Summary5 min read

Kreatures Of Habit Podcast with Michael Chernow

Episode: Prayers, Pushups & Poses: A 5-Minute Morning Routine | Monday Moments
Date: March 30, 2026

Episode Overview

In this brisk, motivating "Monday Moments" solo episode, Michael Chernow—founder and host of Kreatures of Habit—dives deep into the transformative power of a simple, non-negotiable five-minute morning routine he calls "prayers, pushups, and poses." With his characteristic, high-energy tone, Michael describes how committing to this ritual for years has helped him tackle anxiety, boost productivity, and set the tone for each day. The episode is especially aimed at listeners looking for a practical, accessible way to add reflection and movement into their mornings, regardless of their lifestyle or experience level.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Consistency

Michael opens by emphasizing the importance of daily disciplines:

"I believe that consistency wins and I call it prayers, pushups and poses. It just helps set the tone for the day for me."
(00:00)
The central idea: A consistent morning ritual, no matter how small or simple, pays long-term dividends in peace, energy, and focus.

2. Dealing with Morning Anxiety and Feeling Rushed

Many people wake up feeling anxious or rushed; Michael’s routine is designed as an antidote:

“A lot of us wake up in the morning with anxiety. A lot of us wake up in the morning feeling rushed. And so for me, I start this little routine with prayer.”
(00:14)
This routine is presented as universally adaptable, helping to ground the mind and body before the busyness begins.

3. The Three-Part Morning Routine

a. Prayers or Box Breathing

Michael spends the first three minutes in prayer.

"If prayer is not your thing, I encourage you to use something like box breathing."
(01:23)
He describes his prayers as consistent and grounding, performed on his hands and knees.
Alternative: Box breathing for mindfulness and focus.

b. Pushups

After prayer, he jumps straight into pushups—currently, 70 consecutive reps each morning.

"I bang out 70 real straight pushups. And why do I do push ups in the morning? Well, it just gets the blood flowing. It’s a win.”
(02:22)
The emphasis is on effort, not number; even two pushups is a start.

c. Poses (Yoga)

He transitions directly into yoga poses:
- Five rounds of Downward Dog and Upward Dog, focusing on breath:
  
  “I breathe in as I go into down dog... I breathe out as I come forward into up dog. And I take nice long breaths.”
  (03:15)
- Then, five rounds of Cat/Cow stretches, again with deliberate focus on breathing:
  
  “I breathe in for the up position of cat. Cow... I exhale on the cow portion.”
  (03:42)
These movements help both the body (flexibility, circulation) and mind (presence, calm).

4. Routine Flexibility and Mastery

The “prayers, pushups, and poses” method takes only about five minutes:

“It takes no time and it's really grounding and it gives you an opportunity to be consistent with something.”
(04:10)
Michael encourages listeners to adapt the routine based on their own needs and lifestyles, reiterating that the count (of pushups, for example) doesn’t really matter—what counts is showing up every day.

5. The Philosophy: Owning the Morning = Owning Your Life

Powerful reflection on why the morning matters:

"I really do believe that owning the morning gives you an opportunity to own the day. And if you own your day, you basically own your life, right?"
(05:10)
Michael highlights the idea that each day is a new chance to “put numbers up on the board," reinforcing presence and self-leadership.

6. Real-Life Impact & Gratitude

Michael shares a heartfelt, personal morning moment:

"This morning I was doing my prayers, pushups and poses and I was really like, I...had a lot of gratitude, especially when I was doing my poses... It's like 5:15 in the morning, I'm by myself, I'm taking my time with this... it just felt great."
(06:28)

7. Audience Encouragement

The episode closes with words of encouragement for listeners, especially those struggling with anxiety or addiction:

"Most people that struggle with addiction or even are in recovery, wake up with what we call untreated alcoholism, which means that you wake up and your brain is moving faster than a speeding bullet. And slowing that down first thing in the morning is like a really, really nice way to get you set up for success for the day."
(08:15)
Michael’s core message: Take ownership with a simple, repeatable routine and share it with others who might benefit.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On daily discipline:

"Consistency wins."
(00:01)
On adapting the morning routine:

“If prayer is not your thing, use box breathing.”
(01:23)
On physical wins:

“It just gets the blood flowing. It’s a win.”
(02:28)
On mind-body connection:

“Taking a nice long inhale on the down dog and an exhale on the up dog... It just felt great.”
(06:40)
On the importance of now:

"You can't show up as your best self yesterday because that is gone and tomorrow you can plan for. But ultimately what you do is now. Life happens now."
(05:40)

Important Timestamps

00:00 – 01:00: Introduction, theme of consistency, and overview of the 5-minute routine
01:00 – 02:30: Detailed breakdown of prayers/box breathing
02:30 – 03:50: Pushup segment—why it's included, how many, and Michael's experience
03:50 – 04:50: Yoga poses (downward dog, upward dog, cat/cow) and emphasizing breathwork
05:00 – 06:00: The underlying philosophy: Owning the morning, owning the day
06:00 – 07:00: Personal reflection—gratitude during routine
08:00 – end: Outreach and support for those with anxiety or in addiction recovery; episode wrap

Tone & Language

Michael Chernow’s style is warm, honest, and energetic—peppered with New York hustle and plenty of encouragement. His message is straightforward but passionate: simple, consistent habits can change your life, starting with just five minutes each morning.

