Monday, March 30, 2015

To be a woman...


Mother - where all your needs are provided for.


Today honor yourself for this. Celebrate the fact you are this safe place, this unconditional place of love, support and nourishment for someone. 
What a blessing it is to be a WOMAN like you!



#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy

Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com

We are family

The BABY BUZZ from Sacred Beginnings

We are sisters on a journey
Shining as the Moon
Remembering the Ancient ones
The Women and the Wisdom.


We are mothers on a journey
Flowing as the Sea
Wild, calm and fresh and free 
The healing waters of the Sea
Let healing waters be.

We are brothers on a journey
Growing as the Trees 
Peaceful as this can be
Letting pain go in the breeze 
Learning the way of trees 

We are fathers on a journey
Rising as the Mountain 
Humbly standing as we are
And thou we've come so very far
We humble as we are

We are family on a journey
Vibrant as the Earth
Giving life to all beauty
And it's not just what it seams 
We're following our dreams.

We are sisters
We are mothers
We are brothers
We are fathers
We are family 
Giving Love...

~ "we are family" Maggie Clifford


I can't say how much I love this images and Paulina! More on her work:
Breastfeeding photo by Paulina Splechta Photography, Breastfeeding Photographer 

And more on our music goddess and her work #maggieClifford :

#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy



Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:

Saturday, March 28, 2015

It's ok


What if I told you it is ok?
It's ok to be sad holding a baby you love so dearly, it's ok.
It's ok to feel jealous when you see a loving couple dressed up for a romantic date.
It's ok, when you mala bead necklace brakes or you loose a favorite ring to just feel "unlucky".
It's ok to fell stuck, helpless, lost... sometimes. 
It is ok.
It's ok to feel down with a full moon and really quiet during an eclipse. It's ok, to be angry, some days. 
It's ok, to be unsure.

Accept all feelings that visit you and just know they do not have to stay.

Be gentle with yourself #newmom , everything is ok.


#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy

Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com

Easter full moon


Full Moon eclipse is here (visible from America, Asia and Australia).

Yes, and eclipse, again.
Do you follow the moon phases?
Do you let Moon energy inspire your days, recharge your crystals, help to map your child's moods and needs (and your own)?
Every moon phase brings new gifts, and this one, the readers of the skies tell me, is about new beginnings, yes, after a time of letting go (did you get into Spring cleaning mode?) it is time to welcome #sacredbeginnings. They say really big, exciting, NEW things for all of us! What is new in your life right now? What new energy are you ready to WELCOME into your days?


So what #sacredrituals are you preparing? 
Easter energy can be an inspiration, and the warm sun can invite you to stay outdoors, enjoy gardening or just walking in nature.
Take plenty of rest and eat lightly, the eclipse is a time to take it easy and slow down, help your children to do the same and engage in light activities.


Play egg hunting, play magic. 
Did you know if you burry a raw egg in your garden it will help to bring wealth and fertility (in all ways) to your life? Yes, happy Easter Full Moon eclipse to you, dear one.


#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy

Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com

Mothering yoga


More on our inspiring #yogimama #sacredrituals series! 

Today Kari Edwards, I just love her share on motherhood yoga (and her photos!) these are just a few of the things I learned from her:

Let them choose what feels good:
"Downward dog is one of those poses that all children seem to instinctually do. It's a beautiful beginners inversion that gives you many of the same benefits as more advanced inversions, including improving circulation, boosting immunity, increasing energy and bringing new perspective to our world. With benefits like these it's no wonder that children love being upside down!"


Make time for yourself (and yoga!):
"Take those few moments while your baby sleeps to nurture yourself."


"This morning while the others were still sleepy, Mio and I enjoyed some very fun yoga play together. Mio loves it when I'm upside down, here she was trying her hardest to put her bottom on my head, there were lots of giggles from the both of us."

Let yoga expand your life:
"Through yoga I see my children develop strength and build focus while having so much fun. I love observing our acro yoga practice grow and change as the both get bigger, I hope that they will continue to love practicing with me when they are much, much bigger and that we can continue to use yoga to deepen our connections and explore life together."


