Whether you are a morning person or you really need that cup of coffee to be able to start your day, essential oils are an effortless addition to your morning routine. - Mountain Rose Herbs
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Some of you reading this post are old blog challenge friends, but for those of you who are new, welcome! I'm Jeanine.
I'm an author & lifestyle and faith blogger, writing here at Meet Jeanine about slow living, slow faith & slow morning routines. Every few months, when possible, I join other bloggers for the Ultimate Blog Challenge. |
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The Ultimate Blog Challenge
The Ultimate Blog Challenge, led fearlessly by Paul Taubman, happens several times a year, in January, April, July and October. The challenge is to write a blog post every day of the month and post it in the Facebook group so the other bloggers can love on it.
I love getting to meet new bloggers and see old friends each time. I've been participating off and on for about 10 years now.
Join us! It really helps with traffic, which is one of the things I love most about it, in addition to the experience, itself.
Morning Aromatherapy
This month's blog posts, here at Meet Jeanine, will be brought to you by the letters M and A, for Morning Aromatherapy. What is morning aromatherapy? I'm glad you asked.
Morning aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to transform your experience of mornings.
And I like the idea of making mornings cozy, so here, I'll be talking about cozy morning aromatherapy, which does the main job of making mornings easier, but also has a side hustle - it adds coziness and comfort to the mix.
I invite you back this month to learn more about it, especially if you struggle with mornings.
By the way, in the middle of the month, we'll be doing a 7-day morning yoga challenge, for beginners (like me) who aren't sure they could add a sequence to their morning routine, but are willing to try one pose a day. And each day, there will be a recommended essential oil blend to deepen & support your experience.
See you tomorrow!
Love, Jeanine
Do you long to pursue a slower lifestyle, but worry that you don't have enough time to make it work? I suspect this is a common reason slow living remains in the wish stage.
Slow down? I don't get enough done as it is!
Slow living asks you to make more time for what matters most. But what if it feels like there's no way you can do that right now?
It's always my suggestion that you start small and make gradual changes. It creating a slower lifestyle is going to be possible, this is likely to be the easiest way to find out and then, to do so.
And speaking of wishes long deferred, let's look at morning routines. Maybe your dream morning routine would require a lot more time than you have to spare, as a busy stay at home mom.
But what if you only had to find ten minutes? Here are 5 ideas for a ten-minute morning routine for moms, and one way to create a morning routine that combines them...
5 Ideas for Creating a 10-Minute
Morning Meditation Routine
As an added bonus to immersing myself in the moment, meditating for 10 minutes a day helped me develop a writing habit, a reading habit, a journaling habit, and a happier and healthier life. Simply put, meditation changed my life — and it could change yours too.
– Blake Powell in The Mission, Medium.com
I know. I have heard it, too. That if you really want to benefit from creating a meditation practice, you’ll need more time.
But as stay at home moms, we may not have more time. Should we give up and call it a day? I don’t think so.
You deserve to take time each day to get grounded and centered. Even if you only have ten minutes.
Here's how...
(1) The easiest way might be to simply sit quietly for ten minutes, focusing on breathing deeply and slowly.
(2) You also could meditate on chosen words or phrases, or affirmations, like “breathing in peace,” or “I am centered and grounded,” or “God is with me.”
(3) Your ten-minute meditation could be a walking meditation, spent quietly observing nature.
(4) You could use a guided meditation that is only ten minutes long.
(5) You might spend your ten-minute meditation imagining a peaceful scene, and picturing yourself there. If the weather outside is frightful, staying in and imagining it, instead, might be better.
There are endless variations on these ideas and other ones you can try. The main thing to know is that you don’t have to give up on meditating just because you don’t have much time.
Taking time out to pause during a busy morning will always be a good idea even if that amount of time is short.
And on the weekend, you can give yourself more time to meditate.
On a slow lifestyle Saturday, you could meditate on an intention you have set for your life, and give yourself time to imagine it manifesting, taking in every detail you can think of and really placing yourself there, right in the middle of it.
On your Self Care Sunday, you could meditate on a scene from the past week, taking the time to imagine and practice endless variations of how it could have gone differently.
What if I had said that, instead? Or, what if I had felt more confident, peaceful, or empowered?
Telling yourself a better version of the story and practicing it in meditation may help you create different outcomes in situations that come up in the future.
Or, you can take time during your Sunday morning meditation to dream up everything you want to experience during the following week. Let yourself see and feel it, as you imagine your intentions for the week coming true.
What do you hope will be your best moments in the week to come?
How might you sail through any challenges that come your way?
Giving yourself more time to meditate each weekend gives you the benefit of longer meditation times on days when you’re more likely to find the time to do it. And to enjoy it.
7 Ideas for Creating a 10-Minute Morning Quiet Time Retreat
First, find a place for some quiet and then make yourself go there. It could be a place outdoors, a secluded room in your house, or even a quiet walk in the neighbourhood. The best part about the ten minutes is that it can be anything. During my brief time on the bench I did an examen. You could sit in silence, do centering prayer, ask God a question, or just vent to God.
– Ten Minute Retreat, GodinAllThings.com
Is it ever difficult for you to find time in your morning for a quiet time with God? And when you do take the time, is it hard not to hear that voice in your head that reminds you of what else needs to be done?
As a stay at home mom, I know this struggle all too well. I’ve often decided that there wasn’t time, that I was way too tired to pay attention long enough, or whatever excuse occurred to my tired, beleagured mind in those moments.
But an alternative, on days when it feels like there just isn’t enough time, is to have a shorter quiet time. Here are several things you can do when you only have five or ten minutes…
(1) Read your devotional
(2) Read a chapter in your Bible
(3) Pray a psalm to God
(4) Sing a worship song or hymn
(5) Pray about anything coming up that day that concerns you
(6) Do a brief meditation during which you plug into God’s presence and connect with his love for you
(7) In your journal, write a brief note about any insights that came to you during the activity you chose, whether that was singing, reading the Bible, praying or something else.
Creating a 10-minute quiet time whenever you need one will take away the pressure to spend more time than you have, and free you from worrying about getting it done. But because you love God, you’re likely to long to keep spending time with him.
If you really can’t, though, there are three possible solutions I want to suggest.
One is to set a gentle timer that will go off as you get close to the ten-minute limit.
Another is to have a second and longer quiet time, whenever possible, during a slower evening routine, after the kids are in bed.
The third is to plan for and spend more time with God during your weekends. Here are several ideas for how to do that.
For your slow lifestyle Saturday, give yourself more time with God.
Dig into a Bible passage that is likely to offer wisdom or insight about the week that just ended, or guidance and encouragement for the week ahead.
On Self Care & Sabbath Sunday, give yourself a longer quiet time with God and dedicate the day to resting in him. Ask him for guidance about how to spend your time, and then, listen for what he knows will be most nurturing to you that day.
