Create The Best Me

Stop Waking Up Anxious: My "Anti-Stress" Morning Routine

• Carmen Hecox • Episode 148

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Wake up feeling anxious or overwhelmed? You are not alone. In this video, I share my simple 5-minute "Anti-Stress" Morning Routine designed to lower cortisol and stop morning anxiety before it starts.

If you are a woman over 50 dealing with menopause stress, the "aftermath" of holiday chaos, or just a racing mind, this routine is for you. We aren't just talking about it; we are doing it together. Join me for a real-time nervous system reset, including a cortisol flush, 4-4-4 breathing, and gentle tension release to help you find calm.

What You’ll Learn:

1. Why dehydration first thing in the morning spikes stress
Discover how a simple glass of water can lower your cortisol and immediately calm your body.

2. The fastest way to trigger your body’s ‘rest and reset’ mode
We’ll do box breathing together, four counts in, hold, out, and hold again to physically turn off your fight-or-flight switch.

3. How to physically release the anxiety you hold in your jaw, neck, and shoulders
Gentle stretches and shoulder rolls instantly signal safety to your brain.

4. The one-word morning mindset reset
Trade problem-solving for presence by choosing a core word like “ease,” “patience,” or “space” to guide you through your day.

5. Why these practices are not selfish but survival skills for women
You’ll learn why prioritizing your stress relief is the foundation for helping everyone else and how to take small, powerful steps to protect your well-being.

Music:  

Title: Relax by SyncLabMusic

Title: Ambient Music by MomotMusic

About Create The Best Me: Feeling lost, stuck, or invisible in your 40s, 50s, or 60s? You're not alone. As a transformational coach, I created this age-positive community for women tired of just "getting by." This isn't a show about "aging gracefully," it's a playbook for real, practical solutions. 

Call to Action: 

NEXT UP: Don't miss next week's deep dive: Is Your Menopause Belly Actually Stress? Subscribe now so you don't miss it! 

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Does your morning start with a jolt? The alarm goes off and before your feet even hit the floor, your mind is already racing. Did I forget to text anyone back? Did I leave someone off my list? How am I going to clean up this house? Even after the big day is over, we often wake up in survival mode. The holidays might be winding down, but our cortisol is still ramped up. Today I'm inviting you to hit pause. I'm not just going to tell you my five minute anxiety routine; we're actually going to do the most important part of it together right now. So find a comfortable spot, put away your cell phone where you can't see it, and let's reset our nervous system. Step one happens before I do anything else. I drink a large glass of water.

Here is the connection to anxiety:

When you sleep, you get dehydrated and dehydration causes a spike in cortisol, your body thinks it's in a drought! So if you have water nearby, take a sip now. You are telling your nervous system, You're okay. We have this, and it flushes the system and calms the physical stress response immediately. Step two is where the magic happens. We carry anxiety in our physical bodies, specifically in our jaw, our shoulders, and our neck. You cannot think your way out of anxiety; you have to move it out. I want you to do this with me right now. Don't just watch, join me. Let's turn off the fight or flight switch. We're going to do three rounds of 4-4-4 box breathing. We'll inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four. Ready? Close your eyes if you'd like. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Good. Open your eyes. Notice how your shoulders dropped two inches? That's cortisol leaving your body. Now let's release what I call, and everyone else, the tech neck. If you're standing up like me, stand tall, keep your feet hip wide apart. If you're sitting down, sit straight, keep your feet hip wide apart. So I want your feet flat on the floor. Relax your shoulders and your back. Drop your right ear to your right. Don't force it down. Just let gravity take its place. Extend your left arm out to the side and gently feel the stretch all the way through your neck. Let's hold that for 20 seconds. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Now let's repeat on the other side. Drop your ear to your left shoulder. Again, let it just fall naturally. Try to stay straight, I'm kind of moving. Now, raise your right arm and let's hold that for 20 seconds. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Finally, let's roll our shoulders back in, big three circles, three times.

One, two, three:

one.

1, 2, 3:

two. three. Just a simple movement that sends a signal of safety to your brain. Step three, now that your body is calm and your mind can listen. Step three is choosing "One Word." When we wake up anxious, our brains are looking for problems to solve. We need to give the brain a different job. I close my eyes, I take a breath and pick a word like 'Ease,' 'Patience,' or'Space.' What is your word of the day? What do you need most? Take a moment right now, find it. Once you have it, lock it in. Why does this matter? Because you cannot pour from an empty cup. If you start your day running on empty, trying to please everyone else, you have nothing left for yourself. Give yourself these few minutes. It's not selfish; it's essential survival work for women our age. Now if you feel like this stress isn't just a holiday thing and it feels chronic, and maybe you're seeing it show up as stubborn menopause belly, that won't go away. Make sure to subscribe. Next week I'm releasing a deep dive episode explaining exactly how high cortisol is driving that physical belly fat and the specific changes we need to make to fix it. Take your one word with you today and I'll see you next week. If you'd like additional information about today's episode, you may find that at createthebestme.com/ep148. Until then, thank you for watching and I wanna wish you a happy stress-free holiday. Catch you next week. Bye for now.