Do you have any morning rituals?

I like to get up early and spend some time planning my day. I check my calendar, read the news, answer some emails, and get revved up (thanks caffeine!) for my day.

One of the morning's highlights is a cup of coffee (just one, but blindingly strong) and a little time with a succulent plant on my kitchen table. My friend Sue gave me the vintage hedgehog planter and I dropped in a little echeveria to give him a spiky spine. (A side benefit is that succulents are super easy to grow.)

With a cup of morning coffee, I get a dose of caffeine, the reminder of the thoughtfulness of a lifelong friend, and couple calm moments with a houseplant. I’ve named the planter and plant Nigel. So Nigel and I have a little downtime in the morning before I launch into my day.   

I’m not alone in craving a morning ritual. And I’m pleased to find out that my intuitive slow-start mornings are actually a way to promote a more productive day. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), creating a morning ritual is an ideal way to increase energy, productivity, and positivity. 

In the article “The Power of a Morning Routine” on the NAMI website, writer Laura Greenstein says that a morning ritual also generates momentum, building up to the brain’s peak time for cognitive work (late morning).” To read the whole article, click here. 

The article stresses the importance of waking slowly, hydrating, eating, and adding light, music, and movement to your morning. And while the article doesn’t specifically mention plants (and Nigel!), this is my addition to the list. And my firm belief that a day that starts admiring nature will set me on the right path.

Are you looking for other ways destress in your life?  Plants can help.

Written by Karen Weir-Jimerson