Wellness

Wellness

My morning routine is a L O N G one now with the extra time we all have now. It’s been really fun to incorporate new practices and rituals in to my morning routine learned from reading and researching successful people’s routines. Here is the routine I’ve been practicing that makes me feel awake, refreshed, energized, and like my highest self:

♡ Wake up and open the blinds. Sunlight has major benefits not only for mood but also to aid in better sleep when you get enough sunlight throughout the day. Greater exposure to sunlight is also associated with a release in serotonin {source}.

♡ The first place I go once I get out of bed is to the Nespresso machine. Coffee is the biggest treat that I look forward to every morning and Nespresso is just the best. My favorite morning coffee is Diavolitto – it’s rich and bold, just how I like my coffee. I add a little coconut cream and cinnamon every single morning.

Cinnamon is loaded with powerful antioxidants, such as polyphenols & in a study that compared the antioxidant activity of 26 spices, cinnamon wound up as the clear winner, even outranking “superfoods” like garlic and oregano. {source} Cinnamon is anti-inflammatory and is just so good for your overall health.

♡ This one is SO important: writing down gratefuls and my to-do list for the day. This just really sets the tone of the day, to start with a grateful emotional state.

♡ Exercise: I could be better about doing this each morning, but it has been hard. There are days where I exercise at night, and that’s okay, too. But I really like the way I feel when I get my workout in first thing in the morning. I either do weight training while watching a show (distraction is KEY) or YouTube videos – loving BRAVO Real Housewives of Beverly Hills right now – or I will go outside for a run.

♡ Roll out with a foam roller: Foam rolling is so good for myofascial release and helps relieve muscle tightness, soreness, and inflammation, and increase your joint range of motion. You can foam roll before or after a workout, but I personally like to roll once I’m finished. It’s like a massage that just hurts a little bit. Know what I mean?

♡ Get cold: Tony Robbins has talked about his morning routine, which involves a very cold shower or a dip in a cold pool. I wrote a whole blog post about it, which you can read HERE – there are so many benefits to changing your biochemistry, and one of those ways is to get cold. I will either turn the shower to COLD at the end, for a minute…or if that is just too intense for me, I splash my face with very cold water before I apply my skincare for the day.

Beauty, Real Talk, Wellness

LUXURIOUS NIGHT TIME ROUTINE is alive and well.

I am all about rituals because they help motivate and move us as people. Sound cheesy? Maybe, but I believe that that rituals are an essential part of daily life, whatever they may be for you.

My luxurious night time routine is my absolute favorite ritual because it is the most indulgent ritual I practice, from having my fresh eucalyptus in the shower with the salt rock night lamp glowing, all the oils…and more.

Everything I do at night helps me to sleep well. And the better the sleep, the less stress.

So here are steps that HAVE TO HAPPEN during my night time routine:

Real Talk, Wellness

A few months ago I noticed deeper lines on one side of my face versus the other. Has this ever happened to you? Yeah, they were most likely there before, but one day, while looking in the mirror, I thought “what the fuck has happened to my face?!” …And then it was all I saw when looking in the mirror. And yes, the side with deeper lines and more volume loss was the side I slept on.

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my stories a couple of weeks ago where I took you with me to get those lines filled in with hyaluronic acid filler by the most incredible Nurse Practitioner, Shahdi at Luna Skincare Aesthetics in Walnut Creek. Side note: she truly is the best and she is an artist. I saved my stories, so you can go ahead and watch them on my BOTOX AND FILLERS Instagram highlight.

Anyway. Back to sleeping on your back. All of this to say that a few months ago, after discovering those lines, I began training myself to sleep on my back instead of on my side. It’s hard. Like really hard.

First, the benefits, aside from not getting wrinkles on your face:

  1. Better alignment of the spine, which reduces pain.
  2. Minimizes acid reflux
  3. Prevents chest and boob wrinkles
  4. Maintains perky boobs

How to do it?

♡ Keep your head in a slightly raised position with the help of a pillow or two. I personally use two pillows. On the bottom, I use a thin-ish pillow, and on top, where my head lays, I use a Z pillow. I have had this pillow for three years and it is the best pillow I’ve ever used. I originally purchased it after researching a pillow to help alleviate neck pain. For extra credit: Add pillows under your arms to help make you feel supported.  

♡ Add a pillow under the backs of your knees. Adding a pillow under your knees will take some pressure off your back and it kind of makes you feel like you’re floating in the best way possible. I find that adding a pillow under my knees really helps me avoid rolling over to my side in the middle of the night too.

