Feeling Overwhelmed
Try these 3 mindfulness activities to feel more centred, grounded and less overwhelmed.
Taking just a few moments to get more centred and grounded can help to settle us into our mind and body so we feel less swept away by the chaos, less under pressure or less agitated, by what is happening around us.
As parents or educators when we’re feeling less resourced ourselves to cope with the demands of our daily lives, perhaps we’re tired, hungry, feeling pressure to complete tasks, feeling that we don’t have enough time to do all the things, we can start to feel overwhelmed and can be easily swept up in the emotional turmoil of the children we live or work with.
Taking a moment to practice some simple centring and grounding techniques can make all the difference to how we feel.
Using the senses as a way to bring the focus of our attention out of the head and into the body is such a simple, quick and effective technique.
It can be easy for thought patterns to spiral into unhelpful overthinking, when we bring our attention and our energy more into the body we feel more steady, more stable, less reactive which helps us to have a broader perspective of the situation and less swept away in the drama of the moment.
Reminding kids to use this simple mindfulness tool of noticing what they can see, hear and smell is a great way to support them to press the “reset” button.
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Doorways are a great physical cue that can remind us to be more intentional in our daily lives.
Try this simple process whenever you have to open a door - or when you move from one space to another.
feel your feet on the ground
take a long smooth breath in and a slow full breath out
consider who and how you want to be as you enter this room or space. Perhaps you want to be friendly, open, authoritative, a great communicator, a good listener, empathetic, focused, or joyful.
Practice this often and you’ll find yourself checking in regularly with your intention of how you want to be in the world.
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Using transitions as a reminder to come back to the present moment is a natural lead on from using doorways as a cue for being intentional.
It’s so easy for all aspects of our lives to bleed into one another, but once I trained in mindfulness I employed this strategy and it’s stuck with me ever since. Making me more efficient at my job as well as more present, patient and fun loving as a parent.
The easiest transition is when you are in transit from one aspect of your life, e.g., work, to another, e.g., picking the kids up from school. In fact, taking a few breaths in the car before school pick up is hands down the most favourite and effective mindfulness technique I teach on the Mindfulness for Parents program.
Some parents have reported back how they try to get to school 5-10 minutes earlier so that they can pause for a moment, to breath and decompress from the day.
They found this time helped them to let go of their work related issues and allowed them to be more present with their kids. Which helped them enjoy their time more with their children, made them feel better about themselves as a parent, helped them be more patient and understanding with their kids which strengthened their relationships.