Mindfulness for Mums: Simple ways to help you and your family feel calm, connected and content

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At the end of each day, consciously write down at least ten experiences that have made you happy or given you pleasure. (Yes, ten – don’t stop after just four or five.) Consciously bringing to mind the small experiences that would normally slip by and not be remembered is the aim of the exercise. It is OK to write down some of the same things each day. And you can also write down different dimensions of an experience: the sounds, the smells . . . Here are a few guidelines, from Moni Celebi, a parent-infant psychotherapist from Babies1st, that many parents have found helpful: Mindfulness is a form of meditation in which we are ‘training our attention’ to focus on specific things and let other things go. Through this practice, we can learn to focus on the things that are the most useful and helpful in our lives. This will allow us to live more consciously and fully. As a bipolar sufferer, my mind never slows down, and my anxiety can often be through the roof. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t managed it as well as I could have, many times it has completely consumed me because I have forgotten to take more control. It was at my last psychiatrist appointment that she spoke to me about mindfulness for mums. You may just want to describe what you see you baby is doing. Be curious about what baby make be thinking, if s/he had words, and at the same time notice what you are feeling, when you just watch your baby. It can be a relief to be with baby and not be doing something. Babies love their parents’ attention. Try to do this once a day if you can. Over time you will see the benefits of mindfulness for mums.

Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better. You can take steps to develop it in your own life. What is mindfulness? When I eat my lunch, I take a moment to savor my food, ignite my taste buds, chewing slowly, thoughtfully, silently. You may be reading this still pregnant, wondering (if this is your first baby) how you will think and feel as a new mother. If this is your second, third, fourth or fifth baby, you may still be questioning your abilities to cope with life as a mother to another child and how you will still find time for your other children. You may have just had your baby, and finding this blog because you are looking for ways to cope as a new mother. You may be looking for a way to simply live with greater ease as a new mother; learning and transforming one moment at a time.Why not visit our article with 45 ideas to ensure you thrive as a mom here, this article was written for a stay at home mom but there are many takeaways for all moms. These essential ideas will ensure you cultivate good habits that lead to a more fulfilling life. Topics include appreciation, curiosity, acceptance, kindness, forgiveness, learning and generosity. Stress, depression and anxiety are common in mums. I was not surprised to read that one in ten women aged between 30 and 40 visit the doctor for depression and anxiety thanks to increasing stress of career, raising children and, no surprises here, the often toxic influence of social media. Mindfulness for mums is now more important than ever to stop and focus on the present instead of worrying about the future and many things that are out of our control. Having trouble sleeping? Practising mindfulness is also a great way to fall asleep. There are many different ways to incorporate an individual mindfulness practise into your routine. The goal of mindfulness is to reach a state of alert, focussed relaxation. Izzy Judd's beautiful and practical book will hold your hand through the challenging and exhausting days as well as the exciting and happy days. Mindfulness has been proven to help with stress and anxiety for a number of reasons. It can help us to notice our thought, feeling and behaviour cycle, it can help us to accept what is in our control and what is out of our control. It can also help us to identify triggers in our lives and how we can respond in a good way instead of reacting in an unhelpful way. More importantly, understanding this, can help us create a self-care routine or build in helpful techniques into our lives.

When you find yourself in a testing situation, tell yourself, even say it out loud, my mind is experiencing unpleasantness. Even one minute of consciously connecting with one of your senses is a mindfulness exercise. In short, by simply taking a few mindfulness for moms minutes every so often throughout the day, you will dramatically increase happiness while improving your ability to cope with stress. Choose an activity every day that you can practice mindfully. You can choose your walk, a cup of tea, a household chore or eating. Whatever activity you choose, pay attention and use all senses. What sensations are there, right now? If you notice any tension or resistance towards painful or unpleasant sensations, gently turn towards them. Accept this as best you can. If you begin to tense around the breath, then let go a little bit with each out-breath. Soften into gravity. Notice any thoughts as they arise and pass away in the mind. See if you can let them come and go without becoming too identified with their content. Look at your thoughts, not from them. Observe them as if they were clouds in the sky. Relate to them as a flow of mental events. Remember: thoughts are not facts.

TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Set an alarm on your phone. When this alarm goes off (every couple of hours) it will remind you to breathe. When the alarm beeps, stop what you’re doing (if you can), breathe in deeply for a count of three, and exhale for a count of three. Repeat this seven times. I relax my shoulders and my face and I also pay attention to my breath instead of my thoughts and let all my stress go as I exhale. 4. Ask yourself, “What can I do to make this moment better?” When we become more aware of the present moment, we begin to experience afresh things that we have been taking for granted. If you feel stressed out or overwhelmed, mindful parenting will help you be less reactive and more responsive. A mindfulness practice is a form of self-love and can relieve stress, anxiety and depression.