Start Your Meditation Journey with the 5 x 3 Rule

One of the greatest myths about meditation, which often turns people away, is that you need to meditate for an hour or so to reap the benefits. After over 10 years of teaching meditation and practicing meditation myself for over 20 years- I can tell you for certain, that this is not necessarily accurate.

Although a lengthy focused state of meditation will impact brain changes, most of us will not be able to stay focused for more than 15-20 minutes. In fact, the thought of needing 40-60 minutes to meditate, especially for beginners, often stresses people out, which is completely counterproductive. If you can liken your meditation training to your exercise programe, you will have the best results... build slowly and repetition is the key to creating a healthy sustainable habit.

 The main goal of Mindful Mummies program is to help you get calm because your calm self is your best self. And in order to keep you in the sweet spot of calm, I like to think of meditation more as a self-correction or self-soothing tool, than something you try to do for an hour a day. So if the thought of needing a large chunk of your day to meditate is stressing you out, then you will love my rule.

I call it the 5 x 3 rule. All you need is 5-7 minutes 3 times per day to build the muscle of meditation. Implementing the 5 x 3 rule into your day looks like this:

 Morning:

As you wake, before you jump out of bed, take 5 minutes to become aware of your body and connect with your breath. Take 8 slow breaths and feel your breath filling your body. Focus on the sensations in your body and relax and soften any tight muscles. Bring your mind to focus on the word calm- picture something your mind associates with calm (for example walking in nature or at the beach, or the gentle flow of water), feel the sensations of calm in your body and say the affirmation, “I am calm.” The aim of this is to set your body and mind into a calm state before you get out of bed and jump into your default stress mode.  Challenge yourself by letting any noise or distractions continue around you, while you focus on your breathing- the more you focus on your inner self, the more silent your outer world becomes.

 Midday/early afternoon:

Take 5-7 minutes sometime during your day to check in with your body. Notice if your body is holding stress (tightness) anywhere and notice if your mind is busy. Repeat the above exercise to bring your body back to a calm state.

 Evening:

As you fall asleep take 5-7 minutes to reconnect with your breath and relax your body. This stage of the meditation is about letting go of your day (letting go of the past). Focus on relaxing and letting go. Feel your body relaxing into the mattress and allow your breath to take you into a deep calm sleep.

Check out Peace in My Pocket Meditation Podcast for guided meditations to help you with your practice.

Please check out the Mindful Mummies Facebook page for more tools and please share your journey with other beautiful mamas in the Mindful Mummies Lounge (facebook group)

Have you downloaded your FREE guide- The 5 Steps to Instant Calm? If not, you can do so here. And be sure to also check out our Meditation for Mums 7 day online course. Only $7 for days.