A Yogi's Guide to the Best Morning Routine for a Calm Day (Even When There's Chaos!)

Could a morning routine be the key to unlocking a day free of stress, explosions, and tension? You bet it can! Does it have to be a specific routine? Nope. I believe that your good morning routine should be a reflection of who you are during your current season of life, and unfold to support you depending on what you need day to day. This is why I’m introducing you to the building blocks of a successful morning routine that can be changed, condensed, or mixed up.

Just like in a yoga class where there is no one pose that fits every student, there is no “perfect” morning routine. Let’s dive into how you can create, adjust, or update your calming morning routine.

How long should a morning routine be?

This greatly depends on what you need each and every day. Unlike what some self-help books suggest, there is no ideal time to spend on your morning routine. Just like there is no ideal time to wake up that fits every person.

From my own experience experimenting with my morning routine over the last 3 years and from what I’ve read over the years on routines, I would say a minimum of 30 minutes should be considered. And this is not 30 minutes of getting ready for work. It’s 30 minutes of doing something for you.

Morning routines can vary greatly though, with some being up to 3 hours! While this can be seen as a privilege, it is also a reflection of what you believe is possible. A morning routine of any length is achievable for someone who dedicates their time to what is most important to them or is seen as a high priority. As with all aspects of life, there is a give and take. If you have restrictions to your time, I invite you to think of these restrictions as your container. What you do in that time is where you have total freedom.

Ideally, I would suggest you aim for 30 minutes to 1 hour which is most definitely achievable for the vast majority of people. This is an optimal amount of time to settle into the day, centre yourself, and discover what it is that you need each day.

What are the best morning habits?

Habits are the backbone of creating a powerful morning routine. While there is no set rule of what to do for the perfect routine for you, there are types of habits that can set you and your energy up to take on whatever is thrown at you in a calm, cool, and collected state. Which is what we all want, isn’t it? To be able to handle each and every day as gracefully as we can.

Wake up at the same time every day

A good day starts with a good sleep and waking up at the same time can assist in sleeping better. Having a set time to wake up means that your melatonin levels (a hormone that is created in response to darkness) will be more consistent and help with your circadian rhythm. Dr. Jade Wu, a behavioural sleep medicine specialist, has explained that waking up at different times can confuse your brain to act like you’re waking up in different timezones. Imagine feeling like you’re jet-lagged every day! That’s certainly no way to start off on the right foot.

Have a go-to practice

Have you ever told yourself that you’d decide on which practice you’ll do in the morning only to be totally overwhelmed with choices? The idea of picking a yoga class or meditation to practice once you know how you’re feeling the day of can seem quite seductive and intuitive. But for many of us, it takes time and exploration to understand what our intuition is attempting to guide us towards.

Having a set practice or routine ready to go every morning not only helps alleviate early-day decision fatigue, but can also help keep you more consistent in your practice and yoga, mental health, or meditation goals.

A go-to practice could be the same meditation every day, much like a 40-day Kriya. Or it could be different daily but you follow an outline, much like my themed monthly yoga calendars that suggest daily practices to keep you on track.

Something for your mind

Whether it’s meditation, journalling, colouring, or something else, pick something that will have your mind find a bit of ease. If you ever feel attacked by all the thoughts that swim into your head upon first waking, try a brain dump. Quite literally dump all the thoughts out of your head into your journal or the notes app on your phone. Or take 5-10 minutes to let your thoughts float in and out of your mind without judgment in a meditation. Colouring or something creative in the morning could be a great option to teach your mind that it doesn’t have to be “on” right away.

Taking the time to focus on your mind will give it space to breathe and organize your thoughts before you dive into your day and all of the “shoulds” you tell yourself need to be done.

Something for your body

Don’t be shaking your head ready to tell me that you don’t plan on doing any rigorous workouts. You don’t have to! Any sort of movement is just perfect. Maybe doing a few stretches in bed before you get up suits you just fine. Perhaps a 15-minute stroll around the block does the trick. Or maybe you need to get your sweat on through a power yoga sequence. Any movement option is a good option to wake your body up for the day and prioritize it before you let the day’s activities take over.