If you have gone to church that day, journal about anything from that day’s sermon that you’re still thinking about, or want to talk over with God.
Also, write about any challenges you experienced during the week, looking for times when you tried to carry those burdens or solve those problems yourself, instead of trusting God with them.
Hand them over retroactively, and listen for any insights or words of healing about the week you are leaving behind. Write it all down in your journal.
Praise him for all the ways he was there for you during the week and ask for his guidance during the week to come.
9 Ideas for a 10-Minute Morning
Journal Routine
Meditation, visualization, prayer, and journaling are all powerful activities that go very well together. But the journaling portion is where you solidify, clarify, affirm, and strategize your insights, goals, and plans. This morning journaling session only needs to be 5-15 minutes. – Benjamin Hardy,
Ph.D, in Better Humans, Medium.com
Is starting a journal one of the things you have wanted to add to your morning routine?
If one of the reasons you haven’t yet done it is that you don’t feel like you have enough time to dedicate to it each morning, the 10-minute idea may be a solution. On mornings when there just wasn’t enough time – even if that was every morning – you wouldn’t reject journaling altogether, you’d just spend a great deal less time writing.
And then, you’d have weekends, if you needed them, to make up for lost time.
Here are several ways to try a 10-minute morning journal routine…
(1) Create a self-care bullet journal and use it in several different ways…
-To write yourself brief love notes or affirmations when time is short.
-To set intentions for the day.
-To prioritize the intentions you’ve already set
-To jot down reminders you want to make sure you don’t forget during your busy morning.
(2) Use your other journal, but set a timer that gentle lets you know your time is almost up.
-Do stream of consciousness writing about whatever comes to mind.
-Choose a topic for exploration and write down any thoughts that come up during that time.
-Think about what is coming up for you that day and write possible solutions for any challenges you know you’ll face.
-Write down any insights you gained during brief moments of meditation or prayer.
-Write a brief story about how you would like for the day to go, and what would be the best outcomes you can imagine for all that you have planned.
Several of these will tempt you to spend more time than you have, especially at first, but you’ll be surprised at how easily you get used to journaling in short, brief bursts. And you can promise yourself you will get back to it when you have more time on the weekends.
During slow lifestyle Saturdays, you can give yourself more time to write. Journal about your dreams for your life. How can you nurture & support them in the days to come?
Think about any ongoing problems that don’t yet have a solution. Writing about them may help you think of one.
Use your Self Care Sunday to journal about the week you are leaving behind, and give yourself plenty of time to think things through and then, let them go. Brainstorm ways to handle any tricky situations that may be coming up in the week ahead, and set your intentions for the coming week.
The Ten-Minute Tea Time
With a cup of tea, we are invited to relax into all of ourselves, not letting the busy mind run the show. Allow any questions, reflections, or contemplations, but set aside to-dos for later. Keep breathing deeply, savoring your tea and any chosen mindful activity, landing ever more in the refuge of the present moment. – Katy Taylor, PlumDeluxe.com
My morning cup of tea is one of my favorite parts of my morning routine! But sometimes, commitments I have made for my morning keep me from having the full tea experience I want, with my great big cup of tea.
On those mornings, I make a much smaller cup; one that I can drink fairly quickly, instead of lingering over it to savor it as I usually do.
And sometimes, it’s the next day before I can get back to my regular big cup routine.
Do you love tea, too?
If you do, then, instead of skipping your cup of tea on your busiest mornings, just make a smaller cup. That way, you still get to have it, even though it isn’t the normal amount you are used to drinking.
On your slow living Saturday and Self Care Sunday, you could make a pot of tea and give yourself time to savor each cup, while reading or writing in your journal.
Or sip while watching the trees blow gently from your perch on the front porch.
The 10-Minute Morning Yoga Routine
My biggest complaint, that I was just too busy to do yoga regularly, went right out the window when all I had to commit to was 10 minutes. Even on days when I didn't have time to settle down until 10:00 or 11:00 at night, I could still stretch before bed. This is a good lesson that goes beyond yoga—making time for something that's important isn't actually impossible.
- Kasandra Brabaw, Prevention.com
Here are several links you can click to learn more about creating a 10-minute morning yoga routine...
(1)From Subtle Yogi
(2) Early Morning Yoga from JP Thomas
And here are ideas for yoga on the weekends...
During a slow living Saturday morning, you might go to a live yoga class and meet up with friends who could take the class with you and then, go get coffee afterward. Or, you might do a kids yoga routine with your children.
Or on Self Care Sunday, you might find a longer routine online you’d like to try, and you can give yourself more time that day to do the yoga sequence or poses.
What if you could combine some or most of these morning routine ideas into one ten-minute self-care routine for those days when you want as much goodness in your morning as possible?
7 Ideas for a 10-Minute Self Care
Morning Routine
“Slowing down and starting a self-care practice is one of the best ways to shift the energy of your entire day. Before you dive into all your obligations, deadlines and must-do’s for the day, allow yourself ten minutes to not have a single care in the world...” – EpicMatcha.com
(1) Light a tealight candle
(2) Put the pot on to make a cup of tea
(3) Do a brief meditation or some deep breathing while the pot is heating up.
(4) Say your affirmations while the tea is steeping.
(5) While sipping your tea, visualize the day you want to have & briefly, describe it as an intention in your journal.
(6) As you begin to conclude this self-care ritual, make a wish for your day.
(7) Then, blow out your candle
Repeat this self-care ritual on the weekends, but give yourself more time for each step, and include as many of the other ideas for a slow morning weekend routine as you would like.
Did you get some great ideas for a ten-minute morning routine you would like to try? Let me know in a comment.
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
As a stay at home mom, finding time for yourself can be a challenge. In fact, whole days can easily go by in a blink, unplanned, if we let them.
 | Slow living, as a philosophy, encourages you to live according to your values and set intentions for the way you will choose to spend your time. To reject busyness as a virtue and to slow life down to spend more time with those you love, doing what you love. But what does that look like, practically speaking? Here are 20 slow living routine ideas for stay at home moms & slow lifestyle families. |
Choose a few that appeal to you, that you and your family can try. Use them to create more time for yourself, and more time to spend with those who matter most to you.
10-Minute Ideas for a Slow Morning Routine
(1) Linger over a cup of your favorite tea each morning.
(2) Add ten minutes of meditation to your morning routine.
(3) Do a yoga or stretching sequence each morning.
(4) Take ten minutes each morning to write in your self-care journal.
5 Slow Living Routine Ideas for Evenings
(5) Spend time connecting with your kids after school, instead of chauffering them each day to one activity after another.
(6) Let go of one commitment that doesn't serve you & replace it with a daily or weekly activity that matches your values, like spending time with friends or family.
(7) At least once a week, eat dinner as a family without any electronic guests.
(8) Create time to read each night as part of your wind-down routine.
(9) Make a cup of lavender or chamomile tea each night to help yourself relax and unwind.
