Welcome to Waking Up Well, a column where we hand-select people we admire and ask them to share how they start the day. We think morning routines are a crucial part of an intentional wellness journey and we’re fascinated by the practices of our favorite figures.

Josie Santi is a wellness and lifestyle influencer — and while we know how that sounds, let us explain how Josie offers something slightly different.

Her content is supportive, offering advice on how to say “no” and why it’s important to keep yourself well-fed while focusing on nutrition goals. She is the host of The Everygirl Podcast, where she leads conversations on health and intentional living, and she’s also the founder of Wellness By Josie, a holistic health coaching service and lifestyle publication. She offers her followers a look into how she navigates the hard parts, all while keeping honest about what works for her, and what doesn’t. We love to follow her for grounded direction on topics where there’s tons of noise.

On an average weekday, she wakes up in her West Hollywood apartment when her Hatch alarm clock goes off at 6:45 am. She tries to wake as gently as possible, avoiding any major cortisol spikes. Her fiancé is already awake and likely working in his in-home office in the room over, so the first thing she does after opening her eyes is snuggle her French Bulldog, Louie. (She calls him her teenager because he hates getting out of bed every morning.) The first thing she tries to think every morning is imagining that she is 100 years old, getting to wake up and relive this day in her 30-year-old body and life. It is the best and quickest way she’s found to access presence and gratitude. Here’s how her morning proceeds, full of intention and wellness habits, ushering her into her day.

6:45 am | Wake, cuddle, meditate 🎧

After my Hatch alarm goes off, and I have a quick cuddle with Louie, I take off my eye mask and Skin Gym Mouth Tape (helps me get such better sleep and wake up with much better energy), and get my phone that’s charging across the room to bring it back to bed (my phone is on red light mode starting the evening before so I’m not tempted to scroll). I play a 20-minute Dr. Joe Dispenza meditation that helps me tap into my full potential and leaves me incredibly inspired for the day. 

A digital sleep tracker display shows a sleep score of 88 (optimal), 7 hours 21 minutes of sleep, and a heart rate of 54 bpm, on a bed with white sheets in the background.
A phone screen shows a 6:45 AM reminder for a Dr. Joe Dispenza morning meditation titled "Listen To This When You Wake Up & Watch MIRACLES Happen FAST." Green and beige pillows are in the background.
Sleep is essential to me, and prepping for the night starts first thing every morning. I like to start with meditations!

7:05 am | Tongue scraping and other essentials 🧴

I get up, play something through the Amazon Echo in my bathroom. Depending on the day and what I need, it ranges from guided Activation from the Activations app to an inspiring podcast episode to listening to one of my episodes if it just went live that day, to ABBA music that will make me happy. Then I put on an Alo set. Unless I’m going to the studio to record interviews that day, you will always find me in workout sets while working. It makes a huge difference to ensure that I exercise when I’m ready for it at any time.

The Pura (a smart scent fragrance diffuser with nontoxic scents) in my bathroom is scheduled to go off every morning at 7 am with an energizing scent, which is one of the key ways I romanticize my mornings automatically. I brush my teeth and tongue scrape first thing so I can start drinking water. Tongue scraping is one of the things I really say is an essential — for both oral and overall health (once you start seeing what comes off of your tongue in the morning, you will never be able to have a drink or eat again without tongue scraping first). I drink a glass of room temperature water I have by my bed from the night before to begin rehydrating my body as early as possible.

“Once you start seeing what comes off of your tongue in the morning, you will never be able to have a drink or eat again without tongue scraping first.”

I rinse my face with water to wash off any lingering night cream from the night before and refresh my skin, put on Clearstem Cell Renew Serum, Dieux Angel Peptide Plumping Cream, and Summer Fridays ShadeDrops Mineral Milk Sunscreen. I do light lymphatic drainage massage for a minute or two after putting on the lotion to help my face depuff. If I have to be camera-ready later in the day (or am just extra puffy), I’ll put on Clearstem’s Matcha Eye Patches. I then brush my brows with castor oil to stay in place for a more lifted look — it’s so good for the hair.

