Are You Ready For A Mind Spa?

I remember a time not so long ago as a sleep deprived mom. Constant sleep disruptions had taken a toll on my health, my mood and my energy levels. If that were not enough, with toddler around I felt like my mind was on constant vigil. The most difficult part was not being able to get a mental-break even for a few minutes. At times when I got an hour to myself, I would find it difficult to calm down my constant train of buzzing thoughts and just as I would doze off, I would hear someone call out ‘mama’.

The details could be different, but this in essence describes what many young mothers go through. Incidentally, this is also a time when we need to be on top of our game. We’ve all experienced that our bad mood can cascade to how our children feel and sometimes the spiral is just difficult to break out of.

The one thing that helped me tide over that phase was practising mindfulness. Knowing about mindfulness is one thing, practising it and making it an everyday habit is another. It isn’t impossible to do, though given the frantic pace of our lives it is difficult to find even 10 minutes to sit down and just focus on breathing without getting distracted by the phone or a child demanding attention. We are always living in our mind – thinking, worrying, and planning and mentally executing.

A MindSpa session is designed to do just that – orient mothers, give them the experience of a mindful state and help them make it a part of their daily life. It is a natural, effective and quick way of giving the mind the much needed mental break. The process combines soothing sound waves and guided visualizations to help the mind remain calm and yet focussed – so that we are able tide over the constant mental chatter and experience a deep zone of silence.

Some people who have experienced the MindSpa describe the experience being aware of everything but not being affected by any of it. Some others have felt a tangible feeling of ‘time slowing down’. It is vaguely similar to how we feel just before falling asleep – when all the thoughts have settled down. The only difference is, in a MindSpa session mothers can learn how to create that feeling for themselves in the middle of their busy days.

Mindfulness when practised consistently brings ‘acceptance’ of situations. It does not mean you would suddenly become a zen-mom and smile at all of your child’s behaviour. Being mindful might just help you react less often or with less intensity –to your child’s dropping food or messing up a clean house. It might help you pause more often and enjoy small motherhood moments. At times when you feel the anger surging it might just make you more aware of your own anger so that you can take control before the situation spirals out of hand. It might make you feel more kindness towards yourself and your kids.

What is special about the ‘MindSpa for mommies’ is that apart from talking about the ways to become mindful everyday and some practical exercises that demonstrate being mindful, it benefits mothers by helping them create time for themselves to do the things that make them happy.

You’d be surprised with moments of time that suddenly free up. Its hard to believe but it is true – when the mind slows down, time slows too.

If you would like to attend a Mind Spa session, here’s one in Bengaluru.

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