My Five Favorite Habits

My Five Favorite Habits

Let's talk habits. We all have good ones and bad ones and they're
either pretty easy to implement into your life or they can take a
whole lot of work. Especially the ones that you know are good and
will be beneficial to some aspect of your life, yet you still lack
the motivation and desire to work for it. Oh man have I been there..
I think we’ve all been there. But that's the great thing about habits
(the beneficial ones anyway) you do NOT have to be motivated EVERY
SINGLE DAY because habits are things you should be doing over and
over again until you don’t have to put so much thought and effort
into it, it’s just something that you DO. It feels as natural as
eating or breathing, well maybe not breathing but you get what I
mean. Remember, it takes 28 days to make a habit so give yourself
some time to start seeing and feeling the benefits.

One. SET ONE ALARM. Yes all you ten alarm people need to go and delete

them! Okay well maybe ease into it. If you’re one of those “I need

multiple alarms to get me out of bed in the morning” persons, I
challenge you to delete half the alarms you use. This will train
you that you have to rely on yourself to do the right thing and
get yourself up when you are supposed to since you won’t have
multiple alarms to rely on. Also I don’t know about you but when
I stay in bed five or ten minutes more I wake up frantic and
rushed. That’s not a good way to start off your morning. Waking
up to my only set alarm gives me time to relax. I make my coffee
and enjoy it while reading a book or sometimes I’ll wake up early
and stretch and listen to relaxing music or a podcast. Mornings to
me are sacred, I don’t want to waste my time lying in bed for ten
more minutes when at noon my back would be wishing that I spent
those ten minutes stretching instead.

Two. PRIORITIZE SLEEP!!! Going hand-in-hand with number one, getting
adequate sleep is so important. Sleep is one of the best forms of
medicine and its FREE! Getting enough sleep allows your body to
recover, flush out toxins from the body, and getting enough sleep can
improve your ability to learn, your memory, your appetite, and your
mood. Personally if I don’t get enough sleep my stomach is a
bottomless pit. Let me tell ya, already tired and moody Rach plus
hungry Rach is not a good time. So make sure you’re setting a bedtime
that works for you and stick to it. Can you tell that getting a good
night's sleep is super important to me?? Another amazing way to stick
to your sleeping schedule and get you ready for a good night’s rest
is to implement a night time routine. This will help your circadian
rhythm and get that melatonin flowing at the appropriate time of night.
Our melatonin is sent out in a burst whenever your BODY decides to.
That’s why if your sleepy but push through it you’ll sometimes try to
go to bed an hour later and find yourself lying there for hours wonder
ing why the heck you can’t fall asleep. My night time routine looks a
little something like this: wash my face, brush my teeth, stretch,
apply lotion all over my body, make a cup of night time herbal tea,
get in bed, write in my gratitude journal, and then I’ll read (NOTE:
I try to not look at my phone at all during this process although I
do make an exception for face timing my boyfriend as we are living in
different states, but even then I make sure to have the night time
mode on where the melatonin harming blue light is turned off and my
brightness is all the way down)

Three. DISTRACT YOUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS. We all have those days when we
just can’t get out of our heads. The negative, deflating thoughts take
over and we spiral. Some amazing habits I have used to help get me
back into a more positive mindset are think of three things you are
grateful for and why. I also write them down in a gratitude journal and
also write one good thing that happened that day. I love my gratitude
journal because as I try to think of new things everyday, it really
makes me think of all the small things that I am so grateful for and
often times take for granted (ie. essential oils, chap stick, and
toothpaste are all things I have written down and I am so GRATEFUL
for!!). Getting outdoors is an amazing way to shift your mood. Go for
a walk, a bike ride, a hike, sit in the grass and just enjoy the space
you're in. Fresh air + endorphins + the beauty of nature = peace of
mind.

Four. WARM LEMON & PINK HIMALAYAN SALT WATER WITH A PROBIOTIC
EVERYMORNING. Seriously every morning! You go (hopefully) seven to nine
hours without consuming any food or beverage through the night and if
you wake up and reach for the coffee before having yourself a cup of
water you are more than likely starting your day off dehydrated which
can lead to poor food choices, and a decrease in productivity. Lemon
water with a dash of salt gives you the minerals and electrolytes you
need to replenish all your body systems. Also it really gets things
moving if ya know what I mean ;) I’ll heat up my water at the same
time that I brew my coffee in the morning. Once I finish my 24oz of
water I am free to enjoy that glorious cup of coffee.

Five. WAKE UP WITH MOVEMENT. No matter how you do it, do it. Wake up
and move your body. Get those blood vessels pumping, your heart rate up
,and your lymphatic system draining. I love doing a morning workout,
especially since I am a morning person and my productivity is at its
peak in the AM. I also love going for a walk, doing a yoga flow, doing
lymphatic drainage techniques, and oddly enough doing handstands (also
great for the lymphatic system).

I hope that these five positive habits help to guide you or sparked
some motivation to incorporate your own healthy habits into your life.
Also I would LOVE to hear about the habits you’ve created for yourself
that you love. So please share!! Have a beautiful and adventurous day
loves!