There are few times in your life where you will need meditation more than when you become a mother of a young child, especially when you are a full time parent.

You are exhausted and your patience is tested on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there are also very few times in your life where you will have less time to yourself. Most likely, you are struggling just to keep your thoughts straight in your brain, much less have time to let those thoughts go!

However, it is in the times of your life when you feel most frazzled and least connected to yourself that you absolutely must make time to meditate.

When you feel you have no time, that means you need to make time.

But that doesn’t mean leaving your child for a week to take a long retreat to an ashram, or jet setting away to a yoga vacation…although those things would be lovely, mama! It doesn’t even have to mean arranging childcare to run to your favorite yoga class to breathe and move for a full 75 minutes, although that would be beneficial as well.

Mediation can simply mean observing.

Here is how you can find time for a mini-mediation in the midst of all that a toddler may be demanding of you on any given day. You don’t need a ton of time to reap the benefits of meditation! Here’s how you can feel calmer, lighter and more grateful almost instantly with a simple meditation.

Observe the Moment:

When you observe the moment, you immediately become present. What exactly is your child doing? Playing quietly with his trains, or screaming with joy on his way the slide? What sounds do you hear? Maybe there is some music on in your house, or maybe the background noise of some Sesame Street. Maybe you are sitting outside and there are bird chirping around you. Maybe it means putting down your phone, or any other distractions and just spending a few moments mindfully looking at your surroundings in that moment.

Observe your body:

Once you have observed that outside world around you, observe the inside world within you. Notice the face first…is the brow soft, or furrowed? Is the jaw released? Working down your body, see how your shoulders, back and legs feel today. Observe all this without judgment, an instead just see what your body has to tell you. Notice your body in the present moment.

Observe your breath:

Once you have observed the moment, and your body in that moment, begin observing the breath. There is nothing to fix or change, simply just to notice. You will see by noticing, the breath will immediately slow down and become more nurturing and soothing. More full and less shallow. Follow your breath in your nose, out your mouth and enjoy the experience of conscious breathing.

Observe how you feel now:

How do you feel now? Now that you have taken a step into the present moment, into your body, and into your breath, how do you feel? Most likely, you will feel refreshed, focused, and you may even find a sense of gratitude.

We of course have other tools to meditate with. We may have mala beads, our little altars, and these are beautiful gifts. We may even have a sitting practice and a pretty meditation poof to rest on, but these tools do us no good when we are sitting on a playground with our children or running errands.

Sometimes instead of getting to hung up on a zen place to meditate in silence, we can instead focus on simply observing. And by observing, the mediation takes care of itself. And the meditation will take care of you, so that you can take care of your little one.

Relephant: 

A Perfect Meditation for a Busy Mom.

Author: Logan Kinney

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: Author’s Own