Thank you so much for listening to today's episode on finding YOUR unique definition of courage. Here is a wonderful quote by Rachel Marie Martin to inspire you and to connect you more with your courage through motherhood: "STRENGTH. It is not found in perfection. It is found in the moments. The moments of doubt. Of courage. Of tenacity. Of bravery. Of loving. Of giving. Of believing. Of laughing. Of crying. Of trying. That is real strength. That is motherhood." I

I couldn't agree more. I hope you enjoy this week's episode inspired by Judith Hanson Lasater's "Living Your Yoga" book and her chapter all about courage. Share, talk about it, connect with me and inspire others around you!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "We acquire the strength of that which we have overcome." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

These are a few of my Favorite Things: Just Ingredients Pre-Workout Drink (Caffeine-free Tropical flavor). www.justingredients.us

Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode about Perspective & Perception. I hope you enjoy it as much as I still need to hear it! Remember, this topic is a LOT of work. Daily work. So cut yourself some slack and consider today the start of a brand new perspective!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "...we are the hero of our own story." -Mary McCarthy

These are a few of my favorite things: Ryan Holiday's trifecta of books: "Stillness is the Key", "The Obstacle is the Way", and "Ego is the Enemy". Get on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/4yTwjkB

Also, check out the Extract Juice and Nektar apps on the app store to see if there is a location near you!!

Ryan Holiday's advice... We must try:

And I want to add, to stop being fixated on the what ifs that may never happen.

Closing inspiration from Judith Lasater: "The worst could happen; the best could happen. Life is usually somewhere in between."

Thank you again for listening, sharing and rating this podcast. I wouldn't be here without you!

HELLO MOMS! Welcome back to the bi-weekly episode where we are talking about what Judith Lasater calls, "The Quiet Cousin of Courage." Faith. Not solely in the religious sense but in the sense of trusting ourselves, our experiences in life working out and an intuitive connection with something greater than us. Faith allows us to find the bravery to take a chance, even if there are no guarantees. It allows us to make the most important decisions in our lives. And the beauty of making these hard decisions with a soft heart and compassion, as Judith Lasater states in this chapter.

I feel our decisions with our lives and motherhoods can drastically be at ease when we put the word "faith" in our intentions versus "belief". It's eased my anxiety and need for control. I've become more relaxed with my life and how it unfolds. How my daughter's life unfolds. I have my days, don't get me wrong, but it's books like this I then go back to for the kind reminders.

I hope you enjoy and please reach out to let me know your thoughts, experiences and if there's anything I missed on this topic. Thank you so much for listening!

Mom Quote of the Week: "Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." -Annette Funicello

My favorite thing this week is my protein balls. I love changing the recipe each time I make them based on what I have or what I have the taste for. So this week I had almond butter as my base and then I add Orgain vegan protein powder. I looked around my kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and found some hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, cacao nibs and oats. Mix it all up, get a cookie scooper, put some in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Store-bought bars have so many ingredients and the ones that are winners can be SO expensive. This recipe is all about dumping, scooping and putting in a container. Takes 20 minutes from start to finish.

Closing Inspiration: "To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab a hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float." -Alan Watts

Get your copy of "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater here: https://a.co/d/7GXS1Mq

THANK YOU for tuning back into this week's episode inspired by Judith Lasater's book, "Living Your Yoga." This week we focus on Chapter 4: Self Judgment. Boy do we do this as moms! Or is it just me? It's never just me I find. I hope you find this week inspirational, awakening, acknowledging and that you finally find some grace for yourself (and others).

My favorite sentence in the book is, "Remember, the difficulty might never change, but your attitude and inner dialogue can." -Judith Lasater. Doesn't this just say it all?

Here are the instructions to the exercise I mention at the end of the episode. Copy, paste and print these out and work on this every day:

1) Taking your physical limitations and health into account, pick a yoga pose (or challenge, task, goal, passion) that is difficult, if not impossible, for you to do.

2) Practice, or rather attempt to practice, this pose every day for one month. To begin, say silently or out loud, "I am attempting something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying."

3) Then pay close attention to your internal dialogue as you practice your (fill in the blank). At times, you may even talk yourself through what you're doing out loud. Listen to the instructions you give yourself about the physical and mental aspects of how to do the pose. Whose instructions are they?

4) What do you say to yourself when you succeed? When you fail? When you are somewhere in between?

5) Can you do the (fill in the blank) just to do it?

6) When you are done with the (fill in the blank) say aloud, "I have tried something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying."

-Judith Lasater, "Living Your Yoga", page 36.

