Meditate….Go On I dare you!

How often do you take time out everyday to just ‘be’. I mean to sit and close your eyes and let your mind and body become quiet and be still. Does that happen? Ever? Being a mom means our work is never ending. When the kids sleep we want to be getting things done, right? Who has time to quiet their minds and sit in silence? Well the more research that comes out about meditation, the more its proven benefits show just how important it is to be still EVERY SINGLE DAY. It’s not something I commit to daily. I wish I did. I haven’t yet figured  out how to incorporate it into my daily life like other rituals such as putting on the coffee every morning, or taking a shower. But when you read about the many benefits of meditation it’s really quite obvious that every one should take time out (what’s five minutes? Or even ten?) to just sit in stillness and breathe.

Oprah Winfrey has teamed up with Deepak Chopra and together they have a website entitled chopracentermeditation.com where every so often they promote a free three week meditation journey. All you have to do is register online and you will get guided through 21 days of meditations. Each day is different and focuses on something new. I have taken part in this experience twice before. The next free 21 day trial starts July 13th. So go onto the website and register. I encourage you to try it if you haven’t ever done it before. It’s especially helpful because you commit to something outside of yourself that makes you show up and be accountable every day. And you will be amazed how you’ll come to look forward to it and how quickly the time will pass. Hopefully it will be such a positive experience, you will start to incorporate it into your daily routine.  Because really what good are we to our children, our families  our friends and coworkers if we can’t be good to ourselves first? So let’s start making our mental health and overall well-being a priority.

Let’s commit to taking better care of ourselves. Baby steps…because change is hard so we have to take it slow and be patient with ourselves. But I assure you that the benefits of meditation far outweigh any excuses we may have for  NOT carving out the time in our day to do it. I’ve signed up and am looking forward to the challenge. I hope you will join me.