Who has time for Mindfulness?
Susan Mitchell, LMHC

So who has time to think about ‘Mindfulness’ when you’re so busy keeping up with all the responsibilities of parenting not to mention job responsibilities, upkeep of your home, staying connected to friends and family,  community involvements, and personal passions if there’s a moment left. But mindfulness can make all the difference. Learning and practicing mindful presence can significantly increase your satisfaction with your life and the wellbeing of your children, your partner, and yourself.

So what is mindfulness and how does it have such an impact?  Mindfulness is the art of being fully aware and present in each moment.  Sounds simple but how much of the time do you actually do that? We miss so much of the present by thinking about what already happened, what we plan or hope to do later, and ruminating on relationship issues, thoughts about ourselves, others,  situations, responsibilities, and places in our lives other than where we are now. 

I’m not saying thinking is a bad thing. Some of it is quite productive.  But much of it just mental spaghetti that keeps us from fully experiencing the present, from being WITH our children or our spouse in a way that they can really feel the connection, the love, the joy of being together. This mindful connection in the present moment is a key factor in raising happy and emotionally healthy children.

Another benefit of mindfulness is that we become more aware of ourselves in the moment, our feelings and reactions, and can learn to calm and sooth our emotional reactive mind and live more consistently in our wise mind. This contributes to healthier relationships and better communication and problem solving. It contributes to peace in our homes.

Hopefully, we all have mindful moments in our days but tuning into mindfulness as a practice and a lifestyle can increase the amount of time spent in mindfulness and increase the benefits to ourselves and others, especially those we love and live with. The first step is to start consciously practicing mindfulness daily. You can practice by taking a few minutes to sit quietly, focus on your breathing in and out, and just noticing any thoughts or sensations or emotions and then bringing your awareness back to the breath. This helps increase awareness and control of what is happening in your body, mind, and emotions, and the ability to return to the present. However mindfulness can also be practiced at any moment of your life…while taking a shower (using the same skills of being fully present in the shower), cleaning the house, eating a meal, playing with your children.

Call today for information regarding ongoing Mindfulness for Moms workshops held at our offices weekly.