From Morning Grumble to TomorrowTopper: Start Your Day Right!

 

Do you also wake up thinking, “Is it morning already! Don’t worry, you’re not the only one! Many of us start the day with a morning mood, fatigue or lack of energy. I know how that feels, because I too have stood there. But what if I tell you that it really can be done differently? With a few simple adjustments to your morning routine, you can start your day energized and upbeat. Let me tell you how! And it doesn’t stop at morning. These small changes are the first step toward a wider range of healthy choices you can make throughout the day, from better nutrition to more exercise. This is how you build a lifestyle that enriches not only your mornings, but your entire life. Whether it’s those pesky few pounds, constant fatigue, or just not having the energy you’d like, we’ve all been there at one time or another. I was standing exactly where you might be standing now: at a point where I thought change was impossible. But believe me, it is possible!

Through my own experiences and a journey filled with lifestyle changes, I discovered that we have much more control over our health than we often think. And the great thing is, it doesn’t have to be complicated. With a few simple “hacks” that are easy to apply, you can make big differences in how you feel and function.

Adjusting daily habits is crucial, and I want to share the most effective adjustments that have worked for me. My morning routine is now an important part of my “quality time” to myself! As a result, I do enjoy getting up every morning. Do you want that too? Well, read on!

This is important: don’t change EVERYTHING right away. Start with one change and make it a part of your daily routine, just like brushing your teeth, before making another change. Change can be overwhelming if you try everything at once, which can lead to frustration and relapse.
So be patient and kind to yourself, and focus on embracing a new long-term lifestyle. Below are my best tips to improve your physical and mental health right in the morning and make yourself feel great again.

1. Hydration: The Basis of Health

• Start your day with a glass of clean water. This helps get your hydration going and supports your body in waking up. Our tap water in the Netherlands is of high quality, but even the best water purification system cannot completely eliminate all traces of pharmaceuticals. Residues of drugs such as paracetamol have been found in small amounts in our water. Therefore, it is a smart idea to use a water filter at home, which helps further reduce these and other contaminants. After a long search, I have found a wonderful and affordable water filter that works great without electricity and whose replacement filters are also affordable. Click here if you want more info, through me you get a 10% discount.
• Drink 30 ml of water per kilogram of body weight daily. For someone weighing 70 kg, this means about 2.1 liters per day. If you find you have to pee a lot, add a pinch of Celtic sea salt to your water for extra minerals. Note: coffee, black tea, soda, and carbonated water do not count toward your hydration!
  For those who have trouble drinking enough water, adding a drop of essential oil such as doTERRA MetaPWR, Lemon or Grapefruit may be a solution. This not only makes your glass of water extra tasty, but gives you specific health benefits:
• 
  doTERRA MetaPWR oil.
  : This oil is specially developed to support fat metabolism. Adding it to your water can help promote a healthy metabolism, which is essential for weight management and energy levels.
• Lemon and Grapefruit oils: Rich in limonene, these oils are known for their cleansing properties. They support healthy liver and kidney function, contributing to the body’s natural detoxification processes.

I use a milk frother to mix the oil well with the water. It is important to emphasize that only oils from doTERRA are recommended for consumption. Other brands of essential oils may contain additives that are not suitable for internal use and may harm your health.

2. Daily Movement: Activate Your Body

• Calf muscle exercises during tooth brushing: Use the moment of brushing your teeth to exercise your calf muscles by continuously standing on your toes and lowering them again. I do that during tooth brushing about 50 times. Calf muscles are large and active, and when used regularly, they can contribute to improved metabolic health.
  You can even lift your feet onto your toes while sitting down to eat, thereby activating the calf muscles! We Germans grew up with the story of “Zappel-Phillip,” a little boy who could not sit quietly at the table – but if you ask me: he was ON to something! We modern people sit and eat too much. Keeping your legs moving while eating is really not a stupid idea and if anyone complains, you have science behind you! There is research linking calf muscle activation, specifically the soleus muscle, to increased glucose burning. The “soleus pushup,” a specific exercise that activates this muscle, has been shown to increase metabolism for hours, even while sitting. This activity increases local oxidative metabolism, which helps regulate blood glucose and burn fats. This effect may contribute to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
  Try to incorporate this as a standard part of your daily routine and feel free to allow this more often each day.
• Flexibility and good body feel through Stretching: I incorporate a simple stretching routine into my morning program. And yes, I do that even when I have “no time.” The older we get, the more “maintenance” we may allow ourselves! And yes, it is often that we do not take the time but I have found, that I “pay” for this later in the day, either through more pain in my body, or through a stressed feeling in my body.
  Whether you choose chair yoga or the 20x sun salutation, the important thing is that it suits you and what your body can easily handle and that you can sustain it daily. Stretching for 2 minutes every morning is still 100% better for your body than not doing it. If you get sore muscles, use the
  Deep Blue Stick with Copaiba
  .

3. Lymphatic System: Stimulate and Support

What is the lymphatic system? Your lymphatic system helps dispose of waste products and is crucial to good health. If these waste products continue to accumulate in certain places in your body, this can eventually have major consequences for your health! We don’t want that – so: action! Because the lymphatic system does not have its own “pump” like the heart, it depends on your muscle activity and deep breathing. We begin gently and lovingly.
Perform a simple self-massage daily. This massage is superficial, gentle, and loving. I also see this as a portion of “TLC” I allow myself and do it every day with love and positive thoughts about myself and my body. Repeat each movement 20-30 times. Consistency in movement is important to effectively promote lymphatic circulation.Keep the pace steady and controlled. Quick or abrupt movements can be uncomfortable and are less effective in promoting lymphatic drainage. Sequence order is also quite important, so follow my explanation point by point:

1. Keybone: Start with gentle, superficial movements around your collarbones. Place your hands crossed over your chest, place your fingers flat over your collarbones and make circular movements, 20-30 times.

