how to be a heart-led mother
Mothering from your heart is extremely intuitive, yet it totally and completely isn’t. What I mean by this is it’s the way our souls want to mother. However, we’ve been conditioned to do the complete opposite. We’ve been conditioned to rush. We’re programmed to constantly seek & do rather than allow & be. And heart-centered mothering requires the latter.
It’s similar to our connection to the earth. It’s something that’s so incredibly natural. Although, we must experience a remembering in order to realize this truth.
So are you hearing the call? The call to mother from your center. The call to come home to ourselves and nurture our babies from the depths of our hearts.
Because same. Now let’s talk about how we can do this.
Nourishment
Nourishment deserves the top spot here. Because nothing else can really fall into alignment without it. And yes, nourishment can mean things like eating healthy and getting enough protein. But I’m talking about an entirely new level of nourishment.
True nourishment means being intentional with everything you allow in & around your body.
Such as:
- Who you allow to consume your time (aka relationships)
- What you allow on your body (like skincare, cleaning products)
- The stories you allow into your ears (think podcasts, television)
- What you allow in your mouth (hopefully locally grown whole foods for the most part)
- What you allow in your nose (scented products, candles)
Depending on what you choose, all of these can either lead to overwhelm, overstimulation, and ultimately anxiety. Or they can lead to calm. To peace. To nourishment.
Remembering our innate connection with nature
Nature returns us to our heart space again and again. When you take a walk through the woods, when you sit on the earth and feel the ground beneath you, what happens?
I want you to get really curious about it. Go ahead and give it a try if you can’t remember the last time you really allowed yourself to just be with nature.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll feel:
- Grounded
- Present
- Peaceful
- Blissful, even
Nature has a way of getting us out of the thinking mind and into our heart, our soul. And while sure, our logical brain is actually really important for our survival, we’re not meant to hang out there 24/7.
Practice your empowered “no”
No is a complete sentence is something we’ve all heard before. And consciously, we know it’s true. But why does it feel so hard to use an empowered “no” without it coinciding with the feelings of guilt and shame?
Because we aren’t used to it, maybe. Because we didn’t see our own mothers use their empowered no’s, maybe. This is only something you yourself can answer, but I do know that the more we practice something, the easier it becomes.
Start by saying no, and simply noticing if guilt and shame arise within you. You can even respond with “hi guilt” or “hi shame.” I know that all of us mothers know these feelings quite well, we might as well meet them with at least some compassion.
And keep going. Keep saying no. Keep noticing how you feel. Anything that doesn’t light you up, anything that doesn’t feel fully authentic & aligned. Just say no and see what comes up for you.
Slow down
Slow down. Then cut that speed by like half. We really don’t need to be in a rush the large majority of the time.
Did you ever think maybe that’s what makes leaving the house in the morning so frustrating? If I was your toddler, I wouldn’t want to be rushed out the door either. I would also run away from you if you were forcing me to get my coat on in record speed. Let’s be honest, you probably would too.
The slow living movement can sometimes feels just out of reach, but I want to debunk that myth. It may feel out of reach because the gap between your current self and who you want to be is big. But it’s actually incredible how quickly you can close that gap by taking baby steps.
And no, I’m not saying you must start baking your own bread immediately (although trust me, it’s good for the soul). You don’t need to adopt anything about the slow living movement that doesn’t feel 100% authentic to you.
But it is worth exploring what you’re in such a rush for. Is it really the end of the world if you and your toddler are late to play group? Chances are, probably not.
I hope these are some helpful reminders when it comes to mothering from your center. We’re all out here attempting to mother the best way we know how. The most important thing to know is that you’re the perfect mama for your child.
On that same note, your child is also the perfect child for you. And I don’t mean perfect in an angelic sense, I mean it in the sense that your child will more than likely teach you the most important lessons you came to this planet to learn.
And that can be really, really hard.