BONUS: Mini-sode 4 - Our Top Tips For Motherhood Self-Care

In the fourth of our mini-sodes, we offer our top tips for motherhood self-care. 

When we were researching how to make this podcast the best it could possibly be, and unique to us and our message, we realised that there are certain topics when it comes to holistic living that people really want easy and accessible information for. To that end, we decided to offer 6 “mini-sodes”: short, micro-episodes that answer your most burning questions when it comes to holistic living and parenting.

And in a bid to give our valued listeners access to as much free information as possible to help you attain the level of holistic living that you are reaching for, we decided to offer you the entire transcript of each mini-sode, so you can access this information quickly and easily. Read on below our contact information for the transcript. 

Please head to the website www.healthyhappyhome.uk to read more about us, and to sign up for our free 6-step guide to living your healthiest, happiest life. You can also find us on Instagram @healthyhappyhomepodcast @laurenvaknine @tilly.wood. Use the Hashtag #elevationnation to connect with us.

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Season 1 of Healthy Happy Home is sponsored by Megahome Water Distillers www.megahome-distillers.co.uk @megahomedistillers1

 

Top Tips For Motherhood Self-Care – Transcript

It’s a hard bloody slog sometimes isn’t it? It really is! Which is why self-care is so important. That term has been thrown around a lot recently, but there’s a reason for it. Without filling ourselves up, how can we be the best for our children?

 

What fills you up? What are the things that when you do them, they truly light you up from the inside out? Something that isn’t unachievable with motherhood duties but truly makes you feel whole - what would it be?

 

For Tilly it’s walking in the park with her dog, being surrounded in nature. For Lauren it’s sitting in a cosy café in London, reading or writing. For both of us it’s also making the time to meditate as we have learnt over the years that being dedicated to a daily spiritual process elevates us and enhances the day to come.

 

We’d like you to think of the thing that fills you up, and try to set aside some time once a week, or whatever feels achievable within your own circumstances, to make it happen.

 

They say that most marriages go through their rockiest stages during the years of early parenthood. Of course, there could be many reasons for this, but in couples who truly care about each other, it ends up mostly being because we don’t have time for each other, but more importantly, ourselves. If we spend time making ourselves feel good, we will be less likely to resent our partner, and feeling good physically and emotionally makes us feel sexier. We could all do with a bit of that during the early years! What makes you feel sexy, or what makes you feel better?

 

Leading on from this, we wanted to talk about the importance of owning our self-worth. As mothers we put everyone first, meaning we very rarely invest in ourselves. After I (Lauren) had my second baby, I felt crappy. My body didn’t feel like mine, my boobs were huge and the postpartum arthritis flare meant that I couldn’t exercise at all. So I contacted my friend Stevie B who is a stylist and body positive coach. I made a decision to invest in myself and my emotional wellbeing, something I’ve never done to that extent before.

 

It doesn’t just have to be a stylist; perhaps you need to revamp your health and making the choice to invest in your wellbeing by seeing the right practitioner for you could be just what you need. It could be a homeopath, naturopath, functional medicine doctor, osteopath, regular massages or even a life coach. Remember, you deserve to be happy too!

 

Eating on the go is always a problem when we have young kids. We’re rushing around tending to everyone else’s needs, and rarely have time to make nourishing, healthy meals for ourselves. A great way to work around this is to pre-plan your meals. I have a 5 weekly meal planner so all my evening meals are worked out already, with enough variation over the 5 weeks. That way when I do my online shop the week before, I know exactly what to order, which is also more cost-effective as I’m not buying stuff I don’t need. It’s one of the tips my clients seem to appreciate the most.

 

Spending just 20 minutes on, say, a Sunday evening planning your lunches for the week is a great way to ensure you are well prepared for the week. And when we eat better, we feel better. So that’s self-care!

 

Whenever meditation is mentioned, one of the first things people say is “I don’t have time to meditate.” One of our favourite sayings by Radhanath Swami, the leader of the Hare Krishna movement is, “meditate for 20 minutes twice a day, unless you’re busy… then meditate more.” The busier we are, the longer we need to quiet our minds and rebalance our energy centres.

 

Meditation has been proven by science to improve health and wellbeing. Mums who meditate each morning tend to be less stressed, suffer from less overwhelm, and are able to cope with the day ahead with more peacefulness and efficiency. It may seem like there is no way in hell you could make that work, but humour us, try it! Just wake up 15 minutes earlier than you would, and do a 10 minute meditation or gratitude practice.

 

Dr Joe Dispenza talks about breaking the habit of being ourselves. If we wake up every day and allow ourselves to have the same thoughts each morning, for example, I’m tired, I’m rundown, life is hard, I need more money, my kids are driving me mad… we are sending that energy out into the quantum field and manifesting it back to ourselves for the next day. By sending gratitude out into the quantum field, we are rewiring our brains to be happy and raising our vibrational frequency. what better way to start the day than being happy? we can totally do it, we just need to give it a little bit of time.

 

Some other things we do that feel like true self care to us are: reading, baking, going for a walk, going to the gym or to a yoga class, smudging the house with sage or palo santo while chanting – because yup, we are that crunchy! Going clothes shopping alone, meeting friends for coffee or dinner, losing ourselves in a big old bookshop, and if we’re really lucky and have the support, allowing ourselves a night away in a hotel on our own. Ladies, this is OKAY! Mum guilt is real, but self-care means putting yourself right up there with your kids on your list of priorities. As long as your kids are in good hands and you have ample support, you are allowed time to yourself. This is ok.

 

We’ve created some affirmations that we’d love you to use on a daily basis, and they are:

I love and accept myself

I am worthy of all the amazing things that are happening in my life

I am beautiful in all my uniqueness

I radiate and receive love and respect

I deserve everything the universe has to offer me

 

Self-care means something different to everyone, so do what fills YOU up. Try to set aside even 10 minutes each day, after the kids are in bed, or before they wake up in the morning if you’re lucky enough to have late sleepers, to do what elevates you.