Meditation for busy parents

Catherine Bicknell is a yoga teacher and blogger at www.mummieslittlebuddha.com sharing her meditation tips for busy parents. Over to Catherine…

“Meditation”, I hear you shouting! “When on earth do I have time for that? I have far too much to do! Why would I waste my precious time sitting with my legs crossed, I’d rather be crossing the stuff off my ridiculously long to-do list!”

Catherine Bicknell & kids

Life is so busy, I know. As a single, working mum of three children (& a crazy span-iel!), to say my life is chaotic is a major understatement! So, I truly appreciate how difficult and at times overwhelming life as a parent can be. Mornings tend to be most fraught, mine usually involve physically dragging my teenagers out of bed & rushing to the junior school before yet again my 6 year old is signed in as late! (School code for crap parenting).

Then of course it’s a mad panic to get to work on time & before tackling half the days to-do list it’s time to pick the children up, whose idea was it for school to finish at 3.30?! After school it’s just as manic with tennis, ballet, footie, swimming, home-work, playdates, supper, bath time, stories & bed (if teeth actually get done, it’s a miracle!) Any free time I do have is fiercely guarded & used wisely to see friends and family. Gym sessions & runs are sneaked in between work and school pick up, obviously, feeling guilty the whole time because yet again my youngest will be in after school club! After all that, usually, I just want a glass of wine and my bed, maybe a bath if I’m lucky!

Fitting meditation in to our day is perhaps the greatest barrier for busy parents to overcome when starting a regular meditation practice. I find getting up earlier is the perfect time to meditate, (obviously not too early!) but 20-30 minutes before my children get up. However, getting up at 6.30 every morning, I do question why I meditate, after all, transcending into a state of thoughtless awareness sounds a lit-tle ‘out-there’, doesn’t it? Is it really worth it? Wouldn’t I be better off having an extra 30 minutes in bed?

Tuning in

I do, however, firmly believe by tuning into my body & breath first thing, allows me to understand how I am feeling and what my body needs. It grounds me & re-balances me emotionally, helping me find peace and space in my mind before the chaos of the day begins. I’m far more aware and in control of my thoughts & feel-ings, my levels of anxiety and stress are greatly reduced and I am able to focus and concentrate much better as a result.

Without my morning meditation my mind jumps from one thought to another (Buddhists call this ‘Monkey Brain’). This detachment from my chaotic life gives me a deeper understanding of myself and a broader perspective of what really is important in my life & to be honest, daily stresses like being a few minutes late for school really aren’t worth getting bothered over, are they?! (Just don’t tell the office staff at school who always scowl at me signing the late register!)

However, if the idea of waking up 15 minutes earlier is filling you with dread try meditating just before bedtime, ideally when all the children are asleep and you’ve just had a lovely hot bath….mmmm bliss 🙂

Catherine Bicknell

How To Meditate

1) Where to meditate – Anywhere quiet & relaxing (bottom of your bed, if early morning is good so you don’t wake anyone up!)

2) What to wear – Wear warm and comfortable clothes.

3) How to sit – Sit up straight so you are ‘actively’ sitting rather than slumping but use a wall if sitting up unaided is uncomfortable.

4) Soft focus – Or close your eyes.

5) How is your body feeling? – Take awareness to your sit bones and then move your awareness up through your spine. How does your back feel? Now move your awareness to the rest of the body. Once you have done a full body scan take awareness to your mind. How settled is your mind? Is it busy, anxious, tired, relaxed?

6) Breath – Be aware of your breath, as you breathe more deeply you will feel calmer and more relaxed. Notice your shoulders dropping in the exhalations. Bring awareness to each breath as it goes in through the nose & back out through the nose. Slow the breath down but don’t force it. For more info. on yoga breathing, how to do it & how it helps anxiety check out a post I wrote on my blog.

7) Wandering mind – Your mind will wander from time to time, try not to get frustrated with yourself but just notice when it happens, smile at yourself & gently bring your attention back towards your breath.

8) Perfect technique – Don’t worry that you’re doing it wrong. There is no perfect way of doing it – just do it regularly.

9) Regularity – Try and practice each day, even if just for a few minutes and build it up to longer.

10) Meditation with children – I regularly meditate with my children, it is a great skill for them to learn at any age. If you are keen to try it I recently wrote this post about meditation with children.

About the author:
For over 20 years Catherine been a yoga teacher, personal trainer & nutritional councillor. She is a national lecturer, assessor and presenter specialising in mums yoga & fitness.
She is a single mum to her 3 lively children and regularly blogs at www.mummieslittlebuddha.com about balancing motherhood with yoga, health & fitness.
Her Facebook page is full of inspirational tips, videos, photos & recipes for helping mums & their families live a healthier & happier life.
Follow Catherine on Instagram and Twitter

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