We can give all the work out tips we want, but we know one thing for sure. As a busy mothers or mother-to-be, we know most of your life revolves around your family. There’s no denying the life of a mother is extremely busy with a lot of competing demands. So it can be hard to scrape out a little me time along the way.
But that time is what helps you exercise, rest and recover so you can be a mother that makes you proud. And that’s why we think you should ask for something a little special this Mother’s Day.
Here at Body Beyond Birth, we think this Mother’s Day a little ‘me time’ should be on the menu!
Most of the time, mothers are working full tilt. You’re managing the school and after school activities runs. You’ve got family occasions to think of. There’s cleaning the house and endless streams of chores, shopping and meal preparation.
There’s helping kids with homework and keeping them out of mischief after school, on holidays and each weekend. Bath time blues and dinner table struggles mix in with joyous moments. Work also has to fit in there somewhere. So too does your relationship.
Sheesh- parenting is adulting on steroids!
Your calendar is brimming with all kinds of regular tasks and obligations as well as last minute events for your kids, partner, friends and extended family. And not just at certain times of the year- pretty much all the time you have the pedal to the floor.
With so many things to do and so little time to complete it, it can be hard to work out how it’s all going to get done.
But maybe, this is the time you should slow down the most
At Body Beyond Birth, we’re a firm believer in this beautiful Zen proverb:
“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day — unless you’re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour.”
Too busy? Take time out and enjoy the difference
As mothers, we tend to put everyone else first. We squeeze each minute out of every day. We’re there for all the care our children and partner need. Yet we have this inability to care for ourselves.
But this Mother’s Day, we’re making it about you. We’re challenging you to find that 20 minutes (or 60 minutes like the proverb says) to focus on your health. One of the best work out tips (beyond the call to ‘just start’) is to be consistent. Train your body and your mind to want exercise time.
But to do that, you have to give yourself the time first! It’s about lowering the guilt of taking time out and realizing the benefit a 20 minute per day commitment can make.
Me time in small, exercise shaped parcels
One of the most neglected work out tips is taking time out for yourself. We all know that if you exercise and spend time on yourself, you’re better able to cope with what life throws at you. We also know that many of our members are suffering from sleep deprivation, which only makes things worse.
We’re so concerned with giving to our families, we forget if we’re happier, fitter and more energized, our families benefit. We feel guilty because we’re thinking of ourselves. But that 20 minutes you take out for you can make a huge difference to how we support our families.
So we’re asking you to take up the Body Beyond Birth ‘me time’ challenge.
How does the ‘me time’ challenge work?
The ‘me time’ challenge is about you teaching yourself to rest, relax and restore on your own terms. So what you choose as your 20 minutes can be entirely up to you.
We have collected some great suggestions from interviewing our members. And brainstorming some ideas at Body Beyond Birth HQ. These work out tips are designed to help fit in with your busy lifestyle.
You can choose one of these or design your own:
- Join your local MamaBake chapter. Instead of preparing a meal every night, you can join a MamaBake chapter and cook weekly with a bunch of other Mums. Take home fresh, nutritious and yummy meals to your family after socializing. You’ll gain more than 20 minutes a day plus enjoy some ‘me time’ friendship in the process.
- Take advantage of the Body Beyond Birth trial.If you still haven’t taken the trial plunge, now is your chance. You can carve out some ‘me time’ and release endorphins at a time that suits you free of charge on your own home. Now that’s some cool ‘me time’ stuff right there!
- Hit the walking trails.Grabbing the iPod and walking to your favorite tunes is a great way to exercise and meditate at the same time! Walking as part of the BBB course or simply taking a walk off your own bat has the same wonderful feeling.
- Make meal time your creative time.We love the recipes selected by our resident nutritionist. Not just because they’re tasty and healthy at the same time! You can create tasty meals and enjoy the buzz from a little DIY within 20 minutes a day with the Body Beyond Birth recipes. Nice!
- Take up a creative challenge.Creativity is another form of meditation. From the adult coloring book through to painting, singing and more, exercising your creativity is a great way to relieve stress.
- Take up actual meditation.There are some great Apps with guided meditations available for smart phones and tablets. Apps like OmVana allow you to meditate whenever you have time. Make the bus ride or waiting for the kids more enjoyable and restful now!
Not only do these sorts of activities help give you that valuable ‘me time’, they help in other ways, too.
Exercise, creativity and meditation all help lower our heart rate as well as give the brain a sense of wellbeing through activity and focus.
There is also increasing evidence to show that they can help us lower stress levels. And even help with depression and/or anxiety.
Are you ready to jump on board?
Here’s the ‘me time’ challenge in nuts and bolts
- Decide what you will do with your 20 minutes a day (or 60 minutes if you really don’t have time).
- Block out the time to make it happen. Stick to it! Forget the guilt or excuses. Allow yourself this small luxury.
- If it helps to keep your motivation high, get your family involved! Set goals and bring them along for the journey. Dob yourself into your loving partner so they encourage you to keep to your schedule.
- Chart your success. Cross off each Body Beyond Birth trial day or lesson or recipe you complete. Use a smart phone App like MapMyWalk to chart your walking progress (and the songs that motivate you the most) for walking. Work your way through the meditations on OmVana. Count how many friends and/or creative works you make through MamaBake or your new artistic hobby.
- Share your success with us on the Body Beyond Birth community page. We want to hear your small wins and those 20 minute challenge success stories. And we’ll be sharing our own.
