called legs up the wall pose. Legs up the wall pose, or viparita karani for you yogis out there, is an amazing pose that re-establishes a sense of balance and promotes a feeling of calm and well-being because it allows the lymph and blood from your legs to flow with gravity towards your head and heart. This is especially beneficial if you have tired and/or swollen legs resulting from prolonged sitting, standing, or travel. This gentle inversion (the legs are above the heart and head) can help bring relief for a headache, energize your tired body, or relax your mind to encourage sleep and rest. And don’t worry, you don’t have to know anything about yoga or even be flexible to do this pose.

Click HERE to download the 1 minute how to video. Once you get the hang of it, practice this pose whenever you need to rest. Stay for as little or as long as you can. 

Let me know how it goes!

I have a confession...

I have a confession to make… I still get stressed out and overwhelmed from time to time. Now, you may be thinking, Beth quit her stressful job last year and now teaches yoga and helps people restructure their lives to better manage their stress, sleep, and energy, so how come she still gets overwhelmed.

Here’s the thing, we can change jobs, avoid anxiety inducing situations or people, practice yoga, etc. but we still live in a fast paced world where things just don’t always go as planned. And my life is no exception. So while stressful situations are inevitable, handling them poorly is not. Therefore, I have several go-to practices that I count on to help me get through the tough days with greater ease.

I am excited to share three of these practices with you. So check back next Friday for your first stress management practice or send me an email (just put "I am Stressed!" in the subject line) and get it even sooner (beth at bethmarek.com)!