The spiritual lessons of motherhood are immense and transformative. Having a second child has once again meant finding a new me who is selfless, giving, patient, compassionate and loving on a whole new level that I have ever experienced before. My old life and who I was has crumbled away which brings about sadness and loss but at the same time I too have been born again. n
I have always been someone who has taken a lot of time and care for myself in fact I think at times I have been ‘too’ into myself. When you practice yoga and self care you understand that you have all the answers within and so as a yoga teacher I always threw myself into Svadhyaya (self study). However the ego can often take over and so being able to strip myself of the ego and become selfless has allowed me to step into a new form of yoga, Karma Yoga and Seva (selfless service). There really is no time or space for me (or should I say the ego me) at the moment and actually when you let go of the ego it becomes so much easier.
Caring for your children’s needs requires you to be fully in the present moment. It’s challenging as our minds are often in the past or the future and constantly running away from being in the present. I highlight the word being as that’s what our children need yet we are constantly doing. To just be in the moment can be so difficult as it can bring up realisations and awareness to our own inner pain. That’s where compassion for ourselves needs to rise. Compassionately sitting in the present even when your toddler is having a tantrum or your baby is feeling unsettled allows the space for all the emotions to rise and release. This is where breath awareness is so pivotal which makes space for peace to be regained.n
I’ve been listening to Dr Shefali Tsabary’s book The Conscious Parent which is a really heavy read but has allowed me to find a way to understand and manage myself at this time. It goes into great depth about the spiritual approach to parenting which can bring light to the whole journey of being a greater parent but also being a greater you. Becoming more conscious and aware of ourselves from our habits, thoughts, emotions, patterns and even our ancestral trauma can be of great benefit to healing ourselves and creating a foundation for our children that can be benefited for generations to come. Thus creating a better world for the future.
The spiritual lessons and realisations of parenthood are intense so thank God the journey is also lightened with cute smiles, cooing and cuddles plus dashes of intelligent wisdom from Vanaya who is determined to build an astronaut and fly to the moon! Ah I love her open mind and ability to dream.
These are just some of my thoughts about life at the moment. The spiritual journey continues and the lessons learnt on the yoga mat continue off the yoga mat too.
Namaste,
Jaina x