(10) Before getting up in the morning, identify your top 3 priorities.
(11) Take five minutes between one activity and the next each day to breathe deeply and slowly.
(12) Create a wind-down time each evening that helps you let go of daily stress & become sleepy enough for bedtime.
9 Weekend Ideas for a Slow Living Routine
(13) Bake cookies with your kids each Saturday afternoon for a slow living Saturday.
(14) Eat a slow cooker meal once a weekend with your family.
(15) Take the kids to see their grandparents each Friday night & have a weekly date night with your spouse.
(16) Each week, get together with your friends for a weekly game night.
(17) Have a weekly weekend movie night with your family.
(18) During your Self Care Sundays, set intentions for the following week.
(19) Create a brief letting go ritual & do that at the end of each day and at the end of each week.
(20) Create a capsule wardrobe, so each Sunday, it will be easy to plan next week's outfits.
(21) Bonus idea: set intentions for the week each Sunday and write them in your journal.
Which ones appeal to you most? Tell me in a comment below.
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
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Get more ideas about how to create a slower
lifestyle for yourself & your family by
downloading my free Slow Living eBook.
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Are mornings difficult for you? Are you a night owl (and tired mama) whose kids wake up bright-eyed long before you’re ready to admit it's morning again?
I've put together the ultimate guide to creating your perfect morning routine and you can read it right here. It's a morning routine guide for moms who want happier mornings not just for themselves, but also, for their families.
Ready? Let's get started…
Lifelong Night Owl Tales of Woe
On the one hand, morning 'larks' prefer getting up and going to bed early, and are at their peak performance early in the day. On the other hand, night 'owls' like sleeping in and staying up late, and don’t perform well until afternoon or evening. - Psychology Today
A night owl is someone who not only prefers to be up later at night, but functions better later in the day or evening, and does not do so well early in the morning. Sleeping in works better for them.
A typical preferred schedule for a night owl might be going to sleep around 2 or 3 in the morning and waking up around 11 a.m. or noon. Is that similar to the schedule you would choose, if you could?
For night owls, going to bed at what seems like the right time, often leaves them lying awake, wishing they could fall asleep.
And then they frequently glance at the clock, still awake, and recalculate how much sleep they’ll get if they fall asleep soon. But they don’t fall asleep soon, because they can't.
I am all too familiar with this struggle.
I was born just before midnight, and I suspect I have struggled to go to sleep on time ever since. I remember lots of childhood nights, lying awake well past the time I went to bed, bored, and wishing I could be in the family room, watching TV with my parents. I could hear the faint sounds of whatever they were watching, and those sounds called to me.
My mother seemed surprised and annoyed each time she came to check on me, and found with my eyes open, still wide awake. She didn’t know what to do to fix it, and neither did I.
I know I did not get enough sleep during my childhood. Did you?
Children who are wide awake at bedtime and sleepy the next morning, often grow up to be adults who struggle to conform to the cultural norms of going to bed at a reasonable hour, and then getting up in time to go to work, or begin the day with their own wide-awake children.
Has that been your experience? It certainly was mine.
When my work days began at 8:30 or 9:00, I struggled nearly every day to make it work. I’d fall asleep right after David Letterman said, “wake the kids and call the neighbors.”
And the next morning would find me struggling to wake up, feeling like I was moving through molasses as I tried to get ready as quickly as possible so I wouldn’t be late. Eventually, I was eating in the car, and putting on my makeup, during the half hour drive to work just to try to give myself a better chance of getting there a minute before I’d be late.
Once my son became my personal alarm clock, the struggle continued, just in a different way. He was bright-eyed and bushy tailed, eager to hang out with his mommy, and I could barely open my eyes.
What is the solution for those of us who struggle with an early-morning wake-up call? Many night owls try to become a morning person.
Become a Morning Person?
There is lots of advice out there about how to become a morning person, but is that really possible? You can wake up earlier, start your day earlier, and decide to go to bed earlier at night, but can you become a morning person?
Based on what the experts say, I think not.
Most people can’t simply switch wake up and bed times, because their bodies won’t allow them to. Our circadian rhythm is controlled by a tiny area in our brains, the suprachiasmatic nucleus. -Dr. Nathaniel Watson, co-director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Centre, incoming president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. -BBC
But it is possible to get to the point where you are waking up in the morning, naturally, without an alarm, at your ideal wake-up time.
Your Ideal Wake-Up Time
Do you know what your ideal wake-up time is? Though it is less likely to be an exact time on the dot than a general range of time, it provides for the amount of time you need each morning.
That sounds simple, but for those who struggle with getting up on time, or with getting ready as quickly as we need to in order to be ready for our obligations, it may not be simple at all.
And I’m not saying that your ideal morning time is your preferred wake-up time. But it is the time that would make your morning life, and your mom life, run the most smoothly.
What’s your ideal? It may be affected by the time you go to bed, because functioning your best, on any given morning, is likely to depend on sleeping enough and sleeping well the night before.
Do you struggle to get to bed or to sleep on time? That would push your ideal wake-up time forward in a flexible schedule. But if it’s not as flexible, then we need to get you a better night's sleep.
Your Best Night's Sleep
For night owls, what constitutes getting to bed or to sleep on time may be different than it is for morning larks, those who love mornings. And if you don’t work outside the home, getting up early enough to go to work on time is not an issue.
Plus, there’s no universally agreed upon best time for going to bed and falling asleep. But whatever late turns out to be, for you, it will deny you the sleep you need.
| So the goal becomes whatever time gets you better sleep and enough of it. But with no agreed upon standards, your ideal bedtime will be based on your lifestyle and needs. If you’re a mom, it also will be based on what time your children wake up, what time school starts or homeschool begins, and when you need to sleep in order to be your best during their mornings. |  |
What is Your Ideal Bedtime?
Experts suggest that we need 7 to 9 hours of sleep in order to function optimally and be at our most healthy. So, in order to find your ideal sleep time, you need to know when your ideal wake-up time is.
If it takes you a while to “yawn and stretch and try to come to life,” (Dolly Parton, Nine to Five theme song) then your wake-up time probably needs to happen before your kids get going in the morning. How long does it take you to wake up properly and be ready to roll?
And what time do your children wake up? If it takes you an hour or two to be functional, then you’ll need to get up an hour or two before your children do, and be asleep 7 to 9 hours before then. That hour is your ideal bedtime.
It may take some experimenting to find those numbers. And you may need more time in the morning than you think.
Does it need to work out perfectly? Perfection may not be possible.
I find that I need to be awake and out of bed at least 3 hours before my son wakes up – probably because I am also an introvert – and now that he’s a teenager, and we start our homeschool day later in the morning, that works out well.
But when he was younger, I couldn’t make that work, and had to settle for 2 hours when I really needed three.
So aim for the best combination of sleep time and waking up, and then make the very best of whatever way it shakes out in practice.
