Morning routine Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Morning Healthy Move Reminders

Morning is when we set the tone for our day.

Often we don’t consider the early wee hours as part of the morning.

If you wake up at 3 am and can’t fall back asleep easily, you can wisely use that awake time to think of solutions to your worry, and what’s on your mind or eating at you.

…But will you?

The ego can murky the waters instead of focusing on finding answers and reframing early awakening to the positive.

And if you can remind yourself of the positive way (as minutes can turn into an hour), then you create a special occasion healthy morning ritual that’s a personal growth reflection session.

Because unless it’s our job, we’re asked, or on relaxing vacations, most of don’t sit around during the busy day or waking hours to idly come up with creative solutions.

We’re focused with the task-at-hand.

But this little extra bit of carved out early morning time brings out ideas and may just be what you need.

And as far as losing sleep, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Because the fact is you’ve already slept a few hours in the earlier part of the night (in Part 1 of your sleep), so your body has done its needed reset for survival for the next day.

In Part 2 of sleep in the morning, mostly you’re missing out on REM sleep or dreams.

And if you consider it, coming up with real-life solutions is more productive than meaningless dream movies.

So when you reframe your lack of sleep hours to productive self-time, your calm helps the day you’re entering.

…And often that is why busy, inspired people on a mission don’t need more than a few hours of sleep-a-night.

The last few morning hours are slightly optional.

It’s not a good regular sleep habit to get into, but sporadically or for a short season is not going to hurt you.

It’s like when you pull several all-nighters to cram for an exam or take a red-eye flight.

Because if you’re excited to wake up for a purpose, your enthusiasm or excitement makes up for the lack of total sleep hours.

…Ok, so now you can sleep better tonight even if you don’t get the 7-9 hours. 😊 🛌 💤

And below are some healthy reminders and yoga moves when the sun rises for your best day.

Morning routine can include letting the sunlight in. …So wake up, Sunshine! Rise and shine.

In the morning when you get out of bed, you use you mind-body muscles to get you up as part of the daily, morning human routine.

Sitting up and standing helps to clear your mind and passages that get stuffy from laying down in resting pose.

Morning is a great time to start deep breathing to clear the air waves for more oxygen… a natural way to get more immediate energy circulating. ⚡️

Eyes open, you can focus on the best morning light.

That will be the eastern exposure windows in your home or if you have indoor/outdoor living where you can step outside.

Be sure to let light into your eyes for at least 30 seconds to invigorate Vitamin D production.

Just think, you’re your own vitamin supplement factory. 🏭

[But remember, wearing blue glasses to protect eyes from digital screens and outdoor shades during the rest of the day is a good idea! 😎 Too much sunlight is not a good thing.]

In the morning with the naked eye when it’s not direct sunlight like it is at noon, you can see what’s happening in your natural environment while you enjoy your morning water, smoothie, or coffee beverage.

Scan and enjoy the horizon if you’re up early enough. 🌅

If you’re not naturally a morning person, creating good morning practices like these help to wake you up.

And if you’re prone to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that’s typical in winter, healthy practices can be the game changer.

Women need more sleep than men and children need more sleep than adults, so that can help you be sympathetic to those sleepyheads still in bed while you’ve run circles around the neighborhood. 😊

Natural Kaphas also tend to be more tired than Pitta counterparts.

And Vatas are more inconsistent waking up at different times each day. It is a brand new day experience for these folks!

And for anyone, these tendencies can easily drift with a gradual seasonal imbalance.

You can get tips on how to restore your Ayurvedic imbalance with the body balance quiz.

Morning Yoga 🧘🏻‍♀️

Morning yoga for even 5-minutes is worth the effort!

Everyone has 5 minutes they can sneak in as a habit stack to a water or bathroom break.

Getting into Table Top pose and doing a few Cat/Cows can change your day because mostly your calm mood is improved.

With yoga, your Ayurvedic routine can include ginger and water or herbal tea that are good for the body.

Like finding gaps in the wee hours of the morning (if you’re awake), finding your regular morning imbalances and self-restoring is going to help your healthy, happy day.

One easy practice to do would be to use mood-feeling clues to discover what is dominant:

If you’re super tired or withdrawn, Kapha is dominant.

If you’re feeling hard charging or opinionated, Pitta is dominant.

If you’re feeling scattered or anxious, Vata is dominant.

And if you feel a little this-and-that throughout the day, know that Vata runs the show so restoring that energy first will do you good!

And restoring each mood as it appears will help you feel better than letting the hodge podge of feelings take over.

Welcome in the feelings and assess each one to restore separately is a good way to start the morning and invite in the day.

