Mindful Living: A Guide for You and Your Family
A book for parents/carers to feel more calm and present for themselves and their family
I used to spend a lot of my mental energy worrying about the future and what might happen. This would take my focus away from what was happening in the present.
This was the most important thing that I did to start managing stress and living life more intentionally…
I discovered mindfulness and found out about self-compassion.
Once I started exploring ways to feel more present and spend less time worrying I never looked back.
I found the benefits of mindfulness were life changing to my whole life. It was, and still is, an insightful practice into building an awareness of my thoughts, feelings, and actions.
That's the main reason I decided to start my first mindfulness teacher training in 2020. I then took other courses and trainings to become a mindfulness coach.
When I became a parent a few years later, I learned even more about how mindfulness can impact my parenting. I have been able to reduce the amount of times that I tell myself I “should be doing…” and comparing myself to other parents.
I was able to get through the exhausting early newborn weeks surviving on very few hours of sleep and not feeling guilty about resting and bringing my attention to the present moment as much as possible.
Watching my now toddler grow and develop has been such a beautiful journey. Having my mindfulness practice to keep me grounded through sleep deprivation, illnesses, going full time in my business and mostly working when he sleeps, has been a massive benefit to my life.
Managing Stress
By embodying mindfulness into different aspects of my everyday life I've been able to let go of the stress that comes up and return my focus to the present moment.
When I do feel stressed, I'm able to notice how I react to stress and take time to reflect upon my actions and make any changes to not let them impact my parenting towards my child.
Parenthood is an insightful journey that has taught me to deepen my patience. I thought I was patient prior to becoming a mum, especially when working with children. However, having my own child and mindful parenting has increased my patience even further.
Conscious Parenting
Before discovering mindfulness, I dwelled on my thoughts and believe the inner critic thoughts that weren't kind about myself.
Now I can reflect upon what thoughts are helpful and unhelpful, and how my communication could spill over to when i'm interacting with my child. By regularly creating space to have a self-inquiry and reflective practice, I have become more thoughtful and adaptable to my own needs and my child's.
When you bring mindfulness tools into your life you can shift from feeling like you're on auto-pilot to becoming more aware of each moment. You can start to identify subtle shifts in your emotions and behaviours, and your child's, which can help you become more compassionate and understanding.
There are of course stressful moments that arise while parenting. However, I've been able to reduce the level of stress by continuing my mindfulness journey. I have learnt how to be kinder to myself and not believe inner critical thoughts that arise.
This has been a powerful practice while parenting. I have noticed when emotional triggers come up and instead of judging myself and saying unkind things to myself, I notice them and reframe them to be more caring and compassionate.
Lastly, the daily routines of parenthood can feel mundane and, if you have a strict schedule to stick to, can feel stressful. There are small ways that you can bring mindfulness into your daily routine to create more moments of presence and save you time by not trying to do ten things at once!
Do you want more guidance on how to live be more present within yourself and with your family?
Discover how to bring mindfulness into your daily routines and start feeling calmer and more connected inside my book ‘Mindful Living: A Guide for You and Your Family’.
Available in ebook and paperback format.
Order your copy today by tapping below.