Izzy Judd's beautiful and practical book will hold your hand through the challenging and exhausting days as well as the exciting and happy days. So in mindfulness it's this ability to start recognising our own patterns of thinking that may not be that helpful for us. Once we start recognising those unhelpful patterns then we can start doing something about it, we can start having a choice. It's sort of reducing our reactivity and increasing our ability to respond more wisely.” There are a number of different ways we can learn to be mindful and id like to share some activities with you that are simple and effective to use:

Whenever I answer the phone, I notice the receiver against my ear, sense my breath moving in and out.I know this might sound counter-intuitive – to focus on something we are trying to stop, but this is singlehandedly the biggest technique that has helped me squash my worries. Take five minutes to breathe, stretch and think positive thoughts, and then you have 25 more minutes to sprinkle into your morning routine so you aren’t rushing and frazzled. An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. This means paying attention to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the present moment. That might be something as simple as the feel of a banister as we walk upstairs. Here are a few guidelines, from Moni Celebi, a parent-infant psychotherapist from Babies1st, that many parents have found helpful:

Some people call this awareness "mindfulness". Mindfulness can help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better. You can take steps to develop it in your own life. What is mindfulness? You’ve spoken about mindfulness giving your kids the tools to deal with life’s ups and downs. How can a mindfulness practice be helpful for kids? A lot of mothering (and parenting) is often done in ‘automatic pilot mode’. We are multi-tasking the day away as we drill through the endless ‘to do’ list – never happy or comfortable to sit in the moment and just ‘be’. Mothers are particularly susceptible to depression and anxiety – you are NOT alone. Living more mindfully can help us get on top of negative or worrisome thought patterns (often known as catastrophising) – it’s a way of managing those pesky “what if” scenarios. Small but beautiful things can transform your day. So stop every hour and do one thing that is kind towards yourself and just for you. You could try the Three-minute Breathing Space meditation below to restore a sense of calm. Or you could simply have a cup of tea with a good friend. Can you think of one active thing you can do that will move your experience today towards the positive?

Some tips for the practice of mindfulness

A change of scenery is often helpful. Look outwards and tone down that negative internal dialogue. Observe the colour of the sky, notice the sounds and the temperature around you and really tune in. Nature has a very calming effect on our bodies. Having a bad day, needing to ask for help or not handling a situation well is expected.Just as you pause and think about how you respond to your child, do the same for yourself.