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““The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.””
We all have our own self-care list. Mine looks different from yours, and yours is different from your best friend’s. But one thing that I think all of us could benefit from is meditation.
Now, I’m not saying that you have to start some strict, 1 hour a day meditation routine to fulfill this part of your self-care routine. In fact, even just one minute of breathing and meditation can dramatically improve your mood and mental health!
So what is meditation?
Well, to put it short, meditation is a practice where you use mindfulness to focus your thoughts and train your awareness to achieve an emotionally neutral state. Sounds pretty intense, yeah?
How in the world am I going to reach this “emotionally stable state” when I can hardly think clearly with all of the racing thoughts about motherhood?!
That’s why meditation is called a practice. The more you work at it, the easier it will be to reach that calm state. But start small, work your way up, and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed if your mind starts to wander. This is totally natural! Be gentle with your thoughts, and kindly redirect yourself to the meditation at hand when you become distracted.
Some people like to meditate in a certain place. Gather some of your favorite things (objects, flowers, candles) and make a meditation table or space. Come here as much as you need to throughout your day and meditate on your objects – focus your mind on the color, texture, smell, or sound of these objects.
Don’t you worry if you can’t make this space. You can meditate anywhere! Waiting in carpool, or the drive through? Meditate! Drinking your morning cup of coffee? Meditate and be mindful of how that coffee tastes, smells, and feels. Doing these small meditation practices will break your mind’s busy cycle and introduce peace and stability.
Another form of meditation comes with mantras, or quotes that you repeat to yourself throughout the day. As your mind hears these quotes over and over, it begins to believe them. For example, start your day off with, “I am enough.” Repeat as often as possible. I am enough. I give enough. I have enough. I am enough. The more you tell yourself this, the stronger and more true this phrase will feel.
What about all of the mediation apps you are hearing about? There are many apps that you can download to help you meditate anywhere! Some of my favorite apps for meditation include Breath, which prompts short 1 minute exercises to your Apple Watch, and Headspace, which offers various types of guided meditations that you can listen to throughout your day.
let us know
What are your favorite meditation and mindfulness apps or practices? Do you prefer to go to a meditation class? Share your experiences – you never know how helpful your tips can be to other mamas!