Guided Meditations

Mindfulness means paying attention to the present moment, non-judgementally. Our minds frequently drift and wonder, because we've evolved to scan our environments for threats as a survival mechanism. Moreover, our busy lives and parenting responsibilities often lead to our attention frequently shifting. Mindfulness takes a while to make a habit, but by training our brains to pay attention to the present moment, we can learn to feel more engaged, focused and at ease. We can also notice our emotions and physical sensations, responding to these compassionately with practise.

Below are a range of guided self-compassion mindfulness exercises with inspiration from Dr Kristin Neff. As a busy parent, I understand that there isn't always time for long mindfulness practices so I have recorded my own guided meditations that can easily be incorporated into your day. All meditations are only three to 10 minutes long. Please go easy on yourself as you try these out and remember you can come back to them at any time!

Guided Practices

You can click on the links below to listen to the mindfulness recordings:

Mindfulness and compassion-based practices adapted for parents and birthing people:

Introduction to Mindfulness
Self-Compassion Break for Parents
Loving Kindness Meditation
Compassion for Caregivers (Circle of Compassion)
Compassionate Colour
Soothing Rhythm Breathing

Further exercises:

Please do not put pressure on yourself to stay focused during these exercises. Our minds will naturally drift and we can bring our attention back when we notice this. The aim of mindfulness is never to 'clear our minds' but to notice how we're thinking and feeling, which often brings us more choices and understanding of ourselves. A secondary gain of these exercises can be relaxation, however if we make this the primary goal we put too much pressure on ourselves and set ourselves up to fail. First we need to notice our internal experience and over time we might notice that our bodies slow down and stress reduces as an outcome of this.

I hope you find these practices helpful, please email me if you have any suggestions for further practices.