A person sitting in a car makes a duck face while wearing sunglasses and a grey shirt; text is faintly visible on the sunglasses' lenses.
A woman in light-colored athletic wear stands facing away, holding her ponytail with one hand and a drink in the other against a plain white wall.
Eye patches and Alo workout sets are some of my favorite essentials.

7:10 am | Let the light in ☀️ and take a short walk 🐾

I kiss my fiance good morning and open all the blinds and windows in our apartment to get fresh air and light into our home as soon as possible. I’m disappointed to say I usually will check my phone for any texts or Slack messages from my team, but I’ll only respond in this minute if anything feels urgent — otherwise I’ll get back to people later. 

I take Louie for a walk down the block. Getting sunlight and movement first thing in the morning is a non-negotiable for me (even if it’s just five minutes!), as it’s incredibly helpful for the circadian rhythm and helps improve my energy for the entire day. 

A person opens curtains to let in sunlight, with overlaid text about morning sunlight benefits; below, a person holds a green drink while walking outside.
Top: Person walking a small black dog on a sidewalk. Bottom: Vintage photo of four members of the music group ABBA. Text overlays read, "TAKE LOUIE OUT (GENTLE MOVEMENT AND LIGHT)" and "IYKYK.
Light, movement, and ABBA — is there a better way to start the day?

7:30 am | Hip stretches 😮‍💨

Once inside, I go through a series of hip stretches. I hold so much tension in my hips, so I do this to release tension and open them up. The morning was the best time to ensure I would actually do them every day. But once I started stretching in the morning, I realized how amazing my body felt. I now crave stretching first thing because I really notice how stiff my body is after waking up when I don’t stretch. 

7:35 am | Getting smart about my flow 💻

I’ll get my Skinny Confidential ice roller to ice roll my face and a warm lemon water or tea. I love peppermint for better digestion and energy, or red raspberry leaf for my hormonal health and reproductive cycle. Drinking something warm first thing is also an especially important practice in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine to light your digestive fire. Then I check my email, Slack, and go through my calendar and to-do list to strategically plan out my day. 

“Drinking something warm first thing is also an especially important practice in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine to light your digestive fire.”

I have different “energies” each day, i.e. CEO Mondays where I stack all my meetings, analyze data, plan out the week, do big picture brainstorms, and do my weekly financial check-in; on Tuesdays I like to “cocoon” and not schedule any calls or meetings and do all my creative work without having to multitask or switch between different energies throughout the day. So how I set up each day depends on which day of the week it is. 

A weekly schedule is displayed on a phone screen next to a coffee cup, saucer, teapot, and an open magazine on a table.
A white mug with a green drink, a clear plastic cup with a brown beverage, and a pink facial massage roller labeled "PINK BALLS" on a white surface.
Planning my days by energies keeps me focused and limits wasting time on switching tasks between admin and creative tasks.

I’ve trained ChatGPT to know all my goals, what I’m working toward, my different responsibilities, and my different weekday energies. I’ve also connected ChatGPT with my calendar, so every morning I ask ChatGPT these prompts: 

● How would I show up today if I fully trusted that my success, visibility, and abundance were inevitable? 

● What would my most aligned, highest-timeline version of me do today? 

● What does an aligned day look like when I’m acting from trust instead of urgency? 

● If I already believed it was working out, how would I move today? 

And it’s truly my most effective daily visualization exercise because ChatGPT walks me through exactly how this day looks as my most aligned self (what I would do differently in this exact meeting, how I would work on this outline, etc.), and it keeps me extremely connected to my best self and my big picture goals. 

A white mug with a straw sits on a desk next to a laptop and a notepad. Text on the image lists a 7:30 AM planning routine and reflective questions for the day.
Tall green plants with long, spiky leaves are in front of a brick wall; a podcast promo overlay reads, "4 ChatGPT Prompts That Will Change Your Life: These AI Hacks Blew My Mind.
I’ve trained ChatGPT to know all my goals, what I’m working toward, my different responsibilities, and my different weekday energies.

