A few basics I don't skip, and why the list is short on purpose.
I'm 41 and in the best shape of my life, physically and mentally, and the routine behind it is almost boring to write down. People expect a long list of supplements and devices, and what they get is a handful of basics I've done for years, with a lot of breathing and a bottle of hinoki running through all of it.
I keep it stupid simple on purpose. A routine only works if you do it on the days you don't feel like it, and the longer the list, the faster it falls apart on exactly those days. Before the routine itself, it's worth saying why simple wins.
Why a Simple Wellness Routine Beats a Complicated One
A simple wellness routine works better because consistency is what changes your body, and simple is what you'll keep doing when life gets busy. Every extra step is one more thing to skip, and one more thing to feel behind on when you do.
What I'm after isn't a perfect day. It's a body that gets enough chances to recover that it doesn't live in go mode, because that's where most of the damage comes from. I went into that in why over optimizing your health keeps you stuck in go mode. Here's what the day actually looks like.
Morning: Mobility With Hinoki
Something I really like doing, especially being over 40, is at least 5 and up to 20 minutes of mobility work in the morning, mostly for my anterior pelvic tilt. It includes the 90/90 on the wall while I smell hinoki oil, so I feel like I'm doing something good for my body and regulating my nervous system at the same time. If you try something similar, do it before you look at your phone, so the first signal your body gets that day is a calm one.
Every Two Hours: Five Minutes of Breathing
This is the center of the whole thing. Every two hours I do five minutes of 4-4-4-4 box breathing with hinoki: in through the nose for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. Most of the time it's a few drops on a wood block, which is my favorite way to use it, and sometimes it's straight from the bottle. I do it every two hours because I'm all about prevention. It's the same as sipping water through the day instead of drinking a gallon before bed.
The scent matters more than people expect. Smell reaches the emotional part of your brain without a detour, and hinoki contains α-pinene and linalool, compounds studied for their calming properties. Smell it every time you breathe like this and your brain starts linking the two, so after a few weeks the scent itself starts the shift. It's something so simple, but it's one of the most powerful things I've added, and it completely changed my wellness routine. The reminder comes from the free kimorii: Breathwork & Hinoki app (on iPhone and Android), so I don't have to remember.
Around Training: Five Minutes Before or After Yoga
I do a lot of yoga, and before or after practice I add five minutes of simple breathing with hinoki. The one thing a lot of people miss is a specific scent. Breath on its own works, and it lands harder when the same smell is there every time.
I still lift, run and do sauna and cold plunge, and none of that is off the list. It just sits on top of a body that's getting regular chances to recover, which is why it keeps paying off instead of wearing me down.
A 20 Minute Walk With the Forest Block
One of my absolute favorite things to do is put on headphones, open the app and start a 20 minute session with the forest sounds, and some nights it's just the rain and thunder. Then I walk holding the Forest Block with a few drops of hinoki on it, smelling the wood every so often and keeping a simple 4-4-4-4 rhythm going.
Holding a piece of wood while you hear the forest and smell hinoki gives your body several physical cues at once that it's time to switch modes. It helps me go back into respond mode, and I come home excited for the challenges tomorrow instead of reacting to them.
Key Insight
A routine only works if you'll still do it on the days you don't feel like yourself.
Bedtime: Same Time, Same Cue
In the app I set a reminder that bedtime is 30 minutes away. When it goes off, I put a few drops of hinoki on the block and do 4-7-8 breathing, in for four, hold for seven and out for eight, at the same time every night. It's another stupid simple routine, and it had a big impact on my sleep. The rest of my sleep stack took about 10 years to figure out, and I wrote all of it down here.
A Note
I live in the city, so a lot of this is what I do when I can't get to the forest. The real forest is still the best version of it. Go when you can, and carry it with you when you can't.
Give It a Shot
None of this is hard, and none of it is new. It works because I do it on the good days and the bad ones, and the bad ones are the reason I keep it this simple. Start with the five minutes every two hours, add the bedtime cue once that feels automatic, and build from there.
I know it sounds pretty simple, but give it a shot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a simple daily wellness routine?
A simple daily wellness routine is a short list of basics you can do every day without much effort, like a fixed bedtime, daily movement and a few minutes of slow breathing every two to three hours. Keeping it short is what makes it consistent, and consistency is what changes how you feel.
How often should you do breathwork during the day?
Five minutes every two to three hours works well. Box breathing, or 4-4-4-4, is easy to do anywhere: in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. Setting a reminder by the clock helps it become automatic.
How do you use hinoki oil in a daily routine?
Smell it straight from the bottle or put a few drops on a small wood block, and breathe it in while you do a few minutes of slow breathing. Using the same scent at the same times each day turns it into a cue your body learns. Hinoki oil is for inhaling and shouldn't go on your skin.
Is a simple routine enough if you train hard?
Yes, and it matters more if you train hard. Lifting, running, sauna and cold plunge are all stressors your body has to recover from, so short daily recovery breaks are what keep that training building you up instead of wearing you down.
