Lia’s Morning Routine
Tell us a little about yourself!
I'm 35, and I currently live in Puerto Rico with my boyfriend, our dogs, Harvey and Rosco, and our two cats, Charlie and Ralph. We also have a few community cats that hang around our house that we take care of (we love animals!). I work remotely and am currently doing some independent contract work while I build Simple Rituals!
What type of ritual are you sharing?
Morning routine
Walk us through your ritual step by step.
8:00-8:30 a.m. - Wake up. Ideally, I would wake up closer to 7:00 (or even earlier), but for now I've just accepted this timeframe as my wake-up time and I know this may naturally shift. I've experienced a lot of big changes in the last couple of years, so I am just taking this as a sign that my body needs the extra rest right now, and since my current work schedule is flexible, I'm just going with it!
8:30 - 8:45 a.m. - I love to spend a little time lingering in bed and snuggling with my pets in the morning. I used to be a "spring out of bed" type of person, but these moments just relaxing before the day starts are some of my favorite, so I've made it part of my daily ritual. (Bonus points when my boyfriend brings me coffee in bed!) Once I'm up, I pee, tongue scrape, brush my teeth, and wash my face. And by wash my face, I mean the whole shabang - I wash my face with a gentle cleansing bar, apply a hydrosol (so refreshing in the Puerto Rico heat!), and then apply an oil-based serum. While my face is still slippery (LOL I can't think of a better word for this), I love to do a quicky qua sha and facial massage to get lymph flowing and just because it feels amazing.
8:45 - 9:00 a.m. - Next, I head out to the kitchen and make myself lemon water with trace minerals, and a cup of half-calf or decaf coffee. I try to delay caffeine for at least an hour in the morning and I always have a full glass of water before my coffee to rehydrate after sleep. While my coffee is being brewed, I'll do some morning chores/ tidying up so I can start my day with a fresh slate.
9:00 a.m. - After all the pets are taken care of and the house is tidied, I light some incense and sit down to do my daily Spanish lesson. This is a newer part of my routine and I’m still working on consistency, but I love it! I have always wanted to be fluent in Spanish, and since moving to Puerto Rico, it's been extra important to me. I found an online course that I like, and I try to do a 10-15 minute lesson every morning to start my day.
9:15 a.m. - After my Spanish lesson, I’ll check some emails, schedule out my day and then head to the kitchen to make breakfast. For breakfast, I love Ezekiel bread toast with peanut butter and banana, a smoothie bowl, a bagel sandwich, or a breakfast bowl with rice, veggies, and eggs. Then, I'll pour myself another coffee (with caffeine), take my supplements that I prepared the night before, and head into my office to start work.
Why is this ritual meaningful to you?
I intentionally designed my morning routine to be short enough to be realistic, but also substantial enough to feel impactful. I wanted my morning routine to help me feel grounded before I started my day, support my well-being, and include one small thing to help me toward a bigger goal. After some tweaks, I finally landed on a morning routine I love, with rituals I look forward to.
Any favorite products, tools, or resources you use in your ritual?
Hydrosol or face spritzer of some sort
A yummy face oil (currently using Primally Pure plumping serum)
Gua sha
Supplements - mineral drops, multivitamin + fish oil
Incense
What advice would you give someone looking to create a similar ritual?
It may sound a little corny, but figure out your WHY. A morning ritual for the sake of having a morning ritual still has some benefits, but it's harder to stick to and the benefits aren't as meaningful. I started with how I wanted to feel after my morning rituals, and thought about what my big goals were that my morning ritual could help me accomplish, and then worked backwards from there. I think it's also important to start small and set reminders! I started with just tongue scraping, then added oil pulling, and next added gua sha. I used to take my supplements every day, but went through a period of forgetting, so I had to intentionally add those back in. I set a reminder called Morning Rituals on my phone for every morning at 9:00AM and I include the list of the things I am currently doing so I don't forget anything! It sounds a little neurotic, but I also find that doing things in the same order every day helps me remember each step.
Have a favorite ritual? We’d love to share it!