7 Ways for Mothers to Reap the Benefits of Mindfulness
2. Engage your senses in an enjoyable activity. Neuroscience has proven that multitasking is a myth—our brains can only do one thing at a time. When we’re focused on the feel, aroma, or sound of an experience, our racing thoughts dissolve. Gardening, exercise, and floral photography are my personal go-to sensory activities, but yours might be walking in the woods, painting, or any other activity that brings you to your senses.
3. Incorporate mindful moments into your day: instead of checking your phone as frequently, take 30 seconds for mindful breathing; instead of scanning tabloids in the grocery store line, breathe in some presence; instead of being angry at the traffic light for turning red, relax your hands on the steering wheel and focus on the sensory feel against your palms.
4. Give yourself permission to view self-care as essential to good parenting. Though your children’s path in life is ultimately outside of your full control (sorry, folks), the best you can do is model self-care practices that will hopefully influence them to cultivate their own healthy habits down the road.
5. Recognize that your energy, whether positive or negative, is contagious. Kids have enough of their own stress and drama to deal with. Our own presence and positive energy can help to ease their burden.
6. Take action where you can in the present moment and let go of what you can’t control. I promise you, life becomes a lot easier.
7. Pay attention to what brings you joy and do more of it. Mother’s Day is the perfect day to get quiet, listen to your heart’s whispers, and follow the path of inspiration.
Mindfulness helps us cultivate gratitude by noticing the beauty in life’s tiny details in the here and now. What better gift to give ourselves on Mother’s Day?
Because when Mama’s happy, everyone’s happy. Right?