Poised & Powerful Parenting

The responsibilities of parenthood can feel overwhelming. Today my guest and I are discussing a process of connecting with yourself so that you can engage meaningfully with your children and enjoy more moments together - rather than getting bogged down in “shoulds.” Episode 9 of Poised & Powerful Podcast is sharing the importance of slowing down to listen to children! 

Book your FREE 15-minute virtual consult to learn more about working with Sarah! She offers virtual sessions for expecting and new parents. “You need every bit of energy you can get - I teach skills of poise under pressure, replacing struggle with ease in your daily tasks, and how to really rest. Self-care isn’t a place away from your life, I’ll show you how to move mindfully through your day- because you are already working hard enough.”

In this episode of Poised & Powerful Podcast, my guest Erin Huang and I discuss the following:

• How we have to cope with our own emotions when we see our children are disappointed or upset. 
• Staying in the moment when you become frustrated with your children and skills you can use to process the situation and handle it better.
• Part of being patient with children is realizing the ways they think differently from us! 
• Kids aren’t an end product - focus on the process in order to teach your values. 
• Where miscommunications happen and how to really hear what kids are trying to say.  
• Using your body as your most important instrument, taking care of it, keeping it moving, and modeling this self-care for your kids.  

You don’t have to do more - you can be present to the good parent you already are! 

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  If you connected with what you heard, please leave a rating or review on your app of choice - it helps new listeners find the show! 

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Erin Huang is an Alexander Technique International (ATI) certified teacher and a classical musician. As a professionally trained musician, she recognizes the importance of both physical and mental well-being to musicians. She has been working with musicians on injury prevention and performance technique using the Alexander Technique since 2015. She has presented various workshops, such as the workshop on Alexander Technique and Performance Anxiety at the 2019 Freedom to Make Music Conference in NYC. In 2020, she presented a two part video series called “ Our Body is Our First Instrument” on the Alexander Technique for the Sarasota Orchestra’s summer online educational program. Erin teaches privately in the greater Los Angeles area where she resides with her husband, two boys and a shiba inu.

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Links Mentioned: 

Ezra Klein Interviews Alison Gopnik about how child brains and adult brains experience the world differently. 

What if the thing that unifies us as mothers is the fact that not one of us has the exact same experience? This week, episode 08 of Poised & Powerful Podcast is sharing Sarah’s dance thesis project about motherhood and how it is a direct reflection of her own experience! 

Book your FREE 15-minute virtual consult to learn more about working with Sarah! She offers virtual sessions for expecting and new parents. Expecting parentings will have a framework for considering and building positive habits for not just the baby - but also yourself. New parents will learn how to move like a kid again, so you have more energy for what matters.

Sarah Mauney is a movement scholar-she's a certified Alexander Technique Teacher, recent MFA graduate from CU Boulder, and general body-loving nerd. Her research has centered on embodied experiences related to mothering and her goals center on reconnecting individual mothers to the knowledge that their bodies possess- we have just been conditioned not to listen to what our bodies know. Sarah has a three-year-old daughter, is pregnant with her second kiddo, and loves cooking, baking, bartending, swimming and traveling.

In this episode of Poised & Powerful Podcast, Sarah and I discuss the following:

• How she surprised herself by wanting to explore motherhood in her graduate studies and her surprise at not finding more artistic representations of mothering in the world of dance. 
• Ways in which imposed expectations about being a “good mother” removes womxn from power on a societal level and leads to feelings of failure on a personal level. The power of being able to express yourself and question habits & stereotypes. 
• The push and pull of being a mother and what that looks like for each of us.
• Sarah’s day-to-day life of being a grad school mom, and how her work led her to more curiosity about her own experience, fueling her growth as both a mother and an artist. 

Don’t forget, your ideal expression of parenting is going to look different from anyone else. You don’t have to compare yourself.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

CONNECT WITH SARAH MAUNEY:

Sarah Mauney’s Website

The Moving Mothers Ourchive: Dances and Embodied Experiences of Motherhood. 

Video of Sarah’s Dance: Games Played While Lying Down

CONNECT WITH SARAH MAYHAN:

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LINKS MENTIONED:

You can find the rules to the game “What’s On My Butt?” In Weird Parenting Wins by Hillary Frank

Inspiration from poetry of Beth Ann Fennelly 

It is so common for us to find ourselves hunching over while doing everyday tasks. Let us take some time to focus on ourselves and our bodies as I walk you through this guided practice. Minisode 3 of Poised & Powerful Podcast is sharing guided practice: relaxing up for sitting! 

