To us,
With love.
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com
Saturday, May 23, 2015
#sacredbody
Since I became a mother my body is not mine anymore... And that makes me feel...
How does this, makes you feel?
Photo credit:
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com
#sacredbreasts
#sacredbreasts
"Breasts are a scandal because they shatter the border between motherhood and sexuality."
~ Iris Marion Young
For me it happen like this, after I became a mother "breasts" together with "love" never had the same meaning again...
Photo credit:
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
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When things get tough...
I will be honest with you, when things get really tough, I meditate.
And no, do not picture me siting alone, crossed legs, hands in prayer mudra, eyes closed, singing mantras, no. That is not how I meditate, at least not most of the times. I will tell you how it goes.
Last night was not easy for me... I mean last couple of nights haven't been easy for me. Or maybe more than a couple, to be honest it fells like weeks... my baby is been waking up often in the middle of the night and I get out of bed in the morning feeling exhausted. It is so easy to loose your patience when this happens, it is easy to blame it on your skills as a mother and think you are doing something wrong... or even to blame it on your baby and feel he is the one giving you a hard time. It is then, when I feel these things, that I meditate.
Yesterday I was nursing my baby, trying to help him back to sleep, I was feeling so helpless until... Until I took a moment to focus inside and give myself time to calm down. I just felt my feet, I just focused on my feet on the floor and I imagined them bare and raw, flat on the moist brown dirt, as I spoke to Mother Earth. I did not use any fancy prayer I said this: I am your daughter, please help me to connect with my child and his needs, please support me in my path as a mother, please inspire me with the needed patience and kindness and please help me to welcome peace into my being.
I immediately felt at ease, from my feet up my legs, all the way to my heart chakra I felt bliss coming to me... I opened my eyes and saw my baby's face, he had fallen asleep...
Enjoy our #meditationformothers every moment is filled with #sacredbeginnings
Photo credit:
And
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
Give birth to possibilities...
www.belleverdiglionephotography.com.au
In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within ourselves.
~ Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn
www.barbararaujo.com#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com
My relationship with my own mother changed...
One of the things surprised me during my postpartum period as a #newmom was that my relationship with my own mother changed... Did this happen to you? I found old hidden wounds and also... new ways to connect.
Sharing here "healing the mother wound", from Bethany, a work that I found during that time, and that brought bright light to my path as a mother... and as a daughter...
"(...) The mother wound is the pain of being a woman passed down through generations of women in patriarchal cultures. And it includes the dysfunctional coping mechanisms that are used to process that pain.
The mother wound includes the pain of:
- Comparison: not feeling good enough
- Shame: consistent background sense that there is something wrong with you
- Attenuation: Feeling you must remain small in order to be loved
- Persistent sense of guilt for wanting more than you currently have.
(...)
The mother wound exists because there is not a safe place for mothers to process their rage about the sacrifices that society has demanded of them. And because daughters still unconsciously fear rejection for choosing not to make those same sacrifices as previous generations."
Hope you enjoy the read, like I did, and you can find full article here:
Photo credit:
http://www.belleverdiglionephotography.com.au
and
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
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Thursday, May 21, 2015
Relationships after children
What happen to you, as a couple... after you had children?
"Adding children to their lives reshaped how they interact with one another. Their romance may have fizzled. They may feel disconnected from each other, from their kids, and from themselves.
When the parents are disconnected, the whole family feels the effect. Children certainly feel it and react to it."
For me this is just so important... And as been a learning process since I gave birth... What about you? What are your thoughts on this?
Read the whole article here:
http://rebeccawonglcsw.com/2015/05/part-1-redefining-intimacy-after-children/
Photo credit:
http://www.barbararaujo.com
All love begins...
Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.
~ Robert Browning
Grateful for who captured such beauty:
www.barbararaujo.com
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
There's no way to be a perfect mother...
There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.
~ Jill Churchill
So inlove with Ivette's work, photo credit:
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Woman, you belong to the night...
"Woman, you belong to the night.
You have blood on your thighs
and furze in your hair.
You smell of loamy fertile soil.
Your breasts give life,
Your sex is a mystery school
leading to the holy of holies.
Turn your eyes inward.
Use owls' vision to see where you come from.
Slip beneath the surface,
and feel yourself become full.
Make a marriage to the moon.
Divorce the false gods of intellect and reason.
Find meaning in your dreams.
And in the secrets of your body.
Follow no authority
But your own true nature.
