• home
  • contact
  • hire
    • blog
    • freelance
    • media kit
    • portfolio
    • resumé

lo-wren

muse. mom. maven.

  • Editorial
    • all
    • featured
  • Parenting
    • humor
    • breastfeeding
    • miscarriage
      • experience
      • healing|support
  • freelance
    • portfolio
    • resumé
  • natural living
    • cloth diapering
      • general topics
      • accessories
      • prefolds
      • fitteds
      • pockets
      • ai2s
      • aios
      • wool
      • trainers
    • ideas
    • products
    • recipes
    • events
  • blog series
    • featured WAHMs
    • guest posts
    • what we’re reading
    • sun protection
    • SIDS awareness

Yoga for Busy Moms

2015/06 By Lauren B. Stevens 1 Comment

I slowly inhale, hold my breath, and then exhale at a controlled rate. My mind is clear, focused on stretching, balancing and holding different poses. I don’t care about perfect form, the only thing I’m focused on is my body and the fact that I’m finally doing something for me. The next pose is new to me, and I turn to my laptop screen, perched on the entertainment center in my living room.

“Should my foot be pointed straight or turned out?” I ask. Julie responds that my foot should be turned out for this pose and that I should still be able to wiggle my toes while putting my weight on the ball of my foot.

Skype yoga sessions with Julie Bel Conner allow moms to carve out valuable time for themselves from the comfort of their own homes.

Julie Bel Conner isn’t physically in my living room with me, but she could be if I had more space; Julie’s leading me in a yoga and meditation session via Skype.

When Julie guest posted on my blog she shared 5 Fast Tips for Stressed Out Moms, ideas that she works with parents on through her Happy Mommy Coaching service. I think Julie’s coaching service is an amazing idea, and I’d likely make use of her services if I wasn’t already working with a therapist to sort through and manage all aspects of my life. What really piqued my curiosity is the fact that Julie is a trained yogi.

I’ve wanted to practice yoga for quite some time now, and my therapist pushes me to get into a class at each of our monthly appointments. My husband works long hours (read: insane hours and schedule), which makes it difficult for me to make it to a class (we don’t have childcare either, apart from my mother’s helper who comes in the mornings for me to work). Then there’s the fact that I had never before taken a class and would a beginner class really be for beginners? (Read: would I make a fool out of myself?) Julie couldn’t have entered my life at a better time!

Skype yoga sessions with Julie Bel Conner allow moms to carve out valuable time for themselves from the comfort of their own homes.

image by Marco Antonio Reyes

Julie teaches private yoga lessons, which would have been perfect for me except the fact that there is not an area in our small cottage that would fit two of us doing yoga. Then I saw that Julie offers Skype yoga and meditation sessions — eureka!

Not only am I able to learn how to practice yoga in the privacy of my own home, but I don’t have to worry about working around my husband’s schedule or finding a babysitter. I practice yoga with Julie for an hour a week while my son is upstairs napping. I feel amazing after each session — it feels amazing to be doing something for myself, too!

Julie is a mom to three boys, so she understands the craziness of raising a family while running a business, and the need for moms to have a little ‘me’ time for themselves. I look forward to weekly yoga sessions with Julie, and she is completely understanding as I yawn throughout the first fifteen minutes of our session — she gets it! However, by the end of our sessions I feel completely relaxed and energized, a perfect mid-day reboot and re-centering activity.

I strongly encourage you to take a look at your schedule and see where you can make some time for yourself, especially if you’re feeling tired, stressed and harried by your busy schedule. I found a way to fit it into my crazy schedule, and so should you! And don’t worry if you’re a beginner, Julie is incredible patient and mindful, providing great feedback and pointers throughout.

Check out Julie’s website, juliebelconner.com, and see if Skype yoga is a good fit for you! You can also check in with Julie via social media — Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.

Sharing is Caring! Please share to keep the conversation going:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Google

Filed Under: all, Editorial, ideas, Natural Living Tagged With: balance, meditation, mom time, self care, Skype yoga, yoga

MOMcation: #NurtureMe

2014/02 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

As I write this, my neck and shoulders are relaxed and I’m feeling like a large weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  I hit a wall last week and cried out for a break.  My husband heard my SOS loud and clear, and asked me if I minded him making arrangements for me to go away for a night.  My answer?  Absolutely not (one less thing for me to take care of)!