Listen to your body when it's time to stop (and a still body can give so much insight to the soul):
"With so much to do in everyday family life, in my creative pursutes and in my life as a yogi I've always struggled to just surrender in the rare times I find myself unwell. After recently having a kidney infection I had no choice but to drop everything (parenting included) and let my body heal. Being unable to do anything I had plenty of time to think about the deeper levels of yoga and to focus on my breath, and to just be at peace with not being able to move my body in the ways that I wanted to in that moment. The infection has healed but I'm still in that weird limbo state of feeling like I can and should be doing something but know that I just need to take it easy. I'm looking forward to exploring asana deeply again but the lesson in surrendering to what is happening now and what I need in this moment has been a very valuable one. Remember to nurture yourselves and appreciate your body that does so many truely amazing things."

Follow your needs as a parent:
"Arm balances are fun and challenging, they build strength, balance and concentration - all of which you can use off the mat and in your daily life as a parent. Definitely something worth exploring in your practice."

Connect:
"I love connecting with my daughter through yoga. She's wonderfully strong willed and feisty and I find that in the times that she's struggling with her emotions yoga helps us both to move gracefully though the challenges."


~ Kari Edwards
Mother to two

So grateful to her, and all mothers that share their path with such light to others.

Grateful there is more Inspiration at her Blog and Facebook page:

#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy

And
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:

Friday, March 27, 2015

Love to spare


And when... 

And when you realize all the days you just felt your LOVE for your baby was SO MUCH it couldn't just fit all in that moment... it was love to spare.


Yes, it was actually love to spare, to keep in your pocket, to use later; to activate full power when your toddler butters the sofa, licks the floor or screams his... passion out... 


Don't lose it. 

Look at her... 

She is magic, and you made it happen.


#sacredbeginnings

#sacredlivingmovement

#sacredpregnancy


In love with her work, Megan Soto

megansotophotography.com


And

Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:

www.sacred-beginning.com


Without resistance there is no suffering.

Today take all your child's needs as INVITATIONS.


Trust your baby, he is nothing but a MIRROR of how you are inside... 

Take his demanding for attention as... an invitation. Truly accept that your child has a plan, a plan he made for the two of you, with LOVE.

 Accept his appetite or his tiredness, his singing or his whining all as... an activity he invites you to. 

Do not resist, just for today... 


I wrote before how your are your child's HEALER right? Today it's time to accept he might also be here to heal you... Listen to all his unspoken words. It is all SACRED.


Gorgeous images from Megan

megansotophotography.com

And

Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:

www.sacred-beginning.com


#sacredbeginnings

#sacredpregnancy

#sacredlivingmovement

Yoga and motherhood


Yoga.

Do you practice yoga? Do you do it with your children? Does it feel it is part of the past or that you need it now more than ever?

I am looking to share stories of yogi mothers and their tips to inspire US! (yes, sometimes it also looks impossible to me!)


Today Filipa Veiga from Yoga-Me:


"Rita D. wrote me a message that left me with such a tender feeling. 

"Dear Philippa, yesterday I went to the harvest the vines of my grandmother, I came home late but still read your article and today at 6:00 am I was drinking hot water with lemon and after practicing drank my green juice :)» 

the secret of life is in these small things, small changes, step by step. that gives us energy, make us healthy, in the long term, happy. because we feel good. great Rita I am so happy for you and you inspire me to also continue being here! 

this message made me dedicate my post today to mothers. mothers, like me, with small children that require a lot of attention and a lot of us. mothers, like me, struggling a huge list every day of things to deal with, not knowing where time. mothers, like me, who arrive at the end of the day exhausted and often without time to take care of ourselves. 

my secret? it takes discipline and the first thing is my morning yoga practice. i wake up before everyone in the house, 5 am is normal for me (often earlier). that one hour and a half will give me strength and good energy for the rest of the day. I take a shower, drink my water, do my yoga practice (could be taking a walk, doing home exercises, meditation). i take my time. i listen to the sounds of the raising day. when I wake up my daughters, I am strong and prepared for the day that will no doubt have surprises and joys and annoyances. it will always be so.

and my discipline is stronger every day, because every day, every month and year I feel I'm doing the best for myself and those around me. 

Rita also wrote me "when I read your story I confuse your life with mine. Grateful for your sharing. I would like that you share about your routine as a mother. not eating after 19h00, despite imagining how good it would be for me, I see it difficult because my husband always comes home late".

