Meditation Tips for People Who Hate to Meditate

Meditation can be a great mental health tool, but it is not for everyone.

If you hate to meditate, you are not alone. Meditation has some great benefits but it can be boring and time consuming. If you’re the type of person who is always on the go, then sitting quietly and meditating feels like the last thing you want to do. But meditation and mindfulness are all the rage right now, so there must be some good behind it, right?

Here are some tips if you’ve tried meditation unsuccessfully in the past, but are still determined to reap all the benefits of it.

Meditation Tips for People Who Hate to Meditate — *This post contains affiliate and/or paid links which means that if you click on one of these links and buy a product, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Rest assured that I only recommend products that I love from companies that I trust. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice. I am simply a mother who has been there and lived to tell the tale.

Meditation, plainly speaking, is the act of focusing your thoughts. It is often associated with prayer, wellness retreats, mindfulness and yoga. But there are actually many different forms of meditation. If you think that meditation isn’t for you, then you probably just haven’t found the right way to do it.

The Benefits of Meditation

Everyone should look for a way to incorporate meditation into their self care routine, as it has so many different benefits. It might sound like something just for yogis or crunchy folk, but there is a lot of science behind it too. Stress is often caused by our brains working overtime, so meditation helps us to declutter our thoughts. By slowing down our minds, we can then focus in one at time.

Deep breathing and mindfulness are also a big part of meditation. If we take something that our body does automatically and start to pay attention to it, change it, control it, lengthen and shorten it – we feel a sense of control. This is especially helpful when it feels like everything else in our life is out of our control. There have been studies done that prove mindfulness meditation has an effect on our brains.

amazing benefits of yoga for postpartum depression — .

Meditate While Lying in Bed

Whether it’s first thing in the morning as soon as you open your eyes, or the last thing you do at at night before falling asleep, lying in bed is a great time to meditate. Instead of reaching for your phone when that alarm clock goes off, lie still, take some deep breaths and think about your day.

- How do you want to feel today?
- What do you want to accomplish?
- What are you worried about? Grateful for?

Simply being mindful before starting your day counts as meditation. Throughout the day, think about your answers and find ways to meet your goals.

At night, settle into that comfy spot in bed and take slow, deep breaths to help calm your body and mind. Reflect on your day, both the good and the bad.

- Did you meet the goals you set for yourself this morning?
- What do you want to change tomorrow?
- What is best thing that happened to you today? The worst?

Meditating while lying in bed is great for those who find it hard to fit meditation in throughout the day or are always on the go. Plus, some quiet meditation time before bed is a great way to battle insomnia.

Engage The Senses

Our senses play a big role in our mental health. The things we see, smell, hear, taste and touch can enhance the meditation process and make it more enjoyable. You can either focus on one or two of your senses at a time, or, for a full body experience, try to engage all the senses at once.

Sight

Closing our eyes during meditation is one way to eliminate distractions, but sometimes that can signal sleep which is a distraction in itself. An alternative would be to find a visual aid to focus on. It can be a photograph or art piece that brings you joy. Or focus on something that moves rhythmically, like a body of water, the trees blowing in the wind, a wind spinner, or an online visual aid.

Sound

You can find meditation playlists on nearly every music platform these days. Sounds play a significant role in meditation as they work to drown out noise and help us to stay focused within. Natural white noise like waves, thunderstorms, rain showers, bird calls, or Tibetan singing bowls are commonly used in meditation, but it doesn’t have to be slow and relaxing “spa” sounds. You can meditate to whatever sound you truly enjoy – even if it means listening to your favorite band or song.

Touch

With your skin being your body’s largest organ, it’s also your largest distraction. If you’re too hot or too cold, itchy or uncomfortable, you’re more likely to break your focus. Try meditating while sitting outside on a sunny day and feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. Sit in the grass or on the sand. Meditate while in a hot tub, sauna, pool or bathtub.

Smell

Enter aromatherapy. I’m talking about essential oils, diffusers, incense, candles or air fresheners. Inhaling scents that we love or that have various benefits can really enhance the process of meditation. Aromatherapy on it’s own can help to reduce stress and anxiety and using them during meditation is a great way to get a complete mental workout.

Taste

Meditating and a hot cup of herbal tea can be the perfect combination. If tea isn’t your thing, then meditate while drinking your morning coffee or smoothie. Meditate over a glass of wine or while indulging in your favorite dessert. Meditation can actually help to promote weight loss and a lot of that includes being mindful of what we ingest.

Warning Signs Your Body is Screaming for a Detox — .

Try Active Meditation

A common complaint about meditation is that it’s boring. Instead of doing meditation the traditional way, give active meditation a try. This consists of doing something meditative while being mindful. It’s a way to engage the physical part of our brain so that we can truly focus on the mental part that controls our stress and anxiety levels.

Some ways to practice active meditation include:

- walk, run or cycle
- stretch or do yoga
- write
- sing
- dance
- play an instrument
- knit or crochet
- color or draw
- wash the dishes, fold the laundry, etc.