8:00 am | Caffeine and supplement stack 🍵

I start making my matcha latte. I love the Kroma Wellness Beauty Matcha. I cannot get enough! It has ingredients like turmeric and ginger as well for this nice spice and bonus benefits. I heat up water while I froth some hazelnut or coconut milk (Malk or Elmhurst brands which don’t have added fillers or gums). I’ll also add either some Beekeeper’s Naturals Raw Honey, though I have also been hyperfixated on Elmhurst Sweet Cream Cashew Creamer when I want a sweet treat — it is so delicious and froths insanely well, and tastes so good in matcha. I’ll also add a few drops of pumpkin seed oil, because an Ayurvedic dermatologist told me I was getting hair loss and that it would help. (My hair does seem a little thicker…?) 

“I love the Kroma Wellness Beauty Matcha. I cannot get enough!”

While the water is heating up and the milk is frothing, I’ll take my supplements. My regime varies since I test out different supplements for work, but here’s what’s consistent: a scoop of ARMRA colostrum (good for gut health, and I swear I haven’t gotten sick once since starting it two years ago); BodyBio or Cymbiotika glutathione which is a master antioxidant to support liver detox; and Seed probiotics.

Photo collage showing a glutathione supplement, immune support spray, orange with celery and cilantro, and a close-up of matcha latte, each with text suggesting health tips.
A clear plastic cup filled with iced matcha latte sits on a woven rattan chair.
I change up my routine from time to time, but you can always bet that I’ll have my matcha.

8:15 am | The ultimate green juice 🥒

Most days I will also start with a green juice and sip it while working. The recipe that I swear by makes a major difference in my digestion, my energy, my skin, knocks out any cold, and just all around makes me feel amazing because each ingredient is a powerhouse. 

“Most days I will also start with a green juice and sip it while working. “

Here’s my line-up: Spinach, cilantro, mint, frozen pineapple (easier than cutting up fresh pineapple but fresh is great too!), cucumber, half of a whole lemon (with peel and seeds for major benefits), ginger (sometimes I peel fresh ginger root at the beginning of the week, or for busier weeks I’ll buy frozen cubes of ginger), and half coconut water and half regular water. I don’t have a juicer (and don’t want to waste any of the nutrients!), so I just blend it. Each ingredient is pretty water-rich, so it’s more like a juice than a smoothie in consistency. 

Assorted fresh vegetables and fruits, including lemons, kale, ginger, purple garlic, watermelon radish, Romanesco broccoli, mushrooms, and a coconut, arranged on a white background.
Person wearing a blue button-up shirt and black top holding a ribbed glass of green juice. Their nails are painted yellow and they wear rings and a necklace.
My favorite green juice is packed with powerhouse ingredients that help every system in my body!

8:30am | Protein and fiber fuel 🥣

Breakfast! I need something quick as I’m usually in the throes of work by now. I also don’t want anything super heavy but want to get in a good amount of protein and fiber, so the breakfast I have most days is: Harmless Harvest coconut yogurt mixed with a protein powder (I like Ritual), ground flaxseed, frozen wild blueberries (which I heat up in the microwave as I try to keep everything I consume in the mornings at least room temp for my digestion!), cinnamon (great antioxidants and good for blood sugar regulation), and walnuts or almonds. Then I top it off with a high protein and fiber cereal, like Julian Bakery’s ProGranola or Catalina Crunch Protein Cereal).

“Breakfast! I need something quick as I’m usually in the throes of work by now.”

If I’ve already finished my matcha latte (which I usually do because it’s so delicious I can’t stop myself from slurping it down), I will make another tea. If I have a cup of coffee I have to go decaf, because my body cannot handle caffeine without getting really jittery and shaky. I usually add nut milk. 

While I eat breakfast, I check my Instagram and The Everygirl Podcast Instagram and start responding to DMs. And then I am officially in my day. 

Podcast or video recording setup with a microphone, ring light, camera on tripod, laptop, and smartphone on a white table in front of a couch.
Person in comfortable clothes holding a cup of tea sits with a black dog on their lap at a desk with a keyboard. Text on image gives a morning routine.
Whether I’m recording or working with my snuggly coworking at home, every day is stacked, which is why I care for my energy so carefully — inside and out.

Featured images are courtesy of JosieSanti.com and Josie Santi’s Instagram