And remember, "the difficulty might never change, but your attitude and inner dialogue can." -Judith Lasater

Perfection is an illusion according to Judith Lasater and I couldn't agree more. And in reality, isn't perfection boring? Tight? Constricting? Motherhood needs more freedom, playfulness, mistakes and grace. Doesn't that sound a whole lot better?

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Every woman has the right to become herself..." -Ani DiFranco

Thank you for listening, sharing and talking about this episode and the podcast. I appreciate you! If you want a copy of "Living Your Yoga", you can grab it here: https://a.co/d/7f1nZu6

This week we will talk about something that is HARD to do, has to be done DAILY but with this commitment I promise you it will save your soul & motherhood. This week we focus on Chapter 3 of "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater titled, "Letting Go." We try to let go, we try so dang hard. But sometimes you try that surrender thing and it just doesn't work. There's not enough forward folds in the world to make this easier.

I hope this episode can connect you more with what letting go, or detachment, truly means. We go much deeper than you think you know. I surely learned a lot reading this chapter last year and what detachment means, how to make it a daily practice, and more importantly how to recognize what the heck I'm holding onto, controlling, manipulating, feeling I have to be right, the decision maker, the researcher, the disciplinarian, the housekeeper, the perfect friend, the mom who doesn't make mistakes, need I say more?!

After reading this chapter and TRULY putting this into my DAILY practice in my life I can truly say I am excited about my days, my motherhood, as a spouse, friend and living a life more intentionally. Which is pretty powerful. I hope you find this power as well. Not today. Not tomorrow. But in time and then forever.

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: “You are a unique beautiful soul.” -Louise Hay

My Favorite Things:   

Connect with my on Instagram at @michelle.a.mansfield or by email at [email protected]. Thank you so much for listening and sharing this episode. I look forward to hearing what you think!

Welcome to this week's episode where our goal, together, is to make our lives EASIER with more intentional and meaningful discipline in our lives. That has nothing to do with our kids! Listen to this new way of seeing discipline in our own lives to transform and find more freedom in our days. You'll find a big weight lifted off your shoulders as you find a more realistic way of accomplishing things on your terms with more intention. A nice surprise beginning to this episode brought to you by one of my favorite yogis!!! Enjoy, share, talk about it, and reach out to me to continue this conversation. Thank you!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "I will dare to just do what I do. Be just what I am, and dance whenever I want to." - Beverly Williams

“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a person can control their mind they can find the

Listen to Kristin McGee's "10 min Kindness Meditation" from 2/13/24. Link is here if you're a member of Peloton (join if you haven't!!!): https://members.onepeloton.com/classes/meditation?modal=classDetailsModal&classId=927daa87808c4d94a927adb9cb3c98f5&code=YWY2ODk0ZGFhYjM4NDMxYjk2MTkwMDgwOTc4YjA2NWF8M2Q0NTk3NGE3ZDJkNGFmMjgxODFhZWQyYjNjYjAwZGQ=

Follow Kristin McGee on Instagram @kristinmcgee (direct link here: https://www.instagram.com/kristinmcgee/ )

Grab Judith Hanson Lasater's "Living Your Yoga" here: https://a.co/d/20bCU7g

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "You have a gift that only you can give the world." -Oprah Winfrey

Thank you so much for giving this season a try. Even if you've never practiced yoga, had no desire to, or if you're curious and open to it I hope this is a nice window to a very accepting and peaceful way of living. Living your motherhood. I am excited to share Judith Lasater's book with you this season, "Living Your Yoga", and how it can apply to your motherhood. You don't even have to do Warrior 2!

This week we focus on bringing the RIGHT spirituality into your motherhood. On your terms and in your way. Not necessarily as an organized religion. I am Jewish, and proud of my religion, but I am open to other forms of spirituality and to be honest, anything that will make my life easier. And happier. Especially my motherhood.

I hope you get just one piece of inspiration in this 25 minutes. Just one. Anything that will give you confidence, connection to your SELF, and what you want out of your life. How you want to live YOUR unique life. Thank you for listening, sharing, talking about this episode with others and supporting this podcast.

Takeaways...