2. Neck: From behind and in front of your ears, rub along your neck to your collarbones. Also include your jaw by rubbing from your chin to your ears.
3. Armpits: Place your hands flat under your armpits and make “pumping” motions.
4. Chest bone: There is an important lymphatic drainage point under your sternum, the sternum lymphatic point or sternal lymphatic point. This is a collection point for multiple lymphatic pathways coming from the head and neck. Use the flat side of your fingers or the palm of your hand to apply gentle pressure to the area just below the sternum. Begin with your hands on the sides of your lower ribcage and move slowly and gently upward toward the sternum. This upward motion helps stimulate lymph flow toward the major lymphatic vessels.
5. Groin: Gently move your fingers in a pulsating motion from the inside of your thigh to the area just below your abdomen. This helps direct lymph fluid to the larger lymphatic vessels that run toward the torso.
6. Knee hollows: With your flat hand, make gentle circular movements in the knee hollow. Be careful with the pressure because this area is sensitive. Work from the bottom of the hollow of the knee up to the middle of the thigh. This movement helps direct lymph fluid to the larger lymphatic vessels.
7. Ankles: Use your fingers to make gentle, stroking motions around the ankle, especially on the sides where important lymph nodes are located. From the foot, stroke up along the sides of the ankle to the lower leg. This helps to stimulate lymph fluid upward. Again, it is important to keep the pressure gentle. Too hard pressure can impede the delicate lymphatic system.

This self-massage is effective for promoting lymphatic circulation, which helps reduce swelling and support your immune system.
You can combine your massage with doTERRA’s AromaTouch oil blend. It is suited like no other lend to support healthy lymph flow. I make a
massage oil of 20 drops of AromaTouch on 30ml of fractionated coconut oil.
Of this I give a little in my hands before starting the lymphatic massage.

By regularly performing these simple actions, you can contribute to better health and well-being. You will see results after a while, so keep persevering, after that you will naturally not stop. Also because combining the gentle, loving massage with positive thoughts about yourself each morning is going to recharge your mental battery in a tremendously pleasant way. Just do it!

Deep abdominal breathing: this breathing technique supports the lymphatic system, which plays a crucial role in the removal of waste products from our body. By breathing in deeply, you increase the movement of the diaphragm, which in turn improves lymph circulation because lymph vessels close to the surface of the skin are compressed, which helps stimulate the flow of lymph fluid. In addition, abdominal breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is active when your body is at rest. This helps lower heart rate and blood pressure, and promotes a sense of calm.
Deep breathing is also linked to a reduction in stress and anxiety. It promotes relaxation and can help promote a clear mind, contributing to improved concentration and mental well-being. By focusing on your breathing, you can achieve a meditative state that helps reduce mental noise and increase mindfulness.
Regular deep abdominal breathing can increase body awareness. This awareness can lead to better recognition of one’s own physical and emotional state, allowing you to better respond to the needs of your body and mind.

My tip for you: set several reminders throughout the day to breathe deeply, especially in situations where you feel tense or overwhelmed. This can be done simply by taking a break, sitting or standing in a comfortable position, and consciously taking deep breaths for a few minutes, breathing down into your diaphragm. Place your hands on your diaphragm and push them out while inhaling. I calmly count to 8 while inhaling, hold my breath for 5 counts and then exhale again calmly for 8 counts. I do that 3-5 times and immediately feel calmer. I like to combine this with inhaling a soothing oil such as
Lavender
,
Adaptiv
or
Balance
. To do this, I give 1-2 drops in my hand, rub my hands together and gently breathe in the aroma from my palms.
Many of us are “too high” in our breathing because we are constantly in too high a stress level. Deep abdominal breathing is probably the easiest way to distribute your body: “Hey, everything’s fine, baby! You side it, it’s going to be all right.” Do it a little more often one day and “feel the magic.”

4. Refresh Body and Mind

• Cold and Hot Showering: Start your shower hot and end briefly with cold water to stimulate your circulation and refresh your body. This quick switch to cold water, even if only for a few seconds, gives your body a healthy “startle response,” which contributes to muscle recovery and tissue repair. So you don’t have to expose your body to cold water for long periods of time to experience the benefits. Even a brief exposure to cold water of a few seconds can be enough to give your body a “shock” that promotes the production of growth hormone. So this “shock moment” is not only a powerful boost to your physical health, but can also improve your mental sharpness and energy levels throughout the day.
• Dry Brushing with Yarrow POM Body Oil: In addition to lymphatic massage, I use dry brushing massage with Yarrow POM Body Oil to condition the skin and combat aging. I am mega-enthusiastic about the results that I can see in myself since I have been using this oil. Striae? Just gone! Of course, results can be different for everyone, for me this product is a “keeper”. For the brush massage, you need a good body brush. Start at your feet and work up toward your heart. This technique not only supports the elasticity of your skin but also helps to eliminate waste products.
  So that way you already start your day with 2x massages! Reason enough to jump out of bed happy every morning!

By applying these tips gradually, in addition to having good energy for the day, you can develop a healthier lifestyle that you can sustain for the rest of your life.
Start slowly, choosing what is easiest for you, and build up from there. Feel good, feel free, and be kind to yourself during this process.

xoxo, Tanja

Want more tips and recipes for a healthy, vital and long life? Then check out my Master Class here and then join me on an 8-week Wellness Journey!