Everything You Need to Know About Creating a Mindful Morning Routine

What is a Mindful Morning Routine?

A mindful morning routine is a set of intentional practices that promote mindfulness, presence, and enhance overall wellbeing as you start your day. It involves engaging in activities that help you become more aware of the present moment, reduce stress, and set a positive tone for the rest of the day.

Creating a Mindful Morning Routine

I frequently hear from my clients that they have a hard time setting themselves up for success when it comes to starting their day. It can be especially challenging to do this when you are feeling anxious or depressed. One of my favorite ways to set myself up for success and start my morning on the right foot is through my realistic morning routine. I love waking up, drinking water, making my bed, incorporating some sort of movement, meditating and eating a nutritious breakfast. Creating these mindful moments first thing in the morning allows me to connect with my feelings, thoughts and needs to better navigate the landscape of my day. 

What are the benefits of a morning routine?

Creating a morning mindfulness routine can be such a beautiful way to invite more calm into your life. It varies slightly from your standard morning routine that might include more task based things by incorporating mindfulness into each step of the process. Taking the time to slow down and tune into what you need is the ultimate way to start the day.

Some other benefits include:

1. More structure and better time management:As human beings we crave structure. From a young age we are provided with a lot of structure and as adults, we sometimes we lose sight of how vital it can be. With more structure comes less anxiety, making it easier for us to reach our goals and better manage our time.
2. Reduce stress. Starting your day incorporating mindfulness practices allows you to check into how you’re feeling that day. If you notice you’re feeling particularly stressed out, it’s a great opportunity to course correct. Focus on incorporating stress reducing practices like mindful movement, breath work, meditation, yoga and stretching.
3. More presence A morning routine can lead to more presence and connection. Slowing down and incorporating mindfulness practices can allow you to tune into what is going on exactly in the present moment. Thus, enabling you to make intentional choices for the rest of the day.
4. Improve Mental Health A realistic morning routine can have a huge impact on your mental health and transform your entire day. If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, it can be a great way to take small, actionable steps to better support yourself. It also creates space to adjust plans to better meet your specific mood or needs.
5. Increased ResilienceRegular mindfulness practices in the morning can help build resilience in dealing with challenges and setbacks throughout the day. By using frequent mindfulness practices we are better able to cope.
6. Increased ProductivityA mindful morning routine can lead to greater productivity as you start your day with intention and focus. In doing this, you’re better able to set a positive tone for the rest of the day ahead.
7. Improved Physical HealthSome mindful morning routines can include exercises like yoga or stretching. Carving out time in your day to do this can help improve your physical health, flexibility, and overall energy levels.

How do I create a mindful morning routine?

Morning routines are highly personalized and can be tailored to meet your own needs. Whether you want a morning routine for anxiety or a morning routine for depression, there are some basics you want to consider. A great place to start is by picking two or three things that will tell your brain that it’s time to start the day. Bonus points if you can work in some intention and mindfulness to your morning routine!

Things to choose from when starting a morning mindfulness routine:

Making the bed

For my clients who struggle with depression, making the bed is one of the first things I recommend. Making your bed first thing in the morning tells your brain that it’s time to wake up and get moving. Even if you end up getting back in bed later, chances are you will feel better having accomplished this small task. 

Meditating

Meditation can feel really intimidating if you have never practiced it before. And although people struggle with the idea of starting meditation, I couldn’t write a list about a mindful morning routine without talking it. There are plenty of great apps out there that make meditation pretty easy, and I have a whole beginners guide to mindfulness post you can read if you want to learn more.

Journaling

Starting your mornings off with some journaling is a great way to practice mindfulness. Whether you’re using it as a gratitude journal, writing down your intentions for the day ahead, writing a to-do list, or just getting all your thoughts out on paper, this is such a great practice to bolster mental well being. This can be even more beneficial for your well being, if you take this practice outside and get some fresh air while you journal.

Exercise or some sort of mindful movement

Exercise or mindful movement is a non-negotiable in my daily routine. This can include anything from something high impact like HIIT or going for a run, or something more gentle like a mindful walk, and light stretching. Before doing any sort of movement, sit down, close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths and check in with how your body is feeling. Once you are fully aware of what your body is needing, do your best to honor that. Research has shown, that starting your day with exercise can lead to more mental clarity, reduced stress, more energy, better sleep, and a multitude of other amazing benefits.

Breath work

I love Ashley Neese’s book How to Breathe, it’s fulled with amazing breath work practices for a variety of struggles from boosting energy levels, to releasing anger. I also have a talk all about the benefits of breathwork on mental heath and some of my favorite breath work practices that you can read for more inspo.

Take a shower or bath

If you aren’t particularly a morning person, this is a great one to add to your morning routine because it helps people wake up. If you really want to up level your shower, make it a cold one for the last 30 seconds or more. Cold showers have become all the rage lately and if you are feeling bold enough to try it you’ll likely notice feeling more alert and maybe even a positive shift in your mood. There’s a growing body of research that talks about the benefits of cold exposure. Read more about the science of cold exposure.

Practice Gratitude

If you don’t feel like journaling, you can still make gratitude a part of your mindful morning. So many studies have been done on the benefits or practicing gratitude. This article talks about how incredibly beneficial practicing gratitude can be along with some of the benefits. Taking the time to feel grateful first thing in the morning is never something you will regret.

Mindfully make and enjoy coffee or tea

This can be a beautiful way to start your day and the perfect mindful activity. Whether you’re hooked on your morning coffee or wanting some tea, taking some time to mindfully make and enjoy a warm beverage can be such a beautiful addition to a mindful morning routine. One of my favorite morning rituals is making a nice hot or iced cup of matcha. Clevr Blends makes an amazing one that is so nourishing but also packed with mood supporting ingredients. Use code THATSSOWELL15 to get 15% off your order and thank me later.

Side note: if you struggle with anxiety, I always recommend being mindful of how much caffeine you are consuming. I have a whole blog post talking about the impacts of caffeine on our mood and some alternatives.

Make yourself a healthy breakfast:

As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I frequently talk about the benefits of starting your day off by eating breakfast. One of my favorite ways to regulate mood and balance blood sugar throughout the day is by starting the day with a protein rich snack or meal. You can find some of my favorites in my Ebook, The Good Mood Guide to Holistic Nutrition and Mindfulness. Do not underestimate the benefits a healthy breakfast can have on the rest of your day! Bring this to the next level by trying to practice mindful eating.

Set some intentions for the day:

This can be as easy as writing them down in your notes app or journal. If you want something a little more structured, I love The Five Minute Journal. It’s super simple practice that you can do first thing in the morning that helps set you up for a more positive day. When setting intentions, I find it helpful to think of one “productive” intention, one “fun” intention and one “emotional” intention. This is a great way to avoid only setting intentions around getting things done.

Read a book

This can be as simple as sitting down and reading one page. You might find it helpful to get a daily mindfulness book that helps you reflect on a topic or them.Or maybe you want to read a book that’s fun and enjoyable.

Thanks so much for reading about how to create a mindful morning routine!

These are just some simple ideas to get you started. Feel free to think of some healthy habits to add to your mindful morning routine or do some more research on your own. Start with 2-3 things that you can do consistently and observe any changes that occur as a result. I hope this helped inspire you to start your very own mindful morning routine!

Best of luck on creating healthier habits to help you be your best self! If you are wanting a little more guidance on mindfulness practices, and intention setting, I have created The Good Mood Guide to Nutrition and Mindfulness,a holistic eBook with all my favorite tips and tricks. It’s over 65 pages filled with mindfulness strategies, recipes and journal prompts to help you create meaningful