Make a sacred fire
And throw on it all that you would use to harm yourself.
Make kindling from shame.
Let your dance be wild.
Your voice be honest.
And your heart untamed.
Be cyclical.
Don't make sense.
Initiate yourself.
Initiate yourself."
poem by Aisha Wolfe
This is our inspiration for the New Moon from #sacredbeginnings .
See you in my #moonrituals
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Touch is sacred
Are you aware of the power of touch?
Aware of how much healing lives in a hug?
Aware of how much feelings are shared and strengthened in a kiss...?
How much unspoken communication happens in a cuddle...?
How much fear is washed away in a herbal bath, baby and mummy together...?
Aware of how much support is real just holding hands...? And how powerful is the nourishment that drips from your breasts...?
Have you thought of this?
Have you thought of how close your heartbeats get while baby-wearing, and how in tune the breathing sounds can go when you co-sleep...?
Did you try intuitively massage your baby and saw the pains and anxieties simply... healed, by your hands alone?
Yes, touch is sacred. And when you become aware of this you are... you accept the healer within... Trust her, that magical healer you have inside. And don't be afraid to explore your skills, your child will guide you.
Because every time you touch each other, you and your child, is full of #sacredbeginnings ...
Having trouble helping your newborn to sleep? Focus on your heart, let it speak to her's.
Struggling with toddler tantrums? Breathe deeply and imagine calm, loving energy flowing down your arms, into your fingers, passing calmness to your child...
Want to know what a Sacred Beginnings LIVE retreat is all about? This.
Know more about our next one at www.sacred-beginning.com
Grateful to Belle and her gorgeous images:
http://www.belleverdiglionephotography.com.au
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
On postpartum depression...
The BABY BUZZ
Let's talk about... Postpartum depression.
We just need
to share
this.
With love,
#sacredbeginnings
WHAT POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION LOOKS LIKE
"Postpartum depression, you are the thief in the night.
I'm fine. I'm not depressed.
I'm just angry and irritated at my husband all the time.
But I'm super productive and I get out of bed, so, I'm not depressed...
I just feel trapped
and angry
and resentful of my child
(...but doesn't every first time mom feel that way, if she really told the truth?)
And all the other moms around me seem to be fine with THREE kids
So apparently I'm the only one who struggles, and being the strong woman that I am, I'd like to keep that to myself, thankyouverymuch.
I'm fine. I'll just keep going.
I'll just keep pretending I LOVE MOTHERHOOD... when the truth is... I really liked going to work so I could feel like I accomplished something.
My life is no longer mine. I am with a babe at my breast, all day, all night. I hardly sleep. My body is not mine. My time is not mine. My plans fail on a regular basis. My hands are never free. I am stuck. I am chained.
But I can't tell anyone this.
HE can go skiing. But I can't even take a shower, or get to the store without barf all over me, a poop blowout up baby's back, or having to stop to nurse, or driving ten minutes with a screaming infant in the back seat. God help me. I feel so out of control.
But... do I really have the right to complain? My planned home birth was awesome, my pregnancy was great, my child is healthy and beautiful, I have so much to be grateful for, so I shouldn't be upset, or ungrateful AT ALL.
And then, sooner than planned...
I'm pregnant again.
Here comes our second child. His birth - all 9.5 lbs of him - passes through my body with no pain. His birth is rapid and ecstatic, and joyful. I want to do it again.
I still resent my husband most of the time
And we have no money
And I feel like I'm drowning with a not-quite-two year old and a newborn...
But then I remember that my mother - my dear mother - had SIX children at my age, and NINE children by age 38. I can do two. My sister has two children with disabilities, one requiring constant care. I can do this.
Postpartum Depression is a label that does not fit me AT ALL. My newborn is 5 months old, and when my husband's business collapses, I started a business of my own out of necessity (and inspiration)... and it's thriving. It's the year 2009, and I'm seeing 30 prenatal massage clients a week. I'm growing so fast I have to hire employees to help. I'm making a real difference in the community. I'm a doula now too, on call for as many as five births a month; I'm also now a paid musician, performing music on stage four nights a week; I'm super busy and my husband... well, in addition to trying to get some new work-from-home endeavors off the ground, he stays home with the kids. He sings them to sleep. He sees my baby's first steps. I barely remember my second child's babyhood. It's a blur. I don't love the burden of providing for our family.
I wish I could just be a mom.
And then I remember, THAT was hard too.
Something feels really wrong.