My husband was so secretive that the suspense would normally drive my crazy…if I hadn’t been so darn tired.  We drove out to the Philly area to sign paperwork for our new place, took a leisurely spin around IKEA, and then my husband handed me this brochure he made:

I’m not a fan of crying in public, but this made me lose it.  I honestly thought that my husband was just going to drop me off at a hotel for the evening, which was completely fine with me.  I can only imagine what the people in the crowded IKEA cafeteria were thinking, seeing a grown woman a blubbering mess — a happily blubbering mess.

After lunch, we hit the road so that I could get to the hotel around 3pm.  Lancaster is halfway between where we currently live and where we’re moving, so it was a convenient drop-off.  I lived in Lancaster while attending university, so I was familiar with the area where I was going to be staying.  In an interesting turn, I actually found our wedding photographer after seeing the beautiful photography he did for this particular hotel’s opening several years ago (Tony Gibble Photography, if you’re in the area).  The hotel?  An amazing boutique hotel called, Cork Factory Hotel.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of pictures from my 24 hour MOMcation — I was truly taking a break.  I did think to take a couple of photos with my phone just before I left, so they’re not the best quality.  As the name suggests, the hotel is located in a renovated factory in Lancaster.  Huge rooms, lofty ceilings with exposed beams, the accommodations were lovely.

I’m not going to put on a brave face, I’ll be honest, it took everything I had to hold back my tears as I walked away from my husband and Declan, and into the hotel to check in.  I had not been away from Declan for longer than 4-6 hours (and only a handful of times at that) since he was born over 19 months ago.  I’m the type of mom that misses their kiddo(s) a couple of hours after they’re in bed (Declan goes to bed at 6:30pm, so I typically start missing him around 9pm!).  My husband and myself take Declan on dates with us and prefer to do things as a family, so this was incredibly difficult for me.

As soon as I closed the door to my room I had a good cry.  I headed in to take a long, hot shower, continuing to cry throughout.  I was experiencing a multitude of feelings and emotions at that point: selfishness, relief, fatigue, peace — you name it, I ran through it!  I came out of the shower, donned my pjs and robe at 4pm in the evening, cracked open one of the sparkling waters my husband had in the room for me, and crawled into bed with a book.  I thought for sure that I would be asleep in no time, but I was just too excited about my ‘me’ time.  I read for a couple of hours, and then ordered food from the restaurant on premise (Cork & Cap Restaurant).

I would love to say that my evening was super exciting, but the reality is that I sat Indian-style in bed, munching on a beet salad and crab dip, watching the Olympics and wishing that my husband was there beside me.  It was really one of those moments when I reflected on how caught up in our daily lives and being parents my husband and myself are.  I made a mental note to tell my husband that we needed to munch on crab dip while watching television in bed sometime soon.  It really is about the little things, and my momcation helped me realize that.

My husband had scheduled spa services for me the next day, beginning at noon, allowing me to have a respectable lie-in.  I’m sure you know how that worked out — I popped up, wide-awake at the usual time, unable to go back to sleep.  After a late breakfast, I headed to the spa.  Plum Salon & Spa is located in the same complex as the hotel, so it was easy for me to walk over after checking out of the hotel.

Amazing, just amazing.  My husband had booked a massage and facial for me and I soaked up every minute of it.  I think I might be happy for the rest of my days if the only gifts I ever received from my husband were spa packages!

Why am I sharing this intimate time?  Because we all need a break sometime, but we rarely plan these moments for ourselves, blaming lack of time or feelings of guilt for not taking action.  Self care involves taking care of our own needs first, so that we are able to care for others.  Here I sit, days later, still feeling revitalized and having a great deal more patience with my toddler.  It works, it really works!