Leave the phone

I don’t doubt that you’ve heard time and time again to not check your phone first thing in the morning. The light of your phone can not only mess with your melatonin levels, but instantly throwing yourself into the world of social media, text messages, and responsibilities can actually mess with your brain waves and your plan for the day.

According to Jai Rai, an empowerment psychologist who specializes in the neuroscience of mental health, checking your phone first thing can cause you to jump from delta brain waves (the deep sleep state) to the beta state (when you’re fully awake and alert). This jumps over the theta and alpha stages where your mind begins to take in information while in a relaxed state of mind. You can quite literally teach your brain to skip relaxation.

Once you open your phone you have very little control over what you take in. A certain message could trigger a stress response, a reel or Tiktok could set you on edge or predetermine a day of being distracted easily. Instead, opt to take some phone-free time to get yourself into the mental state you desire before the influences on your phone begin to bombard you.

Drink water

Self-help gurus may preach drinking water with freshly squeezed lemon first thing or to drink a certain amount, but drinking water and when isn’t necessarily a one size fits all. While drinking water is essential, studies have found that starting your day with water can help maintain healthy habits. When building a morning routine, this is all we’re trying to do: get ourselves to create supportive habits that set us up so we can tackle anything while being in control of our emotions. It’s not about being uber-productive or stress-free. It’s about understanding our needs, and patterns, and creating a new cycle of the best morning rituals.

Self check-in

One thing that has helped me greatly in my morning routine and to get off of autopilot was to ask myself one question: what do I want to do?

This form of check-in I do in my head and then write in my notes on my phone with my to-do list for the day. My want is something that is not work-related and can feel very random. Some days it’s wanting to curl up and read a book. Others it’s going to the beach, or a specific cafe to work. I don’t question it because going with the idea is good practice for listening to my intuition.

Having your want for the day written down acts as a reminder of what you’re actually craving of doing each day and can keep you focused on having pleasure in your life instead of mostly work or to-do’s.

A self check-in could also be in regard to what kind of practice you want to do each morning, or even how you want your morning routine to play out. It’s allowed to be different from day to day!

Cleanse

No detoxes here, I’m talking a good old-fashioned shower or some type of wash. Perhaps you shower at night and just need to wash your face and brush your teeth. Whatever it is you do to get ready for the day, consider it your cleanse to feel fresh and wash off whatever ideas or “bad” habits that are trying to stick around in your energetic sphere.

Get into your special energy

All of the above will help you to get into your special energy. The energy, feeling, vibe, frequency, whatever you want to call it that makes you beautifully you. When you feel your best how do you dress? Do you put on make-up? Do you make yourself a latte? Go work at a cafe? Dress yourself and put yourself together in a way that makes you feel amazing, no matter what it is you have planned for the day. This practice of being in your special energy will help you not only feel fantastic but also calmer and more relaxed. This can be a major game changer in how you treat yourself and the people around you will begin to notice too. Think of it as your highest self, when you’re the most connected, or most magnetic self.

What yoga should I do in the morning?

A morning routine is not complete without yoga – but it doesn’t have to be yoga in the traditional sense of a physical practice. You most certainly can use a yoga class as a way to do something for your body and your mind, but some people and some mornings don’t require moving the body through any sort of sequence.

Other options can include journalling, a form of Svadhyaya or self-study, meditation, practicing Tapas, which is doing the opposite of what you’d normally do, or even Ishvara Pranidhana, surrendering any expectations for the day.

Yoga is far from just Asana, the physical practice. There are many tools from yoga that you can use in your morning routine to help you craft the ideal day. Think of how certain poses make you feel in a class and do one or two. Or try a certain breathing technique that you noticed made you feel lighter. Perhaps you simply reflect on your last class or how you’re feeling that day. It’s all yoga.

Benefits of doing yoga in the morning

Helps encourage relaxation and ease by signalling your nervous system to rest and digest instead of fight or flight (looking at your phone first thing will do this!)
Opens the body and mind
Helps with mental clarity
Regulates the breath
Assists in being present
Increases mobility and relieves stiffness
Sets you up for the day

Morning Yoga Classes to Start Your Day

How to Create a Morning Routine

Begin by integrating as many or a few of the morning habits I listed above. Starting with one is just fine and you can add to it whenever you feel the time is right. Some of the habits you can even combine or do them all separately for a more lengthy routine.