Do you need to calm from worry (Vata)? Are you thinking-feeling critical of others (Pitta)? Are you feeling disengaged or the needy opposite (also Kapha)?

Getting on your yoga mat to assess can change the trajectory of your day.

Deep breathing in and out on your mat is one helpful cure-all to help restore… calming anxiety/worry, lowering blood pressure, and breathing in oxygen for energy and love.

This is a good way to ease into the morning or Vinyasa flow to the next part of the day you’re called into.

And here’s a simple daily yoga morning practice that you can use and tweak up…

Do your standing Sun Salutations.

Rise up slowly and as controlled as you can like one spinal vertebrae at a time, into a standing Mountain pose position.

Then sit or lay down.

Feel and test your body for any kinks and tightness.

Cracking joint sounds are more common in the morning or sharp changes in temperature.

Seated, do a Seated Spinal Twist to see if your sides are tight. This was one we did as kids (…maybe, hoopla hooping or Sit-n-Spin twistering).

Check your back too.

Lay down. Do a Bridge pose. See if and where there’s tension in your bridge that you can restore.

Easy Yoga for Beginners

If you’re intimidated by the idea of yoga and doing poses wrong, don’t be…

I’ve been in morning yoga classes before where I would hear people say they’re “not good at yoga.”

Re-framing your yoga ability thoughts to encouraging messages help you and then you’re better at yoga!

It’s a good metaphor for being a lifelong learner.

We all start as yoga move beginners and each morning is a re-start, so your body feels different than the day before. You get to try something new.

Laying down flat on your back or Corpse pose is a fancy name for just being.

You’re connected or in union with yourself. 🔌

In a class, everyone is busy concentrating and looking at their own body parts and poses.

It’s a non-competitive, individual sport and pursuit.

You get a chance to look inward and see yourself like when you look in a mirror.

If you’re self-conscious, yoga can help you break away from judgmental feelings about yourself or others.

When I attended my first class I felt disassociated because I didn’t know what I was doing. And there was no home yoga back then…

But today years later, practicing yoga at home is accessible and can help give you the confidence you need.

Have fun with getting to know your body and mind as part of your you-uniqueness in the mind-body connection.

Trust the process of showing up and taking baby steps, and the rest will work itself out.

Having a morning yoga routine can reset your life balance and centering priority.

I hope my tips help your morning jam! 🌅

Orange Coffee You Can Make at Home

Orange coffee as in orange juice in the coffee is a powerful tasting combo. You may be scratching your head wondering how that odd combo is… that works unlike other citrus.

Below I share a couple orange photo inspiration as to what brought this on me…

And I understand if you need a ‘lil nudge because we’re used to separate cups and glasses for the two drinks.

Part of a popular American breakfast has both OJ and coffee.

But you gotta admit adding orange juice to your coffee sounds convenient (one less cup). ☕️

If you’re at a breakfast buffet, it’s one last cup you have to carry.

I’d say… also a smart idea that makes sense for boosting the immune system during holiday travel season… and calming anxious moods that oranges do. It’s good to carry one on ya!

Plus, orange 🍊 adds a nice flavor to your black coffee. Think of it like orange and chocolate or cocoa… another drink idea. 💭

Oranges brighten up your cup o’ joe choices.

And if you’re a Vata, you love the variety and oranges!

In a cup of coffee ☕️, the orange flavor comes through nicely… half orange (or at least 1/3) to half coffee makes it a brightened, pleasant taste…

The best way is with liquid orange juice you can freshly squeeze or mix with prepared juice. You can also use orange zest if you don’t mind the solid textures.

Those are the best ways for the zesty flavor punch to come through.

And the home healthiest way is with fresh orange juice and cold brew coffee.

…Cold brew coffee has less acidity than regular brewed coffee ways. And fresh orange juice has less acidity than concentrated juices you would buy at the grocery stores.

If acidity is a concern, you can add spices like cinnamon and ginger to help tone down and counteract effects.

The caffeine in coffee btw is loaded with antioxidants that are good for not only quick cognitive reasons, but also improving heart health.

We all love that! ❤️‍🔥

And when you use fresh whole oranges, you bypass sugar added to processed orange juice from concentrate.

You get the Vitamin C and A antioxidants plus minerals and fiber.

Orange juice sales ramp up in the cooler winter months when people are thinking about ramping up on Vitamin C for cold and flu season.

And as helpful nature would have it, oranges are winter fruits.

That’s a great way to start the morning!

They support happy hormones and reducing stress hormones. Gotta love that too! 😀

Your choice of orange is based on your preference and where you are.

