3 Meaningful New Year's Resolutions for Moms: Self-Care and Being More Present

Stepping into the new year is such a reflective time. It’s mixed with exciting moments of what’s to come and what has passed. What goals did we meet? What goals weren’t met? How do we feel the past year went? What are our thoughts about the coming year?

And if you’re a mom, this is probably the first time you’re getting the chance to think about how the year went and whether you feel you’ve accomplished what your resolutions were this year (Do we even remember those?). I get it. Our lives as moms can become so busy, so involved, that we often don’t pause to think about how we’re doing. Until maybe the end of the year when everyone is talking about it and you finally realize.. Wow, how have I been this year?

And not for a lack of wanting, but because your heart as a mama is guided to care for your family, and you do it with joy because of the immeasurable love your heart holds for them. But somewhere in the process, your goals, your self care and your needs can begin to get muddled, and sometimes, you don’t even notice it. 

Well guess what? I’m here to tell you that that’s okay. And no matter how you passed your year, you’re here, and if you’re reading this, I know that you’re a great mom who did a great job this year, even if you haven’t noticed it. But you deserve to notice, don’t you?  We all do, so I want to share 3 meaningful New Year’s resolutions that prioritize your self care as a mom and start with somatically understanding your body so you can begin to be more present again. These resolutions will help reduce the noise a bit in motherhood and help you acknowledge and feel all the little moments you’re rocking it as a mom.

Create a Relationship with your Body

As a mom, we tend to carry a lot for the ones we love. And we can begin to feel the weight of it if we carry more than we should. Sometimes the overwhelm begins to feel too heavy and the thoughts of how to manage it all begin to spiral. This is where we commonly get stuck. In the spiral. Because the thoughts can continuously cycle in your mind, even if you don’t want them to. 

 But something as simple as noticing, not the thoughts themselves, but what these thoughts are making you feel within your body, can be a huge game changer. Our thoughts manifest into somatic sensations within your body and the sooner we become aware of that, the sooner we can begin to shift out of the spiral and back into ease. The goal is to increase your body awareness. But first, you have to begin creating a relationship with your body to begin to do so. A great body awareness exercise is simply pausing and noticing. That’s it. I know it sounds simple, but as a mom, let’s be real, how often are you actually pausing? So give it a shot. Next time you find yourself in a spiral, pause and notice what you're feeling in your body as well. This is how you begin to create a relationship with your body and start to understand what you and your body need to move back into your peace and presence again.

Intentional Grounding

I absolutely love grounding. I’ve found it to be a great way to bring me back to my inner self and to release the noise around me. Grounding helps me find my presence again and helps me attune to where I feel I am physically, energetically, and emotionally.

I really try to make this a part of my daily routine, but sometimes, that’s just not the reality. Between getting dinner ready and starting bedtime routines, it can feel difficult to find a private moment to ground myself. But as I move through motherhood, I’ve learned that it’s not always about a private moment, but about the intention behind the moment. You don’t have to find a separate time or space to ground yourself, but rather let it become an integration into the flow of your day. As long as there’s intention behind the practice, you’ll find your way to grounding yourself. And there are so many grounding methods out there, just find what works for you. Whether that’s grounding to the earth while your little one is playing outside (let them join if they’re up for it!) or noticing the  surface below your feet and the temperature in the air as you cook dinner, the goal is to bring your senses back to yourself, to feel grounded and secure, with intention and love, for yourself and your body. When you’re grounded, it helps to begin to notice, feel and enjoy all the little moments that you deserve to be a part of.

Slow Down Enough to Feel 

I feel like this is one of those things that seems so simple, but when it comes time to actually practice it, it feels much harder than you thought. Especially as a mom. Sure, it sounds nice, but how realistic is it? As a mom, how is one to slow down when there are dishes to be washed, dinner to be made and a dollhouse play party that your little one insists you join them in. It becomes a pattern to not slow down, but almost move faster in efforts to get it all done. But by the end of the day, you’re depleted, maybe reactive, and sometimes, too exhausted to even notice. But if we could find a way to slow down, even just a little, to be in the moment and feel your presence in it, think what could come of it. 

Perhaps the dishes wouldn’t feel like such an urgent matter because you slowed down enough to be okay with not completing them all.

Maybe dinner would feel more like a blessing than a chore because you paused to give thanks for the food you get to prepare for your family.

And that dollhouse party, well you could allow yourself to be present, fully there, as you soak in the memories you get to create with your little one. 

But it takes slowing down, in the moments, to notice what you're feeling and to have the courage to feel it. To feel all your emotions. Whether that’s overwhelm or complete joy, if we allow ourselves to slow down enough to acknowledge what we feel, we can then begin to decide how we want to respond, how we want to show up and how present we are as a mother.

Whether New Year’s Resolutions are your thing or not, these are a great start to integrating self care for moms that often become consumed with the busyness of motherhood. When you begin understanding your body somatically, you open a door to creating a relationship with yourself that not only transforms your presence but continues to heal you within. And that is what you and your family deserve. So give these a try, I promise it’s worth it. 

And if you’re interested in more somatic practices to help bring a little peace back into your motherhood journey, my 5-Day Somatic Challenge is another resource worth trying. It includes simple somatic practices that seamlessly integrate into your life as a mom so that ease and restoration become familiar feelings for you again.

Truly from the bottom of my heart, I wish you and your family a year full of love and light!