Hello, March! The weeks have been quickly passing and I’ve been simultaneously enjoying clarity and fog. Strange, right? As my belly grows, I’ve embraced some inner inspiration coupled with a kind reality check about my post-graduate plans. While I’m gaining clarity on my timeline and future directions, I’m struggling with getting things done in lab and, as ridiculous as it sounds, pregnancy brain! It feels like the last two weeks, I’ve been making my daily plans in lab like usual, but letting myself get diverted with other things. I’m left feeling unfocused and drained.

If I’m honest with myself, my mindfulness practice has been slacking these weeks. I have been fitting my daily meditation time in before bed, which is great for unwinding before I sleep, but perhaps I’m not reaping all of benefits I could be without my morning practice. As someone who knows how much better I feel when I take the time to meditate, why aren’t I squeezing it in in the mornings you might wonder. Sleep. I have been neglecting my morning meditation session for sleep. During my early pregnancy days, I was incredibly tired. To accommodate the changes happening in my body, my daily routine shifted to focus on maintaining my physical health for me and my developing baby. Now that I’m well into the second trimester and back to feeling a bit better, I’m realizing how much I’m missing the benefits of starting my day off with a few mindful minutes. Especially since I feel like I’m struggling with a generally foggy brain, limited attention span, and serious forgetfulness!

The beautiful thing about mindfulness is that it is a practice, and it is non-judgmental. Mindfulness doesn’t mind that I was a little lazy the past ~4-5 months. Mindfulness has also taught me to this date that I, myself, shouldn’t mind my own laziness either. It is up to me to slowly adjust my daily routine and squeeze my morning practice back in. Change is certainly one thing in life that I’m focusing on accepting with little to no negative feelings or resistance. Starting a family is always life-changing, but starting a family while pursuing a PhD is even more of an adventure. I’m grateful to have my practice in mindfulness meditation with me along the journey.