I don’t know any parent who hasn’t experienced some kind of struggle with their kids at bedtime. There’s a reason for the extreme popularity of the book Go the F&@k to Sleep. Reading stories is always an important part of our night-time ritual but I also use a few other tools that have saved my sanity and helped my little ones slip into slumber with greater ease. Some worked for a few months, some a few weeks, some are used on rotation, and some have become a standard part of our bedtime routine.
We all want a stress-free holiday season, but let’s face it: it's often a tricky time. We long to enjoy vacation days, spend quality time with family and friends, and celebrate whichever rituals we honour during the festive season.
As I traverse the path of motherhood, I am constantly reminded of the ways in which yoga has saved my sanity. There have been days when yogic breathing has pulled me back from the brink, and nights when I have relied upon the power of relaxation to get me through the bedtime shenanigans. For every posture I’ve practiced I could tell a thousand stories. Instead of boring you with tales of which poses helped me through which milestones, I’ve compiled a list of five yoga poses every mother of young children should have in her arsenal, and why.
At the end of a yoga class, you’ll likely hear the instructions, “Come into corpse pose.” Corpse pose — or savasana as it is called in Sanskrit — is arguably the most important pose in any yoga class. It is the final posture, and is a chance for our bodies and minds to integrate the benefits of all the poses we’ve done in our practice. It’s a time for the body to completely relax, and come into a meditative state.
It’s been going on for months, if not years. It’s talked about in my Twitter feed, on Facebook, at the coffee shop, at school drop-off and pick-up. People everywhere seem to be screaming: “I’m just not sleeping and I’m sick of it!”
Sleep deprivation. It can be the bane of parenthood. Everyone talks about how much sleep you’re getting or not getting. But what happens when it’s not the amount of sleep that’s the issue? What happens if you can’t actually fall asleep in the first place? One of the most common complaints I’ve heard lately from clients, friends, and on Twitter is that people simply can’t get to sleep.
When was the last time you took a few minutes to sit in stillness and simply focus on relaxing your body and mind? And I’m not talking about collapsing onto the couch to watch a TV show, or falling into bed at the end of the day. I’m talking about allowing our bodies to come into a state of quiet, of calm, where we are able to physically and mentally relax.
As you can probably glean from the “Meditating Mummy” moniker, I meditate. I find it a grounding practice, an effective way to get rid of all the mental junk that fills my mind on a daily basis. I marvel at how quickly my mind refills with clutter, and meditation is something I imagine I’ll be doing for the rest of my life.
So … apparently the holidays are approaching. The red cups have appeared at Starbucks, Christmas carols are playing in the stores, and our very own Sarah has been inspiring us with all her gorgeous holiday decor. Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas, the spirit of the season, and the family festivities that go along with it.
