Realistic morning routine to have the best day!

Hi there!

Are you overwhelmed by the 912386 things that you are * supposed * to do BEFORE you even really start your day to have the best day possible? Well, so was I.

Over the course of the last couple of years, I have tried so many variations and combinations to help have the optimal morning routine that’s also short enough that I felt like I could repeat it consistently and notice an improvement in my mood and productivity through the day! A routine that is helpful is one you can actually stick to.

ON WAKING UP: The single thing that has had the biggest impact on my day is what I do the second I wake up. Am I reaching for my phone and checking my emails or social media and forcing my brain to wake the f up or am I slowly waking up and being more mindful? As I covered in my top 5 mental health tips, the first thing to do is to not check your phone. I recommend either reading a non fiction, listening to positive affirmations, journaling, or even just getting your things ready and organized for the morning.

For the body: I absolutely love starting my day with a 45-60 min morning workout. I’ve currently been enjoying a weight lifting program along with some hot yoga classes mixed in. It’s important here to do what you enjoy and feels good to you and remember “you GET TO workout” not “you have to workout”. Just that simple mind shift can motivate you to get moving in the morning! I shared my current preworkout stack here that helps me have the best workout!!!

I also eat a protein rich meal after to fuel my body for the day - my typical go to’s are eggs + veggies and bread or Kodiak cakes protein pancakes (iykyk)

For the mind: Morning sun exposure is a non negotiable. This one is easy to get into my day because I walk Boomer while enjoying the sunlight. It’s important to not use sunglasses for this! Morning sun exposure helps your body’s circadian rhythm and helps you with your sleep habits as well! It’s also when I listen to one of my favorite podcasts (TBOY or Huberman Lab or Tim Ferriss or How I built this are in my current rotations)

A little extra somethin’: I try to do one or some of these depending on the day but honestly there are quite a few days I don’t do any of them. They do have a positive impact and help overall but I don’t notice they move the needle as much for me so I try not to stress about it and use them as a little extra somethin’

• journaling

• meditation (I use the calm app)

• cold shower (this one is actually really beneficial and my goal is to one day make it part of my non negotiables)

• positive affirmations

• stretch

I would love to know what you do in your morning routine that helps you have a good day, please do share!

I can’t believe it took me living in the US for 15 years to finally visit the Grand Canyon and wow - was I blown away! I went mid April and the weather ended up being absolutely perfect (but the North rim was closed) Here is the itinerary I followed to spend 2 days in the park.

Day 1

Entrance: I recommend starting the day early (around 7-8am) to avoid the long car lines going into the park (it’s $35 per car for 7 days which is amazing considering the free shuttle service the park offers to get around)

Parking: There’s a few parking lots but the most ideal ones are close to the visitor center because that is where the shuttles start. The park is largely accessible by foot (rim trail) or my shuttles that take you to the key view points. Coming early also helps with finding a good parking spot because some of the spots aren’t easily on the shuttle lines which means you might end up walking a lot.

Views @ Mather point: Even from the visitor center, you can’t see the Grand Canyon and that’s one of the most impressive parts about it because you walk a short bit to the popular Mather point and you can pick your jaw off the floor.

From here take the blue shuttle to the village transfer point to your first hike of the trip

Hike @ Bright Angel trail: The best and worst parts about the hikes into the canyon are that they start off downhill. You can go as far as you would like and with every turn you see different stunning views into the canyon. Just be mindful that it’s all an uphill climb back so you save your energy for it.

Snack break/Lunch @ Bright Angel Lodge: There’s a coffee shop outside to grab a sandwich or drink or you can sit down at Harvey House Cafe (it is closed from 3-4pm). If you go to Harvey House Cafe, I recommend getting the black bean tortilla soup or the southwest Protein bowl.

Once you have fueled up and taken a break, get ready to see the best view points on the red route. You take the west bound red route to Hermit’s rest and get off at each point and stay for as long as you please or you can walk between the points along the rim trail.

Views @ Powell point: This cuts out over the canyon and offers some incredible south rim views. This was probably one of my favorite view points!