For a sweeter orange, you could select a blood orange, navel orange, or a Cara Cara orange.

You can also sometimes find oranges year-round depending on if there’s a good sunshine season.. That’s why Florida and California are the abundant king and queen orange states. ☀️

A Florida orange has thinner skin than California navel, and are more like Valencia oranges that are the most common kind internationally and around the world.

You can tell where you are located just by the oranges in the stores and trees. 🍊

…Like these Spanish ohh-ahh orange trees I saw. Can you imagine these fresh ones for breakfast?

I had my first Sevilla orange for the first time years ago and it was coffee life changing. That was one of the years I spent Thanksgiving overseas.

And then back home n the States, had Sevilla orange coffee that was inspired by my fun visit to Spain.

…As fun as these peppermint arches in Cordoba. 🎪

Better Morning Meditation Thoughts

morning meditation is made better with homemade orange-ade... orange you glad? — Homemade orange juice is a healthy OJ option without refined sugar, a plastic bottle, or wasting any part of the orange that attracts fly critters… this could be your new way – o-range you glad!? 🧡

Morning meditation thoughts matter! And, if you tuned in last week, I gave a calming idea for night meditation to doze off to. To keep the balance this week, I have a morning meditation routine idea to empower and inspire your healthy mindset and emotional well-being.

The morning meditation begins when you have those first few awakened thoughts… and maybe your body hasn’t caught up yet. Like, we haven’t stretched our wings yet, even though we know the early bird catches the worm. 🐦‍⬛

We can blame that on our morning head that often comes with messed up bed head hair. If you don’t have those assets, then consider yourself blessed in the morning. 🧢

But if you do (that’s most of us), then changing attitude is the way up. We know what’s up from down even if we can’t yet think or speak logically.

…And considering some of us (Kaphas) are naturally Sleepyheads or (Vatas) inconsistently wake up feeling tired or awake with no rhyme or reason.

…Tired or not, you want to rewrite the negative thoughts especially if you woke up on the wrong side of the pillow.

And in my early meditation years wayback in the time machine when Y2K was in our sights, meditating was thinking thoughts and seeing how those thoughts feel. ❣️ …decades later, that’s still how I meditate.

The goal is to come out with better ideas to implement solutions and workout my creativity genes… and not so much focusing on stress-reduction and wellness that meditation today has primarily become.

…And btw, that Pitta and Kapha minds are naturally better at this than the Vata minds.

…And epic ideas also lead to less stress if you wanna look at it that way in attitude. 😉

Your Attitude

Because attitude is everything!… it’s a choice, not a feeling.

You decide that you do X or Y that have very different decisions. And if you choose the first choice, there is X consequence (and choosing Y has the Y consequence). Different consequences and results is what you have to live with mid-week and in your night meditation. So it snow balls with compounding effects.

Beginning with the end in mind (…thank you, Steven Covey!), focus on your outcome consequence so you can show your mind at the moment how different life can be by your thought choice, especially in those groggy early morning moments.

The best choice is always the positive and loving responses in any meditation method you choose.

Even if the situations you faced in your past life weigh heavy, today you rewrite what wasn’t right and that you aspire your future to be. And that gives you a new today and future.

You have everything you need to be happy.

And your attitude will steer your decisions and outlook that determine your future.

Choose to restore your thoughts starting with morning meditation.

Do it consistently every time as best you can. We’re all imperfect. Don’t you wish everyone in your life with expectations would say (and mean) these 6 magic words: just do the best you can. That should take the pressure off.

Say that to yourself as your deepest critic.

Come out peaceful.

Then develop a better mindset belief today that creates better habits.

Consider that even if you don’t know what that is, you believe it so because you’ve consistently pulled a rabbit out of the hat in those areas, so today is no different. Believe in yourself.

As part of our morning meditation routine, we can change our beliefs starting with ourselves.

You can do this with positive messages you listen to, uplifting music, and quote inspirations.

You won’t hold onto a positive and a negative belief for the same idea at the exact same time (as our brains won’t allow the confusion), so we have a small time gap to make a choice.

In the gap, make the positive up-choice easy.

And we delay our lesser knee-jerk thoughts and responses. And if we need to take action like write an email or message back to someone, we wait until we can re-write with the positive emotional undertone.

We can’t take back our words ever, and when they’re written (especially). These days on the whole, we’ve become a kinder more sensitive society, so we’ve been trained to be more thoughtful.

And re-wording to a positive narrative helps us receive kind back in kind.

Lessons are a Learning Opportunity

And if self-control in any shade is a struggle today, think of the X and Y consequences I mentioned earlier.

