My morning routine / ritual has always been my jam.

There was a time I got super lazy and only meditated from bed before breakfast, but that laziness also set the foundation for a not so great time in my life.

A time of losing my grounding, becoming consumed by stress and anxiety, and lacking balance. I burned out very, very bad.

But as with all trials in life, a golden lining shimmered beneath the struggle. It’s been an opportunity to learn how to care for myself, deeply and completely, in a way beyond what I ever knew before.

An opportunity to become more balanced, to have goals in all areas of life rather than just focus on work.

An opportunity for greater self-awareness and understanding, to understand how my inner weaknesses made be vulnerable to going off track, and how to bolster them up so it doesn’t happen again.

An opportunity to close a chapter of my life and create a new one. It’s been a challenging, but also blissful experience of revamping my entire lifestyle — the way I eat, sleep, care for my body and soul, and my relationships to all the people and things in my life.

My morning routine has been a big part of my healing, and I’d like to share with you how to incorporate one into your life.

In fact, it's more than a morning routine. It's a ritual. ​ 

What is a ritual?

A ritual is something done daily, or sometimes weekly, that injects the sacred into the ordinary. When you do something everyday, with intention and love, it shifts you in ways that can’t be fully explained.

A ritual can be anything from mindfully drinking a cup of tea to taking a bath to blessing your food before eating to telling yourself “Good morning. I love you,” in the mirror each day.

When you punctuate your day with rituals, you bring peace and spirituality into every area of your life. ​ 

What are the benefits of rituals?

Rituals are grounding. Grounding is important because it’s how we rise. It’s important to have a solid foundation for growth.

They’re also incredibly soothing to the nervous system.

Things change every day. Sometimes life feels crazy, and it’s not always something we can control.

But when you create a rhythm to your day, eating at around similar times, going to bed around the same time, and punctuating your day with even small rituals, your body knows what to expect.

A morning routine turns off the fight-or-flight response that creates anxiety and introduces a feeling of deep calm.

If you’re like me, and have erratic, creative energy, you will love rituals. I used to thrive on the idea of being someone so free spirited and blowing with the wind that I did what I wanted, when I wanted.

It was a big part of my identity.

And while I still relish freedom, I’m finding it’s important to have a base layer of supportive habits and rituals.

Starting the day with a morning routine is the most important part of this foundation.

Especially in the fall and winter months, when the energy is about rooting down, getting quiet to shed what we no longer need, and being still so we can blossom come spring, rituals are a powerful, simple way to connect with this energy and allow it to transform us.

On another level, creating happiness is about adding pockets of joy to your day. As the pockets of joy add up, eventually it overflows.

I’ll share more later, including the Ayurvedic changes I've made to my diet, my equally extra nighttime ritual, and, if you're interested, the spiritual / mental / emotional side of understanding the root of burnout.

Are those things you'd be interested in? If so, let me know! ​ ​

Here is my decadent morning routine to glow from within:

1. Drink a room-temperature glass of water.

I always have a glass of water by my bed each night in case I wake up thirsty (living in Arizona will do that to you), but now each morning I make sure to drink the entire glass pretty soon after waking up.

Hydration is really important for energy and overall health, and room temperature water in particular is better for your body than cold water, especially in the winter.

This is an Ayurveda guideline, though I’m sure it’s found other places too. The idea is that our bodies work very hard to maintain their internal temperature.

Our inner, digestive fire is thought to be the key to good health, and every time we drink cold water, we make our body work that much harder to keep that inner fire burning.

I’m in healing mode, so I make sure to eat all warm foods (more on that later), and do my best to drink water that’s a warmer temperature. ​ ​

2. Make 12 ounces of warm lemon water.

As a first step to my morning routine, I head to the kitchen and squeeze 1/4 of a lemon into a mug before pouring almost boiling water over it.

Lemon is very cleansing and detoxifying. Plus, drinking the two glasses of water combined ensures I finish my morning ritual feeling hydrated and blessed.

I’d always wanted to drink lemon water in the morning, but always used to meditate first thing.

I never understood logistically how people meditate AND drink warm lemon water in the morning. Do they drink the water and then meditate?

I feel like that rushes things. Or do they meditate and then drink the water? But then it’s cold! I don’t get it! Maybe it’s just me. ​ ​

3. Light a candle and palo santo the house.

To officially start my morning routine, I walk into my meditation space, press play on a sacred morning playlist, light a candle, and walk through the whole house with burning Palo Santo, which is a wood used for clearing out old energy.

(I live in condo, so this doesn’t really take that long.)

