Zero Fluff Morning Routine

For busy humans...

Getting a strong start in the morning is essential to a productive day. With so many stimulants begging for our attention first thing, it's easy to get sidetracked, irritated or just remain foggy. This is a list of my essential hacks to start the day.

1. Don't check your email, Facebook or instagram for at least 30 minutes. (Longer if you can).

Overstated, but a habit we are quick to default when we are not thinking. Instead, I use my phone to listen to listen to a podcast! Find a topic you like and start listening to experts talk about it. There's a podcast for almost anything. I typically listen to the news/business podcasts on days I work. On my days off I listen to topics and areas of study I'm interested in. If you have the time to read, I recommend reading for 10 minutes in the morning to get your brain juices flowing.

2. Tongue Scrape. Optimize oral hygiene and prevent tooth decay.

A simple addition to your daily brushing routine. Tongue scraping is an old Ayruvedic practice that has made a comeback. You can now find these inexpensive tools at health foods stores and even Walgreens in many cases. I recommend a stainless steel version, and gently scraping the surface of your tongue 5-8 times morning and night.

Benefits of tongue scraping: Remove old cells, debris and bacteria cleaning the mouth more thoroughly.

Lessen chances of tooth decay and bad breath.

Improve taste.

Improve appearance of your tongue.

3. Ice facial.

If you're not a morning person (like me) and suffer from tired eyes, this will remove all that brain fog. I take a bowl of water and put in 10-20 ice cubes while I get step four of my morning routine ready. Then I dunk my face in the bowl for 10 second increments (shorter or longer is fine) but aim to get about a minute of dunk time. Towel off and ta-dah!

Benefits: Similar to expensive cryotherapy facials you can get at spas, cold increases blood flow and collagen to the skin. It reduces pigmentation from acne, sun damage and even dark circles. It also reduces the size of your pores and give your skin have a supple glow. I have had many men reach out after I started posting this and they are very impressed with the results and ease of this routine.

4. Skip the coffee first thing, drink warm water with organic lemon juice instead.

Warm water with lemon has many benefits. Similar to coffee it helps regulate digestion and gets your BMs (bowel movement) going, it boosts metabolism, maintains the pH of your body, replenishes electrolytes and cleanses the liver. Lemon water is anti-inflammatory so its the perfect addition to a routine if you have an autoimmune disorder (I started this after I found out I had Hashimotos Thyroiditis). It also reduces bloat, fatigue and inflammation for me. Check out the recipe for my Simple Gut Healing Tonic.

If after all that you still want a cup of coffee, enjoy an organic bean. My favorite is Bulletproof which is now found at Whole Foods + Amazon! The reason I love it: It is grown and processed at high altitudes to reduce mold (that occurs naturally when processing coffee). Then, it is third party tested for mold and toxins. You don't have to make it the "Bulletproof" way but its very tasty if you want to try it out.

I used to be an avid coffee drinker but I noticed that it fatigues my adrenals and causes me to feel funky. I rotate coffee and tea. Three days tea, one day coffee and so on, trying to avoid having coffee two days in a row. The ice facials have made this possible.

5. Set your daily intentions.

Hopefully at this point you still haven't checked your phone. Now it is time to list the top things that will make you feel accomplished when you put your head down on the pillow tonight. Make your list small (3 items, sometimes less) so you don't overwhelm yourself. It is important to create integrity with yourself and do what you say you're going to do.

Often the person we have the least amount of integrity with is ourself.

How many times have you said I'm going to go to the gym today, I'm going to meditate, eat healthy, take my dog to the park, read, journal etc. Start small and be genuine with yourself. You will over time create momentum and get more things done.

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Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself.

- Rumi