This [Updated] Morning Routine Is Making Me Feel Like a Literal God

Nov 20, 2022

Be it 4 AM or 10, what you do right after you wake up matters way more than when you wake up.

“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it,”
— Richard Whately

I had already written an article on my god-mode morning routine — but I’ve significantly enhanced it since then.

At the cost of being longer, this routine’s way more powerful than the older one.

Step 1: Wake up + Water + Washroom (5 to 10 Minutes)

Don’t hit the snooze button. Spring out of bed. Undo the blinds.

A glass or two of warm water to kick-start your metabolism. A splash of cold water on the face.

Then, a mondo duke to relieve those pesky bowels.

First, a light pre-workout meal — an apple/banana or two + a pill of 200 mg of caffeine. You can also work out in a fasted state if you wish.

As to my workout routine, I alternate my days between Muay Thai and gym workouts — 3 days of the former and a 4-day UL routine for the latter.

Back home, it’s time for a cold shower.

Cold showers have plenty of benefits — heightened immunity, better stress tolerance, energy boost, etc.

Turn on the cold knob the moment you step into the shower room — any delay and hesitation will creep in.

Thanks to the steamy workout, the otherwise torturous shower will actually feel relieving.

Once the initial mammary dive reflex kicks in, your breathing steadies, and calm sets in.

The workout + cold shower combo leaves you in an invigorated yet calm state — perfect for breath work and meditation.

Here’s where The Sudarshan Kriya comes in — an Art Of Living technique that’s gained worldwide fame.

3-Stage Pranayama in Ujjayi breathing (8,8,6 counts respectively)
3 rounds of Bhastrika (15 to 20 counts each)
3 rounds of deep Om chanting.
The actual Sudarshan Kriya — 3 rounds of (20 long breaths + 40 medium breaths + 40 rapid breaths). All breaths are circular.

If you find the counts and individual steps cumbersome, use this guided video that covers it all.

If you’re still confused, you can use this alternative 15-minute guided breathwork routine.

Post the breath work, you’ll be in a meditative state — where 20 minutes seem like 2.

For meditating, you can sit upright in a comfortable position or lie down in a spreadeagled position.

For starters, meditate for as long as you can — even 2 minutes is better than no meditation.

With the literal and figurative heavy lifting done, we come to the easiest yet crucial part of the routine.

Unlike regular journaling, bullet journaling is concise and rapid — my optimized template takes less than 2 minutes!

This quick but vital step lends structure to your day — and reinforces your priorities.

Since I stick to the upper end of the time estimations, my morning routine takes over 3 hours.

With the lower bounds, it should take around 1.5 hours — and if you work out in the evening, the routine will reduce to only 40 minutes.

Unlike the 2-minute “hacks” you see online, this routine is long — but the benefits are incredibly potent as well.

The first and last steps are straightforward AF, it’s the middle 4 that can be difficult.

To help you ease into steps 2 to 5, I want to share a weekly progression scheme:

The first week: 15-minute full-body workout + 5-minute hot-to-cold shower + 3-Stage Ujjayi Pranayama
The second week: 30-minute workouts + 5-minute slightly cold showers + 3-Stage Ujjayi Pranayama + 3 rounds of 10 counts of Bhastrika + 3 minutes of meditation.
The third week: 45-minute workouts + 7.5-minute cold showers + 3-Stage Ujjayi Pranayama + 3 rounds of 15 counts of Bhastrika + 3 rounds of Om + 5 minutes of meditation.
The fourth week: 1-hour workouts + 10-minute cold showers + the full Sudarshan Kriya + 7.5 minutes of meditation.
Fifth week: The full routine.

If at any point in the middle, you hit a comfort spot — stick to that semi-version of the routine itself.

Because at the end of the day

The best morning routine is the one you can stick to.

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