I can't breathe. And I still resent my husband most of the time. He can never do enough. I hate where we are in life. I make sure he knows that it's his fault. We have lots of ups and downs. I'm sinking.
Postpartum Depression... You sneaky little bitch.
It is now 2015. My children are both in school, ages eight and six. And my husband? We've been separated for almost two years.
It's brutal to hear my children cry themselves to sleep sometimes. One night, after their daddy moved out, my youngest (who learned American Sign Language as a baby) signed "Sad. Mom. Dad. Family"-- because the sobs that are shaking his little body prevent him from speaking.
It has taken me EIGHT YEARS to realize my workaholism is a way of avoiding depression, that I thrive on the highs of accomplishment. I am so busy that I don't ever have to stop to feel anything. And this, in some ways is a good thing. But clearly, like any addiction, it costs me dearly. It costs me my connection with my children. It costs me my marriage.
Last summer, I mentioned to one of my sisters that everything, and I mean e v e r t h i n g just felt SO hard.
Like, I'm hungry, but preparing food sounds way too hard.
Or, I'd pick that spoon up off the floor...later.
"Yeah," she says, "you know that's how my depression feels. Everything is tooooo daaaamn haaaard."
...Which doesn't make sense! That's just... laziness and resistance.
I notice that some days I just can't handle anything. I have NO patience. NO tolerance. Lots of anger. The smallest misstep sends me into a spiral of hopelessness. Some days I fantasize about rolling my car to make my death look completely accidental.
One morning, you know, the WORST MORNING EVER - I keep my children home from school -- both crying their hearts out because of my angry interactions and frustration with them...with everything. I collapse on the couch in despair. I AM THE WORST MOM EVER AND I SHOULD NOT BE A MOTHER. I call that same sister, sobbing, not able to speak, and she knows. She knows I need help. After we hang up, she sends a text message saying, "Hang on Bec, the cavalry is coming."
She sends mom over to get the kids. She sends over my brother who happens to be in town, to sit with me. He listens with love to the nonsense pouring out of my mind and mouth. He brings me Starbucks. He reassures me I'm okay and everything will be okay. Two more sisters call me to check on me. They know. They have struggled too.
I realize
these might be signs of depression.
My midwife agrees, maybe I might function better with a prescription - just to TRY it. Mrs no-drugs-natural-childbirth-natural-everything agrees to manage her mental health with a prescription. I keep it in my purse for a week just to give me time to wrap my head around it. It's terrifying to me to take that step because it seems to go against everything I believe.
It changes my life.
Five days into my prescription, for the first time in over a decade, I wake up "happy" like, normal baseline happy. And it is in that moment that I realize by contrast, how I have been living - underwater gasping for air - thinking THAT'S normal.
Zero feels wonderful when you're used to -10.
I feel like myself, a self I haven't felt in almost a decade. I can't believe I waited this long. I am so sad. I cry now, for a different reason. I cry because I am so sad that I didn't know. That I didn't get help sooner.
Postpartum Depression, I finally open up to face you
I had no idea for eight years and maybe more...that you were running my life.
Nothing is wrong with me... or maybe if there is, it's simply that my brain just doesn't produce enough serotonin, that's all. I am not to blame.
Nor is the father of my children.
I was convinced HE was the reason I felt terrible all the time. Now, I'm not certain. In fact, I wonder how it would have been different had I had the resources to support HIM emotionally.
Oh Rob, I'm so sorry. Please, please forgive me. I didn't know. I'm SO sorry.
Postpartum Depression,
You took my marriage, you took my joy. You took my peace.
I finally understand. I see you. I know what you are.
I grieve. I grieve a lot.. but I finally understand.
And I'm healing
and dealing
with postpartum depression."
I am so so GRATEFUL to this brave sister for sharing her story! And moved, deeply moved by it.
This text can be found at:
http://www.slcprenatalmassage.com/blog/2015/4/what-postpartum-depression-looks-likePhoto credit: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaJeanAustralia
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
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Friday, May 15, 2015
What helps you to draw the roadmap of parenting ?
Roadmap of parenting what does this mean to you?
Do you do card pulling often? What is for you the most inspiring deck?
Photo credit: http://www.ivetteivens.com
Did you follow your ancestors track, like they do often in Africa? Giving a specific name after a grandfather, for instance; calling his spirit to be part of an ancient ritual at birth; celebrating with his favorite drink?
Or did you get an astrological chart made for your little one?
