If anyone knows me personally, you know how much I love a good morning and evening routine. Creating a routine that is personalised to you and your lifestyle, allows you to create an intentional and empowering life.

Morning Routines.

Starting your morning with your own curated sequence of rituals enables you to creates discipline, establishes healthy boundaries and sets you up for success so you can feel focused and maximise productivity. 

01/ 

Begin by creating an intention for the day. Morning intentions fill our bodies and minds with good energy and loving words. With a full heart, you’re ready to head into the day with open, loving, and relaxed attention. 

02/

Establish your non-negotiables (circle as many non-negotiables that jump out to you, or establish your own. These are the rituals that you’ll do mindfully and before checking your phone/laptop and attending to social media/emails/messages).

• Brush your teeth
• Scrape your tongue
• Make your bed
• Shower (bonus: dry body brushing prior & finish with 1-2 minutes of cold water)
• Drink a glass of filtered water
• Movement (yoga, pilates, strength training, walk, boxing, barre)
• Go for a morning walk in nature
• Gratitude journal
• Meditate
• Make a wholesome breakfast and mindfully eat it without distractions

03/

Once you have established your non-negotiables, decide on a time that you would like to rise each morning. Maintaining a consistent bedtime and wake time is an important aspect to establishing a good circadian rhythm. What time is best for you - are you an early riser at 5am or is 7.30am a better suited time for you?

Then, decide on how long you would like to spend on your morning routine. Whether its 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours - do whatever works best for you. Each morning in your week might look different, and that’s okay. 

Truth is, it doesn’t matter how much time you have, as long as you are prioritising yourself and taking some time for you every single day. 

When you intentionally fill yourself up, you are showing up to the world as the best version of yourself. So whether you have 5 minutes or 2 hours, what matters the most is that you have taken some time out of your day to take care of you. 

You will go about your day bursting with a full and grateful heart, and your day will unfold very differently compared to if you started your day spending too much time immersed in social media/emails, or rushing around like a mad person. You will notice things flow a lot more effortlessly, and be more attentive to the beautiful world in front of you. 

Evening Routines.

Much like a morning routine, evening routines are just as important - they set you up for a good night's sleep which is one of the most crucial aspects to optimal health and wellbeing. 

The average person sleeps for 8 hours per night, which means we spend 229,961 hours (a third of our lifetime) asleep! Hence, why it is so important to optimise your sleep environment and rituals to ensure you have a deep and restorative sleep each night. 

It’s not only the quantity which is important, but the quality of sleep. 

Whilst we’re asleep, this allows time and space for your body to refocus its energy into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest state), assimilate all the nutrients you’ve consumed throughout the day, process all the information you’ve received, regulate hormones and lower cortisol levels. 

Evening Ritual Ideas:

• Once the sun starts to set, start to turn off all bright lights and turn on your salt lamps and light some candles. This is also when I like to write my to-do list for the next day and get my activewear ready for the morning so that I’m not thinking of all the things I need to do when I get into bed.
• Mindfully eat a wholesome dinner at the dining table whilst being present with your family’s/partner’s company or enjoy in peace 
• Take a warm bath with lavender and Epsom salts or simply add a few drops of lavender essential oil to your shower base to create a calming aromatherapy
• Read a book
• Do a gentle yoga practice or stretching
• Write in a gratitude journal
• Do a gua sha facial practice before you complete your  skincare routine
• Practice mindfulness by putting your legs up against the wall for 10 minutes and meditating
• Avoid screen time — I know this is easier said than done, however the blue light that gets emitted from digital devices (phone, laptop, TV) undesirably interferes with our sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin, as both natural and artificial blue light increases your alter ness and cognitive awareness which isn’t conducive of inducing sleepiness. So make it a priority to:
• Dim the brightness on screens *turn on night mode if needed
• Use blue light blocking glasses if you need to continue working/studying after dark
• Turn off/discontinue screen use 1-2 hours before bed

Each day your rituals may differ, and that’s perfectly okay. 

It’s so important to flow with the seasons, the way you’re feeling, or as women it’s important to flow with our menstrual cycle. The most important aspect of routines is creating a safe space for you to focus on yourself, and prioritising your own self-worth.

I would love to hear what rituals are your non-negotiables in your morning and evening routines.

Love,

Tayla x