My husband can attest that I am not a morning person. I never have been and probably never will be. I have always aspired to be a person who enjoyed jumping out of bed at 5:00am and could be on the treadmill by 5:15am. But alas, I like to move slow in the morning and create nurturing routines that ease me into my day.  

“Whether you are out of bed like a rocket or you move at a slower pace like me; I believe these routines and rituals could help you anchor your morning and elevate your well-being.”

start with Tongue Scraping

The first thing I do, in the morning, is literally stumble my way to the bathroom sink to pop out my retainers and scrape my tongue. I do this before I brush my teeth. Honestly, when I first heard of tongue scraping, I thought is sounded gross. But as I came to understand the health benefits of this morning habit, I decided to get over my disgust. Tongue scraping removes bacteria, toxic debris, and dead cells from the tongue. Because our digestion starts with the enzymes in our mouth, this action promotes better digestion. It also creates a clean and clear oral environment for fresh breath and less cavities. 

Here are my favorite Tongue Scraper , Non-toxic Whitening Toothpaste and Toothpaste Squeezer to get every last drop out of the tube!

quick and easy ELECTROLYTE REPLACEMENT

When we sleep, we do not take in any liquids and usually wake up dehydrated. I have started kickstarting my morning with a simple detoxifying electrolyte replacement. I simply juice half a lemon into a 12oz glass of water and add about a ¼ tsp of quality mineralized salt. It not only helps rehydrate you by replenishing electrolytes but also aids digestion by stimulating stomach acid production and provides a small boost of vitamin C from the lemon. This simple habit can also help kickstart your metabolism. 

I have been recovering from a few years of chronic stress. One of the unfortunate side effects has been both increased cortisol levels and adrenal fatigue. Taking this adrenal complex every morning with my electrolyte has helped bring my adrenal numbers back into normal range. I felt a huge difference within the first week of taking it. If you are someone who manages chronic or prolonged stress, talk to your doctor about ways you can support your adrenals and whether or not adding an adrenal support to your routine could help.

Here are my favorite items for my morning electrolyte water.

Link to Citrus Juicer, Redmond Real Salt, Adrenal Complex, and Glass with Bamboo Lid and straw. 

the best habit stack – COFFEE & COLLAGEN 

Being from the Pacific Northwest, I came to enjoy coffee at a young age. I remember going off to college in the mid-west in the early 90’s and they had never heard of a latté. Those were tough years. But me and coffee made it through and have emerged stronger than ever. One of my favorite habit stacks is to sneak 20 grams of collagen protein into my morning coffee. I like to froth organic half and half in my favorite double walled glass mugs and hit the “coffee” button on my Jura. This machine is a major splurge, but enjoying fresh ground coffee drinks every morning has spoiled me. We often joke that if we had a house fire that our Jura would be what we saved.  

Unfortunately, we made our coffee from toxic plastic coffee pods for many years. This change has been one way we have removed a daily toxic load from our bodies. Healthier ways to prepare coffee include: pour overs, drip coffee, cold brew and espresso machines. If the Jura machine is out of reach, consider this De’ Longhi machine. It is a great economical option and the one we have at KVINNA.

I am a purist and usually don’t like to add flavoring or sweetness to my coffee, but sometimes in the afternoons I like a coffee pick-me-up. When I do, my go to coffee with a hint of sweet is to froth a drizzle a bit of real maple syrup into my organic half and half. Froth until light and fluffy and then sprinkle the top with pumpkin pie spice (preferably Trader Joes because it is the best pumpkin pie spice ever made!) Here is the recipe for anyone wanting to ditch the store-bought creamer for a healthier option. 

Link to Jura Espresso Machine, De’ Longhi Espresso Machine, Frother, Double Walled Glass Mugs and Vitals Collagen Peptides.

A little Reading – to grow and learn

Now that I have a good hot cup of coffee in my hands, I usually enjoy some time of reading and prayer. I spend some time reading both the Bible and other books on topics I am wanting to expand my knowledge on. I try to read at least one chapter a day. It is amazing how many interesting books you can read by only reading one chapter a day. You can read roughly two books a month! A little each day makes a big difference. It feels so good to nurture your mind and develop interests that matter to you.

With the new year upon us and many of us considering our goals and intentions, here are a few of my favorite books on building healthy habits.

