What is *Your* Morning Routine?

I posted the article below in my latest newsletter - 

I wanna share it here too for those who may have missed it - enjoy ;)

In one of our recent online videos, Mr. Monarch mentioned that I do a certain routine every morning and there have been a number of messages since then enquiring what this routine involves, so I thought it might be a grand idea to share some info on that today...I'm going to cover here the first three things that I do each morning (after emptying my bladder, of course ;) This is not presented as a "prescription" for morning management - I would simply love to share what I personally choose to engage in immediately after rising, as so many of you were asking about this - perhaps you may find some inspiration herein ;)

1. Tongue Scraping - I *love* tongue scraping. This is an ancient "yogic" practice of using a scraper of some kind to remove any unpleasant build up on the tongue that has accumulated overnight during the detox phase. There is usually a thick-ish layer of white/yellow 'sludge' that can be easily and quickly scraped off and rinsed away... Personally I use one of the Dr Tung's stainless steel scrapers, which last for countless years and it feels *so* good to me to remove that layer of detox waste from my tongue and freshen up my mouth a bit before I start to ingest anything new - I don't want to take all that sludge back down into my body when it has worked so hard all night to bring it all forward for elimination... ;)


on September the 25th I loved:

1 quart water
3 cups watermelon/orange juice
prune soak water and YUMMY soaked prunes
cup of amazing tonic elixir ice cream from the Longevity Tonic Bar
2 cups water
bowl of kelp noodles with spicy sunflower seed sauce stuffed into romaine leaves and nori sheets, with cucumber on the side, followed by a little cupuacu spread from Gnosis
2 cups water
1 cup kefir


on September the 26th I enjoyed:

1 quart water
2 cups watermelon juice
3 cups greeeeeeen juice
bowl of kelp noodles with spicy sunflower seed sauce stuffed into romaine leaves and nori sheets, with cucumber on the side, followed by a little acai powder
2 cups water
*amazing* "$18,000 Jing Master" elixir from the Tonic Bar at Longevity :)
2 cups water


2. One Quart Water - It feels vital to me to drink a sufficient amount of water first thing, to set me up well for the rest of the day in terms of hydration. The appropriate amount for me at this point in my journey seems to be around a quart/litre of water. Drinking water is the next step for me after tongue scraping...I've usually been asleep for around 8 hours or so, which means for that whole time my body has been receiving no liquids and has also been in detox mode. If I make sure I get that quart of water in first thing, it helps to flush those toxins through and set up my hydration for the day...over the years I found that if I don't set myself up well for the day in this way, I would feel more irritable and prone to headaches during the day



on September the 27th I appreciated:

1 quart water
3 cups greeeeeeeen juice
bowl of Lydia's Berry cereal with fresh blueberries/peach and almond milk :)
2 cups water
cup of coconut kefir
can of freeze-dried durian with a few brazil nuts :)
2 cups water


on September the 28th it was VERY hot and I was blissed with:

1 quart water
1 quart watermelon/orange juice
1 quart watermelon/orange juice
3 cups greeeeeeeeen juice
1.5 cups spicy hazelnut milk
can of freeze-dried durian with sample of *amazing* new raw "gourmet" coconut butter ;O
2 cups water
cup of coconut kefir
2 cups water

3. Yoga/Meditation - Daily yoga/meditaton practice feels very important to me too - this is another component that feels very key for me to engage in, otherwise I will feel a lot less 'connected' during the day, more easily side-tracked, less centred and so on... Personally, the framework for my yoga/meditation practice is The Five Tibetan Rites series of stretches, which is an ancient set of movements said to help increase longevity and keep the chakras spinning in alignment. Over the six or so years that I've been practicing these moves daily, I have adapted the process to better suit my personal flow and lifestyle, including adding in various extra moves/stretches to the original five movements, plus also combining my meditation practice WITH the movements, to create a kind of flowing, moving meditation... To me, it feels soooo good to stretch my body out well after a night of sleep, to ground back into this physical reality and at the same time to be meditating on my intentions for the day, to set myself up for a fun flow ;) Perhaps some day soon we'll make a video to show you the exact moves I work through in the mornings, for now though, HERE is a great website to check out the original series of Tibetan Rites and HERE is a video of the Giannis demo-ing the moves too...
My meditations/visualisations involve a lot of gratitude, love and healing energy. I ask for love, light and healing to be sent through my body and being for this whole day, then send this same energy through to various friends, family members, animals, people who spontaneously come to mind and so on...I wrap up by asking for plenty of grace, love, compassion and so on to be available to me during the course of each daily experience, to help me show up as the brightest version of myself I can muster ;)

By the end of this kind of morning routine, I am feeling refreshed, rehydrated, back in my body, centred, filled with love and joy and ready to get to action...if you're feeling that *your* morning routine is more characterised by things like alarm clocks, rushing, stimulation and stress, then I hope you may find some inspiration here to seek more serenity as you ease your way into each day... ;) ENJOY :)

All love,
Ms. A. C. Stokes-Monarch. xxx