Legendary music composer Beethoven counted sixty beans of coffee as his morning ritual while Twitter founder Jack Dorsey showers with ice cold water to shock the system to come alive. Morning routines seem to help set the momentum of the day. Hyderabad-based yoga instructor and life coach Hariprasad Varma talks briefly about his morning routine and what happens when he fails to follow
What does your morning routine comprise?
I wake up at about 5 ish in the morning and the first activity of the day that I undertake is that of making myself a cup of filter coffee. Post charging the system, I document my stream of consciousness in three full pages, something I incorporated into my routine in November 2021 after attending a retreat that mentioned Julia Cameron’s ‘morning pages’. Helps empty the mind.
After writing for about twenty minutes I practice Reiki again for about twenty minutes. I also teach or learn in the mornings through online sessions. As the sessions end, I hit the gym for about sixty-ninety minutes. Once home, it’s time to create a to-do list and block my calendar, that includes social engagements as well.
I was reading up about various morning routines that people around the world follow. I came across Elon Musk’s morning rituals wherein he usually skipped his breakfast. As somebody who understands the human system well, what do you have to stay about not eating after long hours of night?
It’s alright if somebody doesn’t eat in the morning, even after a gap of hours. Intermittent fasting is alright. There is no thumb rule that one can’t skip breakfast. It’s about listening to the body and following its rhythm and patterns. So, if Elon Musk’s body says no to breakfast, skipping it is probably the best thing to do.
How religiously do you follow the routine? What happens when you fail to stick to the routine?
I strictly abide by the routine, except when I am on the go. I travel mentally prepared for it. So, being unable to carry out the chores doesn’t affect me. But what happens when the routine goes haywire while I am home? I feel low on energy all day. Sticking to it helps me declutter the mind and stay fresh. Absenteeism from the routine usually takes place when I sleep late.
Since when have you been following this lifestyle? And are there elements that get added or edited from the routine?
It’s been about seven-eight years of maintaining a morning routine. Yes, activities get added and deleted. Say morning pages and reiki are new additions while waking up at the same
time every day is something I have practiced for more than seven years. There was a time, I stepped out for a morning walk and then there was a phase when I practiced meditation and vedic chanting. But things changed and could evolve in the future as well.