Did you know in India this is one of the #sacredrituals performed for every child born, every planed marriage, every dreamed life event?
Did you know in China it is so common to use it to "choose" the year of birth - believing with this you are also choosing the gender, the personality and even the kind of life for the child! - that you have schools with huge groups in one year, if considered auspicious, and very few in others?
Did you know that the stars, the Moon, the tides... and the energies it all bring inspire many cultures and are believed to deeply influence your child's path?
How do you, read the sacred energies?
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
You are a Goddess
Do you realize what a Goddess you are?!
A fertility Goddess, a Motherhood Goddess, a breastfeeding Goddess!!
You don't...? Today it's a beautiful day to start!
Oh my sweet sister you are, I only hold space here for you to see it ❤
Photo credit: so grateful to Ivette Ivens,
Reminding everyone women ARE Goddesses!
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Exciting announcement #sacredtribe
Dreaming of joining a LIVE retreat? Catch that dream mama!
We are celebrating Mother's Day at sacred beginnings tribe with an amazing offer... How does a karma spot for our NEXT LIVE RETREAT sounds like? Yes, totally FREE! (For you only or together with a friend!)
JOIN our online tribe to know more! This is an exclusive offer for our #sacredbeginningsonlinetribe and this is a group everyone is welcome to join, you don't need to be a Mother! Feel called? Click on the link and join us now! <3
https://www.facebook.com/groups/811469795615118/
#sacredbeginningsKarmaSpot
#sacredBeginnings
#MothersDay
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com
Giving birth and being born...
~ Harriette Hartigan
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Grateful for this powerful image from Ivette Ivens:
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
Babies are stardust
~ Larry Barretto
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Love these images! Grateful to Bigley:
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After I meditate
I had tons of things on my mind today, texts to write, images to choose, messages to send, mails to reply to... And of course TumTum (my son) to take care of... And then, and then I went to meditate. Yes, it felt like I was too busy to do it but I took 10 minutes during my son's nap to sit at my sacred space, just sit, close my eyes and breathe. The thoughts kept coming to me, and a little voice inside kept saying "you can't meditate now", I was not happy with this voice, I wanted to just say "shut up"! I wanted the silence, the blissful state meditation promises...
No, it was not happening. And then... Then I accepted the busy, loud thoughts. I stopped fighting them. I allowed them to come, and... Go. And after a while I could not hear them anymore, there was no voice struggling and judging, there was a kind of... silence, I think. Or was it just me, in peace with it all? Either way, at some point I feel calm, relaxed, at ease.
And after that... Making myself some tea, I could see how the beautiful pink color was the same as the table cloth, and that made me smile, and that, that only, was enough.
#sacredbeginnings
#meditationformothers
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
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Saturday, May 9, 2015
Mother Love
Because I feel that, in the Heavens above
The angels, whispering to one another,
Can find, among their burning terms of love
None so devotional as that of ‘Mother’.
~ Edgar Allen Poe
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
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Thursday, May 7, 2015
Dancing is healing
In some traditional cultures when one gets the sick the healer asks:
"When was the last time you danced?"
Dancing is, do I need to say it? - healing.
Dear sacred sister, when was the last time you danced?
Do you realize this can actually be a meditation? And not only that but one that you can do WITH your children!?
Today just play some music, doesn't really matter which kind; stand up, doesn't really matter where, and DANCE!
Your children will HELP! Doesn't matter how old they are! You can baby wear your little ones and ask the small children to join you! I actually doubt that you need to ask! So just follow their lead, the way they play, move, have fun, and do not judge.
Today, dance.
#meditationformothers #meditationWithChildren
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
Sacred Beginnings online tribe
We have created the #sacredbeginningsacredtribe
~ Holding Space for Mothers ~ group Right NOW!!! with Danielle Devaki Gustafson
We will have exclusive inspirations from Danielle (creator of SB program); sharing of yoga for mothers videos; moon phases virtual gatherings; and guidance with intuitive card pulling from The mother's wisdom deck (AND how does Reiki distance healing offers - for both mothers and babies - sounds? We can do that!).
Join in if you are looking for your tribe;
Join us if you have attended a live retreat in the past and wish to connect with other mothers from the #sacredcommunity ;
Join in if you wish to attend a retreat in the future and want to know what Sacred Beginnings is all about;
Join us if motherhood feels lonely, and heavy sometimes... support can also happen ONLINE.
We hold s.p.a.c.e. for you.