I also think that the opportunity to have some distance, literal and figurative distance, is wonderfully helpful and healing.  Mired in the day-to-day, literally stuck in the house [with these snowstorms], it’s difficult to have the necessary distance to take stock of things.  I am so unbelievably grateful to have had this time, this amazing break, and plan to make myself take ‘me’ time away at intervals.  I’m already planning on when my next MOMcation will be…

Have you ever taken a MOMcation?  Where did you go?  What did you do?  What do you do to take care of YOU?

Sharing is Caring! Please share to keep the conversation going:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Google

Filed Under: Editorial, healing|support, Miscarriage Tagged With: me time, momcation, nurture me, self care

#NurtureMe

2014/01 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

As the #hashtag in the title indicates, nurturing myself (being good to me) is now a topic [and concept] of utmost importance in my life.  Look, I know that everyone’s life gets lifey at points, but I’ll be honest with you: having two miscarriages in six months chipped away a piece of my soul.  After each loss, I made absolutely no time for myself to heal, physically, emotionally, mentally.  I am to blame for that, but I’m embracing the mantra that it’s never to late to start.

While I’m not one to make resolutions each year, I am making myself a promise to be kinder and gentler with…myself.  With children, it’s all too easy to push one’s own needs to the side, ensuring that everyone else’s needs are taken care of.  While being selfless is an honorable trait, I’ve seen the damage it can do to women who don’t make or take the time, they need and deserve, to nurture themselves.  I’m vowing not to continue on until I become a shell of myself: depressed, angry, self-defeating and with self-esteem at an all-time low.  When I’m not 100%, my family suffers; that is the no-nonsense truth, and I’m positive you’ll agree with me.

So what does all of this froo-froo self-reflection mean for you, the reader?  Well, I plan to post regularly (ideally, weekly) about little things I do & discover to nurture my spirit, help revitalize myself, and find a little gratitude in daily life.  This will likely include a range of things, from things I do to relax and pamper myself, to changing my diet to feel good, inside and out.  I’ll need your help along the way, though, because #NurtureMe is not a concept I’m comfortable with.  I welcome your suggestions and your experiences with taking care of yourself, mind, body & spirit.

Sharing is Caring! Please share to keep the conversation going:

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Google

Filed Under: all, Editorial, healing|support Tagged With: self care

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

categories

Lauren B. Stevens is a former publishing rep-turned-writer, whose work can be found on ChildVantage, The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy and Care.com, among many other websites. When she's not chasing her precocious preschooler, Lauren pens hilarious and heartwarming stories about her life as a mother, ghostwrites blogs for businesses, and sometimes even finds the time to write a bit of creative non-fiction.
Look for Lauren's published essays in the books listed below:

i’m in these books!

  • SMITHCoverWidget.jpg
  • MMCoverWidget.jpg
  • 3534480-01Motherhood250-1.jpg
  • chicken-soup.jpg
  • SINSA-Cover-Image.jpg
  • PTB6.jpg
  • PTB7.jpg

popular this week…

  • 5 Ways to Repurpose Cloth Diapers
  • Best Cloth Diapers for Boys
  • All Prefolds Are NOT Created Equal
  • 5 Reasons to Use All-in-Two (AI2) Cloth Diapering Systems

recent posts

  • 4 Things You Can Get to Ensure Car Safety for Your Kids (Without Breaking the Bank)
  • Cyber Security 101: 5 Tips for Keeping Your Kids Safe Online
  • 11 Activities To Tire Your Kids And Have Them Begging for Bedtime
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul: Military Families
  • Maximizing Marketplace Savings with Groupon and eBay

Stirrup Queen’s List of Blogs

Stirrup Queen's List of Blogs

archives

Pinterest Favorites

 photo 12UniqueGifts_zps5a66546f.jpg" alt="12-UNIQUE-GIFT-IDEAS" />
 photo 4ReasonstoUseMenstrualCupjpg_zpsb15ca7ba.jpg
 photo StopBreastfeeding_zps6df818b5.jpg
budget-cloth-diapering
 photo MiscarriageBabyLossjpg_zps3a6a4ab8.jpg
 photo PrefoldPinterest_zps43c4cd6e.jpg

Copyright © 2021

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.