It’s Thursday early afternoon here, I just put Sophia our 15 month old to have a nap and the boys are super excited because they get to watch Frozen 2 for the 6th time already!
And I get to reward myself with a cup of tea and some chocolate after a morning full of activities: arts and crafts, spelling, music, a bike ride and an attempt to video zoom Oliver’s classmates 🙂
While I was walking with the kids this morning, I realised something interesting. What if we all come of this crisis with stronger mindsets and become experts in mindfulness.
My first thought was “There is soooo much information on mindfulness and meditation out there already….how can people choose through the pile?”
While I’ve mentioned the power of mindfulness many times, I am really passionate about helping people live in the moment and connecting you with the right people.
Now more than ever, it’s about calming our anxieties in uncertain times. We are experiencing major changes in health risks, global economy, childcare, social interaction, the stock markets, pensions, employment and changes in how we work. It makes perfect sense that these changes will affect us and will lead to increased levels of stress.
That’s why I want to introduce you to one of my dear speakers, Clinical Psychologist Chantal Hofstee who has the most amazing and easy to follow online mindfulness course to help us support our mental health and those around us. Chantal has created this beautiful course to help equip us with research based techniques and strategies.
I know personally that if I don’t do some mindfulness on myself, I can loose my patience and my kind sweet voice can become quite an irritating one if I don’t look after myself. With three young children, aged 6, 4 and 1, I am quite tired by the end of the day especially during the lockdown. And we all know that children take their safety cues from us. Another really important reason to look after ourselves and our mental health.
I know some people resist mindfulness because they don’t see the value in it or they think they don’t have the time. I can completely relate as I used to be that person and thought it was too hard to fit in my already very busy life. But once I tried Chantal’s “mindfulness on the go”, I realised that actually I don’t need to dedicate loads of time to it, her exercises are designed so that we can use them during the things that we do everyday like driving, picking up the kids from school, eating breakfast or dinner, or taking a shower. That way, I could still practice my mindfulness and have the same effect as meditating for longer periods without actually setting aside loads of time.
It didn’t make my life any less busy but it helped me have a calm and present mind in my full days! I learnt so much about the brain, stress and how I can use mindfulness to effectively retrain my brain to reduce stress. But ultimately Chantal gets you to practice it everyday until it becomes a habit. It’s brilliantly designed and so easy to follow.
It will be so much more beneficial than spending time on social media or over watching the news these days. It will become a habit and you can get the whole family involved too 🙂
Think about it.
As a mother, and a key emotional backbone of the family, we have that magic touch. We have the ability to empower everyone in the family especially during these challenging times.
Aren’t you ready to take it to the next level and learn how to truly reduce stress, protect your mental health and your loved ones, process emotions, help yourself and everyone around you to cope with changes. And why not do something for you in these difficult times?
Now if you are ready, Chantal has a special offer for Balancing Act’s members. You will receive a 40% discount when you use the code ‘BalancingactMindfulness’. In addition to Chantal’s course, she will also be hosting a free weekly webinar for all course participants. It includes Q&A and practical coaching on how to use the techniques specifically for the situations the you are facing in your life right now. I am so excited for you already!
I think it’s just as important as working out, if you want to strengthen your “live in your present” muscle and launch into an entirely new way of living, give this a go. You will really learn so much.
Let’s stay strong together 🙂
Always lots of health and love,
Karina x
