Find Your Inner Peace: 7 Slow Morning Routine Ideas for Mindful Mornings

The best time to transition into a slow morning routine is when you notice that you wake up already feeling tired and exhausted.

At least, this is how I discovered that slow mornings prepare me for the day better than rushing, stressing over, and chasing the clock.

Slow living has become a trend in the past few years, and that puts a little ‘meh’ on it for me. But ignoring the label, I have reaped the benefits of my slow mornings for months now. And I have no intention of stopping.

Slow mornings are perfect for you if the idea of enjoying ‘slow living’ is tempting, but your busy daily schedule barely keeps you on the ‘living’ part (that’s an obvious joke).

I have six different small businesses and work on them by myself every day.

That means I am a busy bee with zero minutes available to float through my day. I am perfectly aware of everything I do, but I have zero time to ponder over each one of my plants for half an hour, admiring their colors. I would love to do it. But my goals and dreams keep me busy and on the run all day long.

So, mornings (and a few evenings weekly) are all I’ve got to enjoy slow living, slow-paced movements, and indulging in something with no rush at all.

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What does slow morning mean?

The idea of intentional living through enjoying your mornings slowly isn’t new. In fact, I highly doubt our ancestors have been frantically running around their caves in the morning the way we run through our flats nowadays… unless there was a lion knocking on the walls of those caves…

We have no lions waiting by our cars in the mornings, so why is it that over the centuries, we become worse at enjoying life? Aren’t we supposed to evolve?

In a nutshell, a slow morning means doing everything intentionally, living through the moment of moving, touching, looking, tasting, and feeling. You want to aim for simplicity and squeeze just the perfect amount of morning habits, so you have no excuse to quickly finish up doing something before you jump onto the other one.

Even if the only things you choose to do in the morning are having a cup of coffee and putting your makeup on, you want to ‘forget’ about time while doing these things. And ‘forget’ doesn’t imply scrolling on social media until your boss calls to check if you plan to show up at work today.

Slow morning routine has nothing to do with ‘lazy’ and ‘sluggish’ morning routine

You might think that ‘slow’ implies being lazy and dragging your feet around. In fact, ‘slow living’ (and therefore, slow morning routines) emphasizes one thing only… that is it. You focus on doing one thing at a time and do it mindfully, experiencing that moment fully before moving to the next habit.

And if I have to compare it to something, I would say that ‘slow living’ is a synonym to ‘stop and enjoy for a moment’ instead of ‘get phlegmatic with everything you do.’

Embrace Calm: 7 Slow Morning Routine Ideas for Mindful Living

How to have a slow morning? Here are 7 of my favorite ideas to give you a good start!

Wake up on time

You can never enjoy your slow morning if you don’t give yourself time for it. Wake up as early as needed to fit in everything you’ve planned to do on your slow morning.

To me, that means I wake up at 5 a.m., an hour before I have to sit and work. I do not commute to work, so if you do, consider the time you leave the house to be the last dot on your ‘slow morning.’

Forget about your phone

Our tiny devices offer a door to the fast-paced world out there. Leave that door closed for as long as possible.

I wouldn’t touch my phone until 9 a.m. or even later, depending on my schedule for the day. I would put it on airplane mode so I don’t hear any notification of a message or a phone call. (no worries, I’ve created an ’emergency call’ option if I must be contacted for something truly important).

If you like listening to music, you can go on and find a favorite playlist on iTunes or Youtube but try to minimize your interaction with any devices.

Mindful body movements

You have a wide range of options here. Make sure you love whatever you choose.

• morning gentle stretch;
•  work out;
•  yoga;
•  walking outdoors;
•  Pilates;
•  … anything else that awakes your body.

I must admit I skip this one here and take a long walk with my dog just after 9 a.m. I’ve noticed we both are happier if I don’t use my phone while walking with her, so that goes into the ‘slow morning routine’ package, even if it comes after a few hours of work.

Slow breakfast

I love preparing my breakfast. I eat the same thing every single day, and I never get tired of it (years in a row). I make myself some porridge and English breakfast tea, and that has become the anchor of my mornings. I enjoy every bit of the process and every bite of my food.

What would your slow breakfast be? Choose something nourishing. Take your vitamins, and enjoy your morning beverage, even if it’s water.

Journaling

I am still waiting for the day when I will write a blog post where the word ‘journaling’ won’t be scribbled in it.

And you can roll your eyes as much as needed, but writing down ideas, thoughts, dreams, affirmations, beliefs… anything, is one of the best ways to wake up your brain gently.

And if journaling isn’t your thing, why not try to do the following simple mindfulness exercise:

• Notice 5 things you see around you.
• Notice 4 things you can touch (your clothes, the chair or the sheets, and so on)
• Notice 3 things you hear.
• Notice 2 things you can smell.
• Notice 1 thing you can taste.

Visualization or Mindful breathing

You could do both or choose one of them. The idea is to slow down and truly feel different positive emotions, with no rushing through them. There is no need to identify them. Just experiencing this very moment would be enough.

Reading something inspiring

One of my favorite thing to do years ago was to start my days by reading something inspiring. It made me feel content, enthusiastic, and truly happy with my morning routine.

To translate this habit into our concept of ‘slow mornings,’ here are a few book suggestions to help you read something relaxing and mindfully:

• In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honore 
•  Hygge: Unlock the Danish Art of Coziness and Happiness (Scandinavian Life Philosophies) by Barbara Hayden
•  An Intentional Life: A Guide To A Slower And More Peaceful Existence by Kathryn Bardsley

More ideas on how to have a slow morning routine

Here is an extensive list of things you could do on your mindful and slow morning routine:

• Write a gratitude list;
•  Have a way of connecting with nature – taking a walk barefoot, watering your plants, and more.
•  Say a few morning affirmations;
•  Listen to calming music;
•  Take a gratitude walk: express gratitude for everything you see while walking outside or in your own home.
•  Body scan meditation
•  Mindful tidying up – It doesn’t sound too appealing, but if you are a person who thrives when their home is clean, this one is actually a good mindful activity.
•  Set intentions for the day;

Slow Morning Routine Challenge Ideas

If you love challenges:

• Make a list of all things you want to try as part of your new morning routine and spend the next few weeks experimenting.
• Take a photo while performing one of the rituals every morning and store them in a separate album on your device.
• Journal about how a specific slow morning ritual made your day different (better or worse).
• Create different combinations to try and see which one you love the most.
• Grab 50 more monthly challenges that will give you ideas for your morning routine.