Motherhood is such a beautiful journey. The amount of love and light that our babies bring into our lives is immeasurable. The way the little things become the biggest moments and experience our hearts growing more and more each day. Motherhood is a beautiful choice that we get to make daily. But it can also be a challenging one. The diapers can feel endless, the nights restless and the guilt consuming. Yet, our little ones have a way of seeing us through. 

Their fingers holding ours make the diapers feel less daunting.

Their cuddles against our chest make the restless nights feel manageable.

And their little laughter makes the guilt  melt away.

In the midst of the chaos, the beauty of motherhood always shines through. However, sometimes it can be difficult to find that light. Sometimes the stresses surrounding us can become overwhelming. And sometimes, we can begin to let them define us. I’ve found myself here a time or two. However, I didn’t want this to be my truth. I knew in my heart that it wasn’t, that I didn’t have to let the stressors consume me. So I decided to figure out how and I was introduced to somatics. 

If you’re not sure what somatic is or if you’ve never heard of it, that’s okay, I can break it down simply for you. Somatics is a natural method of practices that help you:

Understand body awareness and the sensations that run naturally within the body.

Use movement to help move sensations through your body.

Release stressors to find restoration and ease.

I learned how to do all of the above as I began to work with somatics. I learned how to recognize sensations arising within me and to trust my body to understand them and allow them to release and move through. This was life changing for me and I began to see it flow into my life as a mother, which I couldn’t be more thankful for.. I want to spread some of that gratitude with other mothers out there and share 5 ways somatics can help you fall in love with motherhood more deeply than ever, because we deserve that, and so do our families.

Be More Present

I’ve always thought of myself to be a present person, yet I never realized how much I wasn’t until I started practicing somatics. I had this way of being there physically, but maybe not mentally or emotionally. When I had my daughter, this reflection really tugged at my heart. Motherhood has a way of doing that. Thankfully, somatics taught me how to be more present. When working with somatic practices, you learn to be very deliberate in understanding what your body is feeling. To do this, you have to learn to pause, slow down, and listen to your body. This practice showed me how to do the same with the experiences in my life. I’ve learned that we can..

Pause whether our  little one is having a tantrum or asking for a hug.

Slow down whether your child is making a mess or celebrating the highest tower they’ve ever built.

Listen when they’re upset over the last cookie or whispering ‘I love you’ before bed.

When we choose to do the work to understand ourselves better, we can learn to be more present for the beautiful or challenging moments motherhood throws at us. It no longer feels consuming. Rather, it becomes a flow. A flow that you decide how to move with. 

Be More Compassionate

Becoming a mother truly brings out the nurturing side of us. The way we care for our babies and care for our families comes naturally. However, caring for ourselves is not always as easy. We care so deeply about our children because we want to give them meaningful experiences and let them shine their light on the world. It’s beautiful and we’re grateful everyday that we get to be their mommas. However, because we care so deeply, we often feel like we’re falling short. We start to question whether we’re doing enough or any of it right. And in these moments, we may not take care of ourselves to provide the grace and compassion that we desperately deserve. But we are not our emotions. 

Somatics shows you how to pause and acknowledge what you’re feeling and give yourself the grace to provide yourself compassion for it. Because we’re not perfect, and you know what, we don’t have to be because we are exactly what our family needs. 

Respect Boundaries

Honestly, this was a big lesson for me. My boundaries were all over the place and I hadn’t even realized it. It wasn’t until I started practicing somatics that I recognized how loose they were. I began to understand what safe boundaries felt like for me and how to respect them, for my own well being. I didn’t have to absorb the thoughts or opinions of others, especially when it came to finding my way in motherhood. The more I practiced establishing my boundaries, the more I also began to respect others. My husbands, my friends, even my daughters. Somatics has taught me that we can..

Choose what we absorb, in our thoughts, our body, and our hearts.

Learn what it feels like when our boundaries are not being respected, by others or ourselves.

Show our children what it looks like to respect boundaries.

My daughter very much respects her space. I’ve learned to respect it too. Without taking it personally (even though maybe I did in the beginning). And I’m her biggest supporter when it comes to others who may not understand how to, because I was once there too. No matter where you are in your motherhood journey, understanding your boundaries is a powerful thing. Even more powerful is being able to pass these skills down to our beautiful children.

Hold Space

The ability to find and hold space has helped me in motherhood in so many ways. Not only for myself, but for my family. Somatic practices helped me navigate what a safe space feels like for me and I’ve learned that I can hold this space for myself as often as needed. Whether the sleep schedule isn’t working or my toddler refuses bath time for the third day in a row, I know I can hold my safe space. 

More importantly, I’ve learned I can hold space for my daughter as well. She’s still learning how to process all her beautiful emotions and I love that I can hold a safe space for her to do that, until she learns how to. The ability to hold space allows us to co-regulate with our children. When we do this as mothers, we can help their tantrums feel smaller or their sadness feel softer. When we learn to hold space, we get to be the kindness and calm our children need  in the small moments that feel enormous to them. How wonderful is that?

Choose Joy

This. The ability to pause, experience and choose joy is by far the best way I’ve learned to continue loving my motherhood journey. It seems so simple, and for some, it may be (love that for you) but for others, not so much. I, for one, have been found to let the joy flow right past me, missing beautiful moments that could have been much more meaningful if I had just allowed myself to receive the joy. But the good news is, this is a choice. One that if you didn’t make today, you can make tomorrow. Just like every other aspect of somatics we’ve discussed thus far. So have the dance party with your little one, even if you’re in the middle of dishes or let the kitchen get messy when they want to play with the flour during pancakes, because you choose. 

You can choose to be present and feel the joy as your little lights up watching a butterfly.

You can choose to be compassionate and see the joy in the growth you’ve made as a mother.

You can choose to respect boundaries and find joy in respecting others and yourself.

You can choose to hold space and embrace the joy of being the safety your child needs.

We always have a choice. Let’s be sure to remember the power in that as we move through our motherhood journey.

I am so grateful for the experiences I’ve had as a mother and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. I hope that what I’ve shared today gives you a little more power in falling in love with your motherhood journey. Even if it doesn’t look the way you hoped it would right now, there’s always a choice, and it’s all yours. Embrace that!

If you loved what you read today and would like to try out a few somatic practices yourself, make sure to check out my free 5-Day Somatics Challenge! You can also join The Eased Momma Membership to receive monthly somatic practices to support your motherhood journey! 

And remember momma, you're doing great.