A Cortisol Focused Morning from Marina Wright
Designed by Bearmore
Inspired by Marina WrightMornings can start wired before anything’s even happened.
Start the morning calm instead of wired, so the day doesn't kick-off on a stressful footing. Marina Wright's morning of slow breathing work, time outside, a body scan, and a protein-anchored breakfast, built to help you settle before the demands start.
The runsheet
Ten minutes of long exhales
Breath workTen minutes of slow exhale-led breathing to quieten any amped up pace. Marina opens here for a reason: take a few calm minutes before the day's first challenges, so the morning doesn't start wired. Box breathing or 4-7-8 both will work.
10 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing breath work before being in nature
This can be a good pairing because regulated breathing and any calm can enhance your sense of connection with the natural world.
Slow walk outside
Being in natureTwenty minutes of low-intensity walking outside, ideally before any caffeine. Marina frames morning movement as low-cortisol, low-stimulus. Sunlight on the eyes does the circadian work; the walking does the gentle activation.
20 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing being in nature before body scan
This pairing is especially effective because the sensory grounding from nature primes heightened body awareness, deepening the relaxation a scan brings.
Body scan, lying down
Body scanTen minutes of rest from body scanning to consolidate what the breath and walk setup. Lying down is fine. Move attention slowly through the body; the aim is not relaxation per se but calm witnessing.
10 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing body scan before eating (mindful)
This is one of the stronger pairings because the scan sharpens interoception, which is exactly what mindful eating relies on for hunger, taste and satiety cues.
Balanced breakfast
Eating (mindful)Sit-down a breakfast that includes protein, healthy fat, and fibre together. Marina's approach to breakfast is consistent: balanced macros at every meal, caffeine timed after the meal rather than instead of it.
15 min activityTime well spent.
1h 15m spent doing something good for yourself.
The breakdown
Burst evaluation
Wellbeing focus
About this Burst
Marina Wright is a Functional Nutrition Practitioner and author of Cortisol Reset. Macro tier (~720K Instagram followers @marinawrightwellness). Posts evidence-based content on stress management, cortisol regulation, and nutrition protocols. Functional-medicine-credentialled, evidence-led, anti-hype even though there is the talk around cortisol.