March ends the first quarter of the year + starts springtime, which means that it’s a perfect time to focus on improving how you experience transitions in everyday life. A simple meditation practice has helped me to approach unpredictability + change with clarity + calmness — skills that are mandatory in a happy motherhood!
The Challenge
Spend a minimum of 5-minutes per day meditating this month. I’m a big fan of the Headspace app, but there are so many free guided meditations to choose from on YouTube… Pick any!
What’s most important to know: meditation isn’t supposed to be a complete quieting of your mind.
Get in a quiet space, sit upright and still, and let the thoughts flow in-through-and-out of your mind. Just let them pass through.
I had always thought I was supposed to be sitting cross-legged completely still + always failed at that, so I gave up on meditating for YEARS. Having had that myth busted, I’m passing it onto you: YOU CAN MEDITATE.
Don’t overthink it. Choose a meditation practice + feel lighter!
Guided Meditation
A guided meditation is a just someone talking you through your thoughts + breathing with calm cues.
I’ve heard these meditations are great starters (thank you, Melissa Wood-Tepperberg!):
- ‘Come Home to Being’ by Tara Brach
- ‘Morning Ritual’ by Jason McGrice
- Melissa Wood Health 12 min meditation
- Melissa Wood Health 10 min free meditation
Grounding
The basic idea is that our bodies are made up of “Earth” and when we return to it — putting our bare feet in the grass, floating in the ocean, hugging a tree (the stereotypical “crunchy” but it works!) — we can restore our body.
Physical Class
Like a guided meditation, letting someone else talk you through relaxing your mind in a physical class can be just as refreshing.
Schedule a hot yoga class or look for classes that offer “healing” as part of the time block. This usually means they’ll end the class with a few minutes of focused breathing, some great scents + music, and sometimes (only if you want) a little adjustment to your body positioning.
How do you meditate?
With an almost 2-year-old, my meditation takes the form of a 5-minute guided audio while I sit up in bed in the few minutes before the morning routine starts.
Before kids — and especially leading up to my pregnancy — my meditation was a full blown hour where I practiced HypnoBirth. And I highly attribute that commitment to the success of my unmedicated home birth. I’m not a natural meditator. I have always struggled to not have a million thoughts at once, but if you do the work, just for 5-minutes everyday, I promise you will see a positive shift in your mental stamina.
What have you tried before? What has worked for you? Comment below and help other moms learn to meditate better, too!
