My morning routine has changed so much over the years. For a long time, it used to consist of hitting snooze a million times until I was “running late”, jumping into the shower, putting on a 5-minute face and running out the door with just enough time to stop for a cup of caffeine before work. It was a frazzled way to begin your day…and to be honest, the rest of the day didn’t look much different. Fast forward and now I have fully embraced a slow morning. I never hit snooze and often wake up on my own without the need for an alarm. I take my time in the morning and I thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve found my days feel better too. But over the last several years, I have found two morning routines that are MUSTS each and every day. I just don’t feel the same if I don’t do them. The best part…they don’t take much time. In fact, one only takes a few seconds and is life changing. So, without further ado…

If you aren’t tongue scraping, you have no idea what you are missing. I’m serious. This is life changing! Tongue scraping is an ancient ayurvedic practice that removes toxins from the surface of your tongue which not only helps freshen your breath but also improves digestion. When you sleep your body performs various “house cleaning” chores and releases toxins to the surface of your tongue. If you don’t scrape your tongue first thing in the morning, those toxins get reabsorbed into your body and it can cause various health issues including digestion ones. This is probably the easiest habit I have ever adopted because it takes just a few seconds and you feel the results immediately. It’s one of those things where you say, “where have you been all my life?!”. Give it a try and let me know what you think. One thing to note, you cannot use your toothbrush to “brush” your tongue and accomplish the same thing. You must invest in a tongue scraper…you can find them everywhere including online and they only cost a couple bucks. You’re worth a lot more than five bucks and I promise you won’t regret the purchase.

The first thing I do after getting out of bed is to turn on my hot water kettle on my way to the bathroom. It gets to a hot temperature (I like it between 200-212 degrees) while I do all my bathroom activities. I squeeze a half lemon into a mug and top it with hot water. I sip on this drink while continuing my morning routine. There are days it takes me 20 minutes to finish the mug but other days where I finish it in 5. Not only is it a refreshing way to wake up, but the lemon water helps kick start your metabolism and flush your system! We all wake up dehydrated and the first thing you put into your system shouldn’t be something like coffee because that only helps to dehydrate you more. Consider switching your first drink to a large mug of hot lemon water. Or if the hot thing isn’t your style, try drinking a glass of room temp water with a half of a lemon. When I start my day this way I find I don’t even need caffeine afterwards. Now, I’m not saying I don’t have caffeine, but I don’t NEED it. And I think that’s a huge win!

My Two Morning Routine Non-Negotiables