This post has been sponsored by The Parents’ Place. All opinions expressed by this blogger are 100% her own.
Hi friends! This is a really exciting day on the blog because we’ve got a special guest post from Rachel Taylor– friend, fellow mom and founder of The Parents’ Place, an organization devoted to helping moms feel better in daily life through strength, stability, and relaxation training.
A longtime educator and movement practitioner, Rachel has come to understand firsthand that the way people breathe, feel in their bodies, and regulate (or don’t regulate) their nervous systems is deeply tied to their well-being. She began by sharing these insights and practices with her middle school students, but it wasn’t long before– pregnant with her first child–she realized there was another audience that could benefit greatly from these techniques: moms.
As Rachel explains:
“I found there were a lot of resources directed at moms that did not resonate with me— e.g. things focused on weight loss, or “getting your body back,” or following xyz parenting philosophy, when what I really wanted was to learn how to get my body forward, to really inhabit a body that had gone through pregnancy and birth and being a mom; to learn how to listen to myself and trust myself more; to accept changes in my body without accepting that things like shoulder pain, pee leaking, and exhaustion are just “what you get” for being a mom. So I started studying more, particularly a functional movement modality called Yoga Tune-Up® and a self-massage modality called The Roll Model®, which had a huge influence on how I felt and how I thought. And all of that led me to want to teach other moms.”
So after 13 years as a middle and high school history teacher, she decided to make her passion for the body into her work, and in 2020 The Parents’ Place was born. Trained in yoga, prenatal yoga, Yoga Tune-Up® functional movement, The Roll Model® myofascial self-release, trauma-informed mindfulness, breathing practices, nervous system regulation, and more, Rachel draws from all of these practices to craft engaging, effective classes designed to meet moms where they are and help them move, breathe, rest, and feel better.
She teaches online, in small groups, and one-on-one. And today, we are lucky enough to have her here to share a few of her best tips with us. As Rachel explains, R-E-S-T is the four letter word we need more of–so we can use those other four letter words a little less 😉
Welcome, Rachel! We’re so glad you’re here!
But first, a little more about Rachel…
Rachel Taylor, owner of The Parents’ Place, is a mom of two toddlers and teacher who believes in the power of breath, movement, and rest to help daily life feel better. Rachel and her family recently returned to her native city of Hartford, CT after many years in Brooklyn. They love Hartford but seriously miss truly great bagels. She and her husband are also discovering firsthand why there are so many TV shows about people owning old houses. In addition to spreading the gospel of intra-abdominal pressure and pelvic floor elasticity, Rachel loves being outside with her kids, reading novels, listening to political podcasts, making food for friends, and going for a run. She will choose wine and cookies over smaller pants any day.
The Four-Letter Word Your Family Needs
by Rachel Taylor
Your toddler is spinning around like a headless chicken caught inside a tornado, and your tween is escalating from 3 to 10 on the Mooooooooom scale. Do you: (a) Feel your own blood pressure rising and respond to your kids at the same level of frenzied energy as they’re giving, (b) Calm everyone down—starting with yourself—and then address their needs, or (c) Hide?
For most of us, the answer is (a). Our kids are in a tizzy, we are in a tizzy– there is always so much to get done – and we soldier on convinced that doing will lead to getting done, and getting done will lead to rest. That seems like a reasonable assumption… except, it’s wrong.
Intentional, deep rest—purposely de-stimulating yourself at key times during your busy day—is fundamental to your family’s health, productivity, and well-being. We tend to recognize this with babies, passing down the wisdom that good naps make for a happier infant and better nighttime sleep. But we tend to forget it with older kids, and with ourselves.
That’s not our fault. The pace and technology of 21st century living frequently causes us to live in elevated sympathetic arousal. That’s the “fight, flight, or freeze” part of the nervous system, excellent for keeping us alive in moments of crisis, terrible for daily life. The more our stress response activates, the more it becomes our go-to.
The problem is, having your sympathetic nervous system switched “on” much of the time is detrimental to your physical and mental health, and the same is even more true for children. As parents, you can learn to weave rest into your family’s day. This will activate the parasympathetic “rest-digest-repair” nervous system, which fosters qualities like equanimity, organization, and empathy. And ironically, intentional rest actually helps you get more done.
Try these simple practices, with your kids and by yourself, to go from fight-flight-freeze to rest-digest-repair.
- Centering breaths: Inhale 6 seconds, exhale 6 seconds. Repeat five to 10 more cycles. If this is challenging, start smaller— inhale 3, exhale 3; inhale 4, exhale 4; and work your way to 6.
- Jaw de-clencher: Place tongue tip in between top and bottom teeth. Inhale 4, hold 1, exhale 4, hold 1. Repeat 10 times.
- Regenerator: Set timer for 5 minutes. Lie down on floor with feet flat and knees bent. Close eyes. Put both hands on belly. Inhale feel belly rise, exhale feel belly fall. When timer rings, smile before opening eyes.
- Buddy breaths: Sit back-to-back with your child or partner. Inhale and exhale deeply through the nose. Lean gently on each other and notice your breaths align.
Try one of these practices in the morning before the get-ready rush, exactly when you feel like you don’t have a moment to spare; in the midst of a toddler tornado; as a break during online schooling; before homework and dinner prep; after kid bedtime. Notice how just one or two minutes of deep, intentional rest helps deescalate the highest stress times of day—and reduces your need for other four-letter words!
Interested in learning more? Rachel offers both online courses and in-person classes, including her new series, The Matriarchy. Debuting this June, The Matriarchy offers safe, small-group fitness and mindfulness classes for moms. Each class meets for 12 weeks, so you get the community you crave and the personal attention you deserve. Offerings include strength, relaxation, prenatal, postpartum, and more. There’s even a class specifically for people experiencing long-Covid symptoms. Classes begin in June. Learn more and register today! Limited spots available.
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