Tools & Exercises
How to Create a Primal Morning Routine
A Science-Backed Morning Routine For Extremely Balanced Productivity
It’s no secret that a strong, consistent morning routine leads to all kinds of incredible long term benefits both psychologically and biologically. What is difficult is sticking to it.
We have this tendency to believe we have to have a rigid structure, a methodical sequence of exercises, or a list of things that all the top performers do to be successful. I would argue that the pressure we put on ourselves to follow such a strict routine prevents us from being able to follow through. This inability to commit then creates doubt, frustration, and lack in our minds because it leads to personal dissatisfaction with ourselves based on the fact that we couldn’t accomplish what we thought was a pretty straightforward set of actions.
What if instead of having a manuscript of guiding principles passed down from the apostle’s Timothy Ferris and Anthony Robbins, we had a morning flow based on simple techniques that help us start the day with ease. What if instead of feeling the pressure of extreme structure, we took more of a balanced approach that was based on self-care and relaxation, instead of intensity, rigidity and the chase for something more.
Without trying to take away from the amazing routines laid out by some of the world’s elite (Tim Ferris and Tony Robins included), and without discounting the importance of goal setting and pursuing greatness, I would like to propose a completely different approach to what is considered the “morning routine”.
Introducing the Primal Morning…
The Primal Morning is based on an old paradigm of health benefits passed down from our ancestors and built on techniques that have been hard to integrate into the western civilized world of greed, insecurity, and dissatisfaction.
Instead of starting a morning based on the forceful pursuit of “being better”, the Primal Morning is set on the guiding principle that you are already great, you just need some time to remember.
The Primal Morning is created with personal preference and balance in mind. We are hardwired to stay connected to our most primal selves and simplify our lives to create more comfort and ease. Complicating our behavioral patterns with ideas based on someone else’s ideal morning is not going to work; at least not long-term. That is why the Primal Morning is a simple set of pillars that you can build off of, not force yourself into every time you get out of bed.
The 8 Agile Pillars of The Primal Morning
The Primal Morning is meant to create balance. The 8 pillars are laid out as guidelines for a morning focused on self-care, inner connectedness, and simplicity. Routine is great, but routine without pleasure creates ineffective action. As soon as it feels forced that means you’re probably ready to move on.
Look at these 8 pillars as guideposts that can help you create a baseline for your day. The more steps you can ascend through the more balance you can create. If you get through one that’s great, it’s part of the routine, no need to go any further. If you accomplish all 8, you’re probably going to find yourself in a deep sense of flow.
Jason Silva, a keynote speaker, and futurist described the flow state as the intersection of discipline and surrender. So to find that flow, you want to set the structure (discipline) with a solid outline and (surrender) to the belief that you’re ready for the day when you’re ready for the day. No need to push yourself further to overextend yourself and start the day beating yourself up, or upset you couldn’t complete all your “tasks”. The only objective here is to find a flow state by letting go.
0. Start the night before
- Prep for the day before by laying out all tasks and projects, setting your calendar, and getting a good night's sleep.
- Take some time to integrate what that day brought you by reflecting on how you got through the day, any emotional releases you need to reflect on, and any bodily sensations you are aware of or were aware of.
- Let go of anything that is serving you before bed by spending 10–20 minutes in silence, just watching your thoughts come and go. Reducing the wasteful thoughts allows you to create a little more space for balance in the morning.
“We have 70,000 thoughts a day… 90% of them are the same as the day before”
- Joe Dispenza
1. Hydrate/tongue scrape — 2 minutes
- Another consideration for the night before is to not go to bed dehydrated. We lose a lot of hydration just from breathing when we sleep, so making sure you’re decently hydrated before you jump under the covers is a good idea.
- You’re also going to want to re-hydrate once you wake up given the dehydration you experienced when you were asleep. Everyone is different of course, but a good baseline is to aim for 12–16 oz of spring water as soon as you wake up.
- Another way to start the day fresh is to scrape your tongue of the bad bacteria. Your mouth builds up excess streptococci and lactobacilli bacteria overnight which can lead to tooth decay and bad breath. Tongue scraping removes that build-up without the use of harsh mouthwash. There are a whole host of other still to be scientifically proven benefits to tongue scraping, but starting the day with fresh breath without using any harsh chemicals is enough for me. Here’s how.
2. Go outside and get some sun — 10 minutes
- Vitamin D is an important nutritional supplement to help fuel a strong body and mind, but not all Vitamin D is created equal. No Vitamin D is more powerful and benefit enhancing than that of the sun, which is why it is recommended to get 10-minutes of direct exposure to the sun as early as you can in the morning.
- The other thing to consider is that a vast percentage of North American’s are deficient in vitamin D, so saying hello to the sun in the morning can really help you get that boost you didn’t know you were probably missing. (supplementing with Vitamin D is extremely valuable as well)
- The other benefit of getting your Vitamin D from the sun is that it forces you to go outside. Getting a dose of fresh air in the morning, with your vitamin D super booster, provides so many amazing advantages like; improving your digestive system, improving blood pressure, and increasing serotonin levels in your body (the chemical that makes you happy).
3. Movement & focus — 10 minutes
- There are a lot of people that advocate for high-intensity workouts in the morning. I’m not one of those people. I could go down the path of describing how our ancestors wouldn’t have pushed their bodies like that first thing in the morning to try to convince you it isn’t a good idea, but that is only part of it.
- We do want to make sure we get some activity in the morning, but pushing the limits with a HIIT workout or an aggressive circuit might not be all that beneficial and in fact, could have the opposite impact on the body.
- Instead, what is recommended during the Primal Morning is some focused movement to activate your nervous system, initiate blood flow, and stimulate your mind and body connection.