Book your FREE 15-minute virtual consult to learn more about working with Sarah! She offers virtual sessions for expecting and new parents. Expecting parents will have a framework for considering and building positive habits for not just the baby - but also yourself. New parents will learn how to move like a kid again, so you have more energy for what matters.

In this episode of Poised & Powerful Podcast, I take you through another guided practice to lengthen your body and be intentional about how you are holding yourself after finding your body hunched over while breastfeeding or while sitting on your phone or computer. 

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

What daily activities would you like to take the stress out of? Let me know! 

CONNECT WITH SARAH MAYHAN:

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Becoming a mom can feel like magic - and a marathon without a finish line. Let’s show some gratitude to the incredible things our bodies can do. This week, episode 7 of Poised & Powerful Parenting is sharing Rhonda's roller-coaster pandemic pregnancy with TWINS! 

Book your FREE 15-minute virtual consult to learn more about working with Sarah! She offers virtual sessions for expecting and new parents. Expecting parents will have a framework for considering and building positive habits for not just the baby - but also yourself. New parents will learn how to move like a kid again, so you have more energy for what matters.

Rhonda Abrams is a first-time mom to 5-month-old identical twins girls. She is a professional community builder who leads fundraising & engagement efforts at a local Chicago spiritual community called Mishkan Chicago, while simultaneously full-time momming during a pandemic in her small apartment. She studied some Alexander Technique in undergrad at the Claremont Colleges and makes a point to do something personal & active almost every day. 

In this episode Rhonda and I discuss the following:

• Rhonda’s pregnancy journey from finding out she was pregnant at the start of a pandemic to navigating a high-risk pregnancy to an unexpectedly smooth birth. 
• How demanding establishing breastfeeding can be and why breastfeeding twins is like dancing with two dance partners. 
• Being a NICU parent and working through going home and not being able to take her babies home yet, while staying up at night pumping milk for them.
• Managing anxiety and embracing her “mom superpowers.” 
• Where Rhonda uses Alexander Technique skills to ground herself and release tension when tandem breastfeeding her babies. 
• How she manages to make a little time and space to connect with herself, and how parenthood has deepened her spiritual self. 

See Minisode for Breastfeeding Alexander Techniques

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!

CONNECT WITH RHONDA ABRAMS:

 Rhonda is open to connecting with other twin parents, find her here.

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Rhonda is picking up babies x2, so Sarah sent her this video on how to get your baby out of the crib without hurting your back. 

LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE:

This meme to remind you that you are not alone.

Connecting with other twin parents, for example: Windy City Twins, Windy City Twins Swap Page

Amazing doula support in the Chicago area from Leah the Doula. We love doulas! 

Instagrams to read when breastfeeding/ pumping/ otherwise stuck under a baby: @bemybreastfriend @the_bernstein_brood @danistwinsfilm @twiniversity @common_wild

Content Warning: This episode includes content around birth injury and birth trauma. 

We don’t always know how many aspects of life will affect our postpartum recovery until we experience them. It is vital to have the support you need as you transition through this time. In Episode 06 of Poised & Powerful Podcast, my guest is sharing her story of healing and the importance of moms supporting moms! 

In this episode of Poised & Powerful Podcast, my guest Abby Waychoff and I discuss the following:

• Building communities of parents, for mothers to share real-life experiences without embarrassment, shame, or feeling misunderstood. 
• Abby shares the surprises and challenges she found during her first birth and postpartum journey - and how it led to her calling of helping other moms.
• Information overload: how to balance the amount of information available to you and when it’s best to just flow with what feels right for you and your baby. 
• The whole-self process of working through trauma, and how Abby supported herself through the experience in order to prepare for the unexpected in having her second child. 

You are not ever alone. Being honest about your feelings and experiences is the first step in a journey towards connection with others. Abby and I get real about the tough stuff - but this conversation is also funny, friendly, and encouraging. 

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  What did you connect to? What did you want to know more about? 

And please rate and review, so that new folks can find us! 

CONNECT WITH ABBY WAYCHOFF:

Mother Lover 

Facebook Community- Mom to Mom

Abby’s Recommendations:  

Third Coast Birth & Baby, in-person & virtual doula support & childbirth education

My Fourth App by Major Care Doulas, a day by day 4th-trimester guide/support app

Ready to Run Postpartum, a self-paced program for returning to running postpartum 

Expectful Meditation app for pregnancy/parenting focused guided meditation. (Click the link to get an extended free trial: https://expectful.app.link/motherlover). 

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Here’s a guided practice to help you press pause in the middle of a busy day. My guest and I have referenced doing a constructive rest or “lie down” as a way to tune in with ourselves. Here’s an easy way to start.

