Learning to knit has been a journey of discovery for me. It all began when a coworker showed me how to cast-on. Then I took a class and worked up a disastrously large hat for myself. Trial and error (and many Google searches, YouTube videos, and knitting blogs) allowed me to learn new techniques and follow more challenging patterns. Eventually I built up enough confidence to create a few simple designs of my own.

Along the way I received a great bit of advice: Stop knitting once and awhile and admire what you’ve made. You’ll be encouraged by your beautiful progress and you’ll also catch your mistakes before you’ve gone too far.

This has turned out to be fabulous knitting wisdom, but also great life advice as well.

Here we are at Week 6 of Mama Makeover. This is the perfect time for a pause to admire and celebrate progress (and course correct, if needed). Reflecting on these weeks together, we’ve covered a lot of ground:

●     Week 1 was about Creating Community, finding and offering support for our MM intentions

●     Week 2 focused on Setting Intentions and choosing one small (or big) need to address

●     Week 3 looked at the approaching life from the perspective of Learning vs. Perfecting

●     Week 4 was a look at how self-nurture is rooted in Being vs. Doing

●     Week 5 explored how we tap into our wisdom by Connecting to Mind, Body and Spirit

While our makeover winners Kimberly and Mary have spent the past weeks working and playing with the many wonderful and generous MM sponsors, I hope you too have spent some bit of these weeks attending to your own personal and unique needs.

Maybe you’ve set, worked on, and met a goal (If so, congrats to you!). Or perhaps this time represents only the beginning of a longer journey. Either way, hopefully some aspect of MM has given you inspiration and momentum. Perhaps some of these thoughts have crossed your mind lately…

●     I am not alone.

●     I am already pretty amazing!

●     Lots of support is available to me.

●     I can make small changes over time.

●     I am taking steps in the right direction

●     Being present is more important than being perfect.

●     Self-nurture doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

●     I deserve to take time for myself.

Do any of these statements ring true for you?

These are all thoughts I’ve considered and discoveries I have made over the past six weeks. Some are reminders of things I knew in my heart already; at least one was a bit of a lightbulb moment. As I reflect on my involvement with MM, I am deeply touched by the experience. I’ve tried new things and have uncovered limiting beliefs that I’m working to banish from my existence! Setting intentions and tapping into your resources is a powerful force.

Photo image credit: http://dyannesky.blogspot.com/

Action for this weekend: Take time to reflect on what you’ve been “knitting” these past few weeks. Notice the beautiful patterns you’re creating, and how much strength and warmth can be created from even modest materials.

Post a comment here to share your thoughts. And be sure to visit the MM Facebook page to be supported and to encourage other mamas on their journey. 

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About Kirstin

Kirstin is a local, full-time working mama to two boys, ages 6 and 2. She watched MM from a distance for two years, and finally took a leap in 2012 and applied. Kirstin was selected as a MM finalist and came to MM hoping to deepen her mothering experience while inspiring other busy mamas to do the same. We’ve invited Kirstin to share her personal experience here to encourage all the MM mamas to join in a supportive and inspiring community. Read her updates here, and also on her personal blog: http://maternaljourney.wordpress.com/

This post should be read with a lisp, or maybe fill your mouth with marbles before reading. I’m sitting here writing it with my teeth whitening trays in, as I get ready for the end of Mama Makeover reception on Friday. Thank you to World of Smiles Dentistry for making my smile so beautiful. My mouth really does feel better after a couple weeks of using my sonicare toothbrush.

This week I’m playing a bit of catch up.  Last week was stressful and sad, and I fell right back into my routine of neglecting me to take care of others. (In this case, it was the dog.) As I spent more and more time focusing on the things around me, I felt that familiar frustration and agitation creep back in. My husband noticed it too. The upside is that I know it’s not permanent, and with some self-care I can put it to rest again.

I also got my lab test results back from Bloom Natural Healthcare this week. I received a nice phone call and email from Doctors O’Neill and Haywood and I’m heading in later this week to talk about what kind of supplements may help to bring me more into balance. The results were “consistent with anxiety and depression.” It sounds like supplements for 6 months to a year is the recommendation, which I think will be good. I’m looking at them as an extra helping hand, while I figure out how to balance daily life. 

I neglected a lot last week, though I did squeeze in a few things for me. Shelby Rice came back out to finish up my wardrobe makeover. I cleaned out a lot of items that just weren’t working for me. The next task is to fill those empty hangers with more functional items. The words of wisdom from Shelby that I will be taking shopping with me are: Don’t buy it unless you can think of three things to wear it with. It’s now I’m to put that credit card to work… responsibly, of course! 