Fast action thinks there’s one consequence, but that choice is a gamble…

Remember times when acting fast backfired, and if a timeout would’ve been called, that second thought would’ve given a better play (consequence).

Slowing down the ball play in your life, you may have discovered this. And in mine, I accidentally missed a work beat to a problem at hand and learned it was ok, and: leave a problem long enough, it solves itself.

That sounds reactive, and not proactive for productivity. But choosing to not do anything until you know what next step to do is the wiser decision with a better outcome.

Offering a quick fix can require cleanup.

So stick to your inner wisdom.

Don’t be in such a hurry to put fires out (unless there’s a real fire 🔥).

Make your stamp of approval mean something aligned with your thoughts… and maybe ones you’ve noodled out in morning meditation…

Let your session permeate the day as the theme of the day.

Listen and weigh your thoughts as a learning opportunity. Build on permeating better thoughts one day at a time. 💭

Wellness Habits Without a Calendar

Wellness morning routines are not easy when you live a busy Western lifestyle.

Cramming in a few minutes to eat healthy, do yoga and get some re-centering quiet time is not usually the routine unless you get up super early as trade off for sleep or staying up late.

I’m exhausted already when I hear how hard charging some people are in their season descriptions… and then I quickly remember that was my life not too long ago when I worked in the corporate world 40+ hours a week and had side hustles.

Wellness can include a healthy eating breakfast that includes matcha sourdough bagel and bread bites. — Matcha sourdough bread and satisfying crunchy chewy bagel 🍵… I couldn’t wait, I had to take a bite! 😋

If you’re of a Vata mind, a structured wellness routine can be challenging as the mind fights against set consistent routines when a routine is what’s needed most. …And heavy Vata minds can’t sit still as obvious signs.

If you carry a Vata mind (that any of us can), you can easily tire from to-do tasks like opening up or pulling out your calendar every day or several times a day. Those simple, but mundane types of activities can be draining.

…Today, living daily aware now years later from what was filtered or partial conscious life, I personally don’t do life without daily checking in on my balanced-imbalanced moods and well… wellness.

Your moods show you what’s going on inside. Your mind-body is intuitive, so it serves you the truth and gives you the information about what you need to restore your health. And, restoring sour moods back to happy and neutral is one way to accomplish more daily.

We all can get affected by external factors that can put us in daily moods. That makes us human. But moods can create more disruption than an external interruption, so it’s better to manage ASAP to nip sour moods in the bud.

As a quick scan, as long as you feel good for stretches of daily moments, and about what you’re doing, you’re probably in good shape. Or you know how to bounce back quickly, so that doesn’t become your season longer than it has to.

One routine I changed up to avoid uninspired moods, is I gave up working on a calendar that I used to color code as a planner. I found better systems that worked for me. And that’s something you can consider for yourself…

To Have A Working Calendar (Or Not?)

On purpose, I avoid having a working calendar these days (and the past few years) as they distract from my productivity.

I do work on other people’s Google and Outlook calendars, but not my own. I’m sure you have examples in your life where you do things differently for yourself than others. I do a much better job and follow through, managing other people’s stuff, as I want to help and serve them the best I can. That helps to keep the balance.

But I found that as pretty colors as my own rainbow calendar looked, I was following it when I didn’t have to. And that was not helpful! So I had to come up with a better way. 🌈

Plus, I also did professional catering management for many years, and all I did was rely on and live off of a calendar religiously year-round, knowing and planning other people’s event dates. And at times, an unhealthy task holding onto dates as though my life depended on it.

So, these days I like to be less reliant on a calendar. If you’re wondering how to live or wean yourself off of a calendar if that’s your want, here are some ideas (and what I do)…

First, I created slightly different weekly goals for each day of the week. And I have deadlines for different tasks on each day, no matter how small.

The thing is, if you don’t apply what it is you’re doing to something meaningful, it becomes meaningless.

On purpose, we’re meant to teach, share, encourage, and use whatever gifts we have, or we lose them. And when we USE them, we get more, and some we may not know we have (e.g. hidden talents) until we get there.

You discover the next talent once you start and develop the first talent. Then you’re ready for more!

And I found calendars got in the way of that as I spent time managing them when I could be working on a talent without working within boxes if you know what I mean.

Like these waffles that can be made healthy.

Healthy chicken and waffle recipe below. 🧇

We all have our special preferences. ❤️

And to make life easy, when I was getting used to the habit of different daily tasks, I set up specific reminders. I’ve learned to let it be easy with no self-imposed struggles or habits. And that takes observation and not being too busy to notice.

