4 health experts reveal their number 1 tip to start their day off on the right foot.
Humans are creatures of habit, so when routines get thrown out of whack, it can leave some people reeling.
Whether you’ve been forced to start working from home or you’ve recently become unemployed it is important to incorporate some sense of structure into your day to increase productivity and help keep you on track with your health and fitness goals.
We’ve interviewed healthy hustlers and health experts who have shared their number one healthy habit which they implement on a daily basis to set themselves up for success.
Molly Jane Incorporates Kundalini
Molly Jane is the co-founder of the Australian wellness app, ‘Bloom’. It’s no doubt that mindfulness and meditation are a huge part of Molly’s daily routine. However, Kundalini in particular is a non-negotiable activity for her, when it comes to enhancing her mental health and setting her day up for success.
Kundalini Yoga is a blend of Bhakti Yoga (the yogic practice of devotion and chanting), Raja Yoga (the practice of mediation/mental and physical control) and Shakti Yoga, (for the expression of power and energy).
Molly describes the practice as “a mixture of all of your senses; breath, sound and movement. By combining all three, it is scientifically proven to change pathways in your brain.”
She says, “I will do, every day, without fail a kundalini meditation every morning. I have one that I have done every day for over a year now and I just find that it’s really grounding for me. It’s only 11 minutes so it doesn’t take up that much time.
However, she says “I have committed to the practice and I have seen changes in my life that prove to me that it works.”
Angela Simson Loves to Journal
Founder of ‘The Gratitude Project’, Angela Simson is an advocate for all things balance, gratitude and wellbeing, but she acknowledges that sometimes (especially now) thoughts and feelings can get overwhelming. When this happens, Ange likes to incorporate a journaling practice into her morning routine.
She says, “there’s this practice where you just sit, and you just start writing. Sometimes, the entry starts with ‘I don’t really know what to write about today, but I’m just sitting here on my couch and I’m just writing… hmmm… what am I going to write about today? What am I going to do today…’ and it’s essentially free writing.
“I always make sure I am writing for about 20 minutes or so as a minimum because you find usually after about 15 minutes your subconscious mind usually starts popping through where suddenly you’re talking and writing about stuff that you weren’t even thinking about before but has been underlyingly annoying you”.
By becoming more self-aware, Ange believes you can that implement small changes to rectify the situation or bring more joy to your day.
Jessica Sepal Eats Protein for Breakfast
Jessica Sepal is a clinical nutritionist and founder of J.S Health Supplements. As an expert in nutrition and health, she Jessica knows all too well the importance of a healthy and satiating breakfast. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Eating a high-sugar, high-carbohydrate breakfast foods, like bagels, cereal, and toast, can spike your blood sugar, in turn, causing a blood sugar crash.
Jessica says, “Protein is one of our most satiating macronutrients. It keeps our blood sugar levels nice and stable and it takes a really long time to digest and metabolise. I’ve found, just with clinical and personal experience that when adding a protein to your breakfast you’ll find that you’re much fuller throughout the morning, your energy is more stable and your concentration is more stable.”
“This is because the protein is in there to slow down the release of carbohydrates and sugars in the rest of the breakfast. For example, having oats with a protein powder, the protein will slow down the release of those oats and you might not have such a big blood-sugar drop” she says.
In this way, lower carb, higher protein breakfasts will keep your blood sugar level steady, reducing the chance of unnecessary headaches, drowsiness and mid-morning hunger.
Esther Hesse Incorporates Exercise and Movement
As you would expect from a fitness guru and personal trainer, Esther preaches the importance of exercise and a balanced lifestyle.
Even from home, Esther recommends finding a form of exercise or movement that you enjoy. She says, “doing activities that you find fun will trick your brain such that you won’t even realise you are exercising.”
While many gyms are closed there are still so many opportunities to exercise from home. Many gyms and fitness studios are providing virtual classes through Zoom and Instagram live, so take advantage of these.
If you have always wanted to try out a workout App, now is the time to try it. Some of our faves include KIC by Laura Henshaw and Steph Claire Smith, Sweat by Kayla Itsines and Centr by Chris Hemsworth.
If structured workouts aren’t your thing, sometimes dancing around to your favourite playlist for 20 minutes will get your heart rate up just as high.
