But I am a mom with two children, two boys no less - ages five and eight. Ages that propel boys to run and bounce and re-enact space wars, complete with the high voltage sound effects for explosions and crashes.

Meditation? Who am I kidding?

But what I would like to propose is that it is absolutely possible to have a practice while raising children. Even with two rambunctious boys - especially with two rambunctious boys.

What most spiritual teachers or practices don’t often recognize, is that parenting can be a practice. Like any other formal practice, parenting requires dedication and commitment. When we practice being mindful while parenting, we are given zillions of opportunities to notice how we’re feeling, to be patient and pause before we react, to use our frustrations and preoccupations as signals to come back to the present. And what is even better that traditional meditation, is that when we are triggered by parenting issues, we have an opportunity to resolve our own unconscious issues and negative patterns, and to become a more conscious parent and person.

So for now, meditation may have to wait, and in the meantime, parenting will be my practice.

By Lisa Nave

Labels: good parenting, Lisa Nave, meditation, rambunctious boys

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