Book Review of The Shower Habit: 10 Steps to Increase Energy, Boost Confidence, and Achieve Your Goals Without Waking Up Earlier

I recently got in contact with my friend Stephanie Ewing about a new self-help book she wrote dedicated to improving your morning routine called “The Shower Habit”. As many of you know, I love to try out new morning routines and make my own personal adjustments to them.

The Shower Habit was a great book that has 10 steps on how to improve your everyday life, all starting from a simple shower that we take every day! Below is a review of each of the 10 steps and how following them can have tremendous results.

Step 1: Shower

Easy enough, right? This is the great part of the Shower Habit. It all stems from something that we all already do (or should be doing) every day! So, there isn’t much to change. You don’t need to bake more time into your schedule to shower because this is already a daily habit. Some people might not shower in the morning, but that’s totally okay. While this routine may be more effective in the morning, as long as you commit to it at some point in the day, you will be fine.

Step 2: Affirmations

I love affirmations. I’ve talked about the power of affirmations in the past and they are something I strive to do every single day. I prefer to write out my affirmations, followed by saying them out loud. However, saying your affirmations in the shower a great time-saving strategy as you can repeatedly shout out affirmations while you soap up your body or shampoo your hair. Furthermore, if you are feeling shy about saying your affirmations, doing it in the shower is a nice workaround. After all, why do you think so many people sing in the shower?

The book has a great example of how your mindset, tied into your affirmations, can help you with so many things, including losing weight. Also, if you are having trouble coming up with your own affirmations and need some inspiration www.stephanieewingauthor.com has a list of affirmations to help get you started.

Step 3: Focus on Your Breathing

Another thing you can do in the shower (or immediately after), is to take a few deep breaths. Breathing techniques have personally helped me overcome stress and anxiety in the past. Focusing on your breathing helps you to be present and keeps your body and mind calm. This is another great way to get your day started off on the right foot.

Step 4: Cool Blast of Water

End your shower with some cold water! Cold showers have quite a few great benefits. Many athletes also use cold showers as they have been linked to muscle growth and restoration. Taking that cold water blast, even if just for a few seconds, will have you feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the day.

Step 5: Yoga

Don’t worry, you don’t need to do yoga in the shower. You won’t slip and fall. The rest of these steps come after your shower. I believe it is imperative to do these immediately after exiting the shower and drying off as to not become lazy or waste time. The yoga that Stephanie refers to in the book is a few simple poses that anyone of any age can do. In reality, it is probably more of a quick stretch to get your blood flowing in the morning. This is something everyone should do, especially if you are a tense sleeper like I am. The book goes into a detailed explanation of the different poses.

Step 6: Squats

Doing 10 squats every day is a nice quick workout, similar to the ‘E’ in the SAVERS routine. If you are the type of person who works out in the morning, you can probably skip this step and do your morning workout right before your shower, in my opinion.

If you have had knee injuries in the past like I have, or have arthritis, be VERY careful when squatting. Even if it is without weights, improper squats can cause knee degradation over time. Doing squats correctly, however, can be great for your knees and strengthen them. It is best to ask a professional/personal trainer before doing squats to avoid the risk of injury.

Step 7: Massage Your Body with Lotion

Skincare is a great way to perform self-care for yourself. The importance of self-care has really become mainstream in the past year or so, and for good reason. Self-care is extremely important. So, make sure to lotion up your body! Giving yourself an extra little massage while you do it will have your sore muscles feeling good and is an added bonus.

Step 8: Brush Your Teeth

I really hope I don’t have to explain this one! Just like showering, this is a freebie you should already be doing every day, preferably multiple times a day.

Step 9: Vision Board

A vision board turns your goals into something you can see. Stephanie recommends starting with one word that has meaning to you such as health, love, or money, and expanding your vision board from there. The book goes into more detail on how to create your vision board.

Step 10: Visualize

I have mentioned in the past just how difficult visualizing can be. The book itself acknowledges it as well. If this is something you are able to do, you definitely should. The benefits of visualization can be enormous. However, if this is something you struggle with, that’s totally fine. I do think that creating a vision board and doing the process laid out in Step 9 in the book will help you overall with accomplishing step 10. In the past, I’ve also highlighted this article that can help you get started on visualization.

Conclusion

Overall, all of the different steps in the Shower Habit morning routine have their own unique purpose and each step can benefit you and empower you to have the best morning possible. I encourage everybody to try this routine and take away what works for them. To get the most out of this routine, make sure to read the entire book for yourself. It is a quick read and is available on amazon kindle here:

Best,

Eric