Meditation and Motherhood
Being a mom is hard work. Having a lot of information available on the subject will make the job easier, so we know everything, sleep schedules, healthy food menus, parenting theories, and even what cleaning product to use at home. But landing all that information on our lifestyle, temperament, and my son is another enormous challenge.
We all know that being a mother is quite an organic matter. I mean that the feeling of love, protection, and wanting the best for them is born from a mysteriously internal place that cannot be controlled. So why not access that inner place full of wisdom to resolve our doubts regarding that or those beings so intimately close to us.
In these crazy times it is very common to get out of your zen mode and get carried away by the chaos outside, meditating daily to be a zen mom will help you enjoy your motherhood as the woman you want to be.
It is not easy to connect the first time, it is a practice that becomes a habit. When you are used to visiting that inner place it is easier to find it, so look for a few minutes before sleeping or in some miraculous nap and practice! A meditation teacher once told me, doubt is more distressing than making the wrong decision. Trust yourself, if you act from the heart it will always be the best.
Sometimes external chaos can lead to internal chaos and does not allow us to move forward or live life as we want to live it. For example, it may happen that you are all motivated to start the day with a clear list of activities of what you want to achieve that day and suddenly someone at work did not arrive and delayed the rhythm of work, or when you received a piece of news that diverts you, etc.
And a series of negative emotions are unleashed: anxiety, anger, sadness, despair that you can no longer control, and worst of all is that the activities you had planned you no longer do, and it changes the course of your day.
The exterior took you from being in a zen mode to a more chaotic mode that prevents you from performing those activities that bring you closer to your goal of living the life that you envision for yourself.
It is not easy to meditate and connect with self for the first time, it is a practice that becomes a habit. When you are used to visiting that inner place it is easier to find it, so look for a few minutes before sleeping or in some miraculous nap and practice! A teacher told me, doubt is more distressing than making the wrong decision. Trust yourself, if you act from the heart it will always be the best.
It happens to me with my son and with my day, I start the day well and suddenly he no longer wants to eat breakfast and throws attitude, he does not want to do what I had planned for him, and the external chaos that challenges us begins. And I go from being a zen mode to a non-zen mother, I lose my patience, or I just feel exhausted for not achieving harmony as I had envisioned. I feel energetically depleted, I lose focus of how I wanted to live the day and it is more difficult for me to focus on doing my things. Has it happened to you?
When I began meditating it was only for five minutes. Just five minutes. I couldn’t believe the changes meditation was making in my life by meditating only five minutes a day!
I almost didn’t recognize myself, I was so much calmer! Being a working single mom, insane things happen.
More times than not, I would handle the situation without getting swept up by my emotions. Who was this person? After a few months, I realized that meditation wasn’t just making me happier and more relaxed, it was making me a better Mom.
Over time, the longer I practiced, the easier it was for me to stay calmer and see the other benefits. I’m not perfect. I still get upset sometimes, of course. But I get upset SO MUCH less than I used to. Meditation is like exercise. The more you do, the more positive effects you’ll have.
After some time, I realized that meditation was magical. I still don’t understand how doing something so simple can be so powerful. How can sitting in silence and focusing on your breathing literally you? But it does.
I’m a different mom. Quiet. Zen. More present with my family. More upbeat. More tolerant. More humane. Each “great” quality I needed as a Mom was gradually being given to me.
Remember, if you are okay, your children are too.