TINCTURE

“Who would I be as a mother, if I had never opened an Instagram account”

A question that crosses my mind every once in a while and something I felt was worthy softening into a bit.

In this episode I want to explore Inspiration and being inspired versus Influence and being influenced.

What is the difference between the two? Is influence a bad thing? How can I limit the negative effects of social media? What is positive influence?

The episode is an open exploration of all this and more, because life is really too precious to spend it trying to live someone else's life.

If you liked this episode please subscribe and share with friends! It takes a village.

Instagram: @eva.mariasmith

Buy my motherhood memoir “Milk & Coffee Years”: www.evamariasmith.com

Come on retreat with me! @thepauseretreats

www.the-pause.com

subscribe to my substack space www.evamariasmith.substack.com

Thank you for being here

Creating a community for yourself as a mother is a vulnerable thing. It is hard to find and build nourishing friendships.

So what can we do to build a sacred community for ourselves?What do I even mean when I say sacred community?

I’m talking about truly meaningful relationships. Deep friendships that feel aligned and give us the safe space to show up as our whole selves. The good bits and the hard parts.

Join me as I explore some ways to build your village.

If you are looking to make some meaningful friendships while also getting all the rest you need, want and deserve check out www.the-pause.com or @thepauseretreats to join me in Maine this September.

instagram: @eva.maria.smith

www.evamariasmith.com

You can also find my motherhood memoir “Milk & Coffee Years” on my webpage

August is well underway and before you know it we will bid farewell to the sun-drenched days of summer. Autumn, is upon us and while I am looking forward to return to slow rhythms and a cozy fall homes, I am also trying to mindfully enjoy the end of summer.

Todays episode is a bit of a bridge between summer and autumn. A very cozy episode about the feeling of end of summer hygge and how to invite in the art of Danish coziness this month.

I talk about how to make picnics extra cozy, how I love berry picking and why wild swimming has my heart.

In the end I invite you to hygge with me in Maine this September. To find out more checkout www.the-pause.com, or go to Instagram @thepauseretreats

If you like my work please subscribe and leave me a review or get in touch with me via Instagram.

I am so grateful to you.

I dont know if you know this already, but me and my friend and business partner Rachael Hollinger from noursiher doula have started doing retreats for tired mothers last year. The Pause retreats are grounded, yet elevated bespoke retreats where we really try to honor mothers by mothering them through colorful, seasonal, nourishing foods, as well as balmy meditations and heart openers and breathwork and yoga and wild swimming and cold plunging and hot herbal baths and honest conversations and sitting in sacred circle with each other and and and. I am simply so passionate about these retreats. And at the first one that we did this past February Rachael lead us through an earthy, connected forest bathing workshop and to open it up for her and get everyone into a sense of warmth and safety and state of softening I did a guided meditation that I wrote just for that event. 

And it has been requested by several of the attendees that if I follow through and release this podcast I MUST share this meditation for the mothers of the world to listen to again and again. So today I am doing just that. 

If you are in your car, just switch off and come back to it later. This is an invitation for you to relax and get grounded. Enjoy this very first gentle motherhood meditation on the Milk & Coffee podcast.

If this meditation got you curious about meditating with me in real time, as well as coaching, and breathwork and sharing meals and jumping into the ocean then go to www.the-pause.com and book one of the last couple of slots for my upcoming end-of-summer retreat in Maine.

Dont forget to follow me on Instagram @eva.maria.smith and subscribe to this podcast.

As I am about to embark on a road trip to the beach I am exploring the question, why we feel compelled to update our wardrobe before our vacation and why I think a minimal wardrobe is the way to go for the planet and our mental health.

If you liked this episode please follow me on instagram @eva.maria.smith and subscribe to this podcast!

Also, check out my upcoming retreat at www.the-pause.com

This episode wasn’t exactly planned, but sort of came to me this week, as a reel that I had made about this got a lot of attention on my Instagram feed and so I wanted to use the podcast to go a little bit deeper into this.

There is so much talk about self-care these days, and all the BIG ways (and mind you, capitalist inspired ways) to practice self-care and yet, the daily, sustainable, effortless practices of it, is still something that most of us struggle with.

But what is self-care? It is to recognize yourself. It is to feel yourself and to be able to feel into which need is arising for you. It is about taking your needs seriously. It is knowing what feels good. It is knowing, which boundaries to hold. It is being friendly towards yourSELF and it is about doing what feels good.

In this episode I explore what 10 min nourishers are, which ones work for me and how they could really transform your everyday.

If you liked this episode, please subscribe and share with your friends. And book one of the last couple of beds for the Pause retreat in Maine this September. I would love to retreat with you. www.the-pause.com

A clenched fist cant receive and so it is important to work on that softening within us - very intentionally. A soft heart can give and receive freely and be of service to the world and open to the many wonders of the human experience.

Let go of these 3 things today in order to slow down and live more intentionally.

1. Stop using the word “should” to hurt yourself.

2. Stop using the very things that nourish you to punish yourself.

3. Let go of FOMO

Visualizations and meditations to help you along your way.

If you liked this episode please subscribe and tell 3 friends about it today! Follow me on instagram @eva.maria.smith or find me on substack.

There are still a few tickets left for my retreat in Maine at the end of the summer. You can find all the details here - www.the-pause.com

In this episode I share how I plan out my weekly meals in order to lower my mental load. I share about my kitchen philosophy of keeping things balanced and simple, as well as sharing about my general philosophy on household tasks and how to deal with my picky eaters.

If you enjoyed the practical tips in this episode please subscribe and share with your best friends.

If you are struggling right now to slow down, simplify and soften into a beautiful everyday please reach out about 1:1 mentoring with me. I would love to help guide you towards a more cozy, intentional motherhood lifestyle.

Thank you so much for being here!

I am a huge believer in gentle family rhythms rather than strict routines. I like to let my days and my weeks float gently with some very intentionally chosen anchors.

Summer beckons us enjoy a slower pace. Look up. Let the sun guide you.

The summer sun has so much to teach you. From slow mornings outside, to midday shelter in the cool of our homes to the long evenings spent together.

How are you spending your summer?

If you like this episode please subscribe and leave a review. Follow me on instagram @eva.maria.smith or visit www.evamariasmith.com

Want to spend the end of summer with me in Maine? Go to www.the-pause.com right now and book your retreat ticket. I would love to have you.

De-cluttering and then living a more simple life in an economy that is built on consumption and a society that values possessions above everything and sees material things as a measure for success is a small revolution. The message “more is better” has been fed to you all your life, whether you are aware of it or it happened subconsciously. So forgive yourself for the clutter that you have accumulated. 

How wonderful that you are here and open to explore why it feels so hard to get rid of some things, even though they may no longer serve a purpose. Most likely your fear of letting go is rooted in emotions, memories and even your sense of identity. Learning to understand our emotional triggers and acknowledging the emotions behind our clutter can free us from an environment that makes us feel overwhelmed, stressed or even anxious.

Taking the time to reflect on why we hold on to certain things leads us to develop a healthier relationship with our possessions. To distinguish between what is bringing us joy and what we have been conditioned to believe is valuable. 

If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe and leave me a review.

you can find me on Instagram @eva.maria.smith

and you can retreat with me this summer in Maine - www.the-pause.com

Love,

Eva