You can actually meditate while doing any mundane and ordinary task. While your hands and body are busy, be mindful of your breathing and your thoughts. If your mind wanders, try to bring it back to your thought and breath. This is a great option for busy moms and those who don’t have 20 minutes to sit quietly and meditate.

Location, Location, Location

Where you meditate can also be key to achieving meditation success. As mentioned before, lying in bed is a great place to do it as you’re already comfortable and relaxed. Being comfortable should be a priority, but it’s also important to find a place free of distractions. If you need to, put on some noise cancelling headphones and shut or cover your eyes.

Try changing up the locations where you meditate so it doesn’t become too redundant. Try meditating outdoors. Meditate while in the shower. Meditate on the bus or subway. Drive out to the country and meditate in a field of flowers. Finding new places to meditate can make it more of an exciting challenge than a daily chore.

Download an app

If you find it difficult to meditate on your own and need a little guidance, then consider downloading a meditation app. Most apps are designed to help you stay consistent and offer variations based on what you want to work on. They also track your progress, which is encouraging for many. There are so many meditation apps that it all really comes down to preference.

Some of the most popular ones include:

- Headspace
- Calm
- Aura
- Breethe
- Buddhify

[Here’s some info on them, plus more!]

Meditation shouldn’t feel like a chore or something that you must do. It’s a mental exercise, and like physical exercise, even a little bit is better than nothing. If you can’t fit in a 20 minute meditation session, then start with 5 minutes and gradually work your way up. Over time, it will become second nature to take a moment of your day to be present and mindful.

And most importantly, remember that there is no wrong or right way to meditate. At the end of a session, if you feel relaxed and less stressed, then it’s working! Trying to keep up with the latest meditation trends can cause even more stress. Find what works for you and you’ll be more inclined to stick with it. For even more tips, check out this article from DIYogi.

How to Create a Self-Care Routine as a SAHM

Fitting in a self-care routine for stay-at-home moms may sound easy to do with all the time spent at home…

But trying to find the time and space to do it in is where the challenge lies. Stay at home moms very rarely have any time throughout the day where their kids are not following them around or in need of something. Even nap time presents moms with the decision of either getting caught up on work or taking time for themselves.

Developing a self-care routine is so important for stay at home moms. It’s a way to stay positive and energized throughout the day. Taking care of ourselves should be as much of a priority as taking care of the children, the household, or the finances. It may take some time to figure out how to create a self-care routine that works for you.

Here are some tips on building the essential self-care routine for stay at home moms.

(Plus – download a free workbook to help you put these tips into action!)

How To Create A Self Care Routine As A SAHM — *This post contains affiliate and/or paid links which means that if you click on one of these links and buy a product, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Rest assured that I only recommend products that I love from companies that I trust. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice. I am simply a mother who has been there and lived to tell the tale.

Eliminate the Guilt

Feeling guilty about taking care of yourself is normal for stay at home moms. We are inclined to put others first and take care of their needs, pushing our own to the bottom of the list. We keep thinking that we’ll start our self-care routine once everyone and everything else is taken care of. But no matter how much we do in a day, there is always something else that needs to be done. We need to make ourselves a priority. It can be hard to feel worthy enough, especially for moms battling postpartum depression.

The best way to avoid feeling guilty about time for yourself is to think of it as something that we are also doing for our loved ones.

Following a daily self-care routine means that we will be happier and healthier.
We will be more pleasant to be around, more present in the moment and less inclined to be frustrated and moody at the end of the day.
We are setting excellent examples for our children by taking care of and respecting ourselves.

In order to eliminate the guilt associated with self-care, you need to answer Why, Who and What:

WHY do you need a regular self-care routine? Are your mood swings out of control? Do you feel exhausted and overwhelmed all the time? Is there a health concern you want to focus on?

WHO you are doing this for? In addition to yourself, what else is important in your life? Do you want to set a good example for your children? Do you want to be a better partner in your relationship? Is your work or family life suffering?

WHAT is your ultimate goal? Do you want to be happier? Healthier? Have more energy? Are you struggling with postpartum depression or anxiety? Are you trying to wean off of medications that you’re taking?

5 Reasons Why Self Care Does Not Make You Selfish — .

Timing is Everything

Finding the time to fit in a self-care routine is probably the biggest obstacle for a stay at home mom. Usually we are surrounded by children from the time we get up in the morning until they go to bed, at which time we are too exhausted to do anything else. There are a few moments throughout the day when a stay at home mom could choose to fit in her self-care.

The first step is identifying the changes in your mood throughout the day. Try keeping track of your moods on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to see how and when they fluctuate. Often, the winter months can be worse for our moods, especially if you suffer from seasonal affective disorder. To make it easier, you can download a printable mood tracker from Shine Sheets.

Early in the morning

If you’re a morning person, this could work for you. Getting up early before everyone else is up and taking a nice, hot shower in peace sounds amazing. Drinking an entire cup of coffee and eating a warm breakfast while watching the sun rise is a great way to start the day.

