3 Simple things you can do every morning to improve circulation and energy

3 simple things you can do every morning to stay healthy

During my one month excursion in Japan, I took a few yoga workshops. It was refreshing to learn from international teachers and I’ve adopted a new morning routine that has improved my circulation and energy levels. It took about a week for me to notice a difference and after two weeks other people were noticing a difference. This practice should be done upon rising, before eating, and in the order I presented them.

1. Brush your tongue- It’s simple. Take your toothbrush or some toothbrushes have a tongue brushing side and brush in outward strokes. This breaks up the collected plague on the tongue, stimulates the sinuses and tear ducts, and rids the body of accumulated mucous and toxins.
The instructor gave us some side notes I will share. He said when brushing the tongue, you get the very back of the tongue. This may cause a gag reflex which is actually beneficial because it assists in the expulsion of mucous and the body will more effectively flush out the tear ducts. After brushing, always blow your nose and rise your face.

2. Dry Brush your body- This removes fatty and fibrous toxins in the skin, cleans the lymphatic system, clears away dead skin layers, stimulates blood circulation, improves nervous-system function, and helps digestion.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this practice, you should dry-brush your body with a brush that has somewhat stiff bristles. You can find a brush like this at a beauty salon shop. When brushing, always brush towards the heart. So, start with the soles of the feet, and brush upwards to the hip, then begin the process with the other foot. After the legs are done, you can work the arms starting with the hands. After the arms, brush the entire core section and then brush the upper back outwards from the neck across towards the shoulder blade (this is the only part of the brushing not towards the heart). Brush the neck downwards being sure to brush over the collarbone and towards the heart.
*Be sure to hit the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands to stimulate those nerves.

3. Take a hot/cold shower- Brightens and clears the mind, heals the stomach, digestive tract, heart and brain, charges the cells, purifies unhealthy blood, flushes all the organs and glands.
Below is the process
Start with hot and then cold and massage body towards heart (just slipping the hand around the body). Repeat this 3xs and end on cold. Try your best to take some deep belly breaths when massaging (although the shock of the cold water can make this difficult)
This one takes some getting used to but it really energizes the body.

And that’s it. Those are 3 simple things to add to your morning routine for a healthy, happy body and mind.