15 Fit Girls Morning Rituals – Healthy Habits That Changed My Life Part 2

3. Do Few Yoga Poses In Bed

There is something magical about doing yoga poses first thing when you wake up in the morning.

Yoga is a calming and healing art no matter what time of day you do it, but there’s something in the morning yoga that makes you rise and shine through the whole day.

Imagine you could go about your everyday life with more clarity, steadiness, and equanimity – embodying a deeper sense of ease, spaciousness, balance and strength. A morning yoga practice helps give rise to, and potentiate, these qualities and effects.” – Manda Greenblatt

Yoga in the morning helps me wake every single muscle up and get them ready for the day ahead.

4. Avoid Technology For At Least One Hour

I tend to avoid screens, for at least the first hour after I wake up.

And by screens, I mean smartphone, tablet, laptop, TV, and almost any electronic device that has a screen.

That’s because they have blue light electrons, which send a lot of signals with only one look at the screen, that are pretty disturbing to the brain.

We don’t feel them, but our bodies do.

So instead of reading e-mails or news, or chatting on your phone as soon as you wake up, try avoiding these blue light electrons by turning on the radio.

5. Welcome An Airflow Of Fresh Air

As soon as you wake up, open the window.

Take a few deep breaths of fresh air and bathe your sleepy organs in nourishing oxygen.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Breath is the source of nourishment for your vital organs: brain, heart, and liver.

It may seem simple, but breath is the easiest, most available conduit to emotional, physical, and spiritual well being.

Deep breathing allows you to take normal breaths while maximizing the amount of oxygen that goes into the bloodstream.

6. Start Your Day With Cocoa Seeds

Most mornings, I wake up not feeling the need to eat my breakfast right away.

Since it’s really important to fuel up the body with some nutrients after you wake up, I usually take a few raw cocoa seeds.

They are a bit bitter, but they do amazing things to your body.

Starting from calcium, magnesium and iron, cocoa seeds are loaded with healthful compounds that keep our cardiovascular health, load us up with energy, promote weight loss and improve our health overall.

Cocoa seeds are also considered to be nature’s anti-depressant, since they contain dopamine, phenylethylamine and serotonin, all of which are used to promote positive mental health and better moods.

So if you can’t stand the bitter flavor they have, you can mix them in a smoothie.

7. Earn A Shower

I always sneak in an A.M. sweat in my morning routine.

A 20-30 minute cardio workout such as rope skipping, a short run, jog or at least a full yoga session, will have many benefits for your body and mind especially if it’s done on an empty stomach.

An empty stomach triggers a cascade of hormonal changes throughout the body that are conducive to both building muscle and burning fat.” – Nick English

You’ll feel lighter, fresher, more energized and on top of that you’re going to maximize the calorie burning, fasten up your weight loss process and tone up your body.

It will leave you feeling so good after you finish, that you’ll want to keep that ritual every single morning for the rest of your life.

8. Hike

I love to hike on weekend mornings.

I may not have the time to do it through the week, but when Saturday comes the mountains are calling me and I must go!

I’m not going to go on and on about the benefits of hiking, since I can go on and on for pages, so I’m just going to tell you to try replacing your morning sweat off with a hike at least once a week and feel the benefits yourself.

They say: “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves!” …and that couldn’t be said any better.

Hiking with my loved one is a self-inspiring adventure that fills my soul and keeps me full until the next date with nature.

You have to try it!

9. Go Nuts For Breakfast

It’s not that important if you have your breakfast right after you wake up, as it is to actually make the most out of it.

What you have for breakfast is really important, since that usually determines what you’ll eat the rest of your day, so you have to make sure that every breakfast counts.

And one way to make sure that your breakfast counts is to go with raw food.

Including foods like nuts and seeds in your diet, that are unprocessed in their native Paleo form, are actually the best choice for breakfast.

You’ll load yourself with fibers, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and loads of other nutrients, while keeping yourself full to the next meal.

My ideal breakfast looks like this:

• 1 bowl of low fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon minced flax seeds
• 1 tablespoon sesame
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
• a handful of almonds or cashews

If I feel really hungry, I make myself avocado crackers:

• 2 soft boiled eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 avocado
• no flour protein bread or seed crackers

I love adding avocados and cottage cheese on top of a slice of my favorite no flour protein bread, or seed crackers that I make myself at home.