Habit Book Collection

eating my frog – and learning to like it…

In business school (ages and ages ago) our professor had us read a small but powerful book titled Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. The book’s main premise is that if you tackle your hardest and most important task first thing, then the rest of your day will be more productive and less stressful. You will gain a feeling of success in the first hours of your day. When you get the most critical thing done at the start of your day, everything else is icing on the cake! Psychologically this is a game changer! Most of us, spend our day procrastinating the “one dreaded task”. By default, we end up wasting time doing other things all while feeling stressed and burdened by what we “should be doing”. So it is good to start the day deciding and committing to the most important task. When we do the hard thing first – when we “eat the frog”, we get to enjoy the blissful feeling of success at the very beginning of our day. It lowers stress and decreases feelings of dread, anxiety and depression. This one small shift in your day could make a big change in your goals and how you feel – about your life and yourself.

Link to Eat That Frog 

Move your body

There have been times in my life when going to the gym and personal fitness was a much bigger part of my daily life. In this season, I have more simple goals where exercise is concerned. I feel better when I get in my daily steps, do some resistance training and really stretch. I can do this at home with minimal equipment. I usually make my green drink and walk downstairs to our makeshift home gym. No commute helps with my consistency. I have decided that consistency is what matters and doing a little most days, is better than doing a lot inconsistently. So simple and consistent is my main goal. I generally use two apps on my phone for my workouts. They range from 15 minutes to 60 minutes. I use my Oura ring to track my steps, sleep and stress levels. This has been a game changer! I have an inexpensive walking pad I can use to finish off my steps if I didn’t hit my daily goal. It’s nice having a way to add in extra steps since we are stuck inside for the cold winter months. In the summer, I love to get outside and enjoy a daily walk. It has become one of my favorite times of day and lowers my stress and cortisol. 

I prefer drinking my vitamins and before I workout, I make an easy drink that includes my: AG1 Athletic Greens, a scoop of Body Health Perfect Aminos, my Armra Colostrum and a little baby scoop of Creatine.

Link to my Oura ring and inexpensive Treadmill Walking Pad 

Taking your shower to the Spa level

This one is new to my routine, but it will now be a part of my morning ritual forever. I just love it! I have always been a sucker for aromatherapy and love the way it changes our experience from the mundane to special. Last year, I got to go to the famous Posthotel in Leavenworth, WA. This beautiful European inspired luxury spa hotel was everything I imagined. My favorite part was their beautiful steam and sauna rooms. Each one uniquely designed with it’s own architecture and essential oil aromatherapy. Artfully created to relax and stimulate the senses. I wanted to recreate that experience at home, so I bought some essential oil mist. Simply turn on your hot water and let the steam build. Spritz a few pumps of the shower mist into the steam cloud, and breathe it in. Spray again as necessary to achieve your aromatic steam room experience. This has now become one thing I look forward to doing each and every day. Eucalyptus essential oil has antibacterial, anti-fungal, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and decongestant properties. KVINNA has created our own KLEN blend and is available for sale at the KVINNA clinic. For those who are not local, here is another brand I have enjoyed using

I also try to take the time to drain my lymphatic system by doing a little dry brushing before I shower. We sell similar brushes at KVINNA. I also take the time to do scalp massage when cleaning my hair. I also use this scalp massager to work on sore fascia. It provides gentle massage and relief of my sometimes sore legs.

Links to Shower Mist, Dry Brush and Scalp Massager.

embracing the benefits of the Cold Plunge

The last thing I do before I get ready for my day is a short cold plunge. Now, for the record, I don’t look forward to this ritual! Haha! But I have come to see the benefits and absolutely love how I feel when it’s over. I simply turn on the cold water in my bathtub before I get into the shower. While I am showering, my bathtub is filling up with cold water. We have a separate bathtub, so I can use my shower time to fill the tub. As soon as I get out of the shower, I set my timer and jump into my cold bath for about 5 minutes. I use an ice bath thermometer to gage the temperature of the water. The ideal range for women is somewhere between 55-65 degrees. Start at the top of that range if you are a beginner and slowly lower it.

The hardest part is getting in. Once you are under the water, it is tolerable – and quite peaceful. I have found that having something to listen to like an audio book or a podcast, helps give you something to focus on. Always end with cold water. This will jump start your metabolism because your body is having to warm itself up. If you have any joint or muscle inflammation or struggle with depression, this will give you a quick dopamine hit and sooths all the aches and pains. It can be a hard habit to embrace, but now I can’t do without it. I promise, you will feel so amazing afterwards! 

**Please note, if you are a woman of childbearing years and working to support your fertility, please talk to your doctor about whether adding cold therapy would be right for you. Cold therapy does effect your hormones and for some, their body is too sensitive to the impact of this modality. Make sure you educate yourself on the benefits and potential side-effects of cold therapy.

Link to my favorite Cold Bath Thermometer 

Now let’s go eat our frogs!

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Here’s to getting healthier together, Love Angela