It was a true honor to have these conversations with seven amazing women and moms. The differences in their paths to becoming a mom is a wonderful reminder that we are all on our own unique journey. It is also a reminder that becoming a mom is not all love, joy and ease. There are many challenges and struggles along the way. I believe it is a gift to connect on our shared struggles and challenges as it assures us that we are not alone in our dark thoughts/feelings and suffering.

These women eloquently touch on the foundational components of mindfulness, which are the basis of our foundations course at The School of MOM. The components are curiousity, non-judgment/discernment, acceptance and kindness. These are key ingredients in the practice of learning how to mother ourselves mindfully. 

I invite you to watch and engage in your own self-reflection.

What does your journey to motherhood look like? What has shaped you to become the woman and/or mom you are today? What...

If you haven't already met Lauren, you're welcome for this introduction. She is FULL of energy, joy and love and being around her can positively shift your mood in an instant. 

Lauren shares her journey of becoming a Mom (mucus plug and all!), which began with her first baby being born at 26 weeks. She now has 2 thriving boys and recounts a specific moment with a nurse in the NICU who helped her understand that she needed to make taking care of herself a priority.

If you know Lauren, you know that playful and fun movement is her passion. She has an extensive library of free workout videos on her Youtube channel and regularly provides the necessary reminder for women and moms that a little movement/self-care/exercise is better than nothing.

Speaking of a little self-care, Lauren talks about using a Gua Sha... and if you are interested in getting one, our mutual and dear friend Rosie from Joy Skin Atelier, said we can...

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Dr. Lydiana Garcia. She is brilliant. She is bilingual. She is soon to be a Mom of 2!

Lydiana speaks to the incredibly important topic of ancestral trauma. Not only does she work on healing trauma with her clients, but she is open about her own personal healing journey. Through sharing her story, she encourages us to get curious about our own lineages, and to reflect not only on our relationships with our Mothers and Grandmothers, but on what they may have modeled for us.

One of the key pieces of "mothering oneself mindfully" that we speak to in this interview is self-awareness. While it can be a gift and a curse, self-awareness is the ultimate key to shifting unhelpful habits that are passed down in our families. Self-awareness also helps us establish boundaries and make better choices to serve us and our kids.

Lydiana reflects on her personal awareness of her Mother and...

Kayla Mehr is another Boston Mom and incredible support for women on their journey to becoming a Mom. Kayla is a certified personal trainer, with specializations in pre and postnatal exercise. 

In this conversation, she touches on the importance of women establishing healthy mind and body habits during pregnancy, so that they can access them as a Mom when things get more challenging. We talked about the importance of mindset and how we can use our bodies to learn and remind ourselves that we can get through hard times. 

Kayla also addresses how important the practice of mindfulness and being present has been for her and her family. I am so glad she brought up how her husband benefited from learning about mindfulness. While Moms need support and tools, we don't want to forget how important it is for our partners and co-parents to have access to tools that can help them be more mindful in life and in parenting.

For more info on Kayla:

Kayla Mehr is a Personal Trainer...

I am delighted to introduce you to Kate Northrup! Kate is a bestselling author, mother and inspiration, who helps and supports SO many women with her insight and wisdom, including myself.

In this interview, Kate openly talks about the challenges of becoming a new mom between a "surprising" c-section, insomnia, anxiety and having a sick baby.  Now that she is out of newborn survival mode, Kate reflects on the importance of self-care and how that looks different today than it did pre-kids. She speaks to the healing nature of routines, and how small, simple practices like lying in the grass can nourish us on many levels.

Kate acknowledges that her two daughters have served as wonderful teachers in the practice of learning how to be truly at home in her body. In turn, she is guiding her community of women to come back into their bodies as their ultimate source - of fuel, power, solace, pleasure, creativity, you name it. She wisely points out that if you can...

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that my respect and love for Jamie O'Day and Emily Silver, the founders of Boston Naps, runs very deep. These two have supported me through my own journey getting pregnant and becoming a Mom to my two girls. They are also a huge support in my life as a business owner and have helped me "give birth" to The School of MOM. I'm so grateful for them and the way they empower and support women.

As you will hear, Jamie and I get VERY passionate about empowering women to make their own choices. She speaks to how Boston NAPS is committed to helping Moms/parents filter through all the noise and make choices that best serve them and their families. Jamie's honesty and directness is incredibly refreshing, and I know you will resonate with so many parts of this conversation. Enjoy!

For more info on Boston Naps:

Boston NAPS was founded by Emily SIlver and Jamie O'Day. Emily and Jamie are both nurses and board certified lactation consultants. As former...

I am SO honored to share this interview with my teacher and "Roll Model," Jill Miller. Jill has changed my life and the lives of so many of my clients and yoga students by helping us learn how to connect with and take of our bodies with Yoga Tune Up Therapy Balls. 

Jill shares her very personal story of becoming a Mom, which includes a traumatic experience of loss. She openly talks about how the Therapy Balls helped her nurture and heal on many levels on her journey to eventually having two kiddos. 

In her brilliant and eloquent way, Jill speaks to the science behind self-massage and how it can help us positively shift our relationships to our bodies, and help us better manage and relieve stress. While we both agreed that the work to shift our relationships to our mind and bodies can be challenging and is on-going, we also agreed that it is life-changing not only for ourselves, but for our children. When we can learn how to be safe and at home in our bodies, we...

It was a true delight to chat with Boston's own, Meg Fitzgerald. She is a joy to be around and is a wonderful blend of telling it to you straight, and being empathically supportive. In this conversation, Meg and I chat about her journey of becoming a Mom, starting with how she wasn't always someone who wanted to be a Mother. Now she has a 3rd girl on the way (due in October!) and has a whole lot of wisdom to share.

Meg is a fitness instructor and health coach, and I always enjoy listening to her talk about food and the way she helps her clients navigate a healthy relationship with food. In this conversation, she talks about the importance of mindset and how becoming a Mother highlighted the choice for her of returning to her old ways of being self-critical or making the dramatic shift to seeing her body as the true champion that it is.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed recording it.

Please note: We apologize for internet technical issues in the beginning of the...