“What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favourite day,” said Pooh. A A Milne

This is such a cute quote but powerful. If only we could remember that every day is a blessing and to practice mindfulness daily. You can show gratitude by taking the time daily to pay attention to the little things that we rush through.

Being present in the moment is about moving past any negative emotions. When feeling anxious, I will sometimes take a moment to myself and place my hand on my heart and simply feel my heartbeat. By bringing it back to the body, you can turn down all the noise in your mind and ease anxiety.

As you may notice, I write about self-care a lot. Why? Because self-care has brought calmness and happiness to my life. Why? Because I know it has made me a better mother. Let’s not just survive motherhood but let’s thrive through motherhood! Remember that you are doing an amazing job. As we start the beginning of a new month, let’s reflect on what changes we want to make in our lives and what habits we want to start doing so that we are operating from our best self. Part 3 of our self-care series:

MINDFULNESS

After a busy day with a packed schedule, it’s tough to shift your mindset to a calm bedtime state. It’s easy to let the stress of your daily responsibilities prevent you from having a regular nightly routine. Luckily, there are plenty of mindfulness exercises that can help. All you need to do is carve out the time at the end of the day to do them. The term “mindfulness” often refers to mindfulness meditation, but there are plenty of ways to practice mindful self-care without meditating in the traditional sense.

The three printable mindfulness activities below are great for both adults and kids to do before bedtime. You can start with box breathing, a proven technique to increase mental clarity and reduce worry and anxiety. A five senses reflection exercise guides you to record sensory details from a recent positive memory. You can also try a gratitude mapping exercise, challenging yourself to include as many specific details as possible.

You can click here to download these printables now.

One of the best parts about these mindfulness activities is that you don’t need your phone or any other device. Completely eliminating screen time from your evening routine is critical to sleeping more soundly. After all, studies have even shown that the artificial blue light emitted by our devices inhibit the release of melatonin, which can interfere with the body’s natural Circadian rhythm.

Practicing mindfulness before bed not only improves your mental state, but also increases the quality of your sleep. There’s no right or wrong way to be mindful, in the same way that practicing self-care is unique to every individual. For you, being mindful could mean sipping tea and coloring. Someone else’s definition of mindfulness could be listening to music while cozying up in their favorite pajamas. Everyone is different and there are endless options. The first step is giving yourself the gift of time and making space in your life for self-care. Focus on how these mindfulness practices make you feel good. Your mind and body deserve it.

And remember at times mindfulness may be simply relaxing and watching a movie. Don’t stress yourself out trying to be mindful every minute of the day. Aim for at least five minutes a day practicing a mindful exercise that you enjoy.