Wellness Morning Routine

Do you have a morning routine? I’m not talking brushing your teeth and combing your hair. (Although I do hope you do those things). I’m talking wellness morning routine. How do you start your day off strong and centered? Everyone’s answer will be different. Maybe you have never thought about developing a wellness routine before- that’s totally ok! But I’m here to tell you it makes a world of difference to the tone of your day if you do have one.

I’m not saying my routine is the ideal that everyone should follow, BUT if you are looking for some inspo for your personal routine and are curious to see how someone else does it, look no further. I personally loooove watching/listening/reading about other people’s morning wellness routines. It’s fun to get inspired with the intention of having the best wellness routine for YOU.

So take whatcha want, and leave whatcha don’t. I hope you enjoy this peek into my current morning wellness routine. It wakes me up, it makes me feel good, and it sets the tone of the day positively and with a focus on taking good care of myself. Enjoy!

Diffuser, Baby!!

If you don’t have a diffuser in your life, you need one!! Nothing is more relaxing than dropping in some essential oils and having it perfume the air while you start your day. Let me tell you, if you want at-home spa vibes, the diffuser makes it happen. I love eucalyptus and lemongrass for energizing and lavender and rose at the end of the day to unwind. Do get your essential oils from a quality, reputable brand. You are breathing this in, so be wary of a very cheap oil on Amazon from a company you haven’t heard of. Find out the company’s practices that go into sourcing and producing the product.

Gratitude Journal/Devotion

What makes people happier? Gratitude. Research has shown time and time again that one of the most authentic and lasting ways to increase your happiness factor is to practice gratitude. This might mean something different to everyone. For me, it means writing down a few things each day that I am grateful for. Stick with it, and you’ll notice yourself seeing the good and positive things that come across your path each day!

There is also value in spiritual wellness- those who live the longest have one! Do you, and find one that lights your heart up. Mine involves prayer and a biblical devotion that I do with my sister and mom via text each day. We all read the same devotional then share our thoughts together and pray!

Incense all Day

Maybe I’m obsessed with all of the good smelling things, but I believe a good scent can frame your mood for the better. Aromatherapy has the power to boost mood, relax us, help us focus, or energize us. A certain scent can even conjure up a vivid memory! So I burn incense to get a relaxed state of focused-calm. Something about the swirling smoke is soothing while also putting me into a creative mindset. Do you know what I mean?

There are plenty of incense options out there if the traditional patchouli/sandalwood vibe isn’t your thing. There are two I bounce between- the first are the ones pictured- Cherry Blossom from Tokyo Incense Oedo-Koh.

Everything from the packaging to the fragrance is luxurious and very authentic old-world Japanese. The other scent I love to burn, especially when it’s a sunny day and I’m feeling tropical is Hawaiian High incense. Vacation mode activated!!

By this point my home smells divine, and I’m ready to make my favorite beverage!

The Morning Elixir

In addition to chugging down a huge glass of water right when I wake up, I also make this hot latte every morning. If I don’t, my whole day is off! (Not to mention it gives me a little caffeine boost, which always helps get the day going). Every ingredient in my latte is intentional for a specific benefit. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Matcha

If you have bounced around my blog or instagram , you will know that I am a matcha-obsessed human. It’s very trendy now, but I’ve been on the matcha train for over a decade. Matcha is essentially green tea leaves that are ground into a powder. You mix this powder with water, and bam!- instant tea! It’s significantly higher in antioxidants than regular tea because you are consuming the whole leaf, instead of steeping the leaf into the tea then removing it.

Matcha has so many benefits in addition to its antioxidant levels (which bring good skin, slowing of aging, and disease prevention.) I love it for the light kick of caffeine, but here’s the catch- no jitters or crash like you get with coffee because of L-theanine, an amino acid that produces an alert sense of calm/focus. This is what the monks of Japan drink in order to meditate for hours (there lies the proof of matcha’s calm-alertness properties). Not that I’m a monk, but we could all use that kind of focus in our daily life, right?

Collagen and Shrooms

Next, we add our scoop of collagen creamer to hot water to make this bevvie extra creamy and smooth. I’ve tried a lot of collagen products, but I really like Vital Proteins collagen creamer simply because of the vanilla flavor and creamy texture. It really elevates and tea/ elixir you are making to something more luxurious. Collagen is great for supporting healthy joints/hair/skin/nails/gut lining. This is a supplement that you need to be consistent with. Our bodies are constantly regenerating, so think of collagen no different than exercise- if you don’t incorporate it into your routine, the results won’t stick around for long. Collagen doesn’t stay forever in our bodies (hello, aging skin), so even on a consumption level, if you want to reap the benefits, stick with collagen on a consistent, long-term basis.

As far as the shrooms, we are talking medicinal mushrooms, not psychedelic, nor the kind you get on pizza. I could do a whole series of posts on mushrooms, but to sum it up, these mushrooms are adaptogens (when we consume them, they help us adapt to the stresses and environmental factors of life). The blend I like is from Four Sigmatic. They are who I would consider to be an industry leader in the world of superfood mushrooms.

Their products are high quality and inventive for modern-day needs. The blend I mix into my latte has 10 mushrooms in it with benefits like combating stress, increasing brain-power, and boosting energy. I highly recommend checking out Four Sigmatic’s website for their in-depth “Mushroom Academy”, which is a great beginner’s education guide to all things mushroom!

Spearmint Tea

Spearmint tea is a ride-or-die. I must drink this every day for it’s hormonal acne benefits. There is a slew of research supporting that the consumption of spearmint tea suppresses androgen production, aka one of the root causes of acne. I just drop this bag into my matcha/collagen/mushroom elixir and let it steep for 10 minutes. Again, this one requires consistency and patience to see the benefit, but if you are someone who suffers from acne (even hormonal/adult acne🙋🏻‍♀️), add spearmint tea to your toolkit. It seems to be sold out more and more frequently at the health food stores, so I think people are catching on to the secret of spearmint!

I hope you enjoyed taking a little glimpse into my morning wellness routine! I would love to know if you do anything to start your day off right! Let’s get inspired by each other!

XO, Alexandra