Meditation For Modern Moms: Finding Peace In The Chaos Of Parenthood

Photo©MariaAlexandraBurguera/123rf

It’s Monday afternoon and I’m minutes away from my kids coming in the door after their school day. I’ve promised them a “girls movie night” right after school, a very rare occurrence, so we can finish the movie we began watching last night. I’ve promised them snuggles, popcorn and screentime all in one, a trilogy of thrills that I know they’re looking forward to.

I’ve also promised myself some things, too. Time with my husband. Time to work and grow the company I love. Time to make more homemade food. Time to garden. Time to workout. Time to be more active with my kids’ school.

All of these promises and all of these desires can easily push me into chaos. Juggling all. the. things. Managing the logistics of the weekly schedule, the emotions and values of my growing kids, the evolution of my marriage, all the ways in which I want to grow, and dinners…omg all the details of dinners!

If too many details become too many droplets of rain, soon I’m drenched in a rainstorm of chaos, feeling completely unhinged, out of control and drained. Overwhelmed, overstimulated and completely fried.

If you’ve ever been here too, I have some great news for you…this does not need to be the norm!

You can have more moments of calm. More moments of peace. More moments of presence. More moments of oneness with yourself, your family and all your desires in a way that feels good most of the time…and chaotic just a little bit of the time. (‘Cause let’s be honest…this journey of motherhood ain’t perfect.)

How?

Meditation.

Don’t worry, I’m not here to add another task to your daily list of things to do. And I’m sure you already know all the physical and mental benefits that come from meditation (lowers blood pressure, regulates nervous system, lowers cortisol levels, reduces stress, etc. etc.).

So, let’s instead focus on practical ways you can incorporate meditation into your modern mom life so you can easily and sustainably feel the peaceful impacts. Discover how to transform your attention, attitude and energy to bring more calm into your life.

Mini Meditations   

Mini meditations are small moments of mindfulness that you can easily sprinkle into your day. For example, after you drop the kids off at school, instead of rushing back into your home, sit in the car for a few minutes and close your eyes and take 10 deep, conscious breaths. These are breaths that you count as you feel the air go in and out of your nose. I guarantee two things. 1) You will absolutely lose count along the way because your brain will want to think of everything else instead (don’t worry…that’s completely normal).  2) You will feel significantly more relaxed when you’re finished.

Why It Works: Mini meditations allow us to pause during the day, and consciously step off the hamster wheel of thoughts and tasks and emotions and bring our attention to the present moment. When we do this, it helps us recalibrate our bodies, emotions and energy. And within just a few breaths, we can shift from feeling out of control to deeply anchored and powerful.

Ideas for Mini Meditations: In the car between errands, in the shower, in between work or home tasks, as soon as you wake up, while you’re cooking dinner, while holding your pet.

Emergency Meditations

Emergency meditations are done just before an intense moment turns into a volcanic eruption.  Imagine a scene that takes place just before the kids go to bed. It’s getting late, the kids just want to keep playing with a sundown burst of energy, they still haven’t brushed teeth, they’re completely oblivious to your usual tactics to get them in their beds…you get the idea.

You’re exhausted, your mind is spinning with the dirty dishes, the pets, the laundry, and the work you still have to do. You can feel your body getting tense, and just like a volcano, you can feel the steam and lava rising within you.  Your heart is beating faster and faster.

It can be extremely hard to be self-aware in these moments. But, if you’re able to pause for just a bit, if you’re able to create some space between stimulus and response, you can completely change the outcome of these situations to be a good one. That’s when you can do an emergency meditation. This can be as simple as stopping what you’re doing and taking five deep breaths, or giving yourself a quick “time out” in another room while you close your eyes and use your breath to calm you down.

Why It Works: Emergency meditations stop the fast-paced momentum of egoic energy and forces it to rest. It deters the lava from exploding from the volcano and creates a space where you get to decide how to show up to the scene with full conscious awareness.

The Impact: Some of my worst mommy moments have been at bedtime for all the reasons above. And while I forgive myself, learn and move on, I know the impact it has on my kids. How can I expect them to sleep well when the last part of their day is full of angry energy? These emergency meditations allow me to sidestep all of that, and show up as the peaceful parent I want to be. And even better, I’m modeling for them how to deal with intense emotions.

Guided Meditations

Guided meditations are pre-recorded or live meditations provided by another person. Guided meditations take the heavy lifting out of our meditation practice. When I first discovered meditation while in college, I remember sitting in my dorm room alone, candles lit and the room dark. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. It took about 20 seconds for me to be completely uncomfortable. My back hurt, my mind was racing, and I decided right then and there I hated meditation. It was too hard! Ha! Soon, I discovered a CD of guided meditations, and felt so much better as the voice guided me through a meditation experience.

Why It Works: Many guided meditations will talk you through focusing on your breath, relaxing your body and often use imagery to embody a message they want to convey. The guide does all the work; you just have to show up and relax. Or, for today’s modern mom, you just have to press play on a guided meditation on your phone. Easy peasy.

Meditation offers us an alternative to the chaos that inevitably comes along with raising kids. It can infuse us with more patience and self-awareness that gives us easy access to our intuition.  This means our personal compass for life becomes louder and more powerful as we refuse to default into chaos, and instead choose our lives every step of the way.

Katie Krimitsos is the founder and CEO of the Women’s Meditation Network, a family of 20 meditation podcasts dedicated to helping women and children find peace, presence, and purpose through guided meditations. Across the network, her episodes are downloaded an average of 4 million times each month, helping listeners across the world manage stress, sleep better and create intentional lives. 

Find holistic Meditation in the Spirit of Change online Alternative Health Directory.

RELATED ARTICLES:
Meditation Is More Than Silence and Emptiness
Meditations On Self-Acceptance