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You sit down to do a breathing exercise and by breath three, you're already thinking about your to-do list. You've forgotten why you're even breathing on purpose. If that's you, good news: that's not you failing at this. That's just what the beginning looks like.
Today's episode is a companion to Sunday's practice on creating mental space. You don't need to have listened to get what you need right now — just an honest look at why breathing exercises are harder than they sound, why a simple anchor word makes all the difference, and the same morning and night practice from Sunday to settle back into.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- Why a wandering mind during a breathing practice isn't failure — it's actually the most well-documented part of the whole process, especially for beginners
- Why anchoring your breath to a word or visual gives your mind something concrete to return to
- The same "space" (morning) and "settle" (night) practice from Sunday, so you can keep building the habit
Press play, and give yourself the same grace you'd give any beginner — because that's exactly what this practice is for.
Resources & Links:
Oh, hello midlife on Substack Join Valerie’s biweekly newsletter for hot takes on the three "A’s": Aging gracefully, AI in work, and Affirmations for grounding.
The Calm Kit: Sign up for 'The Midlife Minute' and receive your free "10-Minute Calm Kit for Sandwich Generation Moms" as a special thank you! Midlife Mindfulness Toolkit
Read her articles: ohhellomidlife.com
You’re listening to the right show, formerly known as the Mindful Life Changes or Mindful Career Change. We’ve pivoted through the years, but finally landed on the right path: content for moms in the ‘Sandwich Generation’, because midlife disruption doesn't have to break you.
New episodes drop on:
- Sundays: 20-min episodes addressing common midlife challenges with practical strategies plus a mindfulness practice (affirmations, mantras, or meditations)
- Wednesdays: Bite-sized episodes to reinforce Sunday's mindfulness technique & reset your week
More from The Mindful Midlife Mom:
Discover Valerie's articles on ohhellomidlife.com or watch her videos on YouTube @ohhellomidlife
This podcast explores patience, meditation, confidence, presence, and overcoming resentment while cultivating calm, peace, mindfulness, clarity, mantras, and addressing loneliness and burn out; it covers boundaries, caregiving, guilt, affirmations, working moms, self-care, midlife crisis, empty nesters, empowerment, people pleasing, compassion fatigue, family caregiving, stress relief, self-worth, stress management, and how to shift from reactive to centered when feeling short tempered, offering tools for self acceptance, easing mental exhaustion, building emotional resilience, harnessing inner strength, and preventing caregiver fatigue for those in the sandwich generation through expert advice on boundaries setting.