It’s also useful to know what day of the week you’re on as the world runs on this time. And if different night TV shows are how you keep it straight, hey that works! 📺

To capture the best of your creative and productive time, find the balance that works for you and where you feel relevant and making good strides. That’s all part of the good wellness journey.

And I found that bi-weekly appointments and schedules can mess that up. So keeping it weekly simple works! 🗓

From experience, I know that building any kind of complicated system is a recipe for disaster in life. 😒

It can build a house of cards that will eventually crumble as there’s too much to manage when the enjoyment factor can disappear one day. Some of the excitement wears off of newness (it always does!).

That’s where the overwhelm and reality feelings can creep in, and easier when you keep it simple from the start.

And after taking a sabbatical in 2016, I realized that sometimes your calendars don’t open up, or they disappear, and then you waste more time trying to backtrack. That’s when I took the hint as a sign, tossed out the calendar and lists, and figured out a more reliable way.

And a way to go digital calendar-less AND paperless.

And to add the internal clock reminders back in… what people in the past probably did before paper was invented.

If you live spirit-led and wellness bound, it’s easier to go to simple ways where you discover your natural internal compass that you learn to trust over time.

And today, you can use digital reminders like alerts or notifications as a backup plan. Those are like a trampoline that ensures you bounce back without falling.

In this way, I haven’t missed a Zoom meeting yet when we were all doing Zoom calls, because my internal clock is wired to the energy around that activity, even if it’s just a one-time event.

And if you’re in a season or work environment where a calendar is expected of you, then you can still do this.

You could go hybrid… using a personal calendar when you have to, and then relaxing the policy when you don’t. 😎

Testing out ways that work for you is a good change to find out what is reliable and helpful for your life now if you want better outcomes, or to improve your life and wellness.

Having been at many jobs, in my wellness balance journey, I realize that none of the tasks are all that significant in the grand scheme of things.

…When you leave a job, you leave the calendar behind. Plus, the next person in your shoes (that you may even train) has their preferred way.

And, the last day of work ends the calendar work cold turkey, and your next day is like the calendar didn’t exist. And then you’re off to your next venture and bigger and brighter things.

When you do this work transition enough times, re-inventing yourself and pivoting, you get the pattern.

You can also can get a-ha’s about your specific past getting you to where you are today. And letting you become who you are today. You can keep moving forward and quicker if you want.

So on that note, I wanted to share 5 quick morning wellness habit stacks that I’ve found useful this season (that may be useful for you).

Habit # 1: Keeping same waking up hours every day even on weekends or days when you don’t have to be somewhere.

This could be what you do today… but also adding a few minutes of intentions time is good for a wellness practice so you’re not just running in the morning.

Intentions could be about what you want from this life, so you can head in that direction and work ON your life, and not just in it.

In the morning, you have the most mind-awakened energy and that can be with or without caffeine.

And you never know what the rest of the day will bring that can change your productivity, moods, or stress level.

Getting up early has a lot to do with the way you’re naturally wired, your environment, and your habits.

Irregular sleep is common with Vata’s (…you too?). In that case, you could challenge yourself to get up earlier than you’re comfortable with, but where you get enough regular 7-8 hours of healthy rest.

Keeping the same getting up hours can calm your Vata. It’s one routine where the instructions are simple.

You can get motivated to naturally get up earlier if you go to bed earlier and if you change up some of your habits like allowing yourself one entertainment show, instead of watching until you’re bored 😊.

Habit # 2: I first drink water and warm water or ginger tea as a primer to get the body running.

And then I work in a preferred green banana, quinoa cereal, lentils, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, OR a fruit smoothie. I mix it up. I may even choose a few from the list.

And then I’m ready for a cuppa joe.

I drink low acidic organic cold brew that I homebrew and drink black or with almond milk (extra calcium) and dilute the acidity further… I don’t have a fancy java machine on purpose.☕️

And my coffee rule is: I don’t drink coffee past 12 noon (…that’s easier than counting cups) or on an empty stomach. This helps with habit #1.

…Oh, and I started coffee late in life, so I’m OK to quit early in the day.

Habit # 3: Ab crunches and yoga wellness

Last time, I talked about losing weight that’s often one struggle aspect of a Kapha imbalance.

And one way I’ve figured out how to incorporate an exercise habit is, I’ve been doing an abdominal crunch challenge (…that may be something to try).