Judith's end of chapter Mantras:

1. I am my own authority

2. My life is a work in progress

3. I desire wholeness

4. All the answers are within me

5. Life is practice, practice is life

6. I commit to living my life fully in this moment

My Favorite Thing of the Week: Get your Blue Lotus Rooibos Masala Chai here on Amazon: https://a.co/d/c5CZ6rW

Get your copy of "Living Your Yoga. Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life." here on Amazon: https://a.co/d/boKoLgO

Learn more about Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T. here: https://www.judithhansonlasater.com/

Welcome to SEASON 3 of The Honest Mom Podcast! Today we talk about the difficult season of winter and getting a new outlook on this important and much needed season of our year. Our lives. I've done research and soul-searching to get out of my SAD that I've had every year because it affected me SO much. With being in the midwest, the winter season can feel like an eternity so I had to get my life back. On top of it, Brooklyn was born during a massive snowstorm in February 2013 and then we were trapped in our home and boring lives for the winter season. So I had to come to terms with the bad memories I had during that winter season. How I associated winter with that time when I was so depressed.

This episode was also inspired by a yoga workshop I'm hosting at the studio I teach at. We'll be having a wonderful discussion about the purpose of winter and how to SLOW THE F DOWN to honor what this time is all about. To make it OK to find some stillness and not be GO-GO-GO all the damn time. We will be having a toasty and cozy Restorative Yoga practice in the salt room of the studio full of blankets, warm tea, and the permission to CHILL OUT. If you're local to Geneva, get on the waitlist for this event!

Thank you for listening, sharing this episode and if you want to let me know what you like and don't like about this podcast- head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify to leave me an honest review. Enjoy the episode!

Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "I am myself. I refuse to fit into what people want me to be or expect me to be." -Preeti Mistry

These are a few of my favorite things: The Ayurveda Experience products: www.theayurvedaexperience.com I use their Yauvari Amplified Youth Spring facial oil, Keranya Pure Black Seed Potent Hair Potion, Manjish Glow Elixer nighttime facial oil, and Trahnna Heart Leaved Moonseed body oil. I also love their lip balms. What is Ayurveda? Well, in a nutshell, it's the ancient Science of Life, a holistic science of health & wellness, and originated over 5,000 years ago in India. Think of it as the sister science of Yoga.

What is Savasana? "a meditative posture in which one lies on one's back that is typically considered the final resting pose in yoga." (Miriam Webster) Savasana is a pose of total relaxation—making it one of the most challenging.—Yoga Journal

Gina Payne of Lola Salon article about wintering: https://www.lolahairandsoul.com/seasons-of-change/

"Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times" by Katherine May. You can get your copy here: https://a.co/d/cqDgSQV

"Stillness is the Key" by Ryan Holiday. You can get your copy here: https://a.co/d/cqDgSQV

Happy Holidays to all of you! I hope you've had a wonderful holiday season so far. We are almost at the end of 2023 and Season 2 which brings me to a special announcement in this episode. After that, I talk about a very important subject in motherhood. Especially when it comes to my friendships (and it can apply to marriage too!). It parallels an important scene, the climax, of one of my favorite childhood movies.

I hope after this episode you can connect more to letting go of guilt, wondering, debating, and questioning yourself when it comes to the time spent with friends and your partner. How important it is to have that special time with these people outside of your children. To honor your friend and the brief time you have with them. To be more connected to your partner outside of parenthood. I'm with my daughter 90% of my time so I have GOT to respect the small amount of time I have with people other than her.

Enjoy, share, comment, and give a rating if you have the time. I look forward to what's coming our way together as this podcast evolves and I want to thank you for being alongside with me throughout it. Connect with me on Instagram @michelle_a_mansfield or on my website, michellemansfieldauthor.com Happy Holidays and New Year to you all!

If my story became my truth I would have been the unrealistic do-it-all-mom still in my career and in the position my bosses were in. I'd be someone I made up in my early 20's when my life was only about me. My episode on identity talks about this attachment to our career and what we "do all day" as part of our identity. So when life throws us some curveballs (AKA children) and we need to change- what are we changing into? And why is it so hard to let go of the life we had and person we were?

Why is it so hard to be vulnerable and imperfect?

Why is it so hard to let go? Of friendships, past identity, career, lifestyles, goals and passions?

Why is discomfort avoided? Facing our $h!t- and facing what we really want or desire?

We need to release the past and the life we had THEN in order to have space for the life we want NOW. We aren't failures because we change or let go of who we thought we'd be. It's time to declutter our minds just like we declutter our homes. To gain stillness and therefore clarity and creativity. It's time to embrace the new design and feelings that come our way.

This episode is for you if you're sitting on your couch wondering "what now" and "who am I?" If you've been so connected to motherhood that you've disconnected from who you truly are. What truly defines who you are.

Thank you for listening, sharing and supporting me through this season 2. I'd love to hear from you on Instagram @michelle.a.mansfield and what your unique story is about this episode.