Finding Your Anchor: The Power of a Morning Routine

I met an old school friend this week.



She has a lot going on. She’s moving house, starting a new job, the kids are changing schools and she’s facing an hour-long round trip on the school run every day. As we talked, she spoke honestly about how worried she was about her anxiety levels and whether she would be able to cope with everything that was coming her way.

So I asked her a simple question. “What does your morning routine look like?” “I don’t have one,” she said. And I thought, there’s your problem.

Not entirely, of course. Life is complicated and there is no magic morning routine that makes everything easy. But when so much around you is changing, having something that anchors you can make a huge difference. Without it, you can feel a little like a ship lost at sea, constantly reacting to whatever comes next, being pulled in different directions, without anything steady underneath you.

And perhaps this becomes even more important as we move through midlife. Our lives can be incredibly full in our 40s and beyond. There are families, careers, relationships, changing priorities and often a growing realisation that our own wellbeing needs to become part of the picture too.

That’s why I think simple, sustainable habits can be such an important part of women’s wellness.

Routines are anchors

I’m not talking about an obsessive, rigid routine where if you can’t do exactly what you planned at exactly the right time, your whole world falls apart. I’m talking about small, daily habits that steer the course of your day and, ultimately, your life. Things that ground you, things that bring you into the now, familiar little rituals that say this is mine before the rest of the world starts asking things of you.

And the same goes for the evening. Our morning and evening routines are like the bookends to our day. They help frame and shape how we move through the day and, importantly, how we wind down and sleep at night.

For this journal, I want to dive into the AM.

Because when we talk about wellness for women over 40, I think it can be easy to focus on what we need to add or fix. More exercise. Better food. Better sleep. More supplements. Less stress.

But sometimes wellbeing in your 40s and beyond is also about creating a little more space for yourself.

My morning routine

My routine changes with the years. It has to. Life changes. Children grow. Seasons change. Work changes. What worked for me five years ago might not work now.

But I’ve always found it helpful to have a morning rhythm that can travel with me. One that works on retreat days, family days, school days and when I’m somewhere completely different in the world. This is my summer one.

5.45am — Wake up

My alarm goes off at 5.45am, and I try to wake up at roughly the same time every day. Why? Because our bodies love rhythm.

Our circadian rhythm is essentially our internal body clock. It helps regulate sleep and wakefulness, hormones, body temperature and energy throughout the day. Giving your body a consistent wake-up time helps reinforce that rhythm and gives your body some predictability.

Yes, I might be tired to begin with, but I love knowing that this little pocket of time belongs to me.

Wake up the body

I clean my teeth and then do a few simple foot exercises while standing on the bath mat. Calf raises, moving through the feet, waking them up. Then I splash my face with cool water.

Nothing complicated. Just little ways of bringing myself into my body and into the morning.

As we get older, I think there is something particularly valuable about beginning the day with movement rather than immediately rushing into everything we need to do. It doesn’t have to be a workout. Sometimes simply waking up the body is enough.

Hot water and ginger

I go downstairs and the first thing I drink is hot water with ginger. I kneel down and drink it quietly. No phone. No scrolling. No emails. Just stillness.

I don’t add lemon because regularly sipping acidic drinks isn’t particularly kind to your teeth. Ginger works perfectly well for me.

It’s one of those very simple healthy habits that doesn’t require much effort, but gives me a moment to pause before the day begins.

Cold water

Then, when I can, I get into cold water.

This summer I’ve been incredibly lucky. Norway. Anglesey. Wales. I’ve had cold water wherever I’ve travelled, and there really is nothing quite like it for waking you up.

A calm, cool dip in nature brings you immediately into the present moment. You have to breathe. You have to be there. You can’t think about your emails or your to-do list when you’re standing in cold water.

And it doesn’t have to be a wild swim. A cold shower can give you that same sense of right, I’m awake now.

For me, wild swimming has become part of my own approach to wellness. There is something about being outdoors and in cold water that makes you slow down, breathe deeply and become completely present.

Get dressed

Then I get dressed. Comfy clothes. Clothes that make me feel happy.

It’s a small thing, but I think what we wear can influence how we feel. I don’t want to start my day feeling uncomfortable. I want to feel good in my clothes and ready for whatever the day brings.

Wellness doesn’t always have to be something complicated or worthy. Sometimes it’s simply about noticing the small things that make you feel good.

Yoga

Then I practise yoga, usually about half an hour. Not an hour and a half. Not an elaborate practice that takes so much effort to start that the habit doesn’t stick. Just 30 minutes.

Enough to move my body, breathe, stretch and connect with myself. Enough to feel the benefit without making it another thing I have to achieve.

Yoga has always been one of my favourite forms of movement because it gives me something that goes beyond exercise. It’s a chance to slow down, reconnect with my body and notice how I’m actually feeling.

And as women move through their 40s and beyond, I think that connection becomes increasingly important. We don’t need to punish our bodies into submission. We need to listen to them.

Coffee, breakfast and sometimes journalling

Then comes coffee. Black coffee and breakfast. Usually yoghurt, a smoothie or something simple.

Sometimes I’ll journal too, if I feel I have something I want to put down on paper. And sometimes I don’t.

That’s the thing about a good routine. It shouldn’t become another set of rules. It should support you.

I think this is something we can easily forget when we’re trying to create healthier habits. If your morning routine becomes another thing you have to achieve perfectly, it has lost the point.

The best wellness routines are the ones that make you feel better, not the ones that give you another reason to feel like you’re not doing enough.

8am — Ready for the day

By 8am I’m ready to start my day.

I’ve had two hours to myself while the world is still asleep. But more importantly, while my family is still asleep. And I love every element of this morning. There is nothing to dread. In fact, I often go to sleep excited for my morning.

For me, it works.

And I think that’s ultimately what matters. Your wellness routine doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s. It needs to fit your life.

What would yours look like?

Yours will look completely different to mine, I know. You might have small children. You might have to be out of the door at 7am. You might hate yoga. You might have no desire whatsoever to get into cold water!

That’s not the point. The point is finding your own anchors.

Maybe it’s five minutes with a cup of tea before anyone else wakes up. Maybe it’s stretching, reading a few pages of a book, walking around the block or simply leaving your phone alone for the first 20 minutes of the day.

Choose one thing that makes you feel good. And start there.

Because when life feels overwhelming, you don’t necessarily need to change everything. Sometimes you just need something that brings you back to yourself. A little space before the noise begins. A familiar rhythm. Something that belongs to you.

And perhaps that’s what midlife wellness is really about. Not trying to become a completely different version of yourself, but finding ways to take better care of the woman you already are.

A morning routine can be an anchor in a very busy sea.

And if you don’t have one yet, perhaps now is the time to create one.

Or join a retreat and see how we flow here at Zest Life. Browse all retreats here.

Laura Bell is the founder of Zest Life and has been leading yoga and wellness retreats in the UK and abroad for over a decade. A qualified yoga teacher and experienced retreat leader, she designs and hosts small group retreats rooted in nature, movement and genuine care. Laura also works with organisations to design and deliver bespoke corporate wellness programmes and retreats - bringing the same standards of quality and thoughtful facilitation to workplace wellbeing.