My Van Morning Routine.
You seem to love seeing more of my day to day in the van so I thought it might be useful to share how my mornings on the road look. It’s important to me to keep up with my usual wellbeing practices - it’s so easy for these to go out the window when on the road but with just a little pre planning and making sure you have the right products, self care in the form of nutrition and keeping on top of things can be a lot easier to keep on top of. So here’s how my morning looks from opening my eyes through to heading off on a hike when I’m on the road! It’s perhaps worth noting that often when I’m on the road I’m working too (in the sense of being on my laptop as opposed to the shoots I’m doing when I’m based at home) but I try and condense this into a few hours on the road.
Please note: this post contains affiliate links and gifted products but my recommendations are no way depending on this. I only recommend products I truly believe in and the recommendation always comes first and links added afterwards.
Wake Up.
Monty is always super cuddly in the mornings, he often wakes me up with a nose kiss having cosied up to me. It’s a lovely way to wake up and I take it even further by opening the Balance app on my phone and doing a wake up meditation.
Using the screen time utility on my iPhone I limit apps until 8am but allow this one so whatever time I wake up it’s available to me. I actually make a concerted effort to not look at anything else on my phone that gives me contact with the ‘outside world’ until after breakfast or even better when I get back from hiking.
Then I’ll open the curtains and have a peep outside to see what’s going on. You never know what you’re going to see - weather wise and what’s going on where you’ve parked up. That’s such a lovely thing about van life.
Dress and Monty Loo.
It seems really boujee to wear a NOLA dress first thing in the morning but these Dale dresses are so durable and in the autumn I can throw it over the thermals I’ve slept in. I am all for a minimal edit of conscious clothing that is durable and easy to wear. Then I do a quick walk with Monty to get some air in my lungs and so Monty can have his ablutions!
I always try and walk bare foot in the mornings - this gets so many parts of your body woken up by the massage on your feet (think reflexology) and on a more basic level just makes me feel more connected to nature.
Symprove My Life.
Issues with digestion runs in my family and after years of surgeries and painkillers I have to give mine some special care. I always notice the difference when I’m on Symprove and just because I’m on the road it doesn't mean this bit if daily gut love has to slide. This powerful probiotic needs to be kept cool once opened so I keep it in my 12v coolbox and because you need to take it on an empty stomach ten minutes before coffee or food I get it in as early as I can.
What do I do in the ten minutes? Well, the most important task of the day - feeding Monty happens of course!
Movement.
I have to move every day at the moment for my back. But it can feel arduous when it’s painful. Plus when you’ve got a day of exploring lined up you are keen to crack on with it so I find the 10 min power shot workouts or yoga sessions from FIIT are perfect for fitting in when on the road. A quick hit of feel good hormones while also working on strength. Followed by a flannel down with my Hozelock shower and I’ve energised myself.
Day Planning.
I’m definitely a last minute kinda person. I like having a rough idea of the places I’m going to be staying at and traveling through but generally I see how the mood takes me on the morning.
I like to set my Neom Diffuser on with an energy boosting blend to wake up my senses and then I get looking at how my day is going to pan out depending on the weather and what kinda nights sleep I had. I start with figuring out where my next nights park up is going to be and then looking to see what’s en route to it.
Breakfast time.
My go to is muesli - it’s easy to make and you can just fill a large ziplock bag at the zero waste shop to reduce waste and keep costs low. I go for oats, desiccated coconut, sultanas, seeds and hazelnuts. Then I drown it in Minor Figures oat milk (the best).
The reason I love muesli so much with nourishing seeds is because it’s slow release energy to keep me exploring until mid afternoon.
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee.
My favourite part of the morning! I love my morning coffee. I love my ROK espresso because it makes a coffee that rivals any coffee house, especially when I have ground my own beans to perfection! I know, I’m ridiculous. If you’re curious which coffee I use it’s whole espresso beans from Flour Pot (that I grind at home in a Sage machine) because they are smooth, chocolatey and give me a right kick up the arse. Hey, I gotta have a vice!
Daily Flourishment.
I take Bare Biology Life & Soul every day - I really notice the difference when I’m not taking it. It is good for my joints, my brain, mood and all over general health. It is my go to supplement. So every morning after coffee I take one and then also any other supplements I might be on at the time (at the moment I also have pain meds to take). Then I check in with my Self Journal and do a 2 minute Bloom. I find this simple 5 min collection sets me up for the day and allows me to feel in tune with myself. If I need it I also have a little dance by the van to wake my body up and just get everything moving!
Prep my Explorers pack.
Time to get exploring! I’ll make sure the camera has a charged battery, my phone has power and I’ve packed everything I need. In my bag I make sure I have:
a local map
a charging cell
some protein
some chocolate
my Ocean Bottle filled with water
another bottle for Monty
a collapsible bowl for above
a banana
I love my Lefrik backpack because it’s made from recycle material but is durable, sits flat on my bag and is super comfortable and stood the test during extreme weather on Mam Tor!
SPF Me Up Buttercup.
When I’m hiking or exploring I will always have SPF on my face, and which one I use depends on what kind of day it is. If it’s cloudy and overcast I use Antipodes Immortal SPF15 or if it’s sunny I’ll use my absolute fave - the Neom Great Day Glow SPF30.
I’m very passionate about using the right SPF, sun protection can be highly toxic to our oceans. Read more here.
And We’re Off!
Off we go! I usually get a beautiful playlist on the go while we navigate to our first stop of the day. Check out the TIDE Roadtrip playlist here.
So there it is, my morning routine, it was fun to write this post and realise I had a morning routine! If you have any post requests just let me know!
Photos of me by Kitty W Shaw.
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