Boost Your Parenting Confidence

Hi there, Sam here. (bright gentle music) You're beginning the second of two mindful activities for this lesson. In the audio lesson, you learned about the importance of affirmations. Now we'll continue by exploring ways to craft our own affirmations. Think of this as a thank-you note to yourself, to have in your parenting toolkit as a good reminder during the most difficult times. In today's practice, we'll introduce two more questions that we can ask ourselves, to get clearer on what we most want to remember and focus on. So feel free to grab a journal, or a piece of paper and a pen, to jot down whatever comes to mind as you practice today. And before we get started, we'll just take a few minutes to get comfortable and grounded in the present moment. So let's start by finding a comfortable seated position. Just take this moment to bring some length to your spine, inviting your body to land here. Allowing your shoulders to relax down away from your ears. Letting go of any tightness in the jaw, and just allowing your eyes to close, if that feels comfortable for you. And let's take a few slow deep breaths, breathing in through your nose, and out through your mouth. And on your next deep breath, feel your lungs and belly expand as you breathe in. And then feel the lungs deflate as you slowly breathe out. And again, take one more deep breath, seeing if you can make the exhale just a little bit longer and slower than your inhale. And now allow your breath to find its own natural, easy rhythm, just noticing where in your body you feel your natural breath. And you can return to this anchor point at any time in the practice. And now we'll invite a question, not forcing a response, but just getting curious and open about what you notice, whatever it is. And the question is, what do you most long to hear from a trusted parent friend or loved one? Perhaps it's something reassuring about how you're parenting, or maybe something loving, something that affirms you. Just imagine what someone you love and trust could say to you that would be deeply comforting. And just notice what's arising, allowing your experience to be just as it is, without forcing anything in particular to happen. And the last question we'll ask ourselves is, what do you want to know for sure? Or what do you want to be certain about? You may notice a wish to know that you're safe, that you're supported, or that you're loved. Maybe other things are coming to mind, as well. Just making space for whatever is showing up to be just as it is. And then take a slow, deep breath, wiggling your toes and your fingers. And if your eyes are closed, feel free to open them now. So take some time now to write about what came to mind. And then you can...