The Honest Mom Podcast

COURAGE Redefined: Rebranding What it Means to be Brave

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode on finding YOUR unique definition of courage. Here is a wonderful quote by Rachel Marie Martin to inspire you and to connect you more with your courage through motherhood: "STRENGTH. It is not found in perfection. It is found in the moments. The moments of doubt. Of courage. Of tenacity. Of bravery. Of loving. Of giving. Of believing. Of laughing. Of crying. Of trying. That is real strength. That is motherhood." I I couldn't agree more. I hope you enjoy this week's episode inspired by Judith Hanson Lasater's "Living Your Yoga" book and her chapter all about courage. Share, talk about it, connect with me and inspire others around you! Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "We acquire the strength of that which we have overcome." -Ralph Waldo Emerson These are a few of my Favorite Things: Just Ingredients Pre-Workout Drink (Caffeine-free Tropical flavor). www.justingredients.us [www.justingredients.us]

How you Feel About Your Life is up to You

Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode about Perspective & Perception. I hope you enjoy it as much as I still need to hear it! Remember, this topic is a LOT of work. Daily work. So cut yourself some slack and consider today the start of a brand new perspective! Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "...we are the hero of our own story." -Mary McCarthy These are a few of my favorite things: Ryan Holiday's trifecta of books: "Stillness is the Key", "The Obstacle is the Way", and "Ego is the Enemy". Get on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/4yTwjkB [https://a.co/d/4yTwjkB] Also, check out the Extract Juice and Nektar apps on the app store to see if there is a location near you!! Ryan Holiday's advice... We must try: * To be objective * To control emotions and keep an even keel * To choose to see the good in a situation * To steady our nerves * To ignore what disturbs or limits others * To place things in perspective * To revert to the present moment * To focus on what can be controlled And I want to add, to stop being fixated on the what ifs that may never happen. Closing inspiration from Judith Lasater: "The worst could happen; the best could happen. Life is usually somewhere in between." Thank you again for listening, sharing and rating this podcast. I wouldn't be here without you!

The "Quiet Cousin of Courage" & Motherhood

HELLO MOMS! Welcome back to the bi-weekly episode where we are talking about what Judith Lasater calls, "The Quiet Cousin of Courage." Faith. Not solely in the religious sense but in the sense of trusting ourselves, our experiences in life working out and an intuitive connection with something greater than us. Faith allows us to find the bravery to take a chance, even if there are no guarantees. It allows us to make the most important decisions in our lives. And the beauty of making these hard decisions with a soft heart and compassion, as Judith Lasater states in this chapter. I feel our decisions with our lives and motherhoods can drastically be at ease when we put the word "faith" in our intentions versus "belief". It's eased my anxiety and need for control. I've become more relaxed with my life and how it unfolds. How my daughter's life unfolds. I have my days, don't get me wrong, but it's books like this I then go back to for the kind reminders. I hope you enjoy and please reach out to let me know your thoughts, experiences and if there's anything I missed on this topic. Thank you so much for listening! Mom Quote of the Week: "Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." -Annette Funicello My favorite thing this week is my protein balls. I love changing the recipe each time I make them based on what I have or what I have the taste for. So this week I had almond butter as my base and then I add Orgain vegan protein powder. I looked around my kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and found some hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, cacao nibs and oats. Mix it all up, get a cookie scooper, put some in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Store-bought bars have so many ingredients and the ones that are winners can be SO expensive. This recipe is all about dumping, scooping and putting in a container. Takes 20 minutes from start to finish. Closing Inspiration: "To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab a hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float." -Alan Watts Get your copy of "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater here: https://a.co/d/7GXS1Mq [https://a.co/d/7GXS1Mq]

Easing Self-Judgment

THANK YOU for tuning back into this week's episode inspired by Judith Lasater's book, "Living Your Yoga." This week we focus on Chapter 4: Self Judgment. Boy do we do this as moms! Or is it just me? It's never just me I find. I hope you find this week inspirational, awakening, acknowledging and that you finally find some grace for yourself (and others). My favorite sentence in the book is, "Remember, the difficulty might never change, but your attitude and inner dialogue can." -Judith Lasater. Doesn't this just say it all? Here are the instructions to the exercise I mention at the end of the episode. Copy, paste and print these out and work on this every day: 1) Taking your physical limitations and health into account, pick a yoga pose (or challenge, task, goal, passion) that is difficult, if not impossible, for you to do. 2) Practice, or rather attempt to practice, this pose every day for one month. To begin, say silently or out loud, "I am attempting something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying." 3) Then pay close attention to your internal dialogue as you practice your (fill in the blank). At times, you may even talk yourself through what you're doing out loud. Listen to the instructions you give yourself about the physical and mental aspects of how to do the pose. Whose instructions are they? 4) What do you say to yourself when you succeed? When you fail? When you are somewhere in between? 5) Can you do the (fill in the blank) just to do it? 6) When you are done with the (fill in the blank) say aloud, "I have tried something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying." -Judith Lasater, "Living Your Yoga", page 36. And remember, "the difficulty might never change, but your attitude and inner dialogue can." -Judith Lasater Perfection is an illusion according to Judith Lasater and I couldn't agree more. And in reality, isn't perfection boring? Tight? Constricting? Motherhood needs more freedom, playfulness, mistakes and grace. Doesn't that sound a whole lot better? Mom Card Drawing of the Week: "Every woman has the right to become herself..." -Ani DiFranco Thank you for listening, sharing and talking about this episode and the podcast. I appreciate you! If you want a copy of "Living Your Yoga", you can grab it here: https://a.co/d/7f1nZu6 [https://a.co/d/7f1nZu6]

Detachment Saved my Motherhood

This week we will talk about something that is HARD to do, has to be done DAILY but with this commitment I promise you it will save your soul & motherhood. This week we focus on Chapter 3 of "Living Your Yoga" by Judith Lasater titled, "Letting Go." We try to let go, we try so dang hard. But sometimes you try that surrender thing and it just doesn't work. There's not enough forward folds in the world to make this easier. I hope this episode can connect you more with what letting go, or detachment, truly means. We go much deeper than you think you know. I surely learned a lot reading this chapter last year and what detachment means, how to make it a daily practice, and more importantly how to recognize what the heck I'm holding onto, controlling, manipulating, feeling I have to be right, the decision maker, the researcher, the disciplinarian, the housekeeper, the perfect friend, the mom who doesn't make mistakes, need I say more?! After reading this chapter and TRULY putting this into my DAILY practice in my life I can truly say I am excited about my days, my motherhood, as a spouse, friend and living a life more intentionally. Which is pretty powerful. I hope you find this power as well. Not today. Not tomorrow. But in time and then forever. Mom Card Drawing of the Week: “You are a unique beautiful soul.” -Louise Hay My Favorite Things:    Purely Elizabeth’s NEW Cookie Granola. Find her 3 flavors (Double Chocolate, Oatmeal Raisin and Chocolate Chip Cookie) at Whole Foods or on her website: www.purelyelizabeth.com [http://www.purelyelizabeth.com]. The consistency and flavor of a cookie snuggled into a granola. Get Judith Lasater's "Living Your Yoga" here on Amazon: https://a.co/d/03YczKU [https://a.co/d/03YczKU] Connect with my on Instagram at @michelle.a.mansfield or by email at info@michellemansfieldauthor.com. Thank you so much for listening and sharing this episode. I look forward to hearing what you think!