I was so frustrated that they had woken the baby again that I yelled. I yelled so loudly I am sure the neighbour was sorry the baby was awake. My heart rate rose, my headache was exacerbated and I felt terrible. The boys didn’t mind because they were used to periodically top blowing. This was not mindful parenting.
And then it clicked for me.
I am a Fibromyalgia and Mindfulness Coach. I have learnt and teach others to utilise mindfulness and meditation in their fight against chronic pain, chronic fatigue, insomnia, anxiety and overwhelm. But what about utilising this knowledge in my daily life? What about using it to help not only myself but my kids?
I dug into the research. As I do.
I found this article, “Analyses showed that parents who reported more mindful parenting engaged in more positive and less negative parenting behavior, which was then linked to more positive behavior in their kids—meaning less anxiety, depression, and acting out.”
So what are the characteristics of a mindful parent?
Attentive
Non judging
Non reacting
It means managing our responses – emotions and behaviours – so that our children learn to manage theirs also.
This can be tricky when we face chronic, all day, every day pain, fatigue and insomnia.
If you wanted to practice a five day challenge for yourself here are the days:
Your Free Breathing Practices
Find your one minute breathing practice – to use the calming breath from day one here.
Find your five minute breathing practice – to use in day five here.
Mindfulness for the Chronic Life
I added a module specifically on mindful parenting to my Mindfulness and Meditation for the Chronic Life: Mindfulness and Meditation to help Chronic Pain, Fatigue, Insomnia, Anxiety and Overwhelm running from 1 June. So now it’s nine weeks of content to help you utilise mindfulness in your chronic life!
You can get in on my free Mindfulness for the Chronic Life Workshop here.
I’d be so delighted to have you join us!