Three Morning Rituals To Empower Your Day - Beginners For Men
When it comes to getting your day started, I recommend doing the following three rituals to practice on a daily basis to get your day planned and jumpstarted for the day. This also works even if you have kids, work, run a business, are married, or just struggling to get a routine going. Giving yourself permission to wake up earlier than everyone will give you the needed benefits of your new three morning rituals below.
STRETCH - MORNING RITUAL ONE
Do you ever feel like your body is stuck when you're coming out of bed? As we sleep our brain tells our body to survive at the bare minimum so that our bodies can recover. Our heart rate slows down, the thinking process of our brain slows, breathing is placed on full automatic, and our organs process at a low level. Our bodies are very limp, meaning that our muscles are not doing a whole lot while we sleep other than recovering. So when you wake up you'll hear a few cracks from your bones when you readjust. Depending on how you position yourself at night, the muscles in your body might feel a bit sore. And other body parts like your eyes begin to adjust to the morning light. So what better way to realign your entire body than to stretch?
If your body is still half asleep, you can still be active by stretching in bed. Typically, I start off with my legs. Stretching my calves, hamstrings, achilles, feet, and bottom glutes. Start with a seated position and stretch your legs out. Reach out for your toes and hold that position for a good 30-60 seconds. Bend your knees if needed.
From there do some upper-body stretches. Stand up. Sway your body left and right. Then reach for the sky with both hands overlapping one set of fingers over the other. Then by using your right hand, grab your left set of fingers and dip to the right. Hold that stretch for at least 30 seconds or until you feel you got a good stretch. You will feel this on your left side. Once you've stretched out your left side, stretch out your right side of the body.
After this, I typically end with a child's pose. I get on all fours, then I position my body like a sphinx but with my head to the floor while reaching my arms out to give my back the much-needed stretch it needs to start the day. Try feeling the stretch from the top of your shoulders to the upper blades of your shoulders, to the middle of your spine, and then to the lower part of your back. Do this stretch for at least 45 seconds to get any benefit. For the more experienced, this can also target your thighs and hips by spreading your hips bit by bit.
I recommend that beginners use these stretch bands to assist with stretching.
COFFEE & SILENCE - MORNING RITUAL TWO
After stretching, I head over to the bathroom to do some business, brush my teeth, scrape my tongue, change into my everyday attire- a shirt & shorts, and then head to the kitchen and make myself a nice warm cup of coffee. Now what I'm about to say is really important to me and hopefully, you are already implementing this into your coffee routine. I have my coffee black and keep it that way.
Why? By adding milk you will be adding things that are in the milk and into your coffee. Some milk might have added sugars, additives for taste, or additives for shelf life. Appreciate the coffee for what it is and what it will give you- an energy charge. Your body and taste bud will appreciate you over time. If it's your first time having coffee black, keep at it. It takes time to adjust but know that you're giving your body what it needs and that's energy. In my opinion, if you want to get a sugar rush, just go to a Starbucks. But know that you're keeping your body from a caffeinated state and into a drugged-up state.
If you want to boost your coffee with more benefits, give this mushroom product a try. It's a mushroom blend that's packed with tons of benefits. In addition, try adding this MCT oil product to your coffee.
Now that you have your coffee prepared, find a quiet place to meditate. What I mean by meditation I mean give your brain a rest from the daily life activities we face as men. Bills, religion, work, running a business, etc. You can certainly burn a cigar in this process or go full-on hippy, go cross-leg in front of a buddha statue and light some candles.
What I like to do is sip my coffee on a comfortable chair and sit. Plain and simple. I give myself permission to think only about myself. I reflect on my body, mind, spirit, and life. Questions that I like to think about while meditating are: What do I want to accomplish? What path do I want to take in life? What are the next steps to get to that dream idea? This can be anything whether it's a personal life goal, body transformation, financial goal, family, school, business goal, etc. Just sit there and reflect. Because as a man, we have important duties and people rely on us to perform. I recommend giving yourself a minimum of 15 minutes to enjoy that coffee and think.
WORKING OUT - MORNING RITUAL THREE
After the morning coffee routine is complete, get your ass to a gym or your workout equipment. Don't have any equipment? Turn on a Youtube video and learn how to work out by using only just your body weight. It's possible and doable.
Why do we as men need to work out? The obvious is to have a healthy lifestyle and to keep a great morning habit. But in our society, life can be difficult for a man. If we are seeking the right life partner, we need to be in top physical shape to show that we have healthy genetics for procreation. In society, we not only need to be strong in our minds but strong physically. People ask men for the physical things in life. A strong body is also an indication of the protection that women seek. For yourself, it's discipline. Keeping yourself accountable will give you the needed clarity when you're faced with decisions in life. So keep your body strong by making this a daily morning ritual. If you have kids like me, you'll need to keep up with their demands when your work is done. They see dad and think he's a superhero. YOU ARE that superhero. Having a strong body will give you the needed strength to meet the needs of your children or teenagers.
Have you ever been in a situation where you're telling yourself not to eat that cake, candy, or soda? Working out helps you make that easy NO decision. You're not going to allow your body to intake any junk because you are disciplined. Not even just a little. That goes for all types of junk food. You will be amazed at the level of discipline your mind will be when you keep this up even after a single workout session.
Don't have any weights or gym equipment? Try these great resistance bands to give you a gym quality workout.
Remember, you are needed in this life. We need men like you to succeed. To be leaders in this cruel world. We need men like you to make the right decisions. And I firmly believe that if you practice these three-morning rituals, your body, mind, spirit, partner, family, business, and society will thank you for it.
Comments