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[00:00]
A
I believe that consistency wins and I call it prayers, pushups and poses. And it just helps set the tone for the day for me. A lot of us wake up in the morning with anxiety. A lot of us wake up in the morning feeling rushed. And so for me, I start this little routine with prayer. I pray for about three minutes every single morning. And then right after I pray, I I do a bunch of push ups. And currently right now I am at 70 straight pushups. And then after I'm done with those pushups, I go right into poses. And what I mean by poses is yoga poses. I really do believe that owning the morning gives you an opportunity to own the day. If you own your day, you basically own your life. An entrepreneur straight out of New York City, Michael Chernow. What's cracking. Monday, Monday, Monday Moments, y'. All. Welcome back to the Creatures. Have a podcast for these awesome little snippets of things that I have thought about throughout the week that I just want to chat with you guys about. Hopefully bring a little bit of inspo into your life life today. What I want to share with you guys about today is this five minute morning routine that I have been doing as my non negotiable morning routine for years and years. It's very simple. I believe that consistency wins when you can stick to something every single day that gives you a little bit of peace, a little bit of reflection. Starting your day with that for me has been monumental. And I call it prayers, push ups and poses. Basically. What does that mean? So I this is like the little morning routine that I do no matter what, no matter where I am, I'm traveling, I am home, I am doing my prayers, pushups and poses and it just helps set the tone for the day for me. A lot of us wake up in the morning with anxiety. A lot of us wake up in the morning feeling rushed. And I carve out this little five minute piece every single morning to really help me just get grounded. And so for me, I start this little routine with prayer. If prayer is not your thing, I, I encourage you to use something like box breathing and I use box breathing, which I will also talk about a little bit more as we get deeper into this 10 minute podcast. But you can just use box breathing if prayer is not your thing. So I pray for about three minutes every single morning and my prayers are pretty consistent in terms of what I say and how I say it and who I say it to. I pray for about three minutes on my hands and knees and then right after I pray, I Do a bunch of push ups. And currently right now I am at 70 straight push ups. It's taken me a while to get there, but that's where I'm at. Every single morning, I bang out 70 real straight push ups. And why do I do push ups in the morning when? Well, it just gets the blood flowing. It gets the blood flowing. It's a win. And when I'm done with those pushups, I get a good pump on and it takes me, I don't know, a minute and 30 seconds to do those push ups. And then after I'm done with those push ups, I go right into poses. And what I mean by poses is yoga poses. So I do 70 push ups and then I will do down dog, up dog for five rounds. And, and I breathe in as I go into down dog. And as I go and as I come forward into up dog, I breathe out and I take nice long breaths in up dog, out down dog. Excuse me. In down dog, out up dog. And I do that five times. And then right when I'm done with those poses, I go into cat, cow. And I breathe in for the up position of cat. Cow. I guess that would be cat. And then I exhale on the cow portion of cat cow. And I do that for five times. So it's either prayer or box breathing for the first three minutes, push ups for about a minute and a half, and then up dog, down dog for about, I don't know, 30 to 45 seconds. It takes no time and it is really grounding and it gives you an opportunity to, to be consistent with something. So if you don't have a morning routine or you have a morning routine that's a little bit all over the place, just add this little five minute prayers, push ups and poses to your morning routine to just give you a little bit of reflection in the morning, a little bit of silence and some quiet time. And it's just been so helpful for me. I do it every single day and it feels really good. And, and I get a little pump on, I get my blood flowing. And so I'm doing 70 push ups. It doesn't matter how many push ups you do. It could be 5, it could be 2, it could be 100. But I like to do as many push ups as I can, which is basically right now at 70 straight. And it's also like a fun little challenge in the morning. And, and then I finish it with those poses. And so, you know, I really do believe that owning the morning gives you an opportunity to own the day. And if you own your day, you basically own your life, right? Like we're given 24 hour chunks to live, to put numbers up on the board and to show up as your best self. You can't show up as your best self yesterday because that is gone and tomorrow you can plan for. But ultimately what you do is now. What you do is now. Life happens now. So really owning that morning with a small little routine like that can make a big difference. I have been doing that for many, many years, decades, decades. And, and, and you know, I have a more elaborate morning routine when I'm in my flow at home with all sorts of other tools and toys. But that non negotiable prayers, push ups and poses is a big deal for me and, and it just feels really good. I remember, you know, this morning I was doing my prayers, push ups and poses and I was really like, I, I, I had like a lot of gratitude, especially when I was doing my poses where I was really taking my time and I was taking a nice long inhale on the down dog and an exhale on the up dog. Like I was just like, this is just so nice. It's like 5:15 in the morning, I'm by myself, I'm taking my time with this and you know, I was gearing up to go work out and it just felt great. So you have complete control over your, especially if you wake up early morning, you have complete control over that time and in just five minutes you can really set yourself up for success for the day. So I hope that one sunk in a little bit and share this podcast with friends and family. If you think that somebody out there is just struggling and needs like a five minute reset in the morning because they've woken up a lot of us, like I said, wake up with this like anxiety and especially, you know, this is not only for people that struggle with addiction, but like most people that struggle with addiction or even are in recovery, wake up with what we call untreated alcoholism, which means that you wake up and your brain is moving faster than a speeding bullet. And slowing that down first thing in the morning is like a really, really nice way to get you set up for success for the day. I love y', all, I appreciate y'. All. Until the next one, Peace.