And once you have your ideal bedtime and wake-up times in mind, the problem becomes getting yourself to sleep at that time, if you’re a night owl. What’s the best way to get to sleep at that time?
Well, you may have heard or read that getting to sleep on time will become much easier if you back away from your devices an hour or more before you want to go to sleep.
Ninety percent of people in the U.S. admit to using a technological device during the hour before turning in, and children often use electronic media to help them relax at night. If you’re among these nighttime technology-users, you may not realize the extent to which this can make it harder to settle down to sleep. But it can. The truth is, using electronic devices before bedtime can be physiologically and psychologically stimulating in ways that can adversely affect your sleep. -National Sleep Foundation
I found this to be true in my own life. I had just moved, and had to wait a week before my cable appointment. Plus, no one came at the scheduled time, which added another 2 weeks of being without my favorite TV shows!
But here’s what happened that surprised me.
I found that without having the TV on all night, it was easy to go to bed a couple of hours earlier than I normally did. And not only that, I would go to bed, thinking I’d probably read for an hour or so, and find myself getting sleepy in 20 minutes or less.
It was so easy. I got more sleep, and woke up earlier than I had been getting up before the move. So, to be honest, I felt ambivalent about finally getting everything set up with cable.
Would I be able to stick to my new schedule once those late night shows were available? I knew the answer was probably going to be no, and I was right.
TV can be irresistibly tempting. But it also, apparently, throws off your sleep biology and will make it harder to go to sleep at the time you have chosen.
Unless you are able to talk yourself into turning it off ahead of time.
But once you’ve turned off the TV, stepped away from the computer, and put your phone aside, what do you do then?
Do you like to read? Or listen to music? Have another hobby, like knitting?
This is where creating an ideal evening routine comes in.
How to Create an Ideal Evening Routine
for Better Mornings
If you need an earlier wake-up time, and thus, an earlier bedtime, then getting your evening routine right will empower you mornings. But what would make for an ideal evening routine?
Let’s talk about that next.
Here are 4 must haves for your evening routine…
(1) It needs to help you wind down well enough to become sleepy when you need to, so it will be easy to go to bed when you’ve chosen.
(2) Though this one isn’t a must, it is ideal – your evening routine should help you let go of and recover from any stress you experienced during the day.
(3) And ideally, your evening routine will give you time for things you love to do.
Reading, watching a movie, spending time with your family. In an ideal evening routine, there is time for what makes life sweeter.
(4) But that also means that eating dinner and getting the dishes done need to happen in time for the rest of your evening routine to occur.
How can you carve out time for an evening routine and what would it include?
Once you have planned an evening routine that will work for you, it’s time to craft the ideal morning routine.
5 Must-Haves for Crafting
Your Perfect Morning Routine
(1) It needs to give you plenty of time to come to life before having to function well.
(2) It needs to help you be more present to your children and what they need.
(3) It needs to make it easy to be on time for whatever you’ve got on your morning schedule without having to rush.
(4) It needs to empower and support the day you want to create.
(5) It needs to create the feelings you want to experience. How do you want your mornings to feel?
And would slower mornings feel better?
7 Reasons Why a Slower Morning Routine Will Make Your Mornings Easier
Slow morning routines are morning routines during which you don't rush through the process of getting ready and you take the time for self-care or other experiences you'll enjoy as you gradually wake up fully and become more alert.
Slow mornings don’t rush. In fact, they are carefully designed to move more slowly, and to bring what is needed to the person who got up for them.
So, aside from the beauty and wonder of slow living, in general, slower lifestyle mornings may actually be more practical for those of us who struggle with mornings.
Here are 7 reasons why…
(1) They give you the time you need to become fully functional. You’ll no longer have to do something while you’re only half awake.
(2) They eliminate the stress of rushing and falling behind in your schedule.
That frenetic, rushed, harried experience that happens when there’s something to do that feels urgent, but there isn't enough time, is part of what can make mornings so unpleasant in the first place, right?
(3) They give you the opportunity to create moments and experiences that help you enjoy mornings more. Like a self-care routine. Or morning coziness.
(4) If you're a woman of faith, a slow morning routine will give you enough space in your morning for a quiet time that fosters a deeper connection with God.
(5) Slowing down your morning routine will give you time to set and attune to your intentions for the day, and prioritize the ones that are most important.
(6) Your slower morning routine could be designed to give you some alone time before the deep dive into interactions with your family and others.
(7) With a slow morning routine, you can take back your mornings, instead of being owned by them, so that mornings feel better.
I'm a big advocate of designing your morning routine based on the way you want your mornings to feel.
But if you don't have a morning routine that you've created, and made time for, then you lose some of that freedom to choose the way you want mornings to feel. And they are much more likely to feel rushed.
So, I’m suggesting a slow morning routine, but how long should a morning routine be?
There is no ideal amount of time it needs to take. Instead, it’s whatever amount of time you need to become fully functional.
Do you know what that amount of time is, for you?
Even if you don’t fill it up with mindful activities, then your morning routine will allow that much time to pass. Silence and sips of tea are just as good as anything else you might include, as long as you don’t pressure yourself to be completely operational before you’re ready.
Cozy Mornings & Hygge Moments
What if you could make mornings more cozy?
Denmark winters are cold, dark and dreary.
But Danish people fought back with hygge and they won! Could deliberately creating cozy, hygge moments help you take back your mornings the way it helped them take back winter?
The definition for cozy is giving a feeling of comfort, warmth and relaxation.
And hygge, pronounced hue-geh, is a word that is hard to translate precisely into English, but involves the same kinds of cozy feelings.
Hygge is an intended focus on creating warmth and coziness, both through what you do and what you place into your environment. It is an emphasis on doing all the comforting things you enjoy, and it’s a way to enhance those moments so that they are even sweeter.
So if you love to read, hygge plumps the pillow on the chair you’re sitting in, brings you a cup of tea, lights a candle nearby in your favorite scent and hangs your favorite throw over the back of your chair in case you get cold.
If you love spending time with your friends, hygge invites them over for game night, but tells them to come in time for nachos & beer first, and promises dessert after the games are over so your friends will stay longer and you’ll have an even better time.
Then, it adds cozy atmosphere in the room where everyone will be by keeping a fire lit so they’ll want to stay inside where it’s so warm and cozy, rather than leaving to face the cold.
Hygge is like a cozy best friend!
Simply put, according to the dictionary, it’s “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).”
What would it be like to add elements of hygge coziness to your morning?
I know it has worked for me, over and over again. When getting to work on time was a struggle, and there were days I wished I could stay home, the promise of making my cup of tea when I got there, and lighting a vanilla candle or two, helped me have something to look forward to when I got there.
By the way, back then, no one seemed to care of you set your building on fire, so I was able to light as many candles as I wanted. But unfortunately for me, that soon changed, candles were disallowed, and I had to come up with other ideas.
