If you’re someone that hears the word meditation and rolls your eyes, we totally get it! When you have a billion and one things to do, the idea of sitting and seemingly doing absolutely nothing for ten minutes or more seems, well, absolutely bonkers! Especially when sitting in stillness serves only to remind you of how stressed you actually are.

For many people, implementing healthier habits when it comes to food and exercise seems pretty doable, but when it comes to meditation, it can be a real struggle.

And that’s because the mind absolutely loves to be busy and entertained. And trying to tame our mental chatterbox is certainly no easy feat.

But how about if we told you that getting into a regular meditation routine really is worth pushing past the initial resistance? And what if we told you that your resistance is a necessary part of meditating? In fact, in many ways, the huge amount of resistance that comes up around meditation will make it all the more rewarding when you do drop into those moments of nothingness and peace.

So, before you dismiss meditation as some hippy-dippy, new-age idea, let’s give you some science-based facts!

What are the scientific benefits of meditation?

It reduces stress and stress-related habits. If you’re a stressed-out mama, meditation is a powerful way to help you slow down and feel more peace and calm.

It improves your overall mood, increasing your sense of happiness and wellbeing.
It strengthens your immune system.
It improves your focus, memory and ability to concentrate. So it goes without saying, it makes you a hell of a lot more productive!
It improves your relationships. Regular meditation increases gratitude and appreciation for your life and those in it.
It supports the body to function properly and can help counteract heart disease, sleep problems, digestive issues, osteoporosis, obesity and depression.

Who wouldn’t want to reap all these amazing benefits?!

So we are going to give you a few simple meditations that are easy to implement into your daily routine. You can pick which one works for you and even personalise them to suit your needs.

What are some simple meditations for me to try?

If you’re not that familiar with meditation, then you may be wondering where to start. So we’d love to give you a few ideas to get you on your merry-meditating way!

For these meditations, it’s best to find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed and sit comfortably either on a chair or on your sofa, and have your eyes closed.

Simple focusing. The mind never rests. This is why many people call it the “Monkey mind”, as it jumps from thought to thought with no pause in between. The good news is that you can slow the thoughts and quiet the monkey mind by simply focusing on something that is constant. You can calm your mind’s chatter by focusing on your breath, on a word, a mantra or on a sound. When your mind wanders (which it will!), keep bringing your focus back to the breath, mantra or sound.
Box breath meditation. This is a simple and popular meditation, which gives you something extra to focus on: counting! Box breath meditation is when you count to 4 on the inhale, hold for 4 counts, exhale for 4 and then hold again for 4 counts. Set a timer for 10 minutes and repeat until the timer goes off.
Candle meditation. You can do this any time of day, but it can be particularly relaxing at night before bedtime (when the baby is asleep). The idea is to sit comfortably and stare at a lit candle in front of you. If you slightly close your eyes it is easier to avoid blinking and focus the mind. Be mindful of the breath and make sure you’re breathing easily and deeply.
Rainbow meditation. This meditation is a particular favourite for people that are more visual. Bring your awareness to the middle of your forehead in between your eyebrows (aka your third eye). You’re going to be sending the breath from the base of your spine upwards to the crown of your head visualising the colours of the rainbow. So let’s start by bringing your attention to the base of your spine and imagining a beautiful, bright vibrant colour red. As you draw the breath upwards to the lower abdomen, imagine a warm colour of orange spreading through your back. As you move the breath upwards towards your belly, imagine the colour yellow, like the sun, bringing warmth to your whole midriff area. With the next breath imagine the colour green filling your chest and then blue as you move to your throat. And finally, as you move to the crown of your head, imagine the colour violet radiating upwards out of your crown towards the sky. Breathe deeply and connect to all colours: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Feel all the colours of the rainbow inside your body helping to bring balance, peace and harmony into this moment.

Final thoughts

We know it’s near impossible to find a moment to meditate when you’re a mother, but we can’t stress enough how different you will begin to feel if you commit to making time to meditate every day. Start with just five minutes and work your way up.

When you feel you don’t have time to meditate, that’s often when you need it most. If you can’t make time to meditate, then at least make time to breathe.

Giving that monkey mind just a few moments of downtime has the power to dramatically alter your life in amazing ways!

Meditation tips for mamas

Find your Zen with Unii's easy-to-follow meditation tips.