- Let’s bring it back to our ancestors for a minute. Think about it, the hunter and gatherer societies wouldn’t have had CrossFit, Soul Cycle or LA Fitness. They would’ve moved heavy packs, carried wood and other materials, planned their routes, or sharpened their tools. The key to the primal morning is to create functional body movements with mental focus to stimulate the brain and body simultaneously. Don’t forget, movement and exercise should always be considered a mind/body activity so it’s best to stay in the moment while you’re doing it — that means putting the phone down, removing any distractions, and feeling into the sensations of the body.
- Here is a simple kettlebell workout you can use to jumpstart your morning with focus, balance and intention.
4. Empty your body, empty your mind (poop/journal) — 10 minutes
- As awkward and unimportant as it might sound, getting your daily poop in as early as you can is part of a healthy, primal morning. Your colon is working fastest in the morning and can do more work to clean the pipes.
- While you’re on the porcelain you might as well use that time to clean up and empty your mind as well. I like to avoid checking email or social media while I’m on the toilet as I tend to stay a little longer than I should. Instead, I try to empty my mind with a free-flowing journal exercise where I simply try to take note of the little elements of resistance that live inside of me.
- This clearing of waste both mentally and physically is an amazing transformation that happens each morning whether we identify with it or not. Building this into your morning allows you to be conscious of it and aware of all of its benefits.
- So, instead of pulling out your phone to scroll through Instagram, try pulling out the notes app and jotting down some of the things you’re grateful for, or excited about for the day. This simple exercise is a massive step into finding fulfillment and balance first thing in the morning.
5. Silence, meditation, breathwork — 10 minutes
- This step is a little more customizable. The idea here is to find a way to create some stillness and peace through a tool you find most helpful. I like to transition through silence, meditation, and breathwork to find that quiet time first thing, but some of these options work better than others. The important thing is to be open and let go of all expectations
- Meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, improve anxiety, and decrease blood pressure. Starting your day with a 10-minute meditation can help you find that flow. The major key here is to find a way to silence the mind, reduce the chatter, and declutter the brain from all the activity around what you have to get done for the day.
- It’s easy to say “let go”, but I know that without practice that can be hard. So staying consistent with it, buying into the benefits, and fully committing to making it work will help you fight through those days when it can feel harder to turn the sound down.
- To me, breathwork is the easiest way to “hack” into a flow state. With 3-rounds of the Wim Hof technique or another transformational breathwork experience, you can shut down the default mode network, go beyond the ego-mind and transcend into an incredibly creative state of flow that you can take with you into your day. Controlled, conscious breathwork has been proven to improve psychological states, improve immune system functionality, and can significantly aid in positive personal development, which is what the Primal Morning is all about!
6. Cold shower — 10 minutes
- This one is simple, and non-negotiable if you’re really aiming for that state of flow. This is the secret sauce for the Primal Morning. After some light movement, a peaceful, calming meditation, you’re primed and ready for the incredible scientific benefits provided to you by a cold shower.
- There’s nothing more beautiful than a day that you’re excited about, a lot of times it is a birthday or a celebration of some kind. For most of us, it’s simply exciting to wake up on a Friday, one day closer to the weekend, and one day closer to a small window of freedom. To me, the cold shower can help you transform into that excited mental state without the need for any external celebration or artificial reason to be free.
- With a cold shower, you get an incredible release of endorphins that can help rewire your brain of any of the dusty depressive states that are lingering from the day before. A cold shower can help to improve your metabolism, just in time for you to begin your day. You can burn fat, improve digestion and in some cases even lose weight if you stay consistent.
- Wim Hof has been pioneering the cold immersion for years and has some tremendous research to back up the cold shower Primal Morning.
7. Adaptogen drink — 2 minutes
- While it isn’t necessarily a step in the Primal Morning, it is recommended that you don’t jump right into a meal first thing in the morning. An extended fast from your sleep has incredible benefits to cell regeneration, fat loss, focus, and much more.
- What is recommended is to drink. Yes, water first of course, but it is also recommended to try out one of the many adaptogen drinks that are growing in popularity.
- Adaptogens are simple, yet extremely effective way to fight off fatigue, boost stamina, reduce stress, improve immune function, and create a state of calm first thing that can balance your mood all day.
- Some potential beneficial adaptogens to mix into your morning are: Cordyceps mushrooms which help improve stamina, Ashwagandha which helps with stress and anxiety, and Turmeric which helps to improve brain function and reduce stress.
8. Make something with your hands (but not breakfast) — 5 minutes
- Another fantastic way to create flow is to shut off your mind and create something with your hands. This might seem a little awkward at first, but it can really help to drop you into a focused mental state to begin your day.
- The psychological benefits of creating something with your hands is growing. Research has shown that hand activity from tasks like woodworking, growing vegetables, or playing with playdough can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and reframe your mood to build positive self-image and self-esteem.
- Buiding a paper airplane, making your bed, drawing a doodle, all of these simple exercises take no longer than 5 minutes and can greatly improve your focus heading into your morning of work.
In closing…
As you can see these are simple tactics, straightforward exercises, and easy to implement ideas to help you create balance in your life. They aren’t for everyone and may seem a little esoteric, but with consistency and commitment, they can create a deep sense of flow that is unmatched by any drug. Most mornings I don’t even need a coffee.
Remember, these do not need to be followed in order, and they do not need to be completed every day. Pick the ones you are drawn to and commit by setting an intention before you dive in.
Start your day with kindness for yourself, knowing that you’re doing the best with what you can, and no matter how far you get, you are doing something positive for yourself and those around you.
Good luck!
This post is part of my $100,000 journey into re-building my mind, body, and inner-self through a series of uncommon experiences that completely transformed my life. Head over here to view more.
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