I also made my office look like a cozy living room and seeing it, with my throw across one chair, and my other decorative touches, made me feel good each morning, and every cozy change I made helped make those mornings easier.
Now that I work from home, my mornings include a great big cup of tea, and any candle I want to light. Plus, other cozy moments that make each morning easier than mornings used to be.
Could that work for you, too?
Here are 5 ways to create cozy, hygge moments each morning…
(1) Light a tealight candle. This could be especially soothing if you wake up when it is still dark out, or not quite fully light.
(2) Drink your favorite beverage and give yourself time to linger over it.
Let yourself relax fully. And make that moment just about the tea or coffee, not a backdrop for whatever else you are doing.
(3) Spend your first moments in your favorite room and make it look cozy. Open the blinds or curtains to let the sunshine in.
Maybe you could have your beverage on your balcony or patio, so you can breathe in fresh air and watch the birds fly from one tree to the next.
(4) Instead of checking in on social media, to see whose pictures and status updates suggest they are is having a better life than everyone else, spend a few minutes reading, or listening to music that inspires and energizes you.
(5) Give yourself enough time to connect with someone you care about and you get to have the cozy warmth of that connection at the start of your day.
12 Ways to Use Aromatherapy
to Empower Your Morning Routine
I've created a cozy morning aromatherapy guide, with essential oil recipes and blends you can use to empower your morning routine.
To find out more about it, and how to access it, fill in the form for the morning routine quiz. You can use aromatherapy as part of your next steps in creating an ideal, personalized morning routine.
But first, let's look at 12 ways essential oils can be a positive influence on your mornings...
What’s so remarkable about essential oils is that they influence the whole being. Just as they are the catalyst that can make a wound heal, or a mind relax, so can they transport a soul. – Valerie Ann Worwood, Aromatherapy for the Soul
(1) Morning aromatherapy can ground and center you for a peaceful morning.
(2) You can use it to help you relax deeply for your morning meditation.
(3) Use morning aromatherapy to help you think clearly as you write in your self-care journal.
(4) Morning aromatherapy can help you stay focused on a task or project you need to get done.
(5) You can use it to help you wake up fully and become more alert each morning.
(6) Morning aromatherapy can help you leave behind the cranky mornings and have cheerful ones, instead.
(7) It can help you be more present with the kids.
(8) It can help you stay on task instead of becoming distracted or returning to sleepiness.
(9) Morning aromatherapy can support the way you want to feel as you do your yoga sequence or poses.
(10) Morning aromatherapy can help you banish the sluggishness & molasses moments that make it harder to move through your mornings.
(11) It can help you return to calm more easily after a stressful moment in your morning.
(12) Morning aromatherapy can help you create coziness as you spend mornings with your family.
Journal Prompts & Questions for Reflection
What changes have you felt inspired to make as you’ve read this post?
What will you need to do to make those changes possible?
Is there one change or shift you could make right away?
Putting it All Together
If you’ve made it this far, you’ve taken in a lot of information about how to create an ideal morning routine.
Keep in mind that gradual change is more lasting. And creating an ideal morning routine is not about the shoulds, it’s about empowering yourself to create the best morning experience you can have.
Doing that will transform mornings for your children, too.
Start small and adjust as needed.
What’s the first change or shift you feel inspired to make? Tell me in a comment.
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
P.S. Just a reminder that you can take my free, printable
morning routine quiz & then, watch my video for
results & next steps. Fill in the form here to access it...
morning routine quiz & then, watch my video for
results & next steps. Fill in the form here to access it...
Sundays should be sacred. Rejuvenating. Healing. Empowering.
- Sahara, at EatFeelFresh.com
Ideal self-care Sundays will embody those four qualities, and accomplish these four missions, as well - reconnect you with the essence of who you are, give you time to rest and recharge, prepare you for the week ahead and help you heal, let go of and recover from the week you are leaving behind. How close do your weekend experiences come to the ideal?
Self Care Sunday. Three magical words that will change your life if you let them. - Melody Godfred, at FredandFar,com
Self-Care Sunday: Reconnects You
with Yourself
As women, we wear so many hats, most of them being different roles we play. But what happens to the one with our name on it?
On a self care Sunday, if you make it spacious and open, you can give yourself the freedom to tune in to your own voice. And reconnect with the self you might have neglected during the week.
Get the chores done ahead of time, and save some leftovers for the microwave or oven, so you have plenty of time to check in with yourself. To be still. To catch your breath.
Plan it that way, to make sure it happens.
Self-Care Sunday: Gives You Time
to Rest & Recharge
There's an episode of the old family drama, Judging Amy, that I think perfectly captures the feeling of getting enough rest. In the episode, she only experiences this feeling because she got sick and was forced to rest, so for her, it's neither real nor lasting.
But it demonstrates the difference between what most of us experience during our weekends, and what what we could, if we rested.
During the parts of the episode where she is miserably sick, life goes on around her, and at best, she is only dimly aware of it. It isn't happening to her, at all. She is barely present.
Do you ever feel barely present in your own life?
Then, one morning, she gets up as usual, and the sun comes out. Her face brightens, she smiles widely, and suddenly, she becomes part of the scene again, and she knows exactly what is going on. Life has come back to her.
What would it be like to experience that every Monday? Because you gave yourself up to rest over the weekend, and dedicated a self care Sunday to yourself?
Like the character, Amy, many of us have to be forced to rest by illness or exhaustion.
What if you chose it, each week? What if you heard & surrendered to your body's cry for rest?
Here are 25 ideas for what to do with your next self-care Sunday...
(1) Stay in bed an extra hour and catch up on your sleep.
(2) Light a candle and enjoy several hours of its warmth, scent & flame.
(3) Cuddle with the kids and hang out with them. Do something you all love. Maybe even start a family weekend tradition.
(4) Make a morning pot of tea, instead of just a cup and linger over morning coziness.
(5) Make a bigger breakfast, with comfort food that makes the day a special occasion. Or, take the time for a new recipe you've been wanting to try.
(6) Meditate for 10-20 minutes, or longer if you'd like. YouTube has some great guided meditations you can try for free.
(7) Do a yoga routine, with no rush, because you've got all the time you need.
(8) Take an Epsom salts bath and soak away the week's tiredness.
(9) While away the afternoon with a good book.
(10) Make a special meal for dinner, and get your kids, or friends in the kitchen with you to help prepare it.
(11) Listen to a podcast you've been curious about. You may find a new treasure.
(12) Take a walk in nature.
(13) Listen to music you love all day long. You could even create a self care Sunday playlist of music that inspires, encourages or empowers you.
(14) Watch a movie or Netflix series. Want company? Invite friends over and get them to bring the popcorn.
(15) Write in your journal.
(16) Wear your most comfortable clothes or stay in your pajamas all day.
(17) Bake something. Make it a day to indulge.
