The Rise to Wellness Morning Routine

By Dr. Jacey Folkers

January 14, 2022

Start Your Morning with More Energy, Lose Stubborn Weight, Balance Your Hormones, and Rev Up Your Metabolism in the Next 3-5 Days!

Hey sister - mornings don’t have to be difficult for you. If your current morning routine consists of hitting snooze 10 times before you roll out of bed (late again) to rush around for the rest of the day in a flustered frenzy, then maybe it's time to change things up!

Our morning routine is designed to be a series of easy to incorporate rituals that even the busiest person can start doing. These are simple, thoughtful, life-giving practices that can be done from anywhere!

The best part is that by practicing this 26 minute morning routine as often as you can, you are shifting the tone of your day from stressed out and hurried to calm, centered, and focused.

Remember, the goal is progress, not perfection!

Meet yourself where you are and most importantly, have fun. :) All growth takes place when done consistently and intentionally. Do not let the simplicity of this program devalue the power of its application over time.

We’ve found that this process works best when you find an accountability partner to do it with you. This could be your friend or significant other who is on a path towards a better mind, body, and spirit.

Start Every Morning off Right To Increase Energy, Lose Stubborn Weight, Balance Your Hormones, and Jumpstart Your Metabolism in the Next 3-5 Days!

We're so glad you're here! These are some of the things that we do every morning to set the tone for our day. Start gradually and know you don’t have to do all of them. Choose 2-3 things that you think might work for you and your morning. We'll explain why they're so effective in the following pages.

7 Simple, Powerful Morning Rituals

❏ Enjoy the Morning Sunlight (10 mins)

❏ Drink 16-20 ounces of Water First Thing in the Morning (1 min)

❏ Practice Daily Gratitude (3 mins)

❏ Practice Joyful Movement in the Morning (10 mins)

❏ Practice Intermittent Fasting (0 mins)

❏ Sip Adaptogenic Coffee, Green Tea, or Red Tea (2 mins) ❏ Practice Breathwork and Meditation (10 mins)

Enjoy the Morning Sunlight (5-10 mins)

Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.

-Helen Keller

Exposure to morning sunlight signals to your body that it's time to wake up and start your day and is key to setting your body’s natural circadian rhythm for optimal sleep!

Benefits of Sunlight and Simple Tips:

❏ Studies now show that fat cells can sense sunlight and not getting enough increases metabolic syndrome risk. Sunlight is required for normal metabolism. (1)

❏ Getting sunlight exposure also helps reset your sleep/wake cycle so that you get a deeper and better quality sleep which will also increase metabolism. Try to get sunlight upon rising, midday, and evening. Bonus points for watching the sunrise and sunset!

❏ Sunlight provides you with your daily dose of Vitamin D. A recent study showed that “low serum vitamin D has been found to be associated with various types of metabolic illness such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases including hypertension.” (2)

❏ A wonderful way to expose yourself to morning sunlight is to go outside for a walk in nature every morning you are able to. If you aren’t able to do this, try to sit outside and do some deep breathing exercises in the morning while you look up to the sky. If it’s not possible for you to get outside at all, you can sit by a window in the morning and enjoy some tea while planning for your day. On dark, cloudy days consider using a HappyLight, which mimics sunlight to enhance mood, energy, sleep, & focus.

❏ Avoid artificial light from all sources and screens after the sun goes down. Not easy but your body and brain will thank you!

❏ If you must be on a screen after sunset, we recommend investing in a pair of blue blocker glasses.

Try to keep overhead lighting at a minimum once the sun sets. Be sure to turn off overhead lights after dinner time and enjoy the natural beauty of salt rock lamps or the soft glow of beeswax candles. This will help stimulate melatonin production.

Drink 16-20 ounces of Water First Thing in the Morning (1 min)

With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you're connected to the sea. No matter where on earth you live.

-Sylvia Earle

Your daily hydration ritual should start with a large glass of water upon waking to immediately hydrate your body and allow for better digestion throughout the day!

Benefits of Morning Hydration and Simple Tips:

❏ After spending a few minutes in the sun, drinking 16-20 ounces of water can really help to kickstart your metabolism!

❏ Studies have shown that drinking 17 ounces (0.5 liters) of water increases resting metabolism by 10–30% for about an hour. (3)

❏ Drinking water also induces thermogenesis which augments your daily energy expenditure.

❏ Squeeze some lemon, add a pinch of Celtic sea salt, and a teaspoon of chlorophyll for added health benefits!

❏ Be sure to drink filtered water. We use and love the Berkey water filters as this filtration system removes harmful bacteria and viruses that conventional filters don’t.

❏ If you struggle to drink enough water in the morning and throughout the day, consider downloading an app to help you keep track of how much you're drinking.

Practice Daily Gratitude (3 mins)

We should have an attitude of gratitude and always be asking ourselves how we can pay it forward.

-Sachin Patel

Intentionally practicing gratitude can seem simple and basic, but the positive results that you will get from doing this are immeasurable!

Benefits of Practicing Gratitude, Simple Tips:

❏ Notice and appreciate the beauty of nature while you are soaking up the morning sunlight.

❏ Write down 3 things that you’re grateful for. We love using The 5-Minute Journal, but you can always use your own favorite journal.

❏ Practicing gratitude has been shown to lower cortisol. When we lower cortisol the body is more likely to heal and repair.

❏ Practicing gratitude also increases neurotransmitters like serotonin (to feel happy and in a good mood) and dopamine (for motivation and pleasure) and increases activity in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus regulates our food intake, metabolism, and stress levels.

