“The end is already included in the beginning.”
I'm afraid I don't know who said this clever sentence, but I have to admit that it really applies to many areas of life. How a day will end is often decided right at the start. If you start the day well rested and with a pleasant morning routine, it is easier to make the right decisions throughout the day and do your body some good. And the other way round, a day is often doomed from the start if you rush out of the house. That drastically lowers the chances that you will still go to yoga in the evening or eat a balanced dinner. Morning and evening routines give the day structure.
Evening routine tea
Morning routine
That is why I have found that a good morning and evening routine really helps to stay "on track". You also keep your goals in view in the long run and reach them more easily. For me, that includes getting up ten minutes earlier than I have to, so I can start the day calmly. It is only ten minutes, but they really make a difference. After waking up, whether it is summer or winter, I step out onto the balcony for a moment and breathe in and out deeply a few times - that makes me much more balanced straight away. If you don't have a balcony (or it is simply too chilly for you in winter), I would fling the windows wide open and air the room properly for a few minutes.
Next up for me is oil pulling, an ancient Ayurvedic method that is also said to support oral health. You keep a teaspoon of coconut oil in your mouth for about 10 to 15 minutes and swish it through your teeth. It feels a bit odd at first, but in the long run gum problems and bad breath improve considerably. My dentist recently confirmed this to me, too!
In the meantime, I put the water on for my tea and hop in the shower quickly. If there is time, I do a few strokes with the dry brush, which gets the lymph going and strengthens the tissue (bye bye cellulite!). While I get ready, I play nice music and drink an herbal tea - it helps the body get rid of the substances that have built up overnight.
Build breakfast prep into your evening routine
The evening routine
In the evening before going to bed, I think about what I would like for breakfast, because in the morning I often don't have time to prepare it. Mostly it is overnight oats or chia pudding, because they can sit in the fridge overnight perfectly. Often I also make a smoothie that I only have to take out of the fridge in the morning. I really make a point of starting the day with a healthy, balanced breakfast. That often decides how healthily I eat for the rest of the day.
My evening routine also includes a good-night tea, which calms you in a completely natural way and supports a deep sleep. I recently read a lovely idea: before going to bed, you write the nicest event of the day on a slip of paper and tuck it away in a little tin. If you do this for a year, you end up with a happiness tin full of 365 lovely experiences.
If that is too much for you, it is also enough to take just a few minutes to reflect on the day and think about what was especially nice. Studies have shown that people who make an effort to look at their life with gratitude are significantly happier and more content.
A round of yoga before going to bed
Before going to bed I also do a few yoga exercises. The short stretch and "going within" help me wind down even after a long day. Since I got a completely analogue alarm clock, I put my phone on airplane mode and leave it in another room. That way I sleep much better and get round to reading a few lines of a nice book in the evening. It also means the first thing you see in the morning is not a screen, but the morning light, your partner in bed, or the darkness under the duvet if you do have to hit the snooze button. (We all do that!)
Morning and evening routines
For all of these morning and evening routines: don't start everything at once!
These are also just ideas. You surely know about things that help you start the day better. So take it slowly and pick just one or two ideas to begin with. Really try to stick with it for 21 days. That is the time it takes for something to become a habit, and from then on it is much easier to keep going. This way you can gradually build healthy routines that can improve your quality of life immensely in the long run.
I would love more ideas for a healthy morning and evening routine in the comments!
“The end is already contained in the beginning.”
Sadly I don't know who first said this wise sentence, but I have to admit it really does apply to many areas of life. How a day will end is often decided right at the start. If you begin the day well rested and with a pleasant morning routine, it's easier to make the right decisions throughout the day and do your body some good. And the other way round, a day is often doomed from the start if you rush out of the house. That drastically lowers the chances that you'll still make it to yoga in the evening or eat a balanced dinner. Morning and evening routines give the day structure.
Evening routines tea
Morning routine
That's why I've found that a good morning and evening routine really helps you stay "on track". You also keep your goals in view over the long term and reach them more easily. For me, that includes getting up ten minutes earlier than I have to, so I can start the day calmly. It's only ten minutes, but it really makes a difference. After waking up, whether it's summer or winter, I step out onto the balcony for a moment and take a few deep breaths in and out - it makes me feel much more balanced straight away. If you don't have a balcony (or it's just too chilly for you in winter), I'd throw the windows wide open and air the room properly for a few minutes.
Next up for me is oil pulling, an old Ayurvedic method that also supports oral health. You keep a teaspoon of coconut oil in your mouth for about 10 to 15 minutes and swish it through your teeth. It feels a bit odd at first, but in the long run gum problems and bad breath improve considerably. My dentist recently confirmed this too!
Meanwhile I put water on for my tea and hop into the shower for a moment. If there's time, I also do a few strokes with a dry brush, which gets the lymph moving and strengthens the tissue (bye bye cellulite!). While I get ready, nice music plays and I drink an herbal tea - it helps the body eliminate the substances that have built up overnight.
Build breakfast prep into your evening routine
The evening routine
In the evening before bed I think about what I want for breakfast, because in the morning I often don't have time to prepare it. Most of the time it's overnight oats or chia pudding, because they work brilliantly left in the fridge overnight. Often I also make a smoothie that I only need to take out of the fridge in the morning. I really make a point of starting the day with a healthy, balanced breakfast. Often that is exactly what decides how healthily I eat for the rest of the day.
My evening routine also includes a good-night tea, which calms in a completely natural way and makes for deep sleep. I recently read about a lovely idea: before going to bed, you write the best moment of the day on a slip of paper and put it away in a small tin. If you do that for a year, you end up with a happiness tin full of 365 lovely experiences.
If that's too much for you, it's also enough to take just a few minutes to reflect on the day and think about what was especially nice. Studies have shown that people who make an effort to look at their life with gratitude are considerably happier and more content.
A round of yoga before going to sleep
Before going to bed I also do a few yoga exercises. The short stretch and "going inward" helps me wind down even after a long day. Since I got a completely analogue alarm clock, I put my phone on flight mode and leave it in the other room. That way I sleep much better and get around to reading a few lines of a nice book in the evening. Plus, the first thing you see in the morning isn't a screen, but the morning light, your partner in bed, or the darkness under the duvet when you do have to hit the snooze button. (It happens to all of us!)
Morning and evening routines
For all of these morning and evening routines: don't start everything at once!
These are also just ideas. You surely know of things yourself that can help you start the day better. So take it slowly and pick out one or two ideas first. Really try to stick with it for 21 days. That's the time it takes for something to become a habit, and from then on it's much easier to carry on. This way you can gradually build up healthy routines that can improve your quality of life enormously in the long run.
If you need a big push for changing your routines in the long term, we recommend a juice cleanse as a starting point. Many juice cleanse fans report increased motivation to keep up healthy new routines after a juice cleanse. The juice cleanses from frank. are tailored to all your needs. Choose a 3-day juice cleanse, or go for the 5-day juice cleanse. You can also extend our cleanses with supplements from BIOGENA into a gut cleanse, beauty cleanse or energy cleanse.
