Tag: motherhood

Challenge Motherhood in 3 simple steps

Posted on by Alisha

How do you challenge motherhood?

Do you feel stuck in a rut? Tired of the constant repetition of cooking, cleaning, laundry, chasing the kids, wiping butts, bathing the kids, running errands with the kids, and the never ending and daunting tasks on your ‘To Do’ list? Feeling overwhelmed and moody? This, as it seems, is motherhood.
When did motherhood become such a chore? Why is there a struggle to create a happy and healthy home for your family and when did the squeals of laughter and soft pitter patter of feet on the floor begin to annoy and frustrate you?  Are you ready to be light hearted again? To dance and sing and laugh naturally? Want to genuinely smile and love life again?
I challenge you to ‘Challenge Motherhood’. Find out who you have become and how you can improve. Think about what you want to revamp – your mood, mindset, energy? There is always something to learn and something to cultivate. Motherhood lends to a life set on replay, if allowed. But take the time to set goals and create challenges for specific things in your life, and you’ll find that you can break up the monotony. You can learn and grow and have fun again.

Finding Joy

I recently decided that I needed an attitude adjustment. Life has been hard and it became difficult for me to
 find joy in the little things because I was always so stressed about what wasn’t getting done. I wasn’t able to truly laugh and have fun with my family because I allowed my mind to wander to more stressful things.
I’m training for a 5k road race in November. On my training runs, I’m able to clear my head. After each run, I feel a sense of joy and accomplishment because I’m one step closer to my goal. It makes me a happier person when I set realistic expectations of myself and make a little bit of progress day by day. This is why I create my ‘To Do’ lists, however, I tend to stare at those lists and obsess over crossing out each item. Whatever doesn’t get crossed out gets put on the list for the next day until I, hopefully, can accomplish it and cross it out. It brings me great joy to put a line through my daily chore. Except, lately, my ‘To Do’ list hasn’t been bringing me joy.

Challenge Accepted

Challenge Motherhood. Because motherhood is so much more than cooking and cleaning and playing chauffeur. Motherhood is laughter and love. It’s the season to make memories to treasure for a lifetime. Motherhood is inspiring awe and wonder and cherishing the little things.

  1. Take the time today and every day to recognize that you are enough. You are not defined by your ‘To Do’ list or how clean your house is. The kids won’t always make those messes and the clothes will always need to be washed.
  2. Now is the time to step outside and explore with the kids. Learn something new about them and in return, you’ll learn something new about yourself.
  3. Schedule time in your day to dance. Dancing and singing allows you to express yourself. Have a dance party with the kids before breakfast or when you start to feel stressed.

Share with others how you Challenge Motherhood. Keep yourself accountable by adding your goals and new habits into your daily planner. Share on social media using #challengemotherhood to inspire other mothers.

 

 

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5 Reasons to get a Massage during Pregnancy

Posted on by Alisha

Ah, Massage! The lovely idea of taking a break: relaxing, unwinding, and letting all of the tension and stress of the day, the week, or the month just melt away. It’s a grand idea, right? Most of us won’t need any other reason to get a massage, but if you’re on the fence to pamper yourself during pregnancy, here are a few reasons why you should book that massage session now.

  1. Massage is known for helping one to de-stress, so it’s no surprise that massage helps to decrease stress levels. But did you know that it can also improve your mood? Because it has a positive effect on all of our “happy” hormones (like endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin), massage can help to reduce anxiety and feelings of depression.
  2. Massage therapy can reduce the risk of pregnancy complications. It has also been shown to decrease the risk of preterm labor, low birth weight, as well as lower cortisol levels.
  3. Experiencing growing pains and pregnancy discomforts – especially at your back, hips, and legs? Massage brings relief! It can also reduce swelling, joint pain, sciatic nerve pain, and headaches.
  4. The reduction in pain and the increase in kinesthetic awareness (how you sense your body) that massage creates can help you prepare for labor and birth. In fact, studies have shown that pregnant mothers who received massage therapy during pregnancy and labor experienced less pain, less need for medications, and shorter labors. Who doesn’t want that?!?
  5.  And last, but certainly not least, getting a massage regularly during pregnancy can train you for beneficial self-care habits to create as a mother. Only a mother knows the enormous amounts of love and craziness that we will experience during our journey through motherhood (for the rest of our lives). Having a good routine in place to help us wind down and restore our energy can only better our overall well being (and keep us sane).

So take the next few minutes to schedule your next massage, and the next one too, since you want to create a habit. Just as a side note – when seeking out a massage therapist, find someone who is certified in pregnancy massage. This will ensure that you get the luxury treatment that you so much deserve.

If you want to check out the research articles, click here

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the core and more

Posted on by Graceful Tides

Our changing body can sometimes fail to function properly and it can be difficult to talk about it and resolve the issues. It’s important for us to talk about these changes and seek answers to our problems.