When it comes to taking time for yourself do you hear yourself say, I’ll do it after (insert chore), or when (insert someone else) is settled. I’ll take time for me when they go off to college. Or worse, the dreaded, “I’m fine.” response. “I’m fine. Really. I’ll get to it later.” “I don’t really need it, I have too much to do right now?”

Yeah. I said that too for a long time.

Then I started to have pain in my shoulders, plantar fasciitis, headaches, anxiety, surprising anger, tension in my body and all sorts of other little things that started to build and wouldn’t go away.

Discovering the power of the morning routine put an end to all of that and brought back balance and happiness.

How you got so disconnected from your Well Being and Self-Care

Now I know you are busy. We are all busy, but did you know that 1% of your time is only 15 minutes a day?  Technically it’s only 14.4 minutes but let’s make it a quarter of an hour.  

If you’re anything like me, you might have been raised and conditioned to be a “helper”-  you were praised for it, given love and affection for cleaning up, cooking, taking care of younger siblings. And/or you were simply tasked to help out, no choice, no questions asked. I know I was. It might have made you feel empowered, special, and mature at one point to be able to stand up and help. I know I liked those feelings; they gave me purpose.

But no one ever told me it was alright to turn it off, to take a break and take some time for myself. And now I’m exhausted. Or I was before the morning routine.  

Reclaim yourself with 1% of your day

The good news is that the exhaustion, chaos and overwhelm is fixable. Even if you feel you have “no time.” Trust me, you can rework your life to give yourself the first 15 minutes of your day. It is a game changer and will have you feeling amazing in no time.  

And for those struggling with the mindset of ‘selfish’ – look. On a plane they tell you to put your own mask on first, before helping others. All the books about growing prosperity tell you to put aside 10% of your earning for yourself as in FIRST before you pay all your bills because that allows you to build a reserve for the future – its even touted as a pillar of financial health. And there are other examples, but the point is –

You first is a necessity not selfishness.

And if you find resistance to this, then consider some Shadow Work on this.

You are an energetic being here to experience life in physical form. You did not come here to only serve others and deny yourself care, nurturing and love. You came here with your own intentions, your own healing agenda and your own bucket list of ‘cool things I’d like to do as a human.’ And I can guarantee that make myself sick, not really enjoy myself, and run myself into the ground for others is not on that list.

Morning Routine for Loving Your Life

I’m a spiritual girl, so my routine tends to focus on balancing all levels – emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual – the energetic and the material. It’s also about creating some sacred space to remind myself that I am sacred and deserving.

This may or may not your jam, and so you might need to discover what works for, but in the meantime – here is how I start my day aligning to the energy I desire to feel.

I find that taking these 15 minutes is like setting the radio to a specific frequency of my choosing and sets the tone for the whole day.

And because this is a choice I made for myself and because I started the day with taking care of myself, it helps me hold the good feelings most every day. 

Here's what I do - feel free to borrow, ignore or get inspired as you see fit:

(5 seconds) Upon waking up, I find something to be happy about (usually that I woke up, lol)  and then sit up in my bed [Spiritual and Emotional]

(5 minutes) Recall all your energy and do an energy clearing and reset to open chakras (energy processing centers) and run Divine, Loving, quantum energy through the body. [Spiritual, Emotional, Mental]

(5 minutes) meditate – otherwise known as listening to the Universe and connecting to my breath. Still in my bed. [Mental, Spiritual]

(2 minutes) Pull a Card asking what energy is in my best and highest good to lean into for the day to stay aligned with Love. Still in my bed. [Mental, Emotional]

(1 minute 30 seconds) Raise my arms above my head, stretch and do a Plank on arms or elbows – on the floor next to my bed [Physical]

Fourteen minutes. Done. If I take twenty minutes, I will stretch a bit more on the floor right next to my bed and speak loving sentences of gratitude to my body, thanking it for the way it shows up and supports me (because your cells are always listening!).

I will finish this will a tall glass of water or two that I have blessed with happy thoughts because water not only rehydrates the brain, and is able to carry programming, but gets all the juices flowing and supports a healthy physical system. (YES. BEFORE the coffee.) And then I have an Omega 3 and/or a vitamin because I want to show my brain and cells love and acknowledgement.

 Whatever you choose to do in your morning routine is not as important as simply giving the first moments of the day to yourself.

Breathe, meditate, move your body, smile, do a body scan it all works. Putting yourself first changes the whole game of your perspective, relieves a lot of stress and anxiety, and boosts your overall well being and happiness, which is let’s be real, is kinda the point of being here on the planet. You create your own magical experience and the morning routine is a powerful tool to have at your disposal. There is no time like the present to create a morning experience that honors you, before you go an rock your day!