It gets easier as the weeks go by than the first week when it can be a struggle to peel yourself off the mat. But don’t give up!…

In the beginning, all the torso area fat can appear to move to the gut center. But don’t be fooled by the looks as that will eventually turn to muscle if you keep at it. That’s what I plan to do 50 ab crunches per day later. (And if that’s not what you notice if you try, good for you. It doesn’t have to be hard and preferably it’s easy).

The benefit is: strong abs allow your back to strengthen, and each vertebra becomes more flexible. You can roll up more easily like a roly-poly bug (…remember those? I don’t see those around anymore).

And if you start these now (or you take a pilates class), you’ll be better off in your golden years especially when bones get weaker despite the increased calcium and magnesium you may intake.

Falls for women and men are common accidents for seniors. So maybe that gives you a little motivational edge today to start today.

Ab work keeps me grounded, literally. And then while I’m there, I do yoga and exercises. You actually wake up and get happier faster as your endorphins kick in. And you feel more clear-headed because of this, and get excited about your day if that’s what you need this season. That’s well-rounded wellness.

You can get your daily re-centering done on the mat as well. My mat says, “you got this” that’s still my mantra.

Habit # 4: Have a reward activity (or two).

Towards the weekend, I healthy bake in the mornings as part of my wellness routine. This is a reward for me if I’ve met my deadlines earlier in the week. I always have recipes lined up and ingredients on hand, so that’s where the relaxing part comes in. No stress baking.

Another reward is I watch a show for an hour. Usually cooking shows (no surprise there!). One I’m enjoying is about pizzaiolos around the world who’ve opened up wood fire oven pizza parlors. 🍕

Having worked in a pizza shop, I can tell you it’s a lot of fun and one of the easiest bakes to make that brings smiles to faces, young and old.

Habit # 5: Then about an hour after waking up, I start my work that includes the unique daily task goals where I don’t need a calendar (that I mentioned earlier).

I used to reserve the morning for writing because that’s when I could get in my writing zone. But I realized after a couple of years into writing, I can pretty much do it anytime with the same result, as I’ve built up the writing muscles. 💪

And if I had to crank out a quality book in a week, I believe I could. That’s just practice.

And that’s one reason why I think it’s good for anyone to start a daily practice for their creativity and to discover their talents. If you need a quiet environment, a walk-in closet is a good space.

Also, one of the best investments you can make is having an air purifier, not just for the obvious use of better air, but also to cut out distractions with the white noise. And when you’re ready to go to sleep, it’ll help you get good rest and start all over again the next morning. 🌅

And starting with chicken and whole wheat waffles could be protein energy you need to power through your day.

Healthy Chicken and Waffles

For Southern-style brunches, this is a common dish that you can make super healthy and get your daily protein points.

Course brunch

Cuisine American, southern

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

chicken breast
apple cider vinegar (with the mother)
bread crumbs

Instructions

Cook chicken breast. Bake on 350°F until chicken is safely 165°F cooked or higher. This usually takes 45-55 minutes depending on chicken thickness and oven placement. For a whole chicken, follow the instructions on the packaging that can be 1.5-2 hours for a small chicken. Check 165°F temperature to be sure.
Add apple cider vinegar to cooked chicken. I use an eyedropper but you can use any method that works for you such as dipping chicken in a bowl of ACV.
Toast panko crumbs and stick to ACV dipped chicken. Alternatively if you want to be super healthy, you can crush sunflower seeds or nuts.
Add any spices you would like (e.g. oregano, thyme, black pepper, cayenne for a hot kick, etc.).

Positive Thoughts To Start Your Healthy Day

Positive thoughts like “you got this” can make a positive impact in your day.

And starting your day with a heart healthy recipe (🍓 below) like this delicious quinoa bowl breakfast idea to get excited about.

strawberry quinoa cereal. — Easy strawberry quinoa cereal recipe below. 🍓

If you’re wanting a better day, you recognize the difference between positive thoughts and negative ones.

Thoughts all start in the divided minds we’re given, that’s either hurting or helping us. And if this is new territory for you, start there.

Maybe you recognize which bucket your negative or positive thoughts belongs in, but you don’t know how to toss out the draining ones.

They can show up anytime: when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or when triggered by a memory, situation, or person.

And then the subconscious mind (ego) feeds off the nourishment of holding onto negative feelings or pain as a form of protection and masks its agenda from you. But now you know better.

Bypass the unnecessary time wasted in dramatic sorrow. Be proactive with positive affirmations, meditation, yoga, or healthy distractions that are great ideas to reset and get rid of thoughts that have no good business being with you in the first place.

Sounds like a plan, right?

But then going about your day or even seconds later, new thoughts occur from news headlines you read, someone offends or irritates you, a situation stirs an emotional chord, and then you’re right back to negative thoughts and moods. It’s daily and non-stop.

