Wednesday 25 February 2015

Meditation for busy mothers

Let's just get right down to it. Moms are busy, often stressed and aren't typically the best at prioritizing "me" time. I'm right there with you. On top of the usual stressors of being a parent and working full-time, I'm also someone who tends to have a higher than average anxiety level (even pre-baby).

Meditation is a wonderful tool to help anyone, especially moms, calm our minds, refocus and remember what is truly important in life -- living in a compassionate, loving way and doing no harm to others. Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to react to your child's tantrums from a place of peace instead of frustration? Or how about feeling love towards your partner/husband instead of anger when they disagree with you about something related to your child? It is possible and I can say that from personal experience. 

 Just 5 easy tips on meditation for mothers

1) Focus on your breath: Sit in a comfortable seated position(lotus pose also), close your eyes, and simply pay attention to breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. If your mind starts to wander, tell yourself, “With every breath I breathe I am falling deeper and deeper into meditation.”

2) Take a tune-out, 5-minute walk. Do not bring a cell phone, music player or any other electronic device with you—just feel there is no electronic devices on earth. Listen to the sounds of nature and freely take in the sensations around you.

3) Repeat a “sacred word” such as “joy,” “love” or “peace,” Do this for 20 minutes while bringing awareness to your breath. Try not to let your thoughts wander—stay focused on your sacred word and the rhythms of your breath and forgot about the time. 

4) Do a journal-writing session. Whenever times get frazzled, grab a pen and pencil and jot down how you’re feeling. Putting emotions into words or phrases can give you more clarity in moments of stress.

5) Shower away stress. Identify a situation that is bothering you and envision that annoyance as dirt on your body. As the water pours down on you, imagine your anxieties and annoyances being washed away down the drain.

Imagine feeling like a calm, relaxed mother, unfazed by sleep deprivation or seemingly endless multi-tasking, where connectedness and clarity are part of your daily repertoire. As many mothers are discovering, vedic and mindfulness meditation can offer this harmony between serenity and productivity. These meditation practices differ in technique, yet each provides tools for entering a deep, relaxed wakefulness, more restorative than sleep itself.