5 Minute Meditation for the Busy Mom.

In this post, you will understand why meditation is so beneficial and how to fit it into a mother's schedule. By the end of this, you will have a simple meditation for moms, the best times to meditate, and how long you need to meditate, for it to be effective.

When you learn to tap into meditation as a mother, you not only serve yourself but your whole family. Research drawn through brain imaging has shown that meditation helps us to regulate our emotions. It can help you develop more patience, ease, and peace within.

As much as we love our children, they can be incredibly demanding and can push our boundaries daily. Mothers rarely have strong sleep patterns and have a strong reputation for reaching burn out.

When we burn out, our emotions are imbalanced, we are exhausted and our perceived stress far outweighs our tools to cope with it. This is where you can take back control. Use meditation, breathwork, and mindfulness to fill up your toolbox and reset your nervous system. Some science-based benefits of meditation include better sleep, awareness, stress management and emotional health. I am sure you have a few questions as it can be hard to just close your eyes and trust the process.

When is the best time to meditate as a mum?

If you have a baby; the best time is when they are feeding or have just gone down for their nap.
Toddler: naptime or when daddy supports your practice, he can read them a story while you get your meditation minutes in.
Older kids: in the car once you have dropped them off at school, playdate or an activity.
Sometimes there won’t always be the perfect time and you will need to find peace amongst the chaos. Experienced meditators can get into flow during a football match if they wanted to, it takes time and patience to practice this. However, you can get there, even with your children in the room. Start by taking deep breaths and focusing on the breath. Slowing yourself down will do you the world of good.

How long should a mother meditate for?

You can feel the benefits of meditation, just from one session. Dr. Amishi Jha’s research around marines preparing for placement found that sessions as short as 12 minutes brought out cognitive improvements. Research has shown that short and frequent meditations, 3 times per week are more beneficial than one-hour meditations every two weeks.

The golden question is; how can I fit meditation into my Mama schedule?

Here are my recommendations for you:

Hold onto small moments of meditation throughout your day, even 5 minutes is a win.
Focus on your breath.
Allow your thoughts to just be thoughts, don’t attach yourself to them, just let them pass through like visitors.
If you have a baby, book yourself a 15-minute meditation while they are feeding.
Get your partner to support you. Perhaps he can play sleeping lions with your young toddler while you meditate.
Don’t beat yourself up for not keeping your meditation schedule.

How to meditate; here is your 5 minute meditation.

Find your meditation seat. It doesn't matter where this is, just be comfortable, sit tall and close your eyes.
You can set a timer if you like. If your baby or toddler is present, you can do the meditation with your eyes open, just find one object and draw your attention to it.
Take 10 deep, cleansing, belly breaths in and out through the nose. Do not worry about the count, just make sure to slow your breath down.
Repeat the mantra So Hum silently, in time with your breath, Inhale (So), Exhale (Hum).
Focus on the breath, keep it slow and deep.
Your breath should be gentle, and you won’t be able to hear it.
If your mind wanders, do not become frustrated, just pull your attention back to the breath and the mantra So Hum.

So Hum is a Sanskrit for “I am that’ meaning I am the universe, I am at one with it. It is a very popular Vedic meditation technique, used to quiet the mind.

Now you have a 5-minute meditation in your toolbox, you know that it doesn't matter how long you meditate for but it matters that you do it. Take the time to invest in your mind because it keeps you sane, and your sanity, calm, and happiness is a gift to your family.

If you are looking to deepen your practice, join one of our meditation group courses where we search for more healing and inner truth. Happy Meditating Mamas, Namaste.