And most important of all, I eat my eggs soft boiled – I like them better that way 

And of course, there are mornings when I don’t feel like eating a breakfast, so I like to start with a smoothie.

My favorite blend is:

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 green apple
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 2 cocoa seeds
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water

I occasionally make a raspberry smoothie with flax seeds and almond milk, since it’s my second favorite blend full of fibers! 

10. Enjoy A Mug Full Of Caffeine

I can’t imagine my day without my morning coffee – my eye opening pleasure that comes from a simple bean.

I like it black and strong, and I really admire its power to wake every single sense in my body at the moment I feel its smell.

Drinking a lot of coffee can be harmful, but by enjoying that one morning mug of caffeine you intake loads of healthy components, since coffee contains several important nutrients, including Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium and Niacin.

It improves your energy levels, boosts the metabolic rate, improves physical performance, protects your heart and liver…

These are only a few of the countless benefits you get from including coffee on a daily basis.

Instead of coffee, you can make yourself a cup of green tea too, since it’s also high in caffeine – combining it with a few drops of fresh lemon, you’re not only giving yourself more energized morning, but you burn a few more calories when doing it.

Just remember to never add sugar in your morning mugs – keep it clean at least in the beginning of the day.

11. Make A Plan For The Day

Planning is one really important key in every morning.

Not only that you should plan your daily activities, but you should plan your meals and workouts too.

How else are you supposed to have time for everything if you don’t make it, right?

So make sure you plan what you’re going to do – just think about it while you drink your coffee, it doesn’t always have to be written down, even though writing it down helps a lot.

12. Get A Cold Shower

Brrr…right?

I bet it freckles your skin just by thinking about it, but believe it or not – it helps you a lot in building healthy morning habits.

Wondering how?

First, while warm water causes your blood vessels to dilate and relax, a cold shower wakes them up, so when exposed to a cold temperature, the arteries begin to rapidly pump hot blood by increasing the circulation and shaking up the body.

Next, it prepares your body for the upcoming daily activities, since the cold shower is considered as a great body warm up for the day, by helping you to “rise and shine”.

So, if, like me, you’re not a morning person,  this will help you wake up and feel fresh in a few seconds.

In the end, hot showers were invented as a luxury to human kind – they don’t provide any health benefits.

It doesn’t have to be ice cold, you just have to make sure it’s cooler than what you’re used to.

Step by step, day by day, the colder it gets – the better.

13. Choose A Smarter Commute

The way we choose to travel has a big effect on our health and life overall.

And it’s not only us – the way we transport from one place to another, affects our environment too, impacts climate as well as air, water, and soil quality.

Rather than trying to change your lifestyle overnight, you can just start with some tiny simple changes.

• Walk to the train station instead of driving;
• Try biking at least once a week to see if that fits into your lifestyle;
• Park your car a bit further;
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator;

The goal isn’t to work up a sweat, but to raise your metabolic rate and burn more fat, while getting some extra sunlight and fresh air through your lungs and to give your body an extra edge.

These little changes can make a really big difference in your usual grueling morning routine, to your health and your lifestyle.

14. Stretch Your Feet

Our feet do such a big work for us – they carry us around and keep us standing during the whole day, and yet, we never seem to give them credit for the amazing work they really do for us every day.

Feet are not just blocks to clomp around on – we need to take good care of them so that they take good care of us.

That’s why it’s really important to take a few minutes in the morning and prepare them for the upcoming daily activities they’re going to fight through.

15. Eat Your Breakfast With Your Non-Dominant Hand

Yep, you heard me!

I have been trying eating my breakfast with my left hand for over a year now.

Actually, when we challenge our brains, we force our neurons to make new connections, and that helps us improve the brain’s capacity for attention and memory.

This simple trick also helps you eat more mindfully, since making things more difficult is a great way to force yourself to pay attention to what you’re doing.

So try to feed yourself with your non dominant hand for breakfast, and your body and mind will like the changes for sure.

Now It’s Your Turn!

Every morning you have two choices- continue to sleep with dreams or wake up and chase your dreams. The choice is yours!” – Unknown

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Credit: fitgirlsdiary.com