Someone Eat Your Bowl of Sunshine?
How to start radiating with love and rainbows from the moment you wake up.

When I was young, I would spring out of bed at 6am ready to rock and roll. I was full of energy at the crack of dawn and prepared to conquer the world. I didn’t understand the jokes about ‘morning people’, probably because I was one and probably because responsibilities weren’t remotely on my radar.
That all changed when I hit puberty.
Hormones and teenage angst flooded my soul like King Street after a good mid-day thunderstorm (shoutout to my Charleston peeps!) and sleep became a commodity I could not get enough of.
Waking up became especially hard for me. (WHY am I being forced to leave the wonderful free-flowing dream-world?) It was a household rule not to talk to the Kalmanz-creature until she had 1) bathed 2) been fed and 3) dressed for the day. Otherwise you were in for an earthquake of emotion that no one should have to deal with that early in the day.
However, somehow I have transformed these terrible troll-like qualities into those of a beautiful morning butterfly as I now teach 5:30am barre classes during the week days and wake up at 7am on my own during the weekends. What has changed? My morning and night routines.
Night
- Sleep. Because I wake up so (damn) early to teach, I have to go to bed earlier. Its just a thing that I can’t change. Some people work best off of a full 8 hours. Some people only need six. I find I feel the most well rested somewhere around 7. Listen to your body and play around with it a little to find the best sleep cycle that works for you.
- Download your day. Whether its through journaling, meditation, or calling your mom, find yourself an outlet to process the happenings of your day. This is super important so you don’t go to bed carrying your to-do list with you into Dream-topia or wake up in a panic to remember to send your boss That Important Email That Was Due. This helps you let your brain decompose and relax, releasing any stressors from the day.
- Aromoatherapy. This sounds like a hippie-guru trick, and it is. But it seriously works and it is seriously awesome. I personally like to use essential oils in a diffuser, but candles, incense, and gels do the trick too. My personal favorite, go-to, night-time scents are; lavender for its relaxation properties, peppermint, which helps with breathing (or rather, not snoring), and lemon because it cleans the air.. and it smells really nice. [Fun fact: a blend of these three actually is an awesome treatment for springtime allergies as well!]
- Personal hygiene routine. This sounds pretty self explanatory but theres actually a lot of scientific evidence that taking hot showers or baths at night actually helps your relaxation and helps you sleep longer and better. At the very least, brush your teeth and wash your face to get the day off of your body and avoid leaving oils and dirt on your pillowcases (which causes acne!). [Pro tip: I also give myself a nice lavender oil foot massage every night. This gets the lavender into your system quickly, as your feet have the largest pores… and it feels f*cking fantastic.]
Morning.
This is the harder part so listen (or read?) closely.
- Start your morning off with something fun. This is my favorite part of the day. Every Sunday, I change my alarm tone(s) to a different song that excites and energizes me. Something that makes me want to get up and dance my way into the day. [Some suggestions: 1) Me Too by Meghan Trainer… because who doesn’t love a little confidence boost?, 2) Never Let Me Go by Alok, Bruno Martin, & Zeeba, 3) Sax by Fleur East, or 5) my current tone, Confident by Demi Lovato]
- Get prepped for the day. You can do this with a morning meditation, a mini journaling sesh, or by just listing of a few things your grateful for. The idea here is to start your day on a positive note. Whatever method you choose, make sure you 1) take note of your current state of mind, 2) remind yourself of three things you are thankful to have in your person or in your life, and 3) set and intention for the day. I typically start my morning with a mini-meditation and a quick journal of exactly the things above. It helps me clear my mind, fill my heart with gratitude, and get motivated to absolutely crush it during the day.
- Feed. Yourself. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to feed your body before you start your day. It can be anything from some fresh fruit and a breakfast bar to a full on breakfast meal. Just make sure you have a little bit of protein and a little bit of something you love every morning to get your metabolism jump-started into the day. I usually have a banana with peanut butter and three scrambled eggs with a mug of Bigalow’s Good Mood Chocolate Almond Tea. It has some awesome ingredients like St. John’s Wart, wild orange leaves, chamomile, lavender, rose blossoms, and other fabulous mood-oriented things.
- Breathe. Today is going to be an awesome day. Breathe in that awesome earth-air and go conquer the world!
Feel free to add in or substitute your own methods in any of these steps. Sometimes just making a routine and sticking to it is the best way to get yourself motivated. Have awesome tips and tricks? Leave your unique morning and night routines in the comments below!
Now, go get those goals, babe.