Views @ Mojave point: I really enjoyed this view point but what I enjoyed more was the 1.1 mile along the rim trail to the abyss (next point on the red route shuttle)

Get back on the red route and take it to Pima point. Another incredible view point and if you can come here, it might be a great spot for sunset.

Rest @ Hermit’s rest (duh!): It resembles an old miner’s cabin and there’s a small snackbar to get an ice cream snack. Be careful of the squirrels there, they are aggressive lol

Sunset @ Hopi point: At this point you will have to make a tough decision on where to watch the sunset. My personal vote is for Hopi point. It offers some unobstructed (aka no railings) view points and offers some dramatic lighting conditions. Some of the other popular spots include Mojave point or Pima point.

Pro tip: There is a post sunset shuttle that you can take right from Hopi point (not a day time eastbound shuttle stop) so it makes it really convenient to get back to the transfer point to the blue shuttle back to the parking lots

Day 2

Entrance: I thought because you had a 7 day pass there might be a separate line to get into the park but this is not the case. You still have to wait with all the other cars to come in so go early!

Sunrise: I didn’t get to see the sunrise unfortunately but from the research I did the top 2 spots are Desert view watchtower (near East entrance) or the ooh aah point on the Kaibab trail (about 0.9 miles into the trail). If you do go, you have to send me pics, please?

Hike @ Kaibab trail: Few things top starting off a day hiking on the east side of the South Rim of Grand Canyon. You can take the eastbound Orange route from the visitor center to get here. If you didn’t learn this on day 1, hikes always seem really easy into the canyon till you have to turn around and hike back uphill the entire way. Bring lots of water and enjoy the stunning views along the way!

Views @ Yaki point: This was actually my top favorite view point in all of the Grand Canyon and It’s absolutely worth spending lots of time walking around the rim trail there

Take the shuttle back to the visitor center for a quick ride to get lunch

Lunch @ Yavapai Tavern: The food here was surprisingly good! We got the nachos and kale/apple salad but the pizza looked yummy as well!

Depending on how tired you are, you can end your day here or visit the Geology museum. It was really neat being able to learn about how the rock layers were formed over time to create this impressive work of art (truly). I also recommend stopping by at the IMAX for a movie on this if you want to learn more - it was really well done! (It runs for 37 mins every hour at half past).

What to wear:

Comfy is the theme of the visit and I highly recommend layering up! This is my ALL TIME favorite hiking boots and if you go in the summer, these open toes sandals are great to hike in (your feet will get really dusty fyi).

My favorite hiking jacket that’s light and packable is this one by Cotopaxi. It does get windy at the view points and very cold at sunset and this works great! I typically wear my workout clothes when I go hiking but this year I am looking to buy some hiking specific gear - I love technical gear that is well thought out so if you have recommendations for hiking pants or shorts, please send them my way!

Please bring lots of water with you, this is my go to hiking backpack (the one Dan has is currently 30% off!) - it’s the perfect day bag, it has room for your water bladder, a big camera, jacket and some snacks! My go to trail snacks are built bars or sour patch kids!

One easy/healthy recipe to try : 

My mother-in-law made this baked miso cod recipe when we were visiting and it was so delicious, I have now made this several times!

One positive affirmation to remember : 

Talking to myself like I would talk to my best friend helps me see and achieve my best potential

One thing I am actually obsessed with :

After losing my Oura ring this week, I realize now how much I actually love having the data that it provides, especially my sleep patterns and cycle insights along with my heart rate! You can use this link to get $40 off!

Boomer is saying if you are having a particular bad case of the Sunday Scaries you may look into his eyes and know that this week will be ok! He believes in you!!!

If you ever want to come back to this newsletter, here is a link to the blog site and you can bookmark it to come back when you get closer to planning a trip to Grand Canyon or if you want to check out the previous posts. I hope this has been helpful to start your week strong - Together I know we can find more health and happiness!

With fluffy hugs, 

Charishma + Boomer (@life.with.a.landcloud)