I understand you so well Rita. Here at home we had the same issue. so we have days and we should be flexible (quality that comes with the practice of yoga). 

we started the transformation years ago. slowly. with time my husband realized how important it is for me and girls to eat early. we changed. somedays of the week we wait for him, others not (we love our movie nights the 3 together:). be creative! manage your life with your heart.

with time, i can tell you Rita, your husband will begin to arrive earlier. he will see the good it brings to the family. and will want to join. if not, don't stress. there is a bright side to everything! if he arrives home with all set, he has time to enjoy the kids, play, talk, read them a story. quality kids time. and after putting them to bed, you have him for you. the couple also needs. one day the children will grow up and everything changes again."

~ Filipa Veiga


Share your #yogimama #sacredrituals and how they help you to enjoy all #sacredbeginnings


Text and images found at Yoga-Me, and you can find more of Filipa's inspiring life in Bali here:

filipaveiga.blogspot.com

And

Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:

www.sacred-beginning.com


#sacredpregnancy

#SLM


Butterfly—Transformation


Shadow: Stasis


Butterfly is the winged messenger of Transformation. She alights when you are in the grit of transition, nose to the grindstone. Are you averting essential change in your life? Are you resisting a new phase in your child’s unfolding? Or are you emerging from the chrysalis and searching for a new expression of being? Butterfly tells you to shift positions in order to acquire a loftier perspective.The ever- turning wheels of fate never stop, says Butterfly. So accept change as the harbinger of your soul’s upward evolution.


Like caterpillars turning into butterflies, many of life’s passages bring with them irreversible change.When a child enters your life, there is no turning back— no matter what happens, you will always be a mother. The transformation can be disorienting: who are you when none of your previous roles fit? Mothering preempts everything else, but it can occlude a substantial part of your former identity, or obliterate it altogether. Butterfly wisdom tells us to overcome stasis by letting go with grace.Your old self must die in order to be reborn with stunning hues and outstretched wings.



Children undergo what seems like an almost daily metamorphosis. Greet even the seemingly small changes—new teachers, lost teeth, young love’s first breakups— with cocooning.Wrap your child in the fabric of home while together you metabolize the transitions swirling around you both. As change shakes your child’s world and baffles her sense of self, outcroppings of misbehavior may protrude. Don’t hit the panic button. Look beyond the frustration to anticipate new growth waiting in the wings. See life through her eyes: Imagine waking up one morning to find a new baby in your mother’s arms or menstrual blood on your sheets.A part of you would like to regress, but progress is the only way to move forward. As mother, attend to the flutters of trepidation and exhilaration as if they were the restless stirrings of a new becoming.


All wisdom traditions acknowledge the essentiality of marking and celebrating major transitions. Rites of passage—baby blessings, weddings, funerals—support individuals as they shed previous incarnations and cross the threshold into a new embodiment. How can you harness the transformative power of ritual in your home and community? Hold a blessingway ceremony to welcome new life or initiate a new mother, create a coming-of-age experience for the spirited adolescents in your tribe, or send a lost loved one to the otherworld on a boat of communal tears and remembrance. In the heightened experience of transformation, the poetry of life breaks through. Seize the change, Butterfly declares, and you will arrive at unheralded sweetness on ethereal wings.



~ the mother's wisdom deck 

by Niki Dewart and Elisabeth Marling


This deck is part of the #sacredbeginnings program, and part of my #sacredrituals , what decks inspire you the most?


I simply LOVE these images from www.belleverdiglionephotography.com.au 

(And can you spot the Butterfly?)


Want to know more about the Mother's wisdom deck? Check here:

http://motheringwithsoul.com/the-deck/


Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:

www.sacred-beginning.com


#sacredpregnancy

#sacredlivingmoveme

Pearl ~ Authenticity


Shadow: disconnection 



"Pearl, illuminated from within, bestows an iridescent beauty on the beholder. Her glow captures the luminous energy of the moon; her underwater origins tap the raw power of the sea. No wonder Pearl appears around the world in fairy tales and myths, attended by royalty and guarded by dragons. Drawing this card means it's your turn to embark on a heroine's journey in search of the fabled pearl beyond price. You will encounter adventure and misfortune on this part of inner realization, but if you remember your true mission, you and yours will enjoy immeasurable wealth. Be rich in the knowledge that your authentic being is that beloved pearl. 

