HOW TO ADD MEDITATION AND SELF-CARE PRACTICE IN YOUR ALREADY FULL DAILY SCHEDULE
Traditionally we have thought self-care, and meditation in certain ways: being present in the candlelight in the total silence, rose petal baths, water streams, calm music playing on the background, clean crispy white ropes… what a bliss.
While it can be like that it’s not the reality we busy women are living day to day!
Especially when there are businesses to run, high-demanding jobs and small children to take care of- the self-care practice, which is crucial for the wellbeing and emotional balance, has to be looked at in different ways.
The more we help and support ourselves FEEL GOOD in the moments, balance our mental and emotional residues with these little tools and breathing exercises I’m sharing below, you will FEEL BETTER and CLEARER throughout the day.
Then you don't need to wait for that perfect moment in the evening or early morning when you may feel completely drained and only want to rest or numb yourself, which is also very common and only adds up more guilt.
It’s not easy to make any extra time for ourselves when it’s already so freaking busy, I get that!
Especially right now when the schools and daycare are still closed in many countries, or it's not possible or safe to go out all the time.
I know it myself and I have to learn to prioritize brutally and put in the effort consciously and daily to make it happen.
When I became a mother I really had to force myself to start doing my daily meditation and self-care practices again after a couple of months. Just because I soon noticed how unwell, disconnected and anxious I felt, like I lacked ALL control of my life, including sleep.
As the old ways didn't work anymore and I didn't have the possibility to sit in meditation, doing yoga or journaling sometimes for hours per day as I did before, I had to create new ways and methods to squeeze in the practices that mean LIFE to me and are the way how I feel connected and completely myself.
BUT… before I was able to bring these crucial habits back in my life and stop resisting my own wellbeing as hard as I did, I needed the right kind of motivation to make the changes. For me it was my wellbeing and the growing anxiety that almost got out of control. I never knew I was an anxious person before I became a mother and then after I started working with it, I realized I had been an anxious person for a very long time.
This is what often happens when we work with the subconscious beliefs and root causes - we start seeing these patterns repeating themselves everywhere in life. Which is only a good thing, because that then allows to change the behavior.
With many of my women and mom clients, I see that the real reason why they get lost in the busyness and emotional cycles, self-sabotaging habits is that somehow they don’t believe they deserve to take the time for themselves and their self-care. Everyone and everything else goes before their wellbeing and that’s subconsciously most often stemming from lack of self-worth and not feeling good enough.
We can always make time for things that are important for us!
I started going out in the mornings, to meditate, walk and take a breather. Sometimes I’m taking deep breaths, stretching or doing some yoga or scribbling intentions down or do short emotional cleansing with journaling when my daughter is playing around or is sometimes on top of me.
I see my little one is quite a good little yogini already now, she loves copying me and moving her body, pretending taking deep breaths, which is funny and a good thing.
Even those 5-30 minutes are not always perfect stillness but they are still very, very helpful! We can do so much during the days in the middle of the chaos to help ourselves connect and release tensions. That is the practice.
So here a my tips for daily self-care that are not just for the crisis now but also for the daily life:
Meditation can really be just trying to quiet down and get focused on something mindfully breathing and being present. That little thing is part of your overall wellbeing and happiness.
Be focused when you’re doing things at home. Notice how well you care about the healthy food you cook for yourself and your family.
Or when you’re taking time to clean the kitchen, or the house, think about it cleaning not just the physical space but the energies in that space as well. Take this as a practice and your “own” time. (if that’s your only time for yourself it’s good to talk with your partner and organize time for you!)
When you take a shower, take time to do a shower meditation - love your body and how well it supports you and your health. Visualize the water cleansing your physical body but your mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual ones too.
Playing with the kids can be a meditation in some regards. It is recharging and energizing when you forget everything else at that moment and take the time to really focus in on our time with them - it's not only for them but for ourselves too and creates a wonderful deep connection with them.
When you run your errands, focus on embracing health, money that you have for the payments, focusing on positive thoughts.
Breathe and visualize yourself being covered by the energy that is protecting and keeping you safe, calm and connected. Your breath is your life force and it’s always with you!
When you drive with your car or use public transportation, use this time to focus on embracing good things in your life and focus on appreciation and gratitude, especially in the areas you want to expand.
Before you go to sleep clear the negative energies by journaling about your emotions, talk about them and let go of all anger, frustration and anything on those pages that love to listen to you. Then, think about good things, your dreams, your desires - thinking good empowering thoughts before sleep helps to activate your subconscious to attract it and sleep well.
Pay attention to your surroundings, nature, when you walk outside or watch out of the window.
Pay attention to people in your life and what they do, how they are trying to do their best. Give yourself the same praise everyday.
At the end of the day or during the day make a list in your mind of all things you got done, how well you take care of your tasks, work, others and embrace all that effort and energy that you put in.
Remind yourself of all that you give and receive it back by praising yourself.
Allow yourself to enjoy the moments - there are lots of them when you start consciously paying attention to it.
This is a big list helping you to make mind shifts and do almost all of it “on the go”. You can build your kind of self-care practice be part of your days and that’s a practice - without the need to reserve hours or special time for doing it all.
Hope you enjoyed it.
Love Jenni x