

Upgrade Your Morning Routine With This Simple Journaling Practice
As a writer, it can be fairly easy to succumb to the dreaded phase of creative block in my process. When the ideas flow, they feel light and airy, and the words leave my mind with little to no effort. And when they don't, I can easily find myself staring at my laptop, both overwhelmed and underwhelmed by the blank page in front of me. Filling the blank space with words no longer feels like second nature, and where there once was ease, there is suddenly resistance. Whether it’s due to burnout or the ideas are just not as free-flowing as I'm accustomed to, brain fog is real. However, through trial and error, I have learned that it is very possible to access creativity by exercising those areas of the mind.
I never thought the answer to not being able to write could be more writing, but there is something there in that recipe. Through journaling, I have been able to free myself from the confines of mental blocks, find my center, release anxious thoughts, and discover answers to questions I didn't know I had. Recently, I have taken journaling a step further by moving away from guided journaling and embracing flow even more through the practice of morning pages.
What Are Morning Pages?
For those of you unfamiliar with what morning pages are, it consists of writing three pages in a stream of consciousness. No rhyme or reason, just writing your thoughts by putting pen to paper and thereby offering you a release. The concept of morning pages got its origin from author Julia Cameron and her book The Artist’s Way. In it, she described how utilizing the tool has transformed her ability to create. Although her solution was given in the context of being a writer, creativity flows in and out of our lives in a plethora of ways. You don't have to be a painter or a musician to be creative.
Creativity is everywhere. It finds us as we create solutions for problems we may encounter in our life, love, and work just like it does when we're thinking of composition in the next photo we take. Bottom line, morning pages are an outlet for decluttering your mind while also helping you connect to your creativity which in turn speaks to your inner child in a nurturing way.
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The Difference Between Journaling and Morning Pages as a Daily Practice
For people who might already be into traditional journaling, you might be wondering what the difference between journaling and morning pages is. While both practices can be done daily and act as tools for catharsis, morning pages hold a deeper purpose, and the practice is done in a more ritualistic way. Morning pages is a practice that is structured, as you do it daily, it acts as a means to spark your creative process, and isn’t bound by feelings. Instead, morning pages are more focused on the mind and clearing what’s in it. As Cameron said in her book, the intention behind morning pages as a daily practice is to “sweep our consciousness clean.”
Journaling, however, is often done more sporadically with the intent to write out your feelings. Journaling can cross over into morning pages territory but is often less rigid in frequency and length. Conversely, morning pages are written every morning and are generally three pages in length.
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Prompts for Writing Daily Morning Pages
So, what do you write in your morning pages? It is encouraged to take time in the morning to sit and write down your thoughts for three pages with a pen to paper. The beauty of writing morning pages daily is that you begin your day with clarity and creativity. There is no specific guideline about what you have to write about. However, for people who might find themselves stalled on where to begin, prompts for writing morning pages might be helpful to start.
If you want to start writing morning pages but don’t know how to begin your practice, here are 10 prompts for morning pages to get you started:
- Do you believe your dreams speak to you? If so, what have yours been saying to you lately?
- What are you currently most grateful for in your life?
- If gratitude is something you're just adopting, what was the journey to gratitude like?
- Name 5-7 things you love about yourself and your life.
- Name the things you feel neutral about in regard to yourself and your life.
- What are things that you absolutely don’t like about yourself or your life?
- Is pleasure something you allow yourself to feel freely? What are some ways you give yourself pleasure?
- Where are you right now and what are things about your surroundings that make you feel safe?
- Are there things about yourself or your life that you haven’t forgiven yourself for yet? Why or why not?
- What is a word that defines your life right now? In turn, what are some lessons you’re currently learning or relearning?
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Featured image by COROIMAGE/Getty Images
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Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Russell and Nina Westbrook Dish On The Key Ways To Avoid Resentment In Relationships
Russell and Nina Westbrook are one of those low-key, unproblematic couples we don’t talk about enough. They met in college and got married in 2015. They also have a beautiful family with three kids. While Russell is an NBA star, Nina is a licensed family and marriage therapist and a mental health advocate.
She recently launched the podcast The Relationship Chronicles with Nina Westbrook, and in the latest episode, she had none other than her husband on as a guest. The college sweethearts dived into important topics from marriage to children and how they navigate it all.
One of the topics they touched on was dealing with resentment in your relationship. The former MVP highlighted the sacrifices his wife has had to make in order for him to pursue a career in the NBA, and that’s why it’s also important for him to support his wife whenever he can.
“For me is respecting and understanding what your partner do and the time it takes,” Russell said. “Not kind of downplaying what they do, understanding the time and energy and effort they're doing to make sure whether it’s their job or making sure home is taken care of, and understanding that, I think that is the challenge of not being resentful.”
Nina agreed and also shared her thoughts on resentment. According to her, one of the best things couples should do is have their own identity and passions outside of the relationship in an effort to be fulfilled.
“I also think that when you’re in a relationship, that’s why it’s so important that each individual kinda pursue their own passions and follow their own dreams as I feel like it only becomes or leads to resentment when one person is not feeling fulfilled in what they're doing in their lives,” she explained.
“And so, they will start to look at the other partner who’s happy or excelling or promoting or moving along in their journey, then they’re left feeling stuck like they sacrificed themselves, their happiness, their career, their future and have not pursued it in the name of the relationship or their partner. So, it’s so much easier to avoid those feelings of resentment when you’re each equally pursuing your passions.”
The couple has many passions that they work on together and separately. Outside of basketball and his family, Russell has become known for his eclectic style and started the fashion brand Honor The Gift. Nina has her podcast, and she also started the mental health website Bene. Together, they run the Why Not? Foundation, which works with kids in underserved communities.
“I’m a firm believer that one person can’t be everything to you, so you have to sort of seek out those different friendships or groups or hobbies or activities that help to fulfill you,” Nina concluded.
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Feature image by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Religion of Sports