♡ Create a barricade with pillows. This is just an extra precaution but I wouldn’t only do this step. The first two are much more effective if you’re trying to train yourself to sleep on your back. But it’s harder to switch to side sleeping if there is a barricade of pillows around you.

♡ Sleep with the bottoms of your feet touching. If you’re having trouble imagining this, spread your legs so that your knees are out, and touch the bottoms of your feet together. This is super comfortable when sleeping on your back, especially when your knees are supported with pillows.

Training myself to sleep on my back took about 3 months to finally do all through the night. And I have to make sure the conditions are just right. If I don’t have my pillows positioned correctly, all bets are off and I’ll be on my side within an hour.

Cheers to no boob and face wrinkles!

xo Lynn

Beauty, Real Talk, Wellness

Science says that your willpower is highest in the morning. Running with that theme, I have created a morning routine that takes full advantage of that fact…and I’ve experienced so much more ease with how my entire day goes. No frantic shit in the morning, no “what am I going to eat?”, “what time do I have to be up?”, “OMG. I’m so late”. None of it. My mornings are almost always calm and productive because I’ve built a strong routine.

I was inspired to create a morning routine a little over a year ago by studying up on what some of the most successful people in history do each morning. If you’re curious, you can check out Fast Company’s article on The Morning Routines of the Most Successful people.

In this video, I break down my entire morning, including:

♡ My tongue scraper

♡ Hydroflask

♡ Coffee

♡ Skincare routine

♡ Gym routine

Do you have a morning routine that you love? Share the deets, please!

Beauty, Real Talk, Wellness

Confession: I never understood the obsession with Princess Kate. So shoot me. I’ll leave it at that, but I have been reading about Princess Meghan. About what, you ask? Her beauty and wellness routine.

If her routine is good enough for a princess, it must be amazing, right? She has this glow and she just SPARKLES – very fitting for a princess! So I had to know what she’s doing and what she’s using on her skin and what her wellness routine is.

SO, here are specifics on what Meghan Markle’s uses and does to keep herself looking sparkly:

♡ INFRARED SAUNA: Meghan uses an infrared sauna once a week to sweat out toxins. The benefits include glowing skin, stress relief, and weight loss. I have personally been wanting to try one for the longest time – have you guys tried?

♡ LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE FACIALS. Meghan has attributes her sculpted cheekbones and jawline to the hands of London-based facialist, Nichola Joss, known for her transformative pressure-point lymphatic drainage facial massages. These treatments offer an instant de-puff from manually draining the lymphatic system and reducing excess fluids around the eyes. They also improve blood circulation, giving the skin an instant radiance.

Meghan says: “I do facial exercises from one of my favorite aestheticians who basically has you sculpt your face from the inside out. I swear it works, as silly as you may feel. On the days I do it, my cheekbones and jaw line are waaaay more sculpted. There’s a reason this kind of massage is in high demand around awards season when every actress wants to look A-plus.”

So much yes. If you haven’t tried facial massage yet, you must try it — it’s FREE if you do it yourself. LMK if you’d like a tutorial? It’s something I do every single morning.

♡ ACUPUNCTURE + CUPPING. Meghan is a long-time fan of the ancient Chinese practices of both acupuncture and cupping. These traditional holistic treatments are known for deep healing and stress reduction.

♡ DR. BRONNER’S BODY WASH IN LAVENDER. “I love the smell and it lasts for such a long time. ” And it’s true. I picked up this body wash after researching the best vegan and cruelty-free body washes and this was at the top of the list. It smells so good, and it’s affordable.

♡ ADD SHIMMER TO INNER CORNERS OF THE EYES: “I learned to add the smallest touch of shimmer to the inner corner of the eye after they’re lined. A touch of shimmer powder adds a brightness and sparkle. Even if I have no makeup on, I am likely to apply concealer and a bit of shimmer to the corners of my eye.” If you watched my video on how to make your eyes look bigger and whiter, you saw my absolute FAVORITE shimmer for this purpose: NYX Platinum.

Lastly, on her favorite “grooming look” on a man: “Oh I love a scruffy face. Gets me every time.”

Me too, Meghan, me too. LOVE a beard.

So many good beauty tips and tricks, right? Meghan is ON IT when it comes to beauty and wellness, and I’ll continue to follow along to see what she’s doing.

See ya tomorrow, xx Lynn

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