While walking through the house, I also give thanks for the opportunity to start fresh and ask that old energy be released.

I take a little extra time to palo santo the television because my husband likes to watch the news. :) I also palo santo him when he’s home, lol. ​ ​

4. Face massage with magic globes.

I’ve been getting really into skin care lately, and because of the fatigue I’ve experienced over the last couple of years, have some bags under my eyes I feel really self conscious about.

I can tell you about my whole skin care routine if you want — let me know if you’d be interested in that! — but during my morning routine, I basically wash my face and layer on a few oils I love.

Then, I head into my meditation space after palo santo-ing the house, greet myself in the mirror, and massage my face with ice globes.

This sounds like the cold would be torturous, but — and maybe this is just because I live someplace warm — it’s really relaxing.

The stated benefit is reducing puffiness, but for me, my whole morning ritual is about pouring into myself, taking care of myself, being a little extra, and just showing my body and soul love and appreciation. ​ ​

5. Angel cards!

I have three or four decks I pull from during my morning routine. I like to pull cards, sit with the messages and think about what the cards mean together along with how they apply to my life.

The decks I have and love are Daily Guidance from Your Angels, Sacred Rebels, The Hero’s Journey Dream Oracle and the Goddess Guidance Oracle cards.

(Those are affiliate links, and I receive a small commission if you purchase. Thank you for your support!)

For the goddess deck, I pulled Aphrodite a while ago, and have been sitting with her ever since because she’s about waking up your inner goddess through dance, self-care and appreciating your divinity.

Seems appropriate! I used to pull a card and go on with my day, but now I put the day’s cards on my alter.

The next morning when I pull again, I thank the previous day’s card before putting it back in the deck to shuffle again. It’s so nice each day to see what I pulled the day before. It creates a thread through my life and helps me be more aware of how things shift each day. ​

6. Chanting

This is something I include in my morning routine only if I have time. Sometimes I'm feeling ready to move on with the day, but chanting really does work.

There is a Deva Premal healing mantra album I love on Spotify. I do either om shree dhanvantre namaha for healing or om shreem mahalakshmiyei namaha for abundance. ​ ​

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At first, it was super overwhelming to keep track of all these routines. But then I got the bright idea to track my habits.

Now, each day, I have my morning routine along with afternoon and evening rituals listed in a notebook, along with boxes to check for water and spaces to write what I ate that day.

This helps me track how foods affect my energy and also helps me eat healthier. The desire to write down a healthy meal is surprisingly motivating!

And now that I’m weaving work back into my life — not to mention navigating the holidays — habit tracking is helping me stay on track with my health and the rituals that helped me regain it.

That’s why, when I got the amazing idea to create a yearly goal journal a month ago called Play with the Day, (which you’d know about if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook!)

I soon realized I had to add in a habit tracker, too! I am so beyond excited to announce Play with the Day, a yearly goal journal to help you cast as vision, set monthly intentions and live with soul is now available! Check it out here.​ ​

​This is what I shared about the yearly goal journal on Facebook.​

I just created the most amazing yearly goal journal. Nothing else like it exists. I basically created what I wanted, but could never find. (And couldn't even really articulate.)

Most planners are a series of to-dos. Even if they start off cool asking you about your visions or goals, they soon turn into any other planner with lists of things to do, maybe with a few water cup icons to remind you This Planner Is Different. (Even though it's not.)

My planner is nothing like this.

You start out by reviewing this year that just passed.

Then set intentions for next year. Followed by vision-setting in 8 key areas of your life for next year. (Each area spans two pages, so this is plenty of space for dreaming.)

Then, each month for 12 months, you ask yourself a series of intention-setting and review questions. You get clear on what you want and how it ties into your bigger vision.

Finally, you set up to 3 goals for each month, and connect to the daily habits required to achieve those goals. This isn't about living by a LIST. This is about living your life.

The last part is the piece de resistance. This was totally unexpected, and came from something I've been doing as I focus on upping my self-care.

Habit tracking.

You take the habits you've identified that will help you reach your goals, and track them. This could be daily meditation or yoga.

It could be working on your book or business. It could be improving your money mindset or confidence.

There's also space to track what you eat, and of course, checkboxes to ensure you're drinking enough water. (A girl's gotta stay hydrated if she wants to glow.) This is not a PLANNER. It's not about what you DO. It's about who you ARE. The person you want to be.

This goal journal will help you become that, effortlessly. I poured my heart and soul into every detail of this journal, and I'd love for you to check it out!​ ​

All the love,

Suzanne

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