Becoming a mother is a truly a unique gift. The love that is exchanged between a parent and child is unparalleled to anything else. But, even with that unconditional love present, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of care and time it takes to raise children, especially when they are very young. Putting your children first is only natural, but neglecting to take moments for yourself won’t do anyone in your family good in the long run.
“It’s important for mothers to pay attention to their own well-being because everything that the mother is feeling affects her family,” said Natalie Sager, meditation and yoga teacher, holistic health consultant, and proprietor of The Modern Hippie Mama. “Her well-being has a ripple effect on everyone else in the family, which also ripples out into the world.”
Sager, who is co-author of the book “Peaceful Mama: The Mind, Body & Baby Connection,” believes that mothers need to embrace what she calls MAMAHH Moments.
These MAMAHH Moments include movement, affirmation, mindfulness, abundance, health, and heart.
Sager said that she came up with them because she saw these moments as pieces that are generally missing from mothers’ daily lives. “One of those, or many of them, or a combination of these moments end up being the missing link to what will eventually help moms find their version of peace,” she said.
In the book, Sager stresses the importance of mind, body, and spirit health, but provides a toolkit for mothers to meet these MAMAHH Moments is an easy-to-do kind of practice.
Some of these moments, include: moving your body every day to nourish yourself, taking a few minutes in your day, such as when you are eating, to get fully present, and creating affirmations in alignment of what you want, need, and desire for your life.
Some moms feel guilty trying to carve out moments for themselves when the load of family responsibilities seem more pressing, but Sager said it’s imperative to shift your perspective.
She asks mothers to look at why they would feel as though they are not as worthy as everyone else in their family.
“It’s a lot of negative self-talk that is going to bring those guilty feelings,” Sager said. “From my perspective, and from a spiritual standpoint, the entire reason that we exist on this planet is to have fun and enjoy life. If we are neither having fun nor enjoying life — that is a very big issue that needs to be remedied.”
And, when your children see you making time for yourself it teaches them to do the exact same things for themselves, she added.
“We try to teach our children to be kind to other people, to give unto others, but really the person we should be serving first and foremost, is ourselves,” Sager said. “And, it’s not egotistical or self-centered, it’s self-love and self-care. It’s saying ‘I should feed myself first, either metaphorically or literally. I should be taking care of myself first because when I do, guess what happens? I am much nicer to everyone else, I am a much more caring and present mother and I feel better.’”
The target audience for the book is the preconception, prenatal, and postpartum mom throughout the first couple of years (newborn to three-years-old). But, the seasoned mother would get so much out of this as well, and the seasoned mother has more time to actually read a book, she said. The book is applicable to anyone looking to find their own version of peace.
A mother’s role changes as her children age and become more autonomous, but they are still watching you and they are still absorbing everything you are doing, saying, and living, she said. You want to set that example for them of the best version of yourself. The act of self-care is not just going to be when you are pregnant or postpartum. Self-care is a practice, like yoga, that you do for your entire life.
But, new moms, don’t despair if your book reading time is limited, Sager said that an audiobook version is coming soon.
Learn more by visiting www.themodernhippiemama.com
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