Simple Ways To Have Mindful Mornings For Busy Moms

Mornings can be especially hard if you are not a morning person. Doesn’t matter if you are a working mom or a stay at home mom, mornings are crazy busy. Fixing breakfast, attending to young kids and getting them ready to school/daycare zaps the energy out. When there is no time in the busy schedule to sit down and meditate, it is good to use mindfulness to make mornings less stressful. While we cannot control what the day brings to us, we can handle the challenge more mindfully.

Am a working mother to 3 young kids. Our weekday mornings are always busy. We have simple routines for the family and kids pitch in do their part for most of the times. But there is the rush to get everyone out the door and reach school/office on time.

I admire how some moms wake up at least a couple hours before their family is up and indulge in soul-nourishing activities. I would love to have a slow elaborate morning routine that includes meditation followed by yoga and journaling. Unfortunately, it does not work for me. I’m not a morning person and my kids are early risers 🙂

After many failures, I have now come to terms with not being that super mom who starts her day rising super early, takes time to indulge in all self-care activities which puts her in the “best” mode and she is able to carry out the day with grace.

I have accepted that this stage of motherhood is demanding and draining. Probably as my kids get older I may get time to do more relaxing activities in the morning, but until then I will concentrate on applying mindfulness in everyday activities to be fully aware and be present with my family.

What is Mindfulness?

As per wikipedia.org – Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment.

Here are simple ways to have mindful mornings

Am happy to share these simple ways by which I add mindfulness to have relatively stress free mornings. Hope you find them useful.

1. Simple Evening/Morning Routine:

Mindful morning starts with a good evening routine. Try to finish off things like packing lunch/snacks, choosing clothes for the next day, checking kids homework, handing out lunch money, etc. Tacking these mundane tasks the night before will set the tone for a nearly perfect morning.

2. Get Good Sleep:

If you are a new mom or have young kids at home, getting 6 hours of continuous sleep is not easy. I hear you. Hang in there mama, it is just a phase and will get better soon. I would have laughed if someone said this to me when I had newborn twins. But believe me, it gets better. If you are a sleep deprived mama then I suggest that you try Yoga-Nidra. There are many guided Yoga-Nidra videos available on YouTube for free. I have experienced that a few hours of relaxing Yoga-Nidra can have the same effect of having slept for a stretch of 6-7 hours.

3. Body Scan:

Do you hit the snooze button as soon as the alarm goes off? Don’t worry, am not going to ask you to jump off your bed right when you hear your alarm. In fact, you should not get out of bed in a hurry. When you are done hitting snooze multiple times and are finally about to drag yourself out of bed, Stop and pause for a moment. Do a body scan.

It wouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. Feel your body against the bed. Feel the soft blanket over you. Bring awareness to every part of your body without moving them. Rub our palms and place them on your eyes. Feel the warmth of your fingers and then gently open your eyes.

4. Practice Gratitude:

Start your day with a small prayer or with a gratitude list. Mentally note down 3 things you are grateful for. Gratitude practice will fill you with positive mood and bring your awareness to the things that you are thankful for.

5. No Electronics:

Emails and social media scrolling can wait. Many of us have the habit of picking up our phone first thing in the morning. Just a quick glance could cost you 20 mins of your precious morning time. Stop the urge to check your devices until the morning rush settles down.

6. Stop to Smell Flowers:

Well, not exactly flowers, more like the minty flavor of your toothpaste, warm scent of your face-wash and the like. If you could take time to smell real flowers, it would be a bonus! If not, then turn on your senses to notice the smell of simple things that you use.

I was listening to Rachel Kable’s podcast where she was giving tips to have a mindful morning. I literally laughed out loud when she said something like “Don’t just slap your faces with the lotion. Take time to smell as you gently apply it on your face“. I was doing exactly what she said, Mindlessly slapping the lotion on my face! Since then I have been cautiously bringing my awareness to things that I would otherwise put on autopilot.

7. Savor Every Sip/Bite:

Are you even a mom if you don’t heat your coffee at least a few times? Doesn’t matter how many times you heat your cup, remember to notice the smell and flavor of your drink and savor every sip mindfully.

8. Breathe and Smile:

Just as you sit down to enjoy your next sip, if you hear your kid screaming for you, pause and remember to breathe. Relax your hunched shoulders and tension in your face. Bring your attention to your breath and smile.

Mindfulness is about getting out of our own minds and coming back into the present moment, into what is actually happening right here and now.

Carla Naumburg

You got this mama! With kids around, chaos and tantrums are inevitable. Notice the chaos but do not participate. Use your awareness and mindful breathing to stay away from anger and irritation that occurs in the moment.

Do you use mindfulness in your morning routine? Please share your tips with us in the comment section below.