How to wake up better

Posted byMarkus + MicahPosted inLife, Tips, wellnessTags:, , , , , , , , ,

Soft morning light, the first breeze of the day, songbirds, and busy butterflies, these are the things we enjoy about mornings. Since moving to the tiny house, Markus and I became morning people. It just seems so natural to wake up with the sun.

And with so much nature – and an awesome breakfast – to look forward to, who would not want to wake up early? Like our post on evening routine for better sleep, here we share a typical morning in our lives in hopes that you get inspired to wake up better, too.

1. Wake up early.

It does not matter whether it is a weekday or a weekend, we are up early. The loft window of the tiny house facing east makes it easy and we never have to force it. We say good morning and cuddle before getting out of bed.

It is nice to dedicate time and attention to your partner first thing before the onslaught of the day. This is also aligned with what is most important to us. We value each other and our actions follow.

2. Stretch.

In 2018, Markus and I became certified yoga teachers after finishing our 200-hr yoga teacher training course in Rishikesh, India. One of the best things to come out of this is being in tune with our bodies, knowing what it needs, and moving it in a safe and beneficial way.

Anyone can do yoga. Simple stretches are enough to start; in fact the basic stretches are the best to fix the little kinks and tense spots in the body, especially in the morning. Perhaps, we might do a post on basic stretches to loosen up in the morning! What do you think?

3. Have a calming morning ritual.

For us, it is having hot drinks in the garden. Markus enjoys an espresso while I have tea. We use this time to soak in the morning and be fully present where we are and with each other. It is a good and delicious way to focus. We also talk about our high value tasks for the day, and more important, what we want to eat for breakfast!

Sometimes, my father joins us and we always have lovely conversations, not just about personal things but also current events, politics, diplomacy, agriculture, regenerative systems, and future building projects in and around the tiny house.

4. Eat breakfast that you enjoy.

Why settle for something bland or measly when you can enjoy a good breakfast that will make you happy? We often cook a selection at the tiny house, because why not?

We have homemade cheese, yogurt, and granola; fluffy pancakes or crepes, wild honey, eggs, avocado toasts, cashew butter, lassi, and more. One can say that we indulge but who is to stop us from living a good life?

5. Do something that makes you happy.

I enjoy gardening, and it is such a joy that Markus has taken to plants, too. We work on the garden every day, planting, repotting, cleaning, propagating, pruning, watering, on and on.

I will never tire of taking care of plants because they also take care of me mentally and emotionally. Working with plants makes me happy. I see life and hope and resiliency every time. It inspires me to keep going, to try again, to give life one more day. In all, it just puts me in a good mood.

For you, it may be something different, like listening to classical music or walking your dog. Whatever it is that makes you happy and feel like a person, do it first thing in the morning and let it fuel you throughout the day. If you set an intention, you can make everything count!

Published by Markus + Micah

We are Markus + Micah. We live in a tiny house by the sea, grow our plants, cook plant-based food, travel, and design wellness retreats and mindful programs so we can all live meaningful lives.

75 thoughts on “How to wake up better”

  1. Pingback: 10 Healthy habits that make a difference in your day – Markus + Micah

  2. This sounds like a lovely way to wake up and start the day – sunshine, nature, and stretching. I got a kick out of the fact you drink tea and he drinks espresso. I’m wondering what he uses for a machine. My buddy and I have traveled a bit in the world for surf, but we have a hard time finding good espresso. It would be so much better if I could learn to like tea..

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    1. Thank you. It is a slower way to wake up but a meaningful one for us. Markus uses a small coffee grinder for his beans and makes his coffee with an old-fashioned espresso maker, the one you place on top of the stove. Bit of a production really. I cannot be asked to do that. Haha. And I understand the struggle – sometimes it is hard to find food we like on the road. I struggle with breakfast a little because some shops cannot even make scrambled eggs right. You don’t like tea because it is not strong enough or?

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      1. Tea is wonderful and much more subtle. It’s easier to find and works well in the morning, afternoon, or even after dinner. It’s just that I’m absolutely addicted to espresso – the smell, taste, and tingle from head to toe. Having an iced triple in the morning is like having a beautiful supermodel slap me in the face and saying “Wake up! What are we going to do today???!!!”

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        1. That made me laugh. I see what you mean though. This is how I feel about good chai, too. The world stops in one sip. I used to be addicted to coffee but stopped because, well, I was literally addicted and had symptoms.

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  3. Marcus + Micah, this is a nice list with good tips!
    I spend five to ten minutes in bed every morning after the alarm goes off. I turn on my favorite music. I give myself a little time in the morning to wake up.
    Then I get up in a good mood…:-)
    Stay safe and be happy!
    🌺🦋❤🌺
    🙂 Rosie 🙂

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      1. Some days I do. I appreciate the sort of regular routine that you do. I too take care of plants and witness the same sort of resiliency even in scorching weather. Also, I’m curious to learn more about regenerative systems.

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        1. Thank you. These things help keep us sane. The pandemic has changed our usual digital nomad lifestyle, but it gave us the opportunity to focus on our tiny house and discover a love for plants. What is it about regenerative systems that you hope to explore? It is something we really hope to get involved with, too.

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  13. I don’t know why but this post calms me so much. You both are so inspiring. I always try to wake up early in the morning too because I get so productive by then. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂

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  14. This sounds so lovely.
    We get up to an alarm, early to beat the Arizona heat. We both enjoy a cup of coffee and do mindless reading or game playing before taking a two mile walk with our dogs around our neighborhood. Once back to our house we start our day in earnest, always eating breakfast together as a family with our two boys.

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    1. Your morning is beautiful, thank you for sharing it with us. I love how it starts purposeful, that you make time for things that you enjoy, and you spend time with family. Have you always spent mornings like this or was there an experience that made you switch to this one?