(18) Plan the week ahead, setting intentions for what you hope to experience.
(19) Plan what you'll wear next week. I used to set them all aside, together, in one section of my closet and would group them as outfits.
(20) Get the next week's meal planning out of the way, too.
(21) Plan a new morning routine to try for the week.
(22) Do the same with an evening routine and start on Sunday night.
(23) After all that planning, take an afternoon nap. Just don't sleep so long you can't get back to sleep on Sunday night.
(24) If you're a woman of faith, take time after church to read through your sermon notes and have a quiet time where you think through how they apply specifically to your life. Jot down your thoughts in your journal.
(25) Catch up with long-distance friends and family. Call them, do a video chat or send an email and use your self care Sunday as a planned way to stay connected.
Self-Care Sunday: Heals the Week
You are Leaving Behind
Do you ever head into your weekends feeling a bit like you've been beaten up by the week before? I used to feel that way regularly when I was younger, and I wanted to use my weekends to recover, but didn't really know how.
Self-care strategies that feel nurturing and healing are ideal, though, and can help make sure you don't take that stress into the following week.
Journaling can help you beat the blues, reduce stress, and keep track of your thoughts and goals. If you're worried that you won't be able to get into it, just remember: There are no rules when it comes to what you jot down.
- Candace Bryan, Bustle.com
Consider using a combination of strategies for bouncing back after a stressful or difficult week: journaling, letting go exercises and support from essential oil blends designed to empower you.
Maybe you can try a long soak into the tub, with lavender bath salts and a soothing playlist. Followed by letting it all go as the water goes down the drain.
Then, you can write your way through to insight about whatever challenged you during the past week, accompanied by a pot of your favorite tea.
Here are 17 journal prompt questions you can use for Self Care Sunday...
(1) How am I feeling today about the week that just ended?
(2) Did anything happen that I am having trouble letting go of?
(3) How did I feel at the time? And how am I feeling now, as i remember it?
(4) What do I wish had happened instead?
(5) What do I wish I had said or done differently? Is there any way in which I got in my own way?
(5) What is the truth about who I am, regardless of how it felt in the moment?
(6) How can I prepare myself for anything similar that might happen in the future?
(7) Is there anything else I need to do or say about it before I let it go?
(8) Anything I can do to help myself heal it?
(9) What happened this week that I'd like to celebrate?
(10) What could I do, today, to celebrate it? And what would it be like to plan a regular weekend celebration of the good moments that happen during the week?
(11) When was I at my very best this week?
(12) What did I do, think, say or feel that I really love?
(13) What were my favorite moments from the week? And what can I do to make sure they happen again, if anything?
(14) How did I take good care of myself this week? And if I was in any way neglectful, how can I take better care of myself next week?
(15) What do I need to prepare for, that is coming up next week?
(16) Is there anything I can do or plan today that would make next week better?
(17) What are my intentions for the week ahead?
Self-Care Sunday: Prepares & Empowers You
for the Week Ahead
Once you're feeling better about last week, you can set intentions for the following week, choose some affirmations to empower them, and visualize it all happening exactly as you wish. Then, you can plan for everything you'll need to make the week go smoothly, and feel like you're getting the jump on it all.
Finally, you can make sure you go to bed early, so you wake up on Monday feeling refreshed and ready for the week to begin. You'll need all that energy for everything the week has got in store, so never shortchange yourself by spreading yourself too thin on the weekend.
If you're a mom, plan restful and soothing weekend activities for your family, too, so everyone will be ready for the week ahead.
Get a head start on your week by making a to-do list. If it looks overwhelming, be sure to schedule in some fun tasks like a pedicure or a trip to the mall so that you have something to look forward to.
- Janine Allison, JanineAllison.com
Weekend alert - there's a Sunday coming up in a couple of days. How will you spend it?
Wishing you deeply nurturing & soothing self-care!
Love, Jeanine
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Self Care Sunday is a beautiful concept & example of what
can happen when you slow down the pace a bit. Are you
interested in a slower, more thoughtful lifestyle? Read my
free slow living eBook. It comes with a printable quiz so ypu
can see if it's a lifestyle fit for you and a getting started
checklist you can download and print.
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We all want our morning routines & morning rituals to work well for us, and help get us either out the door, or onto whatever needs doing next. In many ways, that's what is most important.
| But what if we also want a cozy morning routine? What if we also want a slower lifestyle that banishes the rush? |  |
If you struggle with mornings or just want to create a cozy morning routine with morning rituals that help you create all three of those cozy qualities - comfort, warmth and relaxation, with a dollop of self-care thrown in for good measure - look no further. Here are 11 ways to create your own personalized cozy morning routine...
11 Ideas for Your Cozy Morning Routine
(1) Create a sense of sanctuary by designing a cozy morning space...
It can be a room, or just a cozy corner, but add whatever will make it feel super cozy to you. For me, it might be a candle, my Kindle inside its handmade cover, and a throw I can use during chilly AC moments while sitting in my favorite chair, or on my fave corner of the couch.
What would it be for you?
(2) Create a personalized playlist of cozy morning music...
Make a playlist that relaxes you, moves you, connects you more deeply with yourself and/or makes you happy. Make it portable, so that you can take it with you through each step in your cozy morning routine.
But also, change it up from time to time, so that new songs grab your attention, to keep it from becoming like elevator or waiting room music, that you're not even really hearing anymore.
(3) Add coziness to your morning quiet time...
If you're a woman of faith who has a daily morning quiet time, find ways to make it more cozy. Light a tealight candle, or make yourself a cup of tea before you begin.
Think of ways to add warmth or help yourself relax even deeper, because that will enhance those moments in God's company, and probably make it easier to perceive & connect with his presence.
(4) Make time in your cozy morning routine for reading...
Give yourself time to lose yourself in a good book while you're drinking your cup of tea or morning coffee. Or maybe you can read when you first wake up, giving yourself a cozy way to get over the shock of realizing it's actually morning once again. :)
(5) Inhale cozy morning aromatherapy scents...
If you need help with waking up, becoming alert and getting ready, stay tuned. An aromatherapy series is coming.
But here, I mean scents that warm you and wrap you up in coziness. Here's a doTERRA diffuser recipe you can try...
Snickerdoodles...
3 drops of cinnamon
3 drops of clove
3 drops of ginger
Check out the link for more DIY recipes, or stay tuned here, for more cozy essential oil recipes on the way, here at Meet Jeanine.
(6) Do something hygge that indulges you with warmth & coziness...
Take the time to make a pitcher of sweet tea so you can have a glass with breakfast. or, have it while sitting in your cozy morning room.
Use a shower gel in your favorite cozy scent. Wear your favorite comfy outfit, knowing that its comfort will be a gift you give yourself all day.
(7) Spend a few minutes in nature...
Go for a brief walk, if possible, taking in whatever is around you, and feeling the sun kiss your skin. Or, if it is either too hot or too cold, have a seat in your cozy chair and watch the trees blow in the breeze through the window.
