Nine self-care activities for parents that can be done in the 15 minutes before kids wake, suggests Sarah Handley
If your mornings feel frantic, rushed and overwraught, here are some tried and tested ways of clawing back a brief moment for you, and you alone, amongst the chaos. We asked some mums to share real and practical advice for doing self-care in 15 minutes or less and this is what they said.
Mindful breathing
Bringing attention to only your breath is a great relaxation technique. Sesh Naidoo, Mum, Science Teacher and coach recommends lying down with a single focus on mindfully controlling your breath.
Do it at home: The most basic way to do mindful breathing is simply to focus your attention on your breath, then inhale and exhale. You can do this while standing, but ideally you’ll be sitting or even lying in a comfortable position. Your eyes may be open or closed, but you may find it easier to maintain your focus if you close your eyes. It can help to set aside a designated time for this exercise, but it can also help to practice it when you’re feeling particularly stressed or anxious. Experts believe a regular practice of mindful breathing can make it easier to do it in difficult situations.
Take an epsom salts bath
This isn't an original suggestion, but it's super effective. Many mums feel like their only sanctuary is their bathroom; sound familiar? Why not make the bathroom a regular safe-haven in the morning before little feet make an entrance, by running yourself a relaxing bath. Epsom salts optional. Lavender essential oil is also nice.
Make Running Easier
Maud Hodson ran a marathon in her back garden during lockdown. “It is a small garden - about 8.5 metres long, and quite narrow,” she explained. “I managed to refine that into a figure-of-eight lap of 19 metres, moving the garden chairs into the middle so I can run behind them, so I just ran 2,221 laps of the garden!”
Julie Creffield, transformational coach and plus size marathon runner says: “For women we find it hard enough to prioritise our wellbeing at the best of times, I just wanted to hold space for women to do movement and wellness activities in a perfectly imperfect way.”
Do namaskars or sun salutations
Grab your yoga mat and head out to the garden to greet the rising sun. Yoga Journal suggests that the roots of modern sun salutation rituals can be traced back 3,500 years; Namaskars were first described in the Rig Veda, the oldest collection of sacred Indian scriptures.
Practice Quick EFT
EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique, and is also known as Tapping. Tapping is a fantastic stress reduction tool - simply stimulating the acupressure points on your face and upper body (much like acupuncture, but without the needles!) you send a signal to your brain that you're safe.
And by talking about how you feel at the same time, you can dissolve any unwelcome feelings, simply by acknowledging them and then letting them go.
Therapist Louisa Hussey says: “You can tap whenever and wherever you like. It's a fantastic tool to keep in your self-care arsenal. It might look a bit weird to start - but it's one of the best kept secrets for instant calm. I recommend you try a quick tapping sequence in the morning to set you up for the day.”
Make a mug of raspberry tea
For a quick-win, mood booster, herbal teas are really healthy and super easy to make; just add about 5 or 6 raspberry leaves to hot water and you’ll have a refreshing vitamin-boosting drink to enjoy. We also recommend a nettle tea as an iron boosting tonic; add a couple of nettle tops to a mug and top up with hot water – it deactivates the stinging properties.
Barefoot gardening
Eccentric? Absolutely! Helpful? Yes. Now the warmer and lighter mornings are here. Being out in the garden early in the morning when the dew is still on the grass is a great energy booster. By being barefoot, we have a direct connection to the earth and its magnetic field; it’s called Earthing. The science behind the benefits is based on the fact that the body absorbs negative ions from the earth through the sole of the foot. Our bodies are in need of negative ions as we are surrounded and flooded by positive ions in today's world (think of everything with a power source that emits a signal).
Make a gratitude list
When we are anxious or stressed or even just lost in our own negative thoughts, making a list of everything that we are thankful for in our lives helps to ground and calm us. The list can include people, “the love of family and friends”, to places “the oak tree in the park”.
Write it all out
Wrap yourself in a blanket and find a quiet spot where you can journal and set your intentions for the day; if specific things are bothering or giving you anxiety, just writing them out can help to clear away thought patterns that aren’t serving you in a positive way. ‘Morning pages’ is a journaling method that comes from Julia Cameron’s, the Artist's Way; as soon as you wake three pages of longhand consciousness writing. Nicola Rae-Wickham of alifemoreinspired.com says: “I recommend this as it is really great for uncovering those limiting and unconscious beliefs.”
Sarah is a mother and step-mother of two children. She runs a tech marketing start up.
