This New Mindfulness App May Be Just the Self-Care You Need Right Now

As we all continue to adjust to our “new normal,” it’s understandable to feel a little more stressed and anxious right now. Luckily, there are several things you can do to help yourself relax, including mediating and practicing mindfulness. Now, there’s a new app on the market that wants to help moms and moms-to-be get the self-care they need.

Mindful Mamas is launching an app today to help moms and moms-to-be everywhere de-stress. Users, upon opening the app, are first asked what stage of motherhood you’re in—because creator Terra LaRock understands motherhood isn’t one-size-fits-all. The app offers a library of guided meditations, breathing techniques for relaxation, mantras and Mini Pauses, which are one to 3-minute mindfulness exercises you can do anytime, anywhere. LaRock believes, whether you are trying to conceive, are pregnant, an empty nester, or somewhere in between, the app offers something for everyone’s schedule.

Image: Mindful Mamas

The app was launched by LaRock, founder of Mindful Mamas, and Carina Devi, a yoga and mindfulness teacher at Eastern Oregon University—and both had a difficult start to motherhood. “I suffered severe postpartum depression and OCD after the birth of my first child,” LaRock tells The Bump. “As a mental health professional, I felt so much shame that I had gone to school for years to help others, yet I couldn’t ease my own suffering. The shame kept me silent until I couldn’t take it anymore. I pushed ‘publish’ on an open letter to other mothers following my personal blog experiencing PPD. The days following, I had hundreds of women, and their husbands, friends, and family members reach out to me. They shared similar stories and asked me for resources and tips to help.”

In times like these, where many parents are stuck at home with their children for an indefinite amount of time—not to mention, worried about the health of their children—LaRock believes the app could be very useful. The Mindful Mamas app has meditations geared towards processing and calming fear and anxiety, as well as meditations that you might even be able to do with your children.

Other self-care tips from LaRock to help keep positive during this time? “When you drink your coffee or tea in the morning, slow down and savor every moment of that first drink,” she says, adding, “Open your pantry and name everything you see saying ‘I have plenty of cereal, I have plenty of pasta, etc.’ This is a time for focusing on what we do have and strengthening our gratitude muscle.”

LaRock continues, “Self-Care doesn’t require a lot of time, just a little creativity to fill your cup when you’re always pouring out to the people you love….This is not an ideal time, but we can get through this. If anyone can take lemons and make lemonade (along with a DIY disinfectant spray, hand sanitizer, lemon dressing for tonight’s salad, dessert and a body scrub), it’s moms.”

Learn more about Mindful Mamas by visiting their website and get a free month for the app on Android and Google Play with the code BUMPFREEAPR1L20. Apple and iOS device users can access a free month by clicking here. Promo codes are valid from March 21 to April 19.

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.