Are you looking to find moments of calm in busy family life? Read our post on how to meditate when you have kids.
What Is Meditation?
Meditation is where you use a technique, such as mindfulness, or focusing on an object or thought, to train your attention or awareness. It is not about clearing your mind completely but about sitting with your thoughts, listening to them, and becoming calmer. Learning to meditate takes practise, especially if you are used to your mind rushing at a million miles an hour (sound familiar?)
What Are The Benefits Of Meditation?
Studies have shown that meditation can impact both your physical and mental health. It can help to reduce stress and make you less anxious, help you sleep better and make you more relaxed. It can also help lengthen your attention span.
How Can Meditation Help Me As A Parent?
As well as all the above benefits, meditation can help you stay in the moment when you have kids. Parenting and family life can be chaotic, but meditating can help you bring some much-needed calm into your day and help you react to whatever happens and make quick decisions in a more rational way.
How On Earth Do I Find Time To Mediate When I Have Children?
We know life is busy from morning to night when you have children, and noisy too – often it seems too noisy to hear yourself think. But meditation does not mean booking a babysitter (impossible) and clearing your diary for the afternoon (also impossible). You can fit meditation in when you can.
How Do I Meditate When I Have Children? Read Our Five Tips:
1. If You Are Able, Set A Daily Time To Meditate.
Meditation experts say it helps to practise first thing in the morning, to give you a calm start to the day. However, we know this is not always possible when you have small children and they often wake up earlier than CBeebies starts.
So, try and find times to meditate whenever you can, such as during naptime, while you are waiting for them to go to sleep, or by going to bed slightly earlier, without your phone.
2. Find A Comfortable Position
Whenever you decide to practise, it helps you to relax if you are comfortable – be it lying on your bed or sitting on the sofa.
3. Use A Meditation App to Help You
If you are unsure even where to start when it comes to meditation, it can help to listen to a guided meditation app or audio track to help you focus. Read our list of mindfulness and relaxation apps to start you off.
4. Focus On Your Breathing
If you are not able to set aside time to meditate, try stopping whatever you are doing and focusing on slowing down your breathing, which should have a calming effect.
5. Get Your Children Involved, Too
Meditation can have benefits for children, too, and it can help them understand what you are doing in you get them involved. Lots of the apps in our list have sections for children, such as Headspace Kids. Cosmic Kids Yoga Peace Outs, which are short guided meditations, are pitched at a perfect level for kids and are fun to listen to, too. Find them here.
Make sure you read our post on simple self-care tips for mums
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