Pearl tells us to get real. What are the dragons you must slay in order to reclaim the genuine pearl of your truth? As a mother, do you feel you must appear to have it all together? Will your children topple you if they detect a chink in your armor?

Are you afraid to inconvenience others with your needs? 



When disconnected from authenticity, we buy into the false belief that we must shield ourselves to be strong. Pearl wisdom teaches that real strength is the courage to be vulnerable. Bring your power to bear by being in your truth, thus allowing others to be in theirs.

Like pearls, each of us is one of a kind. By expressing your authenticity - weeping, guffawing, humming - you are sounding your inimitable note, exactly as the universe intends.  To be otherwise robs the universe of your unique contribution to her song. Pearl takes you on a quest to connect with whatever is arising in each moment, no matter how fabulous or blah. She invites you to follow the thread of inquiry with joyful curiosity - I feel blah, how interesting. Why are the doldrums visiting again? Who let them in? Disappointment? Deceit? Each layer of inquiry reveals greater insight into your state of being. 

What greater gift can we give our children than this most precious pearl? Show up in your essential nature and hold space for them to access their own. When you want to open the door to authenticity, query, "How are you?" and listen for the underlying truth. Like reading a fairy tale, see through the plot to discover hidden treasure. The princess may complain about a bothersome pea when in reality she senses some passion, some purpose, some soul-deep pearl pushing up. By way of irritation, a raged grain of sand arrives at unblemished perfection. Rare beauty belies Pearl's unspectacular origins. Your greatest value emerges from unashamedly being yourself; Pearl shows you how that is enough."

~ the mother's wisdom deck 

by Niki Dewart and Elisabeth Marling


This deck is part of the #sacredbeginnings program, and part of my #sacredrituals in days that I need encouragement and guidance.

Do you also, look for inspiration this way?


Images from Barbara Araújo Photography:

www.barbararaujo.com


Want to know more about the Mother's wisdom deck? Check here:

http://motheringwithsoul.com/the-deck/

And

Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:

www.sacred-beginning.com


#sacredpregnancy

#sacredlivingmovement

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Inspiration from Lakshmi ~ Abundance



"The card of generosity, of karma, and gifts. (...) 

Lakshmi rests on a blooming lotus flower, the symbol of transcendence, and her four hands symbolize the four aims of human life: righteousness, pleasure, wealth, and liberation. (...)

She teaches that while you don't need material wealth to feel rich, you must consciously choose to live a life of generosity. (...)

In our path of mothering, scarcity consciousness frequently arises: the sense that we not good enough as mothers, or that we lack the material resources our children deserve. This belief locks us in a continual cycle of guilt and self-reproach. It's time to step back, count your inner assets, and trust..."

~ the mother's wisdom deck 

by Niki Dewart and Elisabeth Marling


This deck is part of the #sacredbeginnings program, and part of my #sacredrituals in days that I need encouragement, guidance, or days I just feel I have failed... maybe days like today...

Do you also, look for inspiration like this? Pull a card for yourself today, sit with it's teachings, and TRUST... 

(Let me know if you don't have access to a deck today, I will pull a card for you!)

Wishing you a happy day, #newmom


#sacredpregnancy

#sacredlivingmovement


Images from Megan Soto from our last retreat, isn't it gorgeous like this mother looks like Lakshmi herself? Uau, inspired.


Want to know more about the Mother's wisdom deck? Check here:

http://motheringwithsoul.com/the-deck/


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Another motherhood poem

and it's a gift from one of our sacred sisters, (in so many ways it is a gift). I can see the scene so vividly! Can't you?

"I wake up to the same mess each morning
Left over from the night before.
You are my alarm. 
As I go to clean
you are my shadow, 
my undoing, my teacher.
As I wipe the counters, throw away the trash and put away the last dish, I smile for I feel achieved.  
I turn around to find you in the middle of the carpeted floor, 
covered in rice, the entire box empty, you made it snow....

I am tired but it is love that makes me smile."

~ Sunkmanitu
Mother of three 


(Images from Megan Soto Photography)

Do you also write on your path as a mother? Share with us your #motherhoodPoems

#sacredbeginnings
#sacredpregnancy
#sacredlivingmovement