Give yourself five minutes to do nothing but listening to the rain fall, attuning yourself to the sound. Or watching the birds fly from one tree to the next.
(8) Use morning affirmations that feel good to say or write...
I recommend root chakra affirmations because they are the ones that are most connected to cozy concepts like comfort and home and belonging.
Here are ten root chakra affirmations you can use as part of your cozy morning routine...
I am safe.
I am grounded.
I am centered.
I am at peace.
I am deeply rooted.
I love my life.
I trust life.
I trust God.
I belong.
I am home.
(9) Have a cozy morning meditation moment...
Visualize what you hope the day will bring. Or, just focus on your breathing, and on letting go of any tension or stress.
Here's a guided meditations you may want to try, below...
And here are links to a couple more that you ca try when you get a chance...
Log Cabin in the Woods
Mindfulness Meditation
(10) Take care of yourself in a way that feels loving...
This one has to be personalized, as they all do, but it could be different for each person who does it. The idea is to try to be loving toward yourself as part of your cozy morning routine.
For example, smoothing lotion on your hands, or adding an extra touch with your hair or makeup because of the way you know it will make you feel. Playing the song you can't hear without dancing, because it always cheers you up.
And looking for the self care moment you need on any given day, making time for it as an act of caring.
(11) Find your coziness superpower & use daily as part of your cozy morning routine...
What combinations of cozy memories & experiences can inspire intensely satisfying cozy moments in your daily life? Use them as often as you can to make cozy mornings even more special.
For an exercise + journal prompts to help you unearth your particular cozy morning superpower, fill in the form above. You'll also get a free printable checklist with each of these ideas.
Have I just blessed you with the ideas you need to create your own cozy morning routine? I hope so!
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
Do you struggle with the getting ready part of your morning routine? That has always been the most difficult part for me, as someone who is not a morning person.
Even if I could get up on time, actually getting ready when I needed to was still a challenge.
Today, I want to offer morning inspiration, encouragement & simple morning routine ideas for the what should I wear portion of your morning.
What to Wear? 280 Ideas, Free...
Earlier this month, Ultimate Bundles offered a homemaking bundle that included an outfit guide, a capsule wardrobe mini course and a bonus webinar+workbook on making the most of your morning routine. I bought the bundle & loved it, and yesterday, got a chance to attend the webinar, which is what I want to share about today.
Before I do, though, I want to mention that even if you missed out on the bundle, you can get access to a great free resource from Corina, and I don't think you should miss it. It's an outfit guide for stay-at-home moms offering 280 outfit ideas!
To get immediate access to the free year-round outfit guide, plus a free printable capsule wardrobe plan and checklist, go to bit.ly/mom-capsule.
Since figuring out what to wear can be a time-consuming part of any morning routine, these ideas could save time, energy and stress. They already have, for me.
Plus, I got some variation ideas I would never have thought of, without seeing the pictures in the outfit guide and realizing I had those outfits, I just hadn't put them together in quite that way!
Simplifying Your Morning Routine
I also want to share some of the encouragement we received during the webinar. Here are several things I wanted to share today...
(1) Sometimes, as moms, we feel overwhelmed by the belief that we need to do it all, every morning, and get it all done well.
But Corina shared that when you have young children or are a busy stay-at-home mom, sometimes it's okay to let some things go. To choose what matters most and be okay with not checking every item off of your to-do list.
Sound familiar? It's exactly what I say here at Meet Jeanine.
Slow living means letting go of trying to do the impossible. And thank goodness, since trying to do everything often feels like being trapped on the hamster wheel.
(2) You want to put together an attractive wardrobe, and feel your best when you get ready each day, but sometimes, it can be a hassle just to get dressed, as busy as mornings can be.
Corina emphasized that using her free outfit guide, 280 outfit ideas doesn't mean you have to try to wear as many different outfits as you can. You may look at lots of different possibilities, and after experimenting, land on just a few that make you look & feel terrific.
Could you try to juggle a couple hundred or more outfit ideas that all work? Sure, but why bother, if this is the busy season of your mom life?
Just find a few that you love.
I love that encouragement, because that is about all I have energy for, anyway. And I have a very small capsule wardrobe (10-15 pieces, depending on the season), so just having a few new ideas was golden for me.
(3) Though I won't share all the specifics of her morning routine tips during the webinar, I wanted to make sure to share the overall message...
There's a lot of helpful ideas about what needs to be a part of any good morning routine, but the most important plan is to identify what will work for you, create your own personalized plan for a simple morning routine, and then, let go of all of the rest of it.
And keep the two tips in the video in mind each morning.
Do you have a morning routine that works for you? And if your morning routine needs tweaking, what do you find most challenging about it?
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
Today is a cozy, slow living one here at MeetJeanine.me.
Four slow living posts are up already and this one is the final one, today. The first posts describe and explain the slow living philosophy and lifestyle and then, several do the same for cozy, slow morning routines.
It's that last idea we'll take a closer look at in this post, as a solution for night owls. If you're a night owl mom, who does battle with mornings because life won't let you sleep in, take a look at slow mornings to see if they might help.
But first, here are the other posts in the series ...
The Slow Living Lifestyle and Philosophy
Slow Living for Women of Faith
How Do You Want Your Mornings to Feel?
Tea and Meditation: Tea Ritual Ideas
The Slow Morning Solution for Night Owls
To download all of the slow living posts in a free printable pdf & bonus getting started checklist, plus bonus information about slow living for families, go to The Slow Living eBook.
If you’re naturally a night owl, dragging yourself out of bed early is challenge enough. There’s no need to add meditation, journaling, a five mile run and a head start on emails on top of that. If mornings are hard, your morning routine should be easy. - Beth Swarecki,
A Night Owl's Guide to Surviving Early Mornings
Are You a Night Owl?
I know I've mentioned on this blog before that I am, so if you are, too, then you have my sympathy. I know what it's like to be staring down an unbelievably late bedtime because you're just not sleepy yet. And then, being forced to greet morning far earlier than you want.
And morning might be an even bigger challenge if you're a mom with young children who are usually bright-eyed and bushy-tailed long before you're ready to concede that morning has arrived.
So how can those of us who are night owls wrest control of our mornings from our late nights? ...
Being a morning (or evening) person is inborn, genetic and very hard to change. "What I think we’re showing here is that there’s some sort of importance about us ideally being able to work, wake, and match up our schedule as best as we can to what we are biologically suited for," Patricia Wong, as told to Brian Resnick, Vox.com
The Slow Morning Solution: Don't Force Yourself to Get Going too Quickly
For struggling night owl moms, who have to get up too early, design your morning routines to be as easy as possible. I'm not sure that means you can't do meditation or journaling, as the first quote suggests, or anything you want, as long as it works for you.
