Picture this: you hit snooze one too many times, frantically rush through your morning, and by the time you’ve made it to the office, you feel like you’ve already put in a full day’s work.
Sound familiar?
Our mornings can often feel like a race against the clock, a rush to get out the door. But what if those first 10 minutes set the tone for the entire day?
What if slowing down and starting the day with intention could actually boost productivity by up to 34%?
Whether you’re a working professional, a busy mom, a student, or all of the above, it can feel impossible to find the time to prioritize self-care.
Understandably, our days are hectic and packed, which is exactly why finding those few moments in the morning to slow down and starting the day on the right foot can be a game-changer.
In this guide, we’ve gathered easy, manageable steps to incorporate into a 10-minute morning routine that can make all the difference.
Productivity, lower stress levels, a clearer mind—all of these benefits are within your reach with just a little bit of effort (and a lot of self-love). So why wait?
Dive in and take your first steps towards a more balanced, healthier, and happier you.
Step 1: Take a Minute to Breathe
You open your eyes, reach an arm out (or maybe two) to silence your blaring alarm, and before you’ve even lifted your head from the pillow, your mind is already racing.
Everything you have to do today, everything you didn’t get to yesterday, that thing you forgot to respond to, what are you going to make for dinner tonight—it’s all swirling and buzzing in your head, and you haven’t even stood up yet.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Most of our minds are in a constant state of go-go-go, even before we’ve fully woken up. But just as important as it is to fuel your body with breakfast, it’s imperative to give your mind a moment to wake up and reset.
This is where intentional breathing can work wonders.
This doesn’t have to be anything complicated, and it certainly shouldn’t be another thing to stress over. You don’t need to stop your thoughts entirely or sit in total zen silence.
You simply need to take a moment to recognize where your mind is at (everywhere) and gently guide it back to your body and making it feel comfortable by following a guided morning routine.
Let’s enjoy the silence together and rid our skin, body and souls from the daily stress with an easy to follow morning routine.
Help the mind do this by sitting comfortably and taking a few deep breaths.
Inhale through your nose to the count of four, then exhale through your mouth to the count of four.
Do this a few times, and if it helps, you can introduce a mantra to sync with your breath.
As you breathe in, think, “breathe in calm” and as you breathe out, think, “breathe out stress.”
Step 2: Greet the Day with Gentle Movement
You’ve taken a few minutes to breathe, and your mind is a touch calmer, more settled. Now, it’s time to move your focus from your mind to your body.
How are you feeling today?
Before you stand up and rush through your morning, take a moment to check in with yourself. Is there any tension, any tightness, any soreness?
Is your body a bit stiff from sleeping in that strange position again?
It’s so easy to jump from bed to the day without ever acknowledging your body, but you can only be your most productive, focused, and happy self when your mind and body are in sync and healthy.
This is where gentle movement and stretching can be incredibly powerful. Even the simplest stretches and movements can make a huge difference in how you feel and how you carry yourself throughout the day.
We often underestimate the value and power of a stretching practice. It’s important that we incorporate a 5 minute stretching into our morning routine to ensure that we give time to our body on a daily basis.
The breathwork (pranayama) helps in getting rid of the lactic acid formed overnight in our sleep. The stretches open up the body and helps to ease the stiffness and tiredness we may feel upon waking up.
Incorporating stretching practice in our morning rituals is a great way to start the day. It can help in refreshing the body and mind, relaxing the tensed muscles, reducing anxiety, enhancing focus and productivity, boosting energy, improving the posture and mobility, and preventing different types of body pain. This, in turn, helps in leading a healthy and happy life.
Before you roll out of bed and groan at the thought of mornings, know that creating a quick, easy morning stretching routine doesn’t have to be miserable.
It can actually be enjoyable and set a positive tone for the rest of your day!
And it’s really easy to incorporate daily yoga stretches or movements from different practices into your morning routine e.g. You can adapt Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation which is a mix of 12 poses) to be done facing the sun to invigorate your body.
Remember you can never pour from an empty cup so take care of yourself and make yourself a priority.
Step 3: Hydrate and Nourish Your Body
As soon as I open my eyes, I always feel so thirsty.
This feeling comes from the thirsty cells inside your body – we have been asleep for 8 hours (hopefully) and so this is a long time to go without water.
At this stage, I know that the best way to rehydrate my body is to start my day with a big glass of hot water and lemon.
One of the most common reasons for tiredness and lethargy is because we are dehydrated. When you hydrate the body your brain and other vital organs can function properly soon after waking up.
If you are someone who tends to drink a lot of coffee or tea, start your day with a big glass of water.
Dehydration is a leading cause for headaches, as well as fatigue and grogginess. Drinking a large glass of water can also help with digestion throughout the day.
Each ache in our body, the tiredness, the dry or tired eyes are all signs that we are dehydrated. We are made up of 70% water in the physical body and water has so many physical, mental and emotional benefits
Given the complexity and the importance of the role water and play, it is essential for all of us to ensure that we maintain optimal hydration levels. This is easily achievable if we just make a little bit of effort and give a little bribe to ourselves.
If you are struggling to drink the right amount of water it can help to place a large bottle on your desk when you start your working day, to keep a glass on your bedside table and drink a glass of water both when you wake up and before you sleep.
If this ritual is not aligned to your dosha or your bodily constitution then start with just on glass of water in the morning, maybe warm and with a slice of lemon and build up gradually.
When you start your day in a hydrated state you are better able to maintain your focus and concentration levels, you can easily avoid any unnecessary aches and pains, it can help to prevent the onset of headaches, it enhances your physical performance, it can help to improve your mood, it can help with your digestion and it can also help to flush out all those nasty toxins.
Step 4: Set Your Intentions and Express Gratitude
We live in a world that is ‘other’. Life has been turned outwards, we rely too much on other people, we take advantage of the fact that there are always other people there to take care of things.
Even the way we are raised is to ensure that we can be independent so we are equipped to face the world. But what happens when the world is just you and it is all turned inwards?
What happens when you have to rely purely on yourself for love, for comfort, for support and for care?
This is where self-care and a good self-care routine comes in.
Showing proud effort, we cannot always be perfect. Sometimes we can get ill, we can get run down or we can struggle with our mental health. In these times of need, it is so important that we have some tools that we can utilize to show ourselves some kindness and compassion.
This is something that is difficult for a lot of us, but it is something that is so necessary. These are the times when we can incorporate some small self care habits into our daily lives.
A daily self care routine is something that we should all aim for. It is something that is so powerful and can help to prevent all sorts of problems that are related to stress, overwhelm and burn out.
When you take the time to nourish your mind, body and soul, you can show yourself the amount of self love and respect that you need to be able to lead a happy and healthy life.
When you are in this position, you can easily take on anything that life throws at you.
Conclusion
You now know the secret to a quick and energizing morning ritual.
A simple 10 minutes to breathe, move, and nourish can have profound effects on your well-being and success all day—isn’t that worth dragging yourself out of bed a few minutes early or cutting back on some evening screen time?
All you need to do now is put these steps into practice. Start small. Even one or two of these steps can make a noticeable difference in how you feel.
Remember, it’s up to you—the day’s first moments are your chance to set the groundwork for clarity, focus, and a mindful calm that will carry through your day.
So, let’s do this!
Tomorrow morning, take a deep breath, ease into the day, and greet the sunrise with intention, power, and positivity.