Your mind and the negative thoughts grow even if you think you’re living in a safe bubble.

The unhelpful thoughts never have a chance to go away until you decide the one thing you can change and have in common in every thought is YOU.

And so, I share in this detailed blog article what needs to change to get the happy and helpful thought life you want.

This is the second part of the article from last week on relaxing your mind for the best ideas.

Managing thoughts is essential for lifelong learners, and as a prerequisite to being your most productive self, unleashing your creative self, attracting people to your energy, and living your optimal life.

Years ago, I thought traveling to exciting, new places and feeling in woo would conquer negative thoughts, as they temporarily disappeared when senses were heightened (like when you’re newly in love or starting passion work). But those fickle feelings don’t last and things always change after the newness wears off.

So then I dipped my toe in collaborating and aligning myself with the Universe and how to manifest the best life (that’s woo woo to some).

For me, I was on the right path and things were looking up, but I still had to do the inner core work in my mind.

When all that eventually clicked together, then I could feel the woo hoo! And that’s what we all can celebrate in our lives if and when we get there.

It takes all the pieces–knowledge, process, and application. And if you’re feeling lost, it helps to have a guide.

These are a few guiding and starter points that helped me and hopefully can help you or anyone else who’s trying to figure out a better (thought) life.

The first part can be the hardest–knowing that it all starts in your mind and not someone or somewhere else.

This seems elementary after you learn this, but the ego wants to steer you in another direction like something else is the cause or problem.

So if you’re busy or not paying attention, that can happen and go on until you’ve had enough.

Another point is, don’t let nagging thoughts (or drama in your mind) that won’t leave you alone play out for longer than needed which is no more than a minute.

And in relationships, especially. It takes just one step to cross the invisible boundaries of another person with your words that originated from thoughts.

Walk away from your thoughts to give yourself more peace. Below I have some suggestions on what to do.

So, How to Change From Negative to Positive Thoughts…

Our thoughts are natural to us, and they cause us to take action that can appear inconsistent or as disconnects to others.

To change this, operating from awareness is imperative. Initially, this may feel like work and working harder (like walking uphill with heavy boots instead of sliding downhill). But it’s totally worth it.

You learn a life skill to purge those unwanted thoughts that pop up impromptu and when triggered.

I think there should be a required course on this that you learn early on (and would solve some of the world’s problems as people are the problem or solution).

But anyway… changing thoughts gets easier when you’ve learned the skill and it becomes more automatic.

The negative thoughts won’t disappear immediately, but much quicker than before in your thought choice, and you’ll be wise enough to know you don’t have to act out or say aloud negative thoughts.

Which btw, doesn’t change your personality. It makes you more attractive to the right people.

And that’s part of what separates our discerning brains from animals, young children, or when we were younger…

We all started out immature compared to who we’ve become today.

So here’s how you can reset and get your loving daily juice. To promote loving thoughts, witness your thoughts (I’m sure you’ve heard of this).

Practice being aware of what’s coming in. If it’s garbage, then reject or walk away.

If it’s something that you have feelings about and need to process or work through, then allow yourself that grace.

Again, you don’t have to air your thoughts to anyone, and not putting energy into negative thoughts is going to help you avoid wasted time.

Let them pass through and find the loving side of those thoughts (i.e. how can these thoughts help me?).

In the beginning, as you’re learning or practicing, you want to draw a line in the sand and separate thoughts as helpful or hurtful, good, or bad.

Make it easy on yourself and not leave thoughts in the confusing gray zone that’s part of the baggage carried around.

And let’s be clear, these are thoughts and not the actions that could follow. We want to nip them in the bud.

The good thoughts you accept and the bad ones you reject for your own good. If it hurts others, then you toss in the reject pile and you figure out a win-win or kinder way to confront if that’s needed.

Ask yourself daily and often: What just came out of my mouth and what’s going on in my head? Hit the archive button if it’s a worry thought until you can find answers, and hit the delete button if it’s a harmful thought to you or anyone else.

Know those thoughts will still be there if you need them, which you won’t, but your brain tries to convince you that they’re important to protect you when they’re not needed (for survival). You can blame the ego (yet again) on that.

So, after you start to live life this deliberate-thinking way and focus on positive thoughts, you can see the difference in the quality of your life and the better air that’s there.

You’ll feel more peace, and that helps your stress level and health.

You allow room for ideas to come in, and you become more useful to the world with your abilities. You become part of the solution.

Find A Mantra for Positive Thoughts

Pre-social media days, we were not part of an aware culture like we are in today.