But give yourself the amount of time you need to come to life, no matter how long that is, before demanding anything of yourself that will challenge you unduly.
Slow mornings, as I have come to understand them, are morning routines for moms (or anyone) during which you don't rush through getting ready and you take the time for self-care or other experiences you'll enjoy as you gradually wake up fully and become more alert.
They can last 15 minutes or 2 hours or can include the entire morning - how long the routine is designed to last would depend on your needs and your schedule for that day. My slow morning routine usually lasts for 3 hours, and then, I feel much more ready to face whatever comes next in my day.
And slow mornings can include beginning the day later, when you can do that, as mine sometimes do. Creating a slow morning routine may help in many ways to make mornings easier for night owls.
But hitting the snooze button as many times as you want is likely to be a mistake. Especially if you have to go in to work.
Because when you do that, you leave yourself with no time to adjust to the fact that it's morning before you thrust yourself out into the middle of it. What if you got up earlier, but had plenty of time to actually wake up?
I have tried it both ways - giving myself plenty of time before working outside the home or at home, and sometimes I got ready first and then allowed myself free time before working and other times, I gave myself time to do nothing, and then I got ready for the day.
For me, it's the second strategy that works the best. If I have a cup of tea, have a quiet time, read or do other things that don't require any movement, I get the time I need to move later with much more coordination. :)
But for others, gentle movement like yoga or stretching might be a better way to wake up gradually. That's why I don't think there is any one way, except your way.
I do think, though, that forcing yourself to rush and giving yourself very little time to wake up is unkind, if you're not a morning person. So my question for you, night owl moms, is what would be kinder for you?
And is there one change you could try to see if it helps?
Consider adapting the slow morning routine idea to fit your own morning situation.
And speaking of your morning situation, tell me in a comment what your morning routine is like. Is it challenging?
See you tomorrow!
Love, Jeanine
There is nothing quite like a freshly brewed pot of tea
to get you going in the morning. -Phyllis Logan
Today's post series is dedicated both to cozy, slow living and to falling in love with slow mornings. This post is an invitation to morning tea and the tea lifestyle that fits so nicely within the slow movement.
If you're looking for ways to slow down mornings so you can enjoy them more, take a look at creating a morning tea time. If you love tea, you may find this post gives you ideas for using tea to create a soothing, slow moment in an otherwise rushed morning routine.
But don't miss the other posts in the series...
The Slow Living Lifestyle and Philosophy
Slow Living for Women of Faith
How Do You Want Your Mornings to Feel?
The Slow Morning Solution for Night Owls
To download all of the slow living posts in a free printable pdf & bonus getting started checklist, plus bonus information about slow living for families, go to The Slow Living eBook.
I structure my day by cups of tea. - S.T.Joshi
Slow Mornings & Morning Tea
Do you love tea? My own morning tea is the absolute best part of my morning. And I do structure my day around it.
Slow mornings make room for cups of tea, sipped slowly while reflecting, reading, journaling or staring out the window as the trees blog gently in the wind. During a slow morning, there will always be enough time to savor it.
And if mornings are a challenge for you, pausing for a big cup of tea may help you shift from still sleepy to willing to be awake. It also gives you a calming, soothing moment that keeps stress at bay before you move forward into whatever the day holds.
If your days often move fast, having morning tea can be one way to ease into it more slowly.
Here's a brief idea for a morning tea ritual...
Morning Tea Rituals
(1) Light a Tealight Candle: light it before you make your tea so you can see it's glow as you go through the tea-making ritual and then have it nearby as you sip.
(2) Meditation Moment: once your tea is made, take a moment as you sip to think about what the day holds for you and imagine it going the way you would like.
(3) Journal: jot down any thoughts or insights that come to you. You might even ask a question before making your tea and just leave it there as you sip, to see what pops into your mind in the form of inspiration, ideas or intuitive guidance.
(4) Reading: You can add reading to your tea moment, as part of a quiet time that includes the Bible or a devotional, or by reading your latest novel and starting your day with the relaxation of reading for pleasure.
(5) Blow Out the Candle: once you have finished your tea and journaling or reading, blow out your candle as an end to the ritual.
However you decide to enjoy your morning tea moment, just make sure there's plenty of time to savor each sip during your slow morning.
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
As I mentioned in my post earlier this morning, it's a cozy, slow living day, here at Meet Jeanine. In this post, let's look at how to make mornings better with the slow morning approach.
How Do You Want Your Mornings to Feel?
That is the real first question as we get into this post.
Do you struggle with mornings? Have ever felt like you hate them and would rather start the day in the afternoon?
If you're answering yes to those questions (even occasionally), the first question to consider in this post is what do you wish your mornings were like, instead? Take a moment to answer that for yourself.
How would an ideal morning feel?
Because before we start talking about what to do differently, and what and how to change, the first thing we're after is the feeling you want. What feeling would make you glad you got up when you did?
My answer to that question is peace. That's the foundation of what I want. On top of that, I might add things like an unhurried experience, moments of simple pleasures (like my morning tea) and the quiet alone time that makes it easy to accomplish the priorities I have chosen for the day.
But the underlying feeling I am after each morning is peace.
What is it for you?
What are Slow Mornings?
(+ What Do Your Mornings Need?)
Slow mornings, as I have come to understand them, are morning routines for moms (or anyone) during which you don't rush through getting ready and you take the time for self-care or other experiences you'll enjoy as you gradually wake up fully and become more alert.
Could slower mornings help?
Maybe you love your mornings, already. And you find that even if your mornings move fast, you still love waking up, getting ready and starting your day. If that's your experience, then you are already doing exactly what your mornings need.
But for the rest of us, the morning experience might need a little tweaking. And if it needs a lot of tweaking, then consider slowing mornings down.
Give your mornings a makeover, by identifying what's not working, what might work better and what is non-negotiable in order to for you to create a morning you want to wake up to each day.
Grab your journal and first, write down how you want your mornings to feel.
Then, ask and answer these questions...
(1) What do I most want to change about my experience each morning?
(2) What would perfect look like?
(3) Have I ever had a great morning? What did that look like?
(4) What do I already know how to do (self-care practices, troubleshooting in other areas, etc.) that I could use to shift the way mornings feel? How might moving more slowly through morning help?
(5) What can I try tomorrow morning that might make a difference?
Stay tuned for another post in the series about slow mornings to see if those suggestions might help, too.
The Slow Living Series
If the idea of slow living is beginning to appeal to you, take a look at the other posts in today's series ...
The Slow Living Lifestyle and Philosophy
Slow Living for Women of Faith
Tea and Meditation: Tea Ritual Ideas
The Slow Morning Solution for Night Owls
To download all of the slow living posts in a free printable pdf & bonus getting started checklist, plus extra bonus information about slow living for families, go to The Slow Living eBook.
See you next time!
Love, Jeanine
Hi, I'm
Jeanine
Spiritual self-care healing coach
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