How do you slow down and take the time to stretch every morning? I find myself starting to bustle around making breakfast and preparing for the day, and slipping away from taking my time in the morning. What do you recommend in order to keep myself slowed down and able to dedicate time to stretching?

I would recommend starting your stretches while in bed and doing them all before starting your day. I find once I've started my morning routine is really hard to pause it to stretch so instead I made it part of my wake up routine I do before getting ready.

Stretch 1st! You have to have a Morning Routine that starts your day before you get into the busyness of the day. When you forget, just stretch where you are. Any stretch is a good stretch…any time!

I convinced myself to do it to do stretching whenever I leave the bed in the morning. Also it is just 1 minute stretching. So, it doesn't take so much time. But for your case, maybe you can try stretching while you wait your coffee to be done. Or some times I try to do stretching while I brush my teeth. I hope these examples help 😊

Practice. Add it to your routine so it reminds you to do it. Change the order of your routine if it's not working for you. Don't beat yourself up about it. Try to remember every day, but one day is better than none, maybe after a couple of weeks you remember two days. It takes time. And practice.

Wake up with the words I feel awesome and had an awesome night's sleep.
I meditate first for 15 mins then it's natural to feel like stretching and then I do some qigong breathing excercises. Which makes me want to exercise , so an hour into waking up I've started my day off wonderfully and now it's time for brekky

Incorporate stretching into whatever you’re doing at the time. I show up to work early every morning and stretch for a few minutes before it’s time to get started!

First, stretch before starting breakfast and even before turning on the lights. You can stretch in bed or out, but doing it before the lights are turned on help signal that the ‘productive’ part of your day hasn’t started yet. If a soft light is needed a candle or nightlight shouldn’t be too jarring.

Take a look around you and ask yourself, “isn’t this keeping me happy and at peace, or is this making me feel anxious and unhappy?” When my space is clean and tidy I feel total peace to Be able to sit and enjoy that space. When mits messy and cluttered I feel messy and cluttered on the inside. So seek that feeling of peace and being able to relax by getting the clutter out of the way. I hope this helps.

Just one minute. Start with just one minute. It takes long for me to feel fully awake, but stretching comes natural. And if it is just one minute, I can do it even while I wait for coffee to be ready.

I set an alarm for a little earlier than I would usually wake. Make the stretching goal realistic 2mins? 5 mins? It doesn't have to be 10 or 15 mins. If I hit snooze (which I do) I still do them.
Top trick, is I do them in bed sometimes. Child's pose. Cat cow, leg stretches, head rolls. It doesn't have to be a routine or anything. Bit like how as children we would just randomly mobe & stretch. This took away pressure. It was relief not always following a plan or structure. Hope this helps and doesn't sound patronising.

I don’t know if this can help, but my advice would be not having to slow down… I personally commit to do three things the moment I get out of my bed in the morning: 1) drink water; 2) meditate (even if just for 5 mins); and 3) move. I don’t call it stretching because it can sound restrictive. Moving can mean 2 mins of stretching as well as 90 mins of yoga if it fits my schedule (or my mood). The important thing is to do it (even if just for a min) and make it a habit. I try to do it before getting ready or making breakfast. Otherwise my mind would just switch into Productive Mode. That’s when slowing down gets hard. When I wake up, I want my actions to follow my mind, not the other way around. So, if it works for you, just make sure stretching is one of the first things you do in the morning instead of having to “take” that moment afterwards. If your schedule doesn’t allow much time and you want to commit to a more thorough stretching session, you can also do it while preparing breakfast 🙂

Stretch as soon as you wake up before getting out of bed in the morning, that way you always stretch before any other activity.