I also had my makeup done twice this past week with Amanda from Pretty in Portland. Amanda is about the most adorable makeup person you can imagine, and she can work magic with a painter’s palette full of colors. We had one practice session, and then she did my makeup for my photos with Kim Campbell. She will also be doing my makeup for Friday night, so everyone can see her magic first hand.  

We had our photos taken this past Saturday with Kim Campbell. I’ve said it before, and it still holds true, I CAN’T WAIT to see these photos. The backgrounds that Kim has set up behind her studio are so cute. My girls got to sit down at a rustic iron table and have a pretend tea party. It was so precious. Kim also had an assistant on hand to help entertain the girls and to pull out their most adorable smiles. I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait.

Well-being is conveniently summarized (and perhaps overly simplified) as a balance of the body, mind and spirit. When our physical bodies are healthy; our intellectual and emotional selves feel nourished and content; and our spiritual nature feels grounded and secure, we feel energized, invigorated … whole.

(Mama working out with Wendy Foster at Pod + Kin – photo credit: Campbell Salgado Studio)

For busy mamas, achieving this state might seem overwhelming and even impossible. How much can one woman do?!?

Fortunately, working toward that kind of wellness doesn’t have to be an extra line on our endless to-do lists. Connecting the body, mind, and spirit is closely related to what Savannah Mayfield described so well in her post here last week. Savannah explained that self-nurture “encompasses your attitude and feelings towards yourself, how you talk to yourself internally, and your willingness to get your own needs met.”

Self-nurture is not about what you do to make yourself whole; it’s about the way you show up to your day-to-day life. When each of the three aspects of your Self is in on the action, that wholeness can begin to emerge.

Personally, I have a tendency to favor the mind and spirit aspects of myself over the body aspect. This is why I chose the health of my body as my Mama Makeover focus. I was curious about how learning a new form of exercise (I’m enjoying my PilateSculpt classes immensely) and finding some other ways to add more movement to my days (spring = more outside time for walks and gardening) would change my perspective on my overall well-being.

(PilateSculpt class in session at Pod+Kin – photo credit: Campbell Salgado Studio)

Here’s a little epiphany from my experience:

I scheduled a one-on-one session with Wendy Foster at Pod + Kin to get personal coaching on how to incorporate Pilates work at home. As we were wrapping up we talked about how difficult it can be to get into an exercise routine (I’ve got early rising little ones, a full-time job, etc., etc.). I basically kept saying, “It’s all mental – I just need to get my head in the right place and make it happen.”

But Wendy reminded me that the mind-body connection is where the magic can really happen. After a Pilates class or a brisk walk, my body feels alive and ready to meet life’s challenges. Connecting that positive body feeling to the mental process of deciding to exercise or not is a powerful motivator. Much more so than using mental energy alone.

(Wendy Foster instructing a private session on the Reformer at Pod+Kin - photo credit: Campbell Salgado Studio)

So I walked out of that session making a mental imprint (to use Pilates lingo) of the positive and empowering body sensations I feel after Pilates class. I’ll use my mind to access that imprint as I make plans and decisions about how to incorporate more movement into my life.

I’m excited to see the mind-body interplay in action! 

Do you use mind-body-spirit connections to inform decisions about how you go about your daily life? How you set goals for your next steps?

Action this week:

The three-legged stool is a good metaphor for mind-body-spirit connection. We need all three legs equally engaged to make the stool stand firm. Do you favor one or more of the “legs” over the others? If so, how does this imbalance show up in your life?

This week, see if you can pay a little extra attention to the less developed aspect(s) of yourself. Do this with curiosity rather than judgment. See what happens when you engage this aspect in your decision-making.

For example, if you tend to disregard your body aspect, try tuning into your body when making a decision or reacting to a parenting situation. Does your body feel contracted and tight or open and expansive? What is your body telling you to do?

Post a comment here to share your observations. And be sure to visit the MM Facebook page to be supported and to encourage other mamas on their journey.

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About Kirstin

Kirstin is a local, full-time working mama to two boys, ages 6 and 2. She watched MM from a distance for two years, and finally took a leap in 2012 and applied. Kirstin was selected as a MM finalist and came to MM hoping to deepen her mothering experience while inspiring other busy mamas to do the same. We’ve invited Kirstin to share her personal experience here to encourage all the MM mamas to join in a supportive and inspiring community. Read her updates here, and also on her personal blog: http://maternaljourney.wordpress.com/