12. How My Membership Picks Up Where the Postpartum Dr.’s Appointment Left Off

Hey Shakti,

So last week, I talked about allocating resources, like time, money, and attention, on things that add directly to our well-being. This was part of an episode about having a personal routine that keeps us healthy and sane, while also being there for our children, who change more or less constantly.

This week’s episode offers an inside-view of my online membership, which has the perfect balance of structure and flexibility to help you do this Mom-thing really well, and get your personal needs met.

As I’ve mentioned in prior episodes, knowing what we need as Moms can be tricky. Our entire lives have changed in a pretty short amount of time, and we now play a leading role in other peoples’ lives 24/7.

In a way, the yoga that I teach (in video, audio, and printable formats) is a means to the ultimate end of knowing what you need as a Mother of young children, and being able to have those needs fulfilled. 

In addition to a well-rounded mix of practices that do a body good, and support well-being on all levels, a big part of the value inside this membership are the emails that I regularly send to my members. 

Moms in MT, TX, DC, and CA have described these as 

• “sage wisdom, delivered straight to my inbox”

• “words that are capable of turning around even the toughest day,” 

• and “exactly what I needed to hear this week.”

Because the struggle is real. As one Mom from OR who I interviewed last summer put it, “Moms are operating at borderline not-OK.” And she was referencing Moms whose kids are in the 2-4 year range, a timeframe in which my program is especially helpful.

And to be real about it, not everyone survives early motherhood in the United States. Postpartum healing and doctor checkups after 6 weeks get a lot of attention. But after that might be when a Mom develops postpartum depression or anxiety. After the six week appointment might be when we feel vacant inside, like Amy Schumer (2023), who one year postpartum, prefaced a joke by saying, "I was getting acupuncture to see if I could still feel…”

And I related to that so much because my own experience of postpartum depression began with feeling emptied-out, and it really got me curious, at best, about what was going on, and it’s shaped my life in some difficult and some triumphant ways, to this day. 

And part of the triumph in it has been recognizing that there’s no shame in something biochemical, even for a holistic practitioner like myself who’s trained in nervous system regulation, and supporting hormonal balance. 

So health-wise, this membership can be great for supporting one’s general well-being, and as a helpful complement to mental health treatment. If you ever sense that you’re up against something that feels scary, or you feel helpless, reach out to your doctor for referrals to people who can help you safely get to the other side of this struggle. I did that, and now it’s a heck of a lot easier to function and get back into the well-balanced lifestyle that makes me feel my best. And I want that for you, too.

Some of what’s inside my membership helps at the level of the physical body, by releasing latent stress, forming a friendly relationship with one’s changing body - and life - and rebuilding core strength, which affects everything from how our back feels everyday, to our digestion, to feeling confident in our ability to do this.

But how, and when, you might ask. Well, I spent years mulling this over while watching my little boy discover the world at home, so I’ve got some options for ya.

Like a 5-minute Sun-Salutation, just one, which counteracts things like carrying a child on one side, getting up and down from the floor a bunch, and it acts energetically like charging a battery, so you have more sustained energy. It’s minimalist yoga at it’s finest, and you can do it in plain clothes any time you need a vibe shift or a quick, full-body tone-up. It’s slow and deliberate, which helps us gather ourselves and restore our body’s vitality.

And if 5 minutes sounds lame compared to what you used to do, trust me, it’s a thousand times better than doing none at all.

I’ve also got 10, 20, and 30 minute practices. Some of these are geared toward certain areas of the body that get really tense, like my 15-minute Arm, Neck and Shoulder release. 

Some I designed specifically for seasonal wellness, with yoga postures and breathing exercises that counteract the weather and what’s happening in our lives with kids at various times of the year. 

The 30-minute series of Seasonal Poses I’m working on now is for the transition from Summer to Fall, and it’s all about using the heat that accumulates in the Summer season to detoxify and center ourselves ahead of the busy Fall season that is approaching. 

This is so we can be more resilient to stress when things get hectic, and less susceptible to illness come back-to-school and cold/flu season.

And since we’re human, when you do get sick, I’ve got a 20 minute, super-relaxing and dreamy Yoga Nidra that’s done in a resting position (or in bed) that supports the body’s natural healing abilities. It’s like a nap where you wake up enlightened. 

I’ve also got a Mid-Day Siesta practice that’s also done lying down. It uses a mellow breathing technique that takes zero effort, but refills your cup. It’s especially good for getting through the afternoon slump.

So, there’s a mix between activity and rest, and since most of our lives happen off the yoga mat, or the yoga couch haha, I send encouraging emails to keep you in the picture, and lighten some of the mental-emotional load of being a Mom.

In a light-hearted way, I tell my members, for instance, no you dont suck as a Mom, or an employee, or a friend, etc. etc. Some of this is bigger than you, and out of your control. What is in your control is to recognize one thing that would feel supportive to you this week, and to do that when you can. 

And that supportive thing might be inside their yoga membership, or it might be out on a walk with music, it might be looking up at the sky and taking some deep breaths, or receiving a treatment of sorts. There are endless ways to get our needs met, and I’ve done a lot of the mental gymnastics of it for you.

I also talk about stuff that doesn’t get talked about much, like accidentally peeing a little when you laugh really hard, and what we can do on and off the yoga mat to condition our pelvic floor. That’s another area, by the way, where last week’s theme of Stability & Flexibility really comes into play. 

Now, for those of you who I’ve just met, probably at a playground in San Diego, or fellow Moms who are just getting to know me on this podcast, my career as a yoga teacher has involved some major program creation. I designed two Yoga Teacher Training programs, for instance, one that was 200 hour and the other that was 300 hour, both according to Yoga Alliance standards. I certified over 50 teachers through my 200 hour program, and while I was getting pumped up to offer my 300 hour program, COVID shut it down, and I was in my first trimester of pregnancy, so that one never happened. Oh well! 

But the point is that my online content and the thought leadership in this podcast all work together as a whole, where each piece supports the others to form a coherent vision of balanced living as a Mother. And part of that balance is taking pressure of ourselves to be the ones responsible for everyone’s well-being, including our own. 

Making Mom-life easier on all the levels we need it to be isn’t just about self-care. It’s about promoting a more caring society with reliable support. And while getting some yoga in during the course of your week might not bring about that kind of change right away, it can help you bring about the changes you wish to see, both in your life and in the world. 

My example of this is having

• approached the quandary of self-care as a Mom for the first years of my son’s life with diligence and realness

• bringing myself out of a precarious state in my well-being with the help of qualified professionals 

• knowing what my needs are, and how and when to have them fulfilled

• And becoming more engaged with my local business community and causes that are true to my heart, like that of the Chamber of Mothers, who advance policy decisions for more affordable childcare, greater maternal health, and paid family leave. I just joined my local chapter, and if it inspires you, you can, too!

So, as with everything in the universe, the difficulties we face in early motherhood co-arise with unspeakable joy, pure loving connection, and watching our children grow into thoughtful, capable beings. 

Attuning to what we need as Mothers, and having things in place that fulfill those needs means we can revel in the sweetness of raising our kids, as fully-present, fully functional versions of ourselves. 

And this will enable us to fulfill our missions, both as mothers and as members of the human family. To each their own, and more power to you.

The doors to my online studio re-open Wednesday, August 7, and will stay open until midnight on Friday. Join me and a supportive community of Moms from across the U.S. online at studio.yogaformomlife.com, and discover how good your life as a Mom can be.

Thanks for tuning in, and sharing this episode with the Mamas you love. It’s Yoga for Mom-Life, and it’s about time.