In those days along my journey, I came across these words: “Whatever the question, love is the answer.”

I don’t know who the author is that wrote that, but I knew back then that I wanted that. So I printed out and framed those wise words that are now ingrained in memory.

With intention, I used that as my mantra. And even though I didn’t know how to apply it in every difficult situation.

I knew that if I aspired to the meaning behind the words, it would one day catch up with me and my self-actualized desires.

So, if you have similar aspirations of a learner mindset, find a mantra or intention (or use the one I used) to go to if you’re trying to change to more positive thoughts and aspirations.

It can be used as a distraction from negative thoughts. And you eventually become your words and what you think of.

Use Your Internal Guide

As mentioned, it can be helpful to have a guide and for those ahead of us in certain areas and times in our lives.

But the best overall guide is your internal compass.

Sometimes our moods are body-mind imbalanced or off track for a season and we can restore them much quicker if we know what to do.

Our daily and busy lives can do this to us.

But we want to change them because sour moods can crowd out positive thoughts and exacerbate our need to judge, be critical of others or ourselves, and get easily irritated, which can cause our negative words or actions.

Being in healthy alignment with yourself is better because, in the end, you and your caretakers are the only ones that will be with you.

You’re the only one that’s with you (and your thoughts) always, wherever you move or travel to.

Sometimes, listening to your internal guide can be countercultural and a bit uncomfortable when you make decisions that aren’t popular or go with the flow.

And especially if you’re a harmonious or extroverted person who just wants to get along or people please.

That can make it difficult to live in integrity (doing, saying, and thinking the same thing).

Robots will have it easier than us in this way, but sadly the tin man is missing a heart. 🤖

As humans, when our thoughts don’t align that’s when we have a new chance to re-adjust.

Years ago, no one talked about mental health or wellness as part of the daily talk. Now we embrace “knowing better” in our lives.

We don’t have to just take our thoughts (or others at face value) that turn into actions that don’t always get good results and can even get us in trouble in a hyper-sensitive society.

Plus, we have more options to change the channels in every sense. And we’re more accountable.

We need this accountability. It makes us better as individual people and all together in our complex world.

So these are some accountable thoughts and maybe some personal growth homework (should you choose to accept the mission?) for turning sour cherry thoughts into sweet ones.

As a bonus, you’ll become a better person as a byproduct. I know because this is all stuff I went through. It takes one to know one, and we’re all here to figure out our best life and selves.

So, no judgment here (and actually that’s one of the assignments) 🧡 That’s a balanced Pitta way.

Pause on the gossiping:

Here’s the better way: if you wouldn’t share the news with others and the person you’re gossiping about in the room, then find a way to filter and say less.

If you’re not sure, ask.

More likely you’ll just zip your lip and that’s fine too. It’s really that simple. But even simpler is just not gossiping at all.

That becomes an automatic, better way.

When you find you can’t sit and talk in the same conversations with those who gossip, then you know you’ve changed that about yourself.

You end up productively filling your time with better ways that lead to better things.

Learn to not judge:

We never know the full picture of what’s going on with anyone else no matter how much we think we do.

Take the objective and loving-kind stance.

If you want to have an optimal life, the sooner you learn to let go (of judgment) and to stop controlling so much, the sooner that will start.

A prerequisite for this type of freedom (that it is), is to stop judging others at the first judgmental thought that enters and let the negative thoughts pass through.

Quit complaints:

If you say negative things, then you become a negative person when what you really want is happiness.

So if the first thought that enters your mind is to emphasize complaining, that hurts you.

Maybe you’re used to complaining to get your way (and learned the squeaky wheel gets the grease).

But also what’s happening in the process is you’ll be seen as a complainer.

People who don’t complain will stay away from you, so you’re in company with complainers or those who want you to complain for them or their causes, bringing more negativity in your life and less in theirs.

…If you can make these 3 life changes, you’ll be well on your way to a more peaceful life. It’s simple, but not always easy in the beginning.

It takes desire, self-control, and holding yourself accountable. Be patient and easy on yourself. The good news is these traits are changeable with practice.

And if you find people to support your efforts (and let go of the ones who aren’t), it’s easier.

Your supporters are your best allies.

Ultimately you decide what type of life you want to live. You get to decide what thoughts you keep. Copy that. 😉

Heart Healthy Strawberry Quinoa Cereal

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

Red quinoa
Organic fresh strawberries
Almond milk

Instructions

Cook quinoa to soft. You can use red or traditional quinoa.
Chop strawberries. Use organic and fresh strawberries. You can freeze what you don't use in a few days.
Add milk.