Until recently, it’s fair to say I’ve never been much of an early bird, but neither have I ever been the type of person who doesn’t understand the concept of mornings. Having been self employed for well over 5 years now I’ve been in the fortunate position of being able to pick and choose the time I get out of bed and start any work I have on. For most of that 5+ years my average getting up time has been around 9am give or take an hour.

I’ve also never had much of a morning routine and I’ve frequently skipped breakfast except for perhaps an apple or something simple. Mornings are usually the time of day when I feel the most awake and the most alert, and have the most energy, but I have to admit that until recently I can’t say that I usually ever felt positively great!

But now I have a new routine that I’ve stuck to for almost 3 months now. I’d say it’s almost a habit, and it’s having a really tremendous affect on my day. I often spend most of the mornings positively buzzing, and my energy levels don’t usually start dropping by mid-afternoon like they used to. It’s 9pm as I sit here finishing this article and I still feel as alert and awake as I have all day.

So what’s my secret of starting the day feeling great?

Well it’s actually two secrets.

1) The Fruit & Superfood Smoothie

Make a fresh fruit smoothie every morning. You’ll need a food blender for this, but most people have them or you can buy them cheaply if you don’t have one. You don’t need an expensive model for making a simple fruit smoothie.

It probably doesn’t matter what fruit you use, but different fruit can certainly bring different benefits so it’s good to experiment. I usually add at least 1 banana (good source of protein), 1 apple, and then whatever else I fancy. Being in Peru now I can get a whole range of exotic fruits quite cheaply, although I haven’t been all that adventurous just yet. Pineapple is a yummy fruit to add, so are pears, melons and oranges. Make sure you slice the fruit into smaller pieces before adding to the blender. You’ll also need to add some liquid. Water, soya milk or almond milk are good choices. It’s often best to avoid dairy for a variety of different reasons.

However, that’s not all. For maximum benefit you should also add a few superfood ingredients. I’ll probably write more about superfoods another time, but if you’re not familiar with the term just know that superfoods are natural foods that contain much higher than normal amounts of nutrition (usually in the form of vitamins and minerals) that often benefit a wide variety of bodily functions.

The two superfoods I like to add are Maca powder and Cacao (powder or nibs). And even though both of these are native to Peru it was actually in Canada where I first learnt about them and started to use them. Both should be available in most health food stores. Both of them bring a whole range of benefits to the body.

For example Cacao (which is 100% raw chocolate) contains over 300 chemical compounds making it the most chemically complex food known to man. It is the highest source of magnesium which is highly beneficial to both the heart and the brain and it is also the worlds number 1 anti-oxidant.

2) Yoga, Breathing and Meditation

Secondly (although I usually do this first thing when I get out of bed) is doing some yoga, breathing and meditation exercises.

Now for some reason I’ve avoided yoga for the last 10 years or so, and until very recently I’d never performed a yoga position in my life. Which is a bit weird in a way, seeing as though I’m Mr Holistic Local, fascinated by all things spiritual and holistic, and Yoga is probably THE most popular holistic discipline in the world.

So what brought me to it? Well in late February this year I did an Art of Living course in Canada which was a really wonderful experience. Art of Living is an organisation founded by an amazing Indian mystic/guru called Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with the goal of “uplifting humanity by bringing peace at the level of the individual, society, nation and the world as a whole.”

Anyway, I’ll probably write more about Art of Living another time because that’s not the purpose of this article. The point being that I learnt some Yoga (Sun Salutations) and some very powerful breathing exercises on the Art of Living course that I did.

Now I can’t say too much about what these exercises are. It’s not necessarily a secret, it’s just that the information is fairly meaningless without going through the whole process of learning them yourself.

What I will say is that one of the three breathing techniques you learn is called Sudarshan Kriya and it really does have an amazing affect you. Here’s what the Art of Living website has to say abour Sudarshan Kriya:

The masterpiece of the the Art of Living Course is a powerful breathing-based technique called Sudarshan Kriya, or the healing breath. (The practice goes by this Sanskrit name in whatever language the program is taught throughout the world.) One of the breath’s great secrets is that for every feeling or emotion there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. Sudarshan Kriya incorporates specific natural rhythms of breath to release stress and bring the mind to the present moment.

The practice is instrumental in creating a sense of harmony in the body, mind and spirit. After the practice, participants commonly report feeling calm and centered, with a clearer vision of the world and themselves.

Several independent studies on the numerous mental and physical health benefits of Sudarshan Kriya have been published in international peer-reviewed journals and confirm what participants commonly report. (link)

This exercise really is a great thing to do every morning, and I strongly advise that you learn this for yourself. Art of Living has centres in pretty much every major country, and Art of Living courses are run in pretty much every major city in the world, so do a bit of Googling and I’m sure you’ll find something fairly close to you.

So first I do a bit of yoga, then the breathing exercises and finally I finish by meditating for 15 or 20 minutes. I’ve been trying to get into a regular meditation practice for years, and I’ve never really succeeded beyond a few weeks. The benefits of meditation are beyond doubt, with study after study after  study showing that people who meditate regularly are more relaxed, less stressed and generally just happier and healthier in so many different ways.

However, for some reason I’ve always struggled to get into a regular meditation practice, but after practising Sudarshan Kriya you’re left in a state where meditation seems like the most natural thing in the world to do. In fact it’s more difficult NOT to meditate for awhile.

So that’s my morning practice -  yoga, breathing and meditation followed by a fruit & superfood smoothie. Do all that and it really is impossible not to feel awesome and have an amazing day.

If you have your own tried and tested methods for starting the day feeling awesome then please share them below.