Just remember that one morning routine is not the perfect routine. Your needs and wants can and will change day to day. For me, some days a morning routine is 3 hours, and others are just 15 minutes when I have an early appointment.

Next you can build your own morning routine. Go through the list below, combine, or leave out what you want. And don’t forget to add in your morning water and cleanse. To begin, set yourself up for success and write down your new routine and begin introducing slowly. You don’t need to bombard yourself with all of the things right away. This takes time! Setting your alarm today (not right before you go to bed) and having a glass of water ready to go are just some examples of taking initiative in your future.

Morning routines really start with a nighttime routine. So do yourself the favour of dropping the pressure to do it all morning of.

Step 1: Choose where to leave your phone (and pick when you’ll touch it)

Plug it in in a different room
Have it out of reach from where you’re in bed
Option to have it on your nightstand (if you’re good at not touching it!)
At what point during your morning routine, or after, will you allow yourself to use it?
For example, I keep mine on airplane mode or allow certain apps to work. After 8AM all apps work on my phone and messages come through.

Step 2: Choose a time to wake up

Wake up with an alarm or with a wake-up light
Opt for a time that’s realistic, then get up 15 minutes earlier every week until you’re at your desired time.
How long or short would you like your morning routine to be? And what’s a realistic timeframe?

Step 3: Choose your go-to practice

Meditation
Breathwork
Yoga class
Journalling

Step 4: Choose something for your mind

Meditation
Journalling (brain dump, reflecting on yesterday, what you’d like from today, journal prompts, affirmations, etc).
Reading (for pleasure or education)
Colouring or some type of easy art

Step 5: Choose something for your body

Yoga practice
Walk
Workout
Stretching
Dancing

Step 6: Choose your check-in

When will you check in with yourself? Beginning or end of your morning routine?
What will you use as your check-in question? Some examples are:
- What do I want to do today?
- What am I craving today?
- What would make me happiest today?
- If I could do anything today, what would I do?
- If anything were possible today, what would I choose to do?
- Or make up your own that feels best.

Step 7: Get into your special energy

What do you need today to feel amazing?
What outfit would make you feel like you had today totally put together?
What music would make you feel in flow?
What breakfast and/or drink would help you feel nourished? Abundant? Fueled?
Focus on what you can control to help yourself feel your best, most creative, fun, and in-flow self.

How to Stick to a Morning Routine

Getting consistent is not about forcing yourself to do what you promise yourself, but finding a reason. A strong enough why you want to do or continue doing your morning routine is more important than doing random things for the sake of following the advice of others. Most of us don’t lack the ability to be consistent, we lack a strong connection or desire to uphold what we believe we’ll get out of a consistent practice.

It’s not uncommon to drop out of your self-promises due to boredom when life throws a wrench in plans, or because you’re being lazy. They’re all valid excuses!

Perhaps your excuse is that you just don’t know what to do or where to even start! This is why I created Journey Home, a 30-day yoga adventure that takes a deep dive into what your yoga purpose is. It’s pretty much your entire morning routine packaged for you so you don’t even have to think about what to do or focus on. Each day explores a theme through a yoga practice, meditation, and journal prompt (mind, body, and go-to practice, check!) so that by the end of the month you have a much richer understanding of what kind of yoga you crave, how it serves you in this current season of life, and what exactly you need each day to tap more into your special energy.

If you practice yoga for a workout, or for your mental health but are feeling a little unfilled from your regular practice or are curious if there’s more to yoga…Journey Home will help you seek a layer deeper in your practice that is even more fulfilling. Consider Journey Home the first step of your morning routine that will give you the self-knowledge to evolve it on a more personal level when completed.

What’s next?

Write out your ideal routine and when you will begin (hint: start tomorrow!)
Begin experimenting and make adjustments through the first week, month, and beyond
Join Journey Home for support in exploring what works for you
Consider one-on-one support through my yoga & coaching privates – Book your first session today!