My Mindful Morning Routine 2017

JulesThirdLove-100
JulesThirdLove-100

Each day is a fresh, new start, and we decide how we're going to make the most of it. I'm such a firm believer in mindful morning routines - it's what gets me centered, focus, and excited for the day ahead. I've spoken a lot about mindful mornings on Instagram and a few times on Insta-Story Takeovers, but I wanted to dig a little deeper on the blog to show you what a mindful morning looks like for me.

Let me also just preface by saying not every day of mine looks like this. I am a human, and sometimes urgent matters pop up... but overall, this is how my mornings typically go.

7:00 am // Wake up and drink a big glass of lukewarm lemon water

I always drink a glass of water before I consume anything. It wakes up my digestion and gets things moving (if you know what I mean). By adding a squeeze of lemon, it introduces a detoxifying element. Make sure to drink it at room temperature versus ice cold - it's much easier on the body  first thing in the morning.

JulesThirdLove-22
JulesThirdLove-22

^ Wearing the 24/7 Classic T-Shirt Bra by ThirdLove . This is the most comfortable bra I've ever worn. I'm not kidding. More on this below.

7:15 am // Get semi-dressed to take Luna out for a short 10-minute walk

One of my favorite things about having a dog is getting to start each day with a walk outside. I purposely never bring my phone when I'm walking Luna, because I want to be present while I'm with her. It's a nice opportunity to clear my mind and think about what I want to do that day.

So, when I take Luna out I usually just throw on whatever is lying around. I'll admit... I used to free-bra it, but I finally found a bra that I actually love from ThirdLove. It's so un-bra-like - as in, it doesn't dig into my back, it's soft like a bralette, but it has padding to actually keep the nips from poking through (a problem I found with other brands). Believe it or not, I haven't purchased a new bra in over 3 years... gross, I know. So, this is actually a big deal.

JulesThirdLove-12
JulesThirdLove-12
JulesThirdLove-5
JulesThirdLove-5

 ^ This bra - So ridiculously soft and comfortable. You can try it for yourself with ThirdLove's Try Before You Buy feature!

7:30 am // Movement + Meditation

People always ask me what studios I practice at (Sky Ting for yoga, Barre3 for barre/yoga/pilates fusion, and Overthrow for boxing). While I do love trying out studios around the city, I am an avid home practicer. As a yoga instructor, I know what my body needs, and it always benefits me to work out the kinks myself. So, while I do practice at studios maybe once or twice a week, I'm at home doing my workouts and stretches the other days of the week.

On the topic of meditation, I used to meditate for 3 HOURS every Sunday at the Brooklyn Zen Center. I lived in Queens at the time and would take the subway down to meet my friend Isaiah. It was the highlight of my Sundays back then. Somehow I fell off my meditation practice between switchings jobs, getting yoga certified, blogging, etc... and I even abandoned my practice for a solid year. I'm happy to say I'm back at it, but MAN, it takes SO much effort to even squeeze in 20 minutes a day... I don't know if I'll ever be able to get back to 3 hours, but if I can do 10-15 minutes once or twice a day, then I'm okay with that for now. Baby steps.

JulesThirdLove-32
JulesThirdLove-32

8:30 am // Write my to-do list and start working

I'm old school when it comes to writing out to-do lists. I love physically checking things off my list - it's just how my brain works. I found a new level of productivity when I stopped multi-tasking and started aiming to accomplish each task one by one - oh, and with a cup of coffee in hand.

JulesThirdLove-37
JulesThirdLove-37

So, there you have it. Nothing too crazy, right? I am a morning person, so waking up at 7 am to start my day is what gives me that jumpstart. When I worked in an office, I was usually always one of the first to arrive. It's not much different now that I work from home... except there's no one tracking my attendance but Luna, haha.

Thank you to ThirdLove for partnering on this post. Bless you for turning this braless renegade into a believer again.

ThirdLove offers bras with half-sized cups (why hasn't this been done before!?), tagless labels, and softer fabric for true comfort. To start, you can take the Fit Finder Quiz - I have to say it took me an embarrassingly long time to decide which shape boobs I have. Clearly, I haven't been paying enough attention!

ThirdLove let's you Try Before You Buy (choosing from one of their best selling bras: 24/7 Classic T-Shirt bra, 24/7 Classic Full Coverage bra or 24/7 Push Up bra). You just pay for shipping and try it out (even wash it) for 30 days. If you like it, you keep it for $68. If you don't like it, you return it and the bra is donated to ThirdLove's Bras for All program where they've given over $1 million worth of bras to women in need.

JulesThirdLove-4
JulesThirdLove-4
JulesThirdLove-1
JulesThirdLove-1

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All photos by the talented Arianna Sharfman Photography | @ariannasharfman_photography

This post was sponsored by ThirdLove. All thoughts and opinions are always my own. Thank you for supporting me and the brands I love!