Looking to kickstart a Sunday morning self care practice? GEM&BOLT Co-Founder Elliott Coon shares her favorite morning rituals.
Ten ways to make the most of your precious, slow mornings:
- Ayurvedic Oil Pulling: I use organic coconut oil.
- Black Tea Latte: I steam oat milk with honey, then steep loose leaf black tea or Yerba mate into the frothy mixture. It’s a creamy treat backed with a touch of clean caffeine to start the morning off right.
- Intermittent Fasting: I often do not eat until noon + spend the morning hydrating for the day ahead. If I do eat before noon, I usually prepare a smoothie with all sorts of powerful superfoods and vegan protein powders.
- Tanaka Facial Massage: I do this for about 8 minutes – there are great video tutorials on Youtube like this one.
- Bentonite Face Mask: This is a homemade mask that you can make using items from your pantry. I use a mix of powdered bentonite clay, brewed chamomile tea, honey + a dash of apple cider vinegar. The result is glowing skin.
- Yoga: Half an hour, at home, in my living room or outside when the weather is nice. If you’re new to yoga + in search of a guided at-home practice, Yoga with Adriene on YouTube is a great place to start.
- Meditation: I sit for 5-10 minutes to check in with my body at the end of my yoga practice.
- Dry Brushing: After yoga, I shower, then dry brush my entire body to stimulate the lymphatic system + resurface the skin for a shiny glow.
- Body Oil: After dry brushing, I moisturize my entire body with local, clean botanical oils (I live in Oaxaca, but I always encourage friends to visit their local farmers market – that’s where you’ll often find the best stock of local botanicals & small batch apothecary offerings). My go-to oil blend is coconut, almond + apricot kernel mixed with various essential oils.
- DANCE! Dancing is a total mood elevator + one of the simplest practices of self-care that allows you to get into your body + move. I dance around for 10-15 minutes or so before catching up on emails or jumping into my day.
ONWARD, into a beautiful day!