There’s nothing ground-breaking with idea that routine is good for your mental health. I’ve heard this many times before. I, however, am not naturally someone who lives in routine. Everyday is different and I thrive on this.

Lately I’ve actually prescribed myself a morning routine. While in Bali, my body clock got completely turned around and I would wake up with the sunrise every morning. I would go do sunrise yoga, go for a hike, or just slowly warm up to the day with coffee. Now I’m sure anyone would feel relaxed while staying in Bali, but I wanted to see if I could bring this state of relaxing home with me.

After coming home it was easy to get caught up in the chaos of life again. But I really tried to start waking up a little earlier. The first thing I would do is I would eat a big healthy breakfast. I love breakfast so this wasn’t a major change for me, but I had more of an intention to fuel myself before going out into the world.

The next step was to take Bernard to the forest. Being in the forest is relaxing enough for me, but again I wanted to bring more intention to this practice. I decided to start using mindfulness more while being there. I didn’t want it just be another space where I was worried about everything I needed to get done. I focus on the smells of the forest. I focus on the sound of the wind, the dirt beneath my feet, the rustling of the trees, even the panting of Bernard. I focus on the sensation of the ground beneath me. Or the way Bernard’s fur feels when I pet him. While I’m in that forest, the rest of the World does not matter.

When I get home, I do a short yoga practice. It honestly takes about ten minutes and focuses mostly on sun salutations. Lastly, I do a short meditation. I like to end my yoga practice by setting intentions for the rest of the day. These are small intentions that I can focus on. They are based on how I have been feeling so far that morning and what lies ahead. Some common ones for me are “calm”, “peace”, “courage”, etc. It’s not about planning tasks for the day, but rather setting intentions for how I will react to the day.

I love my mornings now. Going from someone who would lie in bed until the very last acceptable second to waking up hours before I start work has been quite the change. But it has really impacted how I approach my day.