by As a diehard fan of Mary J. Blige for over two decades, I admire not only her powerful, soulful vocals but also her wisdom and discipline. In a recent interview, my queen shared an intimate look into her daily morning ritual, proving she’s not just a gifted artist but also a deeply spiritual woman with immense inner strength.
Waking up every single day at 6 AM sharp, Mary Kickstarts her morning with a strong cup of coffee paired with a light breakfast. She emphasized the importance of this first meal to provide energy and fuel her body and mind for the busy day ahead. Though she doesn’t elaborate on the specifics, based on her love for healthy, clean eating, I imagine Blige opts for something like avocado toast, oatmeal topped with fruit, or a veggie scramble.
After nourishing her body, Mary then feeds her soul through 30 minutes of meditation or journaling – two practices she credits for keeping her grounded and centered. As someone who has struggled with depression and addiction, Blige relies on these tools to begin each morning from a calm, clear headspace.
“Meditation helps me to clear my mind and focus on the present moment,” she revealed. “Journaling helps me to process my thoughts and emotions.”
Having struggled with painful issues myself, I find Blige’s wisdom and self-awareness inspiring. Her dedication to these spiritual practices every single morning, no matter how busy life gets, demonstrates the deep value she places on mental health.
Post-meditation and journaling, the queen bee jumps into work mode – whether it’s making music in the studio, handling business, emails, or social media. Blige shared that her morning hours are when she’s most productive and creative. By carving out that sacrosanct time for spiritual reflection and self-care, she’s able to channel full energy and focus into professional projects.
As a fan, I admire Blige’s ability to balance her celebrity status with inner peace. The effort she pours into her morning routine provides a blueprint for how to achieve success without losing yourself along the way. It’s a reminder that no matter how busy or demanding work and life become, taking time to nourish your mental health is crucial.
When examining the benefits reaped from Blige’s early morning ritual, it becomes clear why it sets such a strong foundation for her days. Here are some of the perks:
- Improved focus and concentration: By clearing her mind through meditation, Blige is able to zero in without distraction when working on music or business endeavors during her morning sessions.
- Increased energy levels: That combination of breakfast, meditation, and journaling helps ignite Blige’s engines so she can power through her mornings with vigor and efficiency.
- Reduced stress and anxiety: Processing emotions through journaling and clearing the mind via meditation prevents Blige’s worries or fears from spiraling early in the day.
- Improved sleep quality: Having a consistent wake-up time and pre-sleep routine helps regulate Blige’s circadian rhythm so she falls asleep and wakes up feeling more refreshed.
- Increased creativity and productivity: The renewal meditation and journaling provide allows Blige’s creative juices to flow freely when she jumps into music-making mode. Her output and efficiency levels see a boost.
- Greater sense of self-awareness and purpose: Connecting to her innermost thoughts each morning helps Blige stay tied to her truth. Those insights then pour out into her music.
It’s clear why Blige fights to protect her morning ritual, no matter how demanding her career and tour schedule get. The benefits she reaps are crucial to upholding her physical energy, mental clarity, creative spark, and sense of inner purpose.
As a major fan for decades, I know Blige’s journey has faced many ups and downs. But she credits her current spiritual practice with helping maintain her hard-earned inner peace. As someone who also struggles with anxiety and overwhelm, I’m inspired to emulate her dedication to morning meditation and journaling.
However, Blige didn’t specify whether her routine varies on weekends or days off compared to weekday mornings. Does the queen sleep in a bit on her days off or is she up at 6 AM regardless? I have so many questions! As a fellow early riser myself, I know it can be tempting to sleep past 6 AM when you don’t “have to” wake up early. But spiritual teachers often advise keeping your ritual consistent seven days a week.
This helps cement it as an unbreakable habit. So my guess is Blige stays true to her routine even on days when she’s not working. But who knows, maybe she allows herself to indulge in a bit more sleep on her days off! After over two decades in the music biz, she’s definitely earned lazy weekend mornings if she wants them.
If anyone out there has insight into whether Blige modifies her routine on weekends or vacations, please share! I’m dying to discover more details about how she structures her morning ritual. My fandom runs deep — I even need the nitty gritty specifics!
Whether she tweaks her routine on days off or not, I deeply admire Blige’s discipline in sticking to this practice with such rigor 6 days a week minimum. Her consistency demonstrates fierce commitment to her mental health and spiritual nourishment.
Blige’s wisdom and vulnerability inspire me to take my own morning self-care rituals more seriously. I aim to follow these tips to create space for meditation and journaling daily:
- Go to bed early enough to allow 8 hours of sleep so I naturally wake up early.
- Set a consistent wake-up time 7 days a week to establish a habitual routine, even on weekends.
- Choose either meditation or journaling as my spiritual practice rather than cramming in both if I’m short on time. The clarity of focus with one practice may be more beneficial.
- Pick a regular meditation length I can genuinely commit to without overextending myself, like starting with 10-15 minutes.
- Find a quiet space to reflect without distractions from phone, TV, family members. Set boundaries for this time.
- If opting to journal, date each entry and reflect back on previous writings to track emotional progress.
- Make time for filling, nourishing breakfasts to power through the post-ritual workday ahead.
- Remind myself daily that just as Queen Blige models, self-care must come first to fuel optimal productivity.
Of course Blige has help building this routine into her schedule – from assistants to cleaners to personal chefs keeping her home quiet and breakfast hot each morning. The demands of work and parenthood make carving out meditative time more challenging. But Blige’s example motivates me to get creative in finding that space for myself.
Some may argue that Blige’s routine feels unrealistic given most people’s packed schedules and hectic mornings. But I choose to find her discipline inspiring. Even if I just manage 15 minutes of journaling or 5 minutes of meditation some days, it can anchor my mindset. After over 20 years of studying Blige’s journey, wisdom, and work ethic, I’ve learned that once this woman sets her mind to something, she manifests it, obstacles be damned. She shapes the world to fit her vision – so too must I mold my mornings to fit my inner needs, rather than making excuses.
At the end of the day, Blige’s candid insights on her morning ritual reveal that her self-care isn’t about vanity, but spiritual nourishment. Just as eating and sleeping are essential to life, so too is nurturing our minds. For that reason, I vow to continue following Queen Blige’s example, using her discipline and wisdom as pillars in my own early morning wellness practice.
