Meditation.

Now don’t click away because you don’t have time for this nonsense. Bear with me. What have you got lose, really? What do you have to lose just giving it a try?

So what is meditation exactly?

To think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time as a method of relaxation.

That’s it. In its most basic form it’s not religious or anything weird. It is simple. It is effective.

How does this relate to parenting?

Have you ever noticed how your child’s facial expression changes when something triggers you or stresses you out? When you are rushing, they feel your anxiety? When you are about to lose it, they almost cower or perhaps become even more wild?

What if I told you that the simple act of meditation each day would set you on your way to practically eliminating these triggers?

Ahh, a peaceful happy parent frolicking through the flowers. Not really (unless you want to).

Meditation will allow you to detach yourself from the chaos of the moment as if you are suspended in a slow-motion bubble while everyone else is on the outside of your bubble doing whatever it is they are doing. You can think in this bubble. You can laugh in this bubble. You can say “wow my children are nuts. Look at that one drawing all over his face. And that one over there licking peanut butter off the floor. Kids sure are weird.”

Taking this moment of focusing within allows those triggers to dissipate and for you to just be and just witness. The chaos and mess can’t touch you. It is reality. It isn’t hurting anybody. It’s not an emergency. So just breathe.

What if I told you that it is scientifically proven that meditation and mindfulness actually work? That meditation each day will actual change the structure of your brain; creating more gray matter (which is a good thing)?

In a study carried about by MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study’s senior author, Sarah Lazar, PhD,  said, “although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day. This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.”

So how do you do this whole meditation thing?

Here is the beginning version of a breathing meditation for parents that always have kids trying to climb into their eyeballs.

If you need to plop your kid in front of a show for 10 minutes or save it for laying in bed at night, then do what you need to do. Your brain and children will thank you.

For some awesome guided meditations, the app Headspace, is incredible and offers a free trial of 10 guided meditations.

Do you have a favorite meditation resource? Please share it in the comments!