You can try this: if your baby is napping but you can’t quite fall asleep, to rest your back when it’s tired, to slow down your breathing when you’re feeling anxious. 

You will need a firm, yet comfortable surface to lie down on (like a carpeted floor, yoga mat, or sunny patch outdoors in the grass) and a small stack of paperback books to support your head. 

Pictures and further info for setting up here.  

*Note, if you are pregnant, you can do this practice lying on your side like this.  

Any comments or questions on this practice? Let me know! 

If you enjoyed this episode, please post your stories and tag me - and don’t forget to rate and review this podcast so others can find it. Thank you for listening! 

CONNECT WITH SARAH MAYHAN:

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Upcoming Online Class: Your Breath Is Your Base, Supporting Yourself in Times of Transition

Just because you are pregnant does not mean you stop feeling or being who you are. Can you shake off expectations and stereotypes to navigate your own path through the ups and downs? That's why Episode 05 of the Poised & Powerful Parenting Podcast is sharing the importance of tuning into yourself through pregnancy and the newborn period (and how to build these skills if you’re feeling lost). 

In this episode of Poised & Powerful Parenting Podcast, Fanny and I discuss the following:

• Practical tools for body and breathing that she used to deal with the fears and anxieties of pandemic pregnancy and to cope with a long labor. 
• What to do when you stress about stress: how you can give yourself permission to work through your feelings rather than repress them. 
• Letting go of the pressures behind being the “picture-perfect parent” and modeling processes of curiosity and self-compassion for your child. Here’s the friendly pep talk you need if you are feeling guilty trying to balance caring for yourself and your little one. 
• The joy of sharing music with children and learning to be present with them to build communication. 

“Many times people refer to the Alexander Technique as a posture technique but I want to offer that it is the gateway into changing habits in a sustainable way and using it to learn about who you are and who you are choosing to become.”

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast, and tell me your key takeaways!

CONNECT WITH FANNY LORA:

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LullaYou Personalized Lullabies  

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Upcoming Online Class: Your Breath Is Your Base, Supporting Yourself in Times of Transition

LINKS MENTIONED:

Research on the most helpful mindset toward stress. 

Infertility and Adoption are a journey many families take. Episode 04 of Poised & Powerful Podcast is sharing Gina’s journey of infertility and adoption! 

Gina Totten, LMT has been a massage therapist, running her own practice for 15 years. She and her husband became parents to their dream baby through adoption in November 2019 after trying for 12 years to start their family in one way or another.

In this episode of Poised & Powerful Podcast, my guest and I discuss the following:

• Navigating the process of infertility 
• The years it took to be approved for adoption and how that worked for Gina and her husband
• Being a new mom to her adopted daughter, Elizabeth, and how she navigated the baby and toddler phases
• Fears and excitement going through becoming a new mom and what it was like going through the fertility journey with her husband

Remember, be honest with yourself and listen to your inner voice!

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

CONNECT WITH SARAH MAYHAN:

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CONNECT WITH GINA TOTTEN:

Gina’s Website 

LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:

We mention parents modeling emotional understanding and self-regulation. 

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May.

Parenting has really amped up a notch during the current state of the world. Episode 03 of Poised & Powerful Podcast is sharing how David Oromaner has used self-regulation and the Alexander technique to navigate life as a parent in the middle of a pandemic! 

Book your FREE 15-minute virtual consult to learn more about working with Sarah! She offers virtual sessions for expecting and new parents. Expecting parents will have a framework for considering and building positive habits for not just the baby - but also yourself. New parents will learn how to move like a kid again, so you have more energy for what matters.

In this episode of Poised & Powerful Podcast, my guest and I discuss the following:

• Creating a plan to navigate parenting during a pandemic.
• Finding your way back to homeostasis after being in survival mode.
• Strategies that are working really well that don’t take a lot of time or effort to apply.
• As parents, we live in our to-do lists, but taking time to reconnect with ourselves regularly. It’s important to model that for our kids so they can learn to live fully.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

CONNECT WITH DAVID OROMANER:

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David O Lessons

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LINKS MENTIONED:

Constructive Rest for Pregnancy

Constructive Rest Basics for Parents 

Use this guided mindfulness practice during constructive rest during Pregnancy.

Book your FREE 15-minute virtual consult to learn more about working with Sarah! She offers virtual sessions for expecting and new parents. Expecting parents will have a framework for considering and building positive habits for not just the baby - but also yourself. New parents will learn how to move like a kid again, so you have more energy for what matters.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me!  And don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and tell me your key takeaways!

CONNECT WITH SARAH MAYHAN:

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Work with Sarah!