Get special announcements first hand and special discounts for THIS tribe ONLY!
(We even have ONE free spot to offer on our next LIVE retreat!)
Who wants to join us?
Click on the link bellow and make a join request <3
Bring your friends, take a seat, get comfortable, this is our #sacredspace .
See you in my #sacredbeginnings #sacredmama #sacredtribe !
With much love from,
Sacred Beginnings team
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Every baby a sacred beginning
A new baby is like the beginning of all things - wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.
~ Eda J. Le Shan
Photo from amazing Jade Beall
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
Monday, May 4, 2015
Love your body
For me it was like this, motherhood expanded my Love, my ability to love. Not only my child, but myself... Today I can say I love myself more... More and more I love all about me... And yes, my changing body is such an important part of this LOVE.
Today I am thankful for this path I walk and for the women that thru motherhood also share these awakenings. Falan is one of them, so grateful for her writing...
~ befriending thy breasts & body
“and i said to my body. softly. ‘i want to be your friend.’ it took a long breath. and replied. ‘i have been waiting my whole life for this.'” -nayyirah waheed
I stood, for a long time, in front of the mirror the other morning. Naked.
My clothes sat folded on the counter and my robe hung on the hook.
Not wanting to get dressed, I paused, staring at this body of mine.
I ran my hands from my armpits down the round of my breasts, along my ribs and waistline, slowly alongside my hips.I thought about how much I would one day miss this body.
This body as it is.
The youthful suppleness of the skin would be replaced with the wise softness that time and age transforms.
The inevitable acceptance of your aged lines that can’t help but to long for your springtide.
I thought about how often looking at our bodies results mostly in judgment.
I thought about how our eyes fall to “flaws” instead of our hearts holding gratitude for our abilities.
I thought about how much this body has provided for me.
The points of pleasure. The points of passion and aliveness.
Touch and orgasm and tickles and snuggles. Laughter. Joy.
Long walks. Hikes. Swims.
Holding me gently and with strength in all the sadness I’ve felt.
The pain. The tears.
The expansion of pregnancy and the power of birth.
Moon cycles and blood and babies and losses and new life.
Breasts. Breastfeeding. Milk.
Breasts.
Oh, breasts. Extending from the heart.
For nearly a dozen years, milk, milk, milk.
Swelling and softening, filling and emptying.
Breasts.
Just last August my youngest weaned and I closed the door on nearly a dozen years of breastfeeding.
After she weaned, I would be standing in the shower lathering my skin with milky soap and would skip over my nipples.
And then I would catch myself and remember that I could soap them up now.
My nipples, my breasts, they’ve belonged to my children.
They belonged to the nourishment of those I love the most.
Now they feel mine again.
They show the stories of how they belonged to them for so long.
Soft lines gently mark the inner breasts, nearest my heart.
Pink nipples always appearing aroused.
Now mine again.
********
We live in a world that models tremendous detachment from our own bodies.
Sex sells, but connection to ourselves doesn’t.
We live in a world that encourages women to give themselves monthly breast exams and to get painful, invasive mammograms once a year when they reach their 40’s. To stoically examineyour breasts one time a month/ once a year, but not to touch your breasts with adoration ever. (Many similar thoughts can be said about the vagina and the pap.)
We live in a world where breast cancer steals the lives of mothers and daughters and wives and sisters and aunts and grandmothers, but we are not shown to fully appreciate our breasts for the incredible energy centers and nourishers they are. (Many similar thoughts can be said about the yoni and cancers/concerns of the womb space.)
Disconnection from ourselves steals our power and our respect and our regard for this precious body of ours.
Please, take these words of mine and settle them into you.
It’s time to stop the disconnection from this spirit housed skin we are in.
It’s time to sincerely realize the remarkable magic that your body is.
Breasts are a beautiful place to start.
Begin to feel your breasts everyday. In the shower, for the five minutes before you fall asleep. Lovingly massage them, supporting lymphatic movement and enriching your heart center. Go without a bra. Throw your bras away (absolutely on the underwire ones!) Look at them. Love them.
Let your breasts be a catalyst of connecting with, and befriending, the richness of your body.
~ Falan, mother to three http://falanstorm.com/about/
Such gorgeous images from Kala
http://www.kalarathphotography.com
#motherhoodawakenings
#sacredbeginnings
#sacredlivingmovement
#sacredpregnancy
Explore more of Sacred Beginnings program:
www.sacred-beginning.com
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