Creating a morning routine for busy mums

The question I put out to our community was "what's the biggest challenge that stands in your way when it comes to self care? The most common answers were time followed closely by children and family demands. As a busy mum myself I fully understand the (at times) all consuming demands of family life and how self care is the first to fall from the priority list. But there are easy ways that we can make sure that our cup is full that doesn't require too much time and energy. 

Try these,

Belly breathes 

This is a super easy exercise that will help oxygenate your blood and calm down your nervous system (especially great for people starting the day anxious)  Deep inhale to the count of 4, hold for the count of 4 and exhale for the count of 4 emptying out your breath all the way. Do this 10 times and bring your awareness to how your body feels afterwards. DO THIS WITH THE KIDS TOO.

Gratitude journaling 

Gratitude is a super state of mind, it is a high vibrational frequency which means that when ever we are feeling grateful we are vibrating at a high frequency and this means we attract things into our life's that vibrate at the same frequency. (but in easier terms, we attract what we put out to the universe so when we are grateful, the universe sends us more things to be grateful for.)                        Find a notebook or a journal and write down a minimum of 3 things you are grateful for. The more time you have the more things you can write down.  A great activity to to with your kids is set a timer for 2 minute and write down everything you can think of to be grateful for. Bring your awareness to how you feel afterwards.

 Drink a glass of water

I know this sounds simple enough but somedays we can go the whole day without drinking one glass of water. By adding this into your morning routine you can insure you start your day on the front foot by hydrating your body and ticking one think off the list.

 Ground yourself in nature.

The earlier you can get outside the better and the colder the air the better. I do this every morning and it's like that kick of energy when the cool air hits your face. When the kids are having breakfast or when you can sneak away for a couple of minutes go outside and ground yourself in the moment but taking in all the details, what do you see, what do you hear, what do you smell. Use your senses to bring you into the now. 

 Morning mindset 

Our morning mindset planner has prompts to get you creating the day you want according to a vision you set for yourself. It helps you become intentional about your time and energy while supporting your mental and emotional wellbeing. 

Meditation aka sit with yourself 

Find a quiet space where you can sit and be still. This mediation is awareness based its about bringing your awareness to your body, turn your consciousness inward what can you feel? Can you feel the tingles in your toes, can you feel the sensations traveling through your body. Tune into your breathe in and out. When thoughts creep in or your mind starts to race (and it will), bring your consciousness back to your breathe. The aim here is to not completely quiet the mind because that is unrealistic but to calm it and bring awareness to your body. Notice how you fell afterwards.

Affirmations

Affirmations are a great way to align your thoughts with the outcomes you want to achieve in the day. They help us shift our negative dialogue into more positive thoughts and feelings. Sit with yourself and read through some affirmations.

Dance

I saved the best till last. Turn that music up and SHAKE THAT BOOTIE! this is my absolute favorite thing to do especially on the low energy days. Music is magic and has such a powerful way to transform your mood. So don't be shy put some head phones on if its too early to jam and let loose. This is always fun with the kids too. They LOVE seeing mum having a fun time.

Self care doesn't have to be hard nor does it have to be a big time commitment. But prioritising a few minutes a day to your own self care practices or anyone of these suggestions above we are honoring and nurturing the relationship with ourselves and if that's not reason enough than don't forget Mums, that we are teaching our children to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing just by role modeling this. So if not for yourself then do it for them.