Welcome,
Mama.
Find a comfortable seat or,
If you can,
Stand tall with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Today,
We're not just saying affirmations.
We're claiming them.
We're embodying them.
We're remembering the powerful woman you are beneath the exhaustion and the doubt.
Let's begin by taking a deep breath in through your nose and a long exhale out through your mouth.
Again,
Breathe in deeply,
Filling your lungs completely,
And release everything as you exhale.
Good.
Let your breath settle into its natural rhythm now.
As we move through this practice,
We're going to connect with different parts of your body.
And with each connection,
You reclaim a truth about yourself,
A truth that the chaos and overwhelm have made you forget.
You are ready.
Begin by bringing your awareness down to your feet.
Feel them making contact with the ground beneath you.
Press them down gently but firmly.
These feet carry you through every moment of every day.
They walk the floors at night.
They chase after little ones.
They stand when you think you can't stand anymore.
Place your attention on your feet and feel their strength.
And as you do,
Say to yourself,
I am grounded.
I am stable.
I do not need to do everything perfectly to be a good mother.
Feel that truth settle into your feet,
Into your foundation.
Now bring awareness to your legs.
Feel the muscles that support you,
That hold you upright even to the hardest days.
These legs are powerful.
They have carried you through pregnancy,
Through sleepless nights,
Through moments you didn't think you'd survive.
And here you are,
Still standing.
As you feel the strength in your legs affirm,
I am strong enough.
I have always been strong enough.
My worth is not measured by my productivity.
Breathe into that strength.
Bring your awareness now to your center,
Your belly,
Your core,
Your center of gravity.
This is where you carried your child.
This is where your intuition lives.
This is your power center.
Place one or both hands on your belly.
Feel it rise and fall with your breath.
This body has created life.
It has nourished life.
It has held and protected your babies.
Even if it doesn't look the way it used to,
Even if you feel disconnected from it,
It is extraordinary.
Feel your hands on your belly and claim this truth.
I honor this body.
I am not lost.
I am transformed.
I am still myself,
Just deeper and wiser.
Breathe deeply into your center.
Now move your hands to your heart center,
Right in the middle of your chest.
Feel your heartbeat if you can.
This heart beats for you,
Not just for your children,
Not just for everyone else.
For you.
You matter.
Your needs matter.
Your dreams matter.
Press your hands a little more firmly against your chest and speak this directly to your heart.
I deserve care.
I deserve rest.
Taking time for myself doesn't make me selfish.
It makes me sustainable.
Feel your heart beat.
Don't receive that permission.
You don't have to earn the right to take care of yourself.
You already deserve it,
Simply because you exist.
Breathe that in.
Bring your awareness to your shoulders now.
Notice if they're holding tension.
If they are,
Let them soften and drop away from your ears.
These shoulders carry so much.
The mental load,
The emotional labor,
The weight of responsibility that no one else seems to see.
Roll your shoulders back.
Sit or stand a little taller.
And as you do,
Release the weight you were never meant to carry alone.
I release the burden of perfection.
I am allowed to struggle.
I am allowed to ask for help.
My struggle does not mean I'm failing.
Feel your shoulders lighter now.
Now bring attention to your arms.
These arms that hold,
That comfort,
That carry.
Look at your hands.
Really,
Look at them.
Or picture them in your mind.
These hands prepare meals,
Wipe tears,
Give baths,
Hold small hands,
Do a thousand unseen tasks every single day.
Open and close hands a few times.
Feel their capability.
And claim this.
I am doing important work.
Even when it's invisible.
Even when it's unappreciated.
What I do matters deeply.
Bring your awareness up to your face now.
Soften your jaw if it's clenched.
Relax your forehead.
This face smiles even when you're exhausted.
It shows up even when you don't feel like it.
And behind this face is a mind that is brilliant and creative and doing the best it can with too little sleep and too many demands.
Touch your face gently.
Or simply bring kind awareness to it.
And offer yourself this truth.
I am not the mom I thought I'd be.
I am real.
I am human.
I am enough exactly as I am.
You don't need to be a perfect mother.
Your children need a real one.
Now take a full deep breath and feel your entire body.
From your feet all the way up to the crown of your head.
This is your body.
This is your life.
You are not just a mother.
You are a whole,
Complete person with needs and dreams and worth that exists independent of anyone else.
If you're seated,
Sit up tall.
If you're standing,
Stand even taller.
Lift your chest.
Roll your shoulders back.
Hold your head high.
This is the posture of a woman who knows her worth.
And from this place of strength claim these final truths.
I am worthy of love.
Not because of what I am,
But because of who I am.
I am a good mother even on my worst days.
I am allowed to take up space.
I am allowed to have needs.
I am enough.
I have always been enough.
Feel that truth in every cell of your body.
Take one more deep,
Powerful breath in and exhale out any remaining doubt.
You are not broken.
You don't need fixing.
You need support,
Yes.
You need rest,
Absolutely.
But you do not need to be someone other than who you are.
You are a powerful woman.
A capable woman.
A woman who is doing one of the hardest jobs in the world often with very little recognition.
But you see yourself now.
You recognize your own worth and that changes everything.
Before you open your eyes and step back into your day take a moment to thank yourself.
Thank your body for all it does.
Thank your heart for how much it loves.
Thank your spirit for nothing.
For not giving up.
You've got this,
Mama.
Not because you have to have it all together but because you're brave enough to keep showing up even when it's hard.
When you're ready take one final deep breath in and exhale completely.
Slowly open your eyes.
Carry this strength with you.
You are worthy.
You are enough.
And you are doing a beautiful job.
Thank you for being here.