Not so early in the morning

But if you’re not a morning person, then the idea of sacrificing those last few moments of sleep are a crime against humanity. There’s nothing wrong with fitting in that shower and coffee when you get up in the morning, it just means that your children will probably also be awake and ready to start their day at the same time. Try holding them off by offering them a small snack, a sippy cup of milk and a half-hour show to buy you some time.

Lunchtime

Make it a point to eat lunch together. Don’t feed the kids and expect to grab something later because later may never come. Eat when the kids eat and make yourself something healthy, don’t just pick at their leftovers.

11 Things Moms Do That Can Harm Their Mental Health — .

Nap time

If this is still a thing at your house, then congratulations! It hasn’t existed at my house for three years and I miss it so much. Nap time is the perfect time for fitting in a self-care routine. Don’t do the dishes or laundry or mop the floors… Rest.

Binge watch Netflix or read a few chapters in that book that’s been collecting dust on your nightstand. Don’t think of it as “being lazy.” Escaping into an imaginary world, whether it’s through the pages of a book or the television, is a way to relax your brain for a little while. You need to shut that thing off sometimes otherwise it overheats and doesn’t work as well.

When your shift is over

If your day has been an overly exhausting one, there’s no harm in asking for help. Calling in reinforcements just so you can have some time to yourself is not being selfish. It’s something that is essential to your well being and mental health. If there is a time when your spouse is home to watch the kids, of if you have family or a friend who can watch the kids for an hour – then take it!

After bedtime

Once the kids are in bed, if you’re like me, you have no energy left for self-care. (Is sleep training stressing you out? Check out this post.) But you’d be surprised how easy it is to fit it in. A hot shower before bed will help you sleep better. Turning on an essential oil diffuser in your bedroom as you go to sleep will help to calm your mind and relax you after a long day. A few simple yoga stretches or meditation are perfect to incorporate in your self-care routine at bedtime.

Figure Out What Works

Your self-care routine should consist of things that specifically work for you. Sure, yoga is great but if it’s not your thing, then forcing yourself to do it isn’t going to help you relax. Unfortunately, there is no one-size fits all self-care routine, so this is something you’re going to have to figure out for yourself.

Categorize Your Favorite Activities

Things that make you feel energized should be scheduled for the beginning of your day. Maybe it’s going for a walk or a run, listening to your favorite music or podcast, or taking a refreshing shower.

Save the things that make you feel relaxed for your evening self-care routine. Maybe you prefer a hot shower or bath before bed. Or having a warm cup of tea and watching the sunset. Guided meditation is another great way to calm the mind before bed.

List off all the things that make you feel happy and try to include them throughout your day. These could be things such as cooking or baking, gardening, crafting, chatting with a friend or anything else that you love to do.

Consider things you do for yourself all year round. Do you need a monthly trip to the salon? Or a spa day each year on your birthday? If summer is around the corner, schedule yourself a pedicure. Cold weather coming? Prepare for a round of the winter blues. Don’t put off these important tasks, schedule them today!

Make a Bucket List

Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be tedious and boring. While it’s good to have a regular routine in place, there are sure to be things that you could only dream of doing.

Make a list of things that you would love to be able to do for yourself SOMEDAY. And dream big… It could be something like taking a vacation somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, meeting a celebrity you idolize or attending the concert of your favorite artist. It’s alright if some things on your self-care bucket list are unrealistic, but having them written down will keep you motivated and inspired to live your best life.

Schedule It

Thinking about a self-care routine is a great first step. But writing it down and scheduling it makes it real and harder to avoid. Schedule in your self-care on the calendar or set a reminder in your phone. Your self-care appointments should be handled with just as much importance as medical appointments, meetings or sports practices. Adding it to a calendar lets everyone else know that you plan to make yourself a priority too.

If for some reason, you didn’t get a chance to fit in your self-care, don’t ignore it. Re-schedule it for another time. If you are strict about keeping up with your self-care routine, then the rest of your family will follow suit.

Try signing up for a monthly self-care subscription box.

Having a box delivered to your door is like a regular reminder to take care of yourself. Plus, the anticipation of getting a box full of goodies is something to look forward to each month and can get you excited about self-care.

Check out these popular favorites:

Download this FREE Self-Care Workbook to help you create a working self-care routine.

My Self Care Workbook - A Free Printable PDF — download the workbook

Once you’ve incorporated a regular self-care routine into your life, you should be able to see the difference it makes. Over time, taking a few minutes each day to do something just for you won’t seem so foreign, both to yourself and to your children. They will learn that mom’s going to take that shower and then she will feel happier.

Mothers with postpartum depression or anxiety should especially focus on maintaining a proper self-care routine. It’s a great way to keep symptoms under control, regardless of what other form of treatment we are seeking. While it might seem impossible to make lists of things that bring joy, mothers with postpartum depression can focus on small things and work their way up.