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      1. I grew up in a family that always had breakfast and dinner together. I love this consistent connection over food and wanted to carry this over to my own family. The brief time of simple enjoyment started when the boys were young to keep my sanity! 🙂

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        1. I respect you for making sure you have time for you. Not everyone manages that, especially with a family to take care for. Our families are the same, meals together. It is really a very nice practice.

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  15. I love this list so much! You know what they say, how you start your day influences your day. So it is important to start it with doing what you love and what makes you happy and energized. 💗 This is very motivating since I’ve been trying to wake up early but always ended up late because I can’t sleep at night. 😅

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    1. Glad it helped, Nath. You are right, how we soend our morning does make an impact. This is also why we sleep with our phones on flight mode so we are not bombarded by things first thing. At the start, it was challenging for us to rise earlt, too. We used to sleep past midnight so waking up early was hard. But it is all about rhythm. The more we wake up early, the more our bodies became tired earlier in the night. Hope this helps!

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        1. Thank you, Nath. And we saw the tag. You are so sweet. We will definitely answer your questions. In fact, this is the first blogging tag we ever received on this blog, so many thanks for that.

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      1. I wish it was just 3 coffees all day – I am really bad, I drink 8/10 coffees every day. I did try to drink decaf, herbal tea or juices, but after a couple of days I am back with my coffees (very very bad). About the alarm, it is a mini heart attack every day but I need to make sure I am going to wake up on time for work, so either I have the heart attack for the alarm or because I am nervous about not waking up on time! As you can see, I need to try follow the steps in your post!

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        1. Wow, you must have a lot to do every day! Many years ago, I was addicted to coffee, too. Like I am literally angry until I get that first cup in the morning and I just keep going to tide my day over. I experienced a lot of headaches, too. I suspected the coffee consumption and tried to stop. The headaches were gone! It has been about five years since I last had coffee. I replaced it with tea and milk. Do you feel coffee side effects? I hope not!

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          1. I feel the same about the first cup of coffee, I am super grumpy until I have one. Not many headaches unless it is one of those days where I would need 200 hands to do everything. I do have stomach aches all the time though, not sure if those are stress related or coffee related. As you can see, it was a blessing to me to come across your blog! It gave me hope for “normality”!

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            1. Is your stomach pain towards the top of your belly, just under the tip of your sternum? If it is, yes, that is coffee related. You may be having gastritis due to excessive coffee consumption. I had that, too, and occasionally still experience it now if I eat too much acidic food. Coffee is acidic, tomatoes, chocolates, and even tea. And we are happy if our blog encourages you. There is hope. We just have to be more intentional.

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  17. Your advice is spot on and timely for me. I get up early by nature, I sit with my coffee in stillness by habit, but I then jump into my day without stretching and happily setting an intention. Once upon a time I did that, but somehow along the way I forgot. As for having a tasty breakfast, I never forget that. 😋

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    1. Sounds like your summer is going well then, Ally. Yes, stretching is important, especially before all the gardening you do! The intention just keeps everything focused, you know? Surprising how much more we get out of our day when we are mindful of it. And well done on a good breakfast – incredibly important.

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  20. Beautiful post. Love the dedication for each other and your surrounding. I love yoga but I practice it very irregularly. Tips?

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    1. Thank you. We try to live by our values and are grateful for your appreciation. Nice to know you practice yoga, too! For consistency, our suggestion is to dedicate a time for it. It can be every Saturday morning or half an hour every day. Up to you. As with anything, if you set an intention, the mind and body usually follow. Or we should just all do an online yoga class together to make sure we all practice.

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  21. Sounds like a lovely routine. You now have me inspired to do some yoga stretches this morning. (Sometimes remember to do them, but not always. The body feels so good afterwards.)

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    1. Thank you, we work on the garden every day and also care for our houseplants. There is just something that coaxes the soul when we are sureounded by plants, you know? Maybe it is like being in the forest and we are cocooned and safe and nourished. It is a wonderful feeling.

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      1. Wonderful!
        I know the out-in nature feeling, makes me realize how small I am, just a little spot on this universe. Humbling actually.

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  23. Based on what I am reading in your posts you seem to be enjoying an amazing life. Thumbs up!
    By the way, I am an early riser too and I do a huge deal of exercising, journaling and contemplating between 5-6 am but my wife is miles away from me under this aspect (I stumbled upon personal development years after my marriage and my wife didn’t buy into it) but, nevertheless, early rising benefits me greatly and what benefits me also benefits how I relate to my wife

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    1. Thank you. We live with intention. Love your morning routine. What morning exercises do you do? I agree, rising early makes a difference, and I appreciate how you say it benefits you AND your relationship with your wife. It is really true, isn’t it, that our state of mind dictates our relationships, too.

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      1. I usually do some little weight lifting or anything else that makes me sweat.
        I am trying to apply Robin Sharma’s “5 am Club” protocol.
        I agree, there is no better way to live than living with intention and I applaude you because you are doing it as a couple

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        1. Very good. Nothing like a good sweat in the morning, get the endorphins going. I find exercise lifts my mental health a lot. Do you feel that, too? Thank you, we do many things as a couple, but also give space and support for our individual stuf. Mainly, it is fun to do things together and build a life together, as you very well know.

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  24. I’m a morning person, too, and love all your suggestions. About a year ago I started practicing yoga in the morning, a simple DVD of yoga for seniors, but I love it and wish I had started earlier in life. My body feels and moves so much better now. So I would welcome a post from you on basic stretches!

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    1. So happy to know you practice yoga in the morning! It does make a difference, doesn’t it? I wish we were neighbors so we can practice together. And yes, we will make sure this post on basic everyday stretches happens!

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