Being mindful is not something that was part of my daily practice until I met Meaghan. Sure I tried to have some me time, to stop and think about a situation before reacting and to be mindful of my own needs. But I don't think I was truly being mindful and giving myself the true benefits of it. I met Meaghan about 6 months ago at an event in Stoney Creek. I felt an immediate connection to her and was excited to try out one of her Mom & Tot Yoga Classes! It was in that first class that I truly felt and saw the benefit of being mindful. Since then, I have attended her class on a regular basis and have tried to make being mindful apart of my daily practice. For me it isn't always about getting down on my yoga mat, sometimes it is about leaving the room and having a mindful moment, or reading a chapter or heck even a page of one of my books, or handing the kids off to Chris and saying I am having a bath do not bother me! It is okay to say yes to yourself, and that is one thing that I have really taken away from Meaghan's classes. I am very lucky to say that not only is Meaghan my yoga instructor, she is also a friend! She is a beautiful person inside and out & I feel very blessed that she is apart of my life. I hope you enjoy reading Meaghan's insight on mindfulness; I am sure you won't regret it and will feel inspired to take care of YOU afterwards!
If you are interested in reading more on Meaghan click here to read my meet the maker feature on Meaghan and her class! I also talked about my own mindfulness and how I fill my empty cup on my blog "You Can't Pour From an Empty Cup".
Mommas, we hear it all the time: how we need to make time for ourselves because it’s
important to practice self-care on a regular basis! And I know how hard that can be when you
have little's to take care of, and a house to manage, and a job, and family, and, and, and, and.
However, when you say “No” to yourself, you are saying “No” to every other thing that’s
important to you, and/or that you are a part of. Don’t believe me?
Take a mindful moment with me here. You have been running on ‘Go’ for weeks-, no down time, no time to connect to yourself and just breath,. How do you feel? I’m going to make a few guesses here. You’re probably feeling agitated, impatient, angry, sad, anxious, depressed, exhausted, on edge, and I could keep going but I think you catch my drift, here right? And I am sure that even though you are still taking care of everyone and everything, and you may not want to admit this to
yourself, but you are probably just scrambling, scraping to meet everyone else’s needs, am I right?
Alright, now take a mindful moment, and think about when you do get that time to yourself.
Maybe it’s hitting up a Yoga class, or roaming your favourite book store, or meeting up for
brunch with your girlfriends. How do you feel when you come back home? Again, I’m going to
take a few guesses here, but I think you’re probably feeling rejuvenated, more clear- headed,
more relaxed, less stressed, calmer, lighter, shall I continue??
So, why do we say “No” to the most important connection? The connection to our-self!?
Why are we not honouring that space? I want to share some insight as to why I believe
honouring and fostering a strong connection to yourself, trickles down to every other connection
you share with others.
Here’s what I know for sure; I am a better Mom when I give myself the gift of stepping away
and honouring the connection to myself. I am able to stay more present with my daughter, my
patience isn’t thin, I am excited to get out of the house and go on adventures with her, and I am
less distracted. I truly do feel like I am giving her the absolute best of me, that I can when I also
give myself the best of me. Here’s the thing that I have learnt by trying to balance everything:
self-care doesn’t have to be a grand gesture to yourself. Seriously, sometimes self-care for
me is sitting at my dining room table with my morning coffee and meal planning for the week
early in the morning;, sometimes it’s saying “screw the to -do list” and watching my favourite
show during nap time;. It’s also getting on my Yoga Mat and flowing through my emotions.
Seriously don’t over complicate it;, That time it could be anything - maybe 5 minutes of Pinterest
scrolling!, Just make sure you’re doing it!
When I connect to myself, I am a much better wife! My husband is a talker., I am too, but man
does he have me beat! I find it so much harder for me to connect with my husband, and truly
listen to him and his needs when I have not done that for myself. I cannot even begin to
empathize with what my husband may be asking of me if I haven’t even tuned in and given
myself the grace of listening to my own needs. My marriage is definitely better when I am able
to give my best self to my husband and show up for him, the same way I show up for myself.
Connecting to ourselves , also enables us to have deeper connections with family and friends. I
truly feel like the connections I share with the ones near and dear to me are more nurtured,
because I have a stronger sense of my own connection. I’m brighter, more bubbly, and more
engaging when I feel connected to myself.
So Mommas, do yourselves a HUGE favour and make time in your week to connect to You.
Whatever it is that fills up your cup, schedule that time in for yourself. If it feels foreign to you at
first, set a timer for a short period and just honour that time. Once you start giving yourself that gift of connecting, it will become easier to do, and will truly become something you look forward
to doing!
So I leave you with this, how are you going to connect to you this week?
XO
Meaghan Botan
The Mindful Yogi Momma
@mindfulyogimomma mindfulyogimomma.ca/
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