Yes, a lot of people swear by the absolute best morning routine they have ever come across on platforms like YouTube and more. And while most of these tend to have a lot of things stuffed in under “the perfect morning routine” or the “healthy morning routine” you must follow, very few really take care of how practical it might be to actually get down to doing it.

Pressed on time, barely getting enough sleep, and constantly in a rush to be somewhere else, our generation’s very definition of a healthy morning routine can be questioned by just about anyone, young and old. Glorified and hyped up on various platforms, it seems easy to talk about things like meditation and exercise as part of a good morning routine, but once again, the discipline, commitment, and most importantly, feasibility of it all makes it far more difficult in reality than in theory.

Adding to it, the kinds of morning routines we see in our films and TV shows, take this concept to a whole new level. Ever noticed how almost all superhero movies have at least one action sequence at night? Most of them follow a live-a-normal-life in the day, fight-crime-at-night routine, leaving us wondering what the secret to their morning routine is.

If you strip off all the superhero-ness, these men and women would probably fall flat on their faces in no time with a day like that!

It has been scientifically proven that a good night’s sleep can do wonders for almost anybody, and a lot of emphasis has been given to it, specifically a good morning routine. Fluff it up as much as you want but the truth is, the best morning routine starts at night, and is pretty simple too: sleep early so you can wake up early and practice a fixed morning routine before starting the rest of your day. 

It goes without saying that starting any work in the day that began with a good morning routine can exponentially multiply your alertness, thinking and energy for the rest of the day!

As much as we want to steer away from the cliché “early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise!” The truth is, if we came with a manual of how to work, the recharge criteria would say the same. So what’s all the hype about this morning routine really?

Here’s a check-list that some of us Sexy Beast follow to kick-start our day with what we feel is part of the best morning routines splashed just about everywhere else on the internet as well:

Make Exercise a Part of Your Morning Routine

Another cliché (of course), it is important that you start your day with exercise. We are sure you have heard of this before, but here is why we believe that exercise is such an important part of a healthy morning routine.

Before we get into that though, allow us to clarify one thing: when we say exercise, we don’t mean to go to the gym and sweat yourself off kind of exercise – any sort of movement will do (we aren’t picky that way, you see!)

Just put on some groovy music and move to it. If you are alone in a room, even better – just move your arms and legs in whatever direction the music takes you. If you want to explore further, try listening to something that you haven’t heard before, and see how that feels. Throw in a prop just for fun if that’s something you want to try. Just go back to being as childish, weird, and silly as you can get.

What we’ve realized is that, not only does this help thaw the night’s lethargy and energize your entire system, but it also makes us feel very aware of the fact that everything in our body can, and is, functioning so beautifully well. This sense of awareness and gratitude is an overwhelming and positive tone to set for yourself as you begin the day.

Of course if you are gym-going, Pilates practicing, and need to get serious with a workout kind of person, then that works as well! It goes without saying, you do what feels right for you.

Now coming to the discipline part of it…

Set a short term goal and tell yourself that for the next one week (at least!) I will wake up early and give this a shot. 

There are a lot of options available to you today. But very soon you will begin to see that you feel fresher, more energetic, and…well, happier, through the rest of the day.

Meditate, First Thing in the Morning

Most people who do it know that they cannot live without it, and most people who don’t do it, only don’t do that because they haven’t tried it, or haven’t done it correctly if they have.

Meditation is nothing but taking some time out to focus on yourself and your existence. There is so much power in just sitting down with shut eyes and listening to some calming music focusing on nothing but your breath at that time.

Ensure that your morning routine includes a little quiet me-time where you can process everything that you are to do through the rest of the day without getting anxious about it.

For us, a twenty minute meditation session feels like we have been on a journey through another world altogether. This journey, sometimes through a galaxy of stars where we are floating in a no-gravity environment, or immersed in water with a quiet stillness deep within, is something that helps ground us as we set out to conquer the day.

Yes, we noticed that both these instances have a sense of floating in them – and perhaps that is because meditation is all about focusing on our breath, and the way it flows in and out of our bodies. In any case, before we digress, the point is that, even if only for ten minutes, try this out after exercising and see how your mind draws strength from your physical being and vice versa, to prepare you to face the day.

Step into a Wonderful (Cold) Shower

Well if you have taken our word for it and begun your day with exercise, then you definitely should be taking a shower. Apart from that, we are the least judgmental people on the planet. If you aren’t the kind of person that takes a shower every single day, once again, that’s perfectly fine – you do you!

But for all the others out there, taking a shower could be the most relaxing thing you do in the morning. And if you choose to go for a cold water shower, apart from jolting you out of your sleep, it actually does help to balance out the body temperature in some way while also helping to boost your immunity.

Did you know, Elon Musk actually starts his day with a cold water shower? Now if he’s doing it every single day and something seems to be keeping him going, we aren’t one to question that :D

If you are however looking at a really badass routine, we are serious, Elon Musk fan or not, try taking a cold shower. You’re going to feel fresh and strong. After all the efforts you have put into making your morning a productive one this would calm you down and prepare you for your day.

Read Something 

Was school the last time you laid your hands on a book? Well try it out again. Ok fine! We get it – you are not a reading person. And that is fine too. 

The idea is to learn something new. We, as human beings, have been explorers since we were born. Our minds are curious and that is why as kids we have so many questions. In fact, that is why we end up doing just about anything in the world. We are constantly trying to learn, explore, understand, deduce, and do just about anything to keep ourselves occupied, and progress forward.

Whether a boon or a curse, isn’t this the foundation of the system we have come to live in today? Think about it – the first time that someone thought of the concept of money, or formal schools, or languages, or anything that we see around us – how ridiculous, yet smart would it have felt?

For instance, imagine the first man or woman to put on a pair of shoes – how weird must it have been for that generation? And yet we adapt so instinctively to these things. More recently, think of the first person that thought of taking a selfie – what was that person thinking, and how did that become a trend?!

In either case, our point here is that try to put aside some time in your morning routine every day to consciously get in touch with that inner child again and expose yourself to something new at the start of the day – listen to a podcast, watch an interesting YouTube video, experiment with a hobby for a while. 

Do something new every day and see how your view of life changes for the better.

Do NOT Skip Breakfast

Yes, you need to start your day and are in a rush! Yes, you don’t have the time. Yes, you may not have been having a proper breakfast until now. But no, you cannot continue like this. 

We have all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – apart from the fact that you have been on a ‘fast’ through the night, not eating anything for a good number of hours and you need to ‘break’ that ‘fast’ (hence ‘breakfast’), this is because it is the time your body is most active.

It has just had its dose of rest, has been stimulated physically and mentally (if you have followed steps 1 to 4 specifically) and now is ready to be fueled again.

Think of it as the boosters that you put in your cars or bikes. The extra push from the right breakfast can be the game-changer for your lifestyle in the long run. 

We do understand that these are things you may have heard time and time again. But this time, really give it a try for yourself and see. Better still, start the day wearing one of our bright and funky shorts like our Sexy Beast Donut boxer short ;)

The first few days seem difficult, no doubt. But very soon, you will begin to see a new version of yourself with this badass morning routine.

Are there any other things you have tried that have worked for you? If yes, please share them with us in the comments below.