❏ Those who practice gratitude have been shown to have better metabolism! (5)(6)

Practice Joyful (Joi-ful) Movement in the Morning (10 mins)

Exercise not only tones the muscles but also refines the brain and revives the soul. -Michael Treanor

What types of physical activities did you enjoy doing as a child? Get in touch with your inner child and have fun moving your body again! Exercise doesn’t have to be some drudgery task you have to do, it should be something fun you look forward to.

Benefits of Practicing Joyful Movement, Simple Tips:

❏ Studies have shown that some form of movement or exercise in the morning helps to boost your metabolism for the rest of the day.

❏ Go for a morning walk without your phone and soak in the beauty around you, find a 10-minute a day for 30 days yoga or pilates challenge on YouTube, or practice some simple bodyweight exercises.

❏ The night before, take a few moments to plan what exercise you are going to do the next morning. Then neatly set out the equipment you might need to make it easily accessible to you, workout clothes, yoga mat, running shoes, etc, so that your work out set up is ready.

❏ One of my wife's personal favorites is to listen to relaxing music while doing a sun salutation yoga flow. I enjoy bodyweight exercises like squats and push-ups and look for fun quick workouts on YouTube often.

Practice Intermittent Fasting (0 mins)

Fasting is the greatest remedy—the physician within.

-Paracelsus

Instead of viewing fasting as restrictive, we should start looking at it as a mentally and physically freeing practice! Instead of mindlessly grazing, you can use this time to read, spend time out in nature with your family, plan your day, go for a walk, journal, take a bath or cold shower, etc.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting and Simple Tips:

❏ Contrary to popular belief, skipping breakfast and narrowing your eating window has been shown to increase metabolism by balancing out fat-burning hormones. (7)(8)

❏ Fasting decreases insulin levels (increased insulin levels signal your body to store fat) and therefore helps with weight loss.

❏ Try fasting for 13-16 hours. An example schedule: eat between the hours of 9 am-5 pm and fast between 5 pm-9 am. The times don’t matter- what matters is you find something that works well for your life and stick with it as best you can.

❏ Eat your last meal 2-3 hours before bed so your body and brain can focus on recovery instead of digestion.

❏ You can download the Zero-Fasting Tracker APP to help you track your fasting.

❏ Check with your doctor to see if fasting is appropriate for you. Most people can tolerate a 13-hour window. Start slow and work your way up to 13-16 hours!

Sip Adaptogenic Coffee, Green Tea, or Red Tea (2 mins)

Enjoy simple things with total intensity. Just a cup of tea can be a deep meditation. - Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Knowing that a warm, soothing, and revitalizing beverage awaits you in the morning can help you more easily get out of bed and start your day!

Benefits of Coffee and Teas and Simple Tips:

❏ Green tea helps to convert stored fat into free fatty acids which helps increase metabolism. (9)

❏ Caffeine in coffee can increase metabolism by 3-11%. (10)

❏ We recommend drinking coffee with reishi mushrooms. Reishi mushroom decreases inflammation in the body, helps to balance the immune system, and is known to increase stress resilience.

❏ You can purchase these beverages here at reishi coffee.

❏ We like to make a healthy elixir in the morning. Here is the recipe:

Morning Elixir Recipe

● Reishi mushroom coffee

● ¼ tsp organic maca root powder

● 1 tsp organic cacao powder

● 1 tsp 5 mushroom blend powder (contains reishi, cordyceps, turkey tail, lions mane, and Chaga mushrooms)

● ½ tsp honey (optional)

● 6 ounces boiling water

● Your favorite non-dairy creamer to taste

● Stir well and enjoy!

Practice Breathwork and Meditation (10 mins)

Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment. The only moment.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Intentional breath work and meditation is a powerful way to set a positive, joyful, peaceful, and focused tone to your whole day. You will start to notice calming instantaneously and be able to go through your day in a centered way instead of a flustered, stressed-out frenzy.

Benefits of Breath work and Meditation and Simple Tips:

❏ For every 10 lbs of weight loss, 8 lbs are lost through the lungs! Lessoning lung strain and stress.

❏ Proper breathing is so important when it comes to weight, energy, metabolism, and hormonal health.

❏ Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. When we breathe through our mouths the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system is activated. When you breathe through your nose, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system responsible for rest and digestion.

❏ When you activate your sympathetic nervous system, it will trigger your adrenal glands to release cortisol. Chronic cortisol output can result in weight gain around the abdomen. All healing occurs in the parasympathetic state so you want to make sure we are breathing properly!

❏ You want to focus on deep, long breaths versus short, shallow breaths.

❏ The ideal breath is 6 seconds on the inhale and 6 seconds on the exhale

❏ We recommend reading the book called, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor.

❏ Advanced tip: apply a small amount of tape on your mouth at bedtime to ensure you breathe through your nose while you sleep. This will result in deeper and more restful sleep with fewer nighttime awakenings.

This routine is our daily practice and we hope it inspires you to live each day more intentionally!

Love,

Dr. Jacey Folkers, MD/PhD

References

1. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/cchm-fcc012120.php?fbclid=IwAR2p_ MuCW2SL_fnJIF1M4-Ssr0Ib5E9jxsbZf-UvZ7QFcxVn3-8buU8HOA0

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6513299

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21750519/

4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17519319/

5. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6823/10-Benefits-of-Gratitude.html

7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26964832/

8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26399868/

9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18326618/