Imagine a little girl in your life for whom you care deeply. She may not grow up and share the same political views as Vice President-elect Harris, but she may dream of becoming a leader. That dream is now reflected back to her. A vision she holds for herself has materialized outside of her imagination.

When I realized it was actually my anxiety that was stopping me from playing, everything changed. Her laugh and the joy I felt in that one hour gave me enough strength to quell my anxiety for good. I couldn’t remember the last time I had fun myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I enjoyed my time for no other reason. I couldn’t remember why I wasn’t a “playing-type mom”.

Research tells us play is how babies learn best. We can even think of it as their “job.” (although they’re probably having way more fun at their job than we ever have at ours!) Play helps babies explore the world and teaches them who they are. It also allows babies to practice the skills they need for the future.

When people talk about how important it is to have a village when you have children, you really don’t realize how important it truly is until your village consists of yourself, your spouse, and your child. Suddenly the world is different and more difficult. You don’t have babysitters or friends to have coffee with. You don’t have someone to help out when you have doctors appointments or dentists appointments so your children must come along. It can be be pretty lonely.

You are a hero among us. You have experienced the hardships of motherhood just like I have, yet you have done it in a world that never lifted you up. You are raising the next generation despite fears and injustices, and you’re still overflowing with love.

If you are struggling, find hope from mamas all over the world who share your struggles and those who have overcome. When Mindful Mamas asked for real stories of postpartum mood disorders, the response was overwhelming. Now we have more real stories from the Mindful Mamas community about their postpartum mood disorder experiences.

Postpartum Anxiety is real, but it does not have to be something that hinders your life. Here’s a recipe to work with anxiety, rather than be controlled by it. When you start to feel anxious, do the Mindful Mama’s Alchemize Your Anxiety process.

If you feel lonely as a mother, and you’re worried that the few moments of connection you feel throughout your day are suddenly gone, you’ve come to the right place. Everything you need to fight the feelings of isolation are already within your own consciousness. Mindfulness helps you discover this power within, now more than ever.

Today is Maternal Mental Health Awareness Day. In light of today, we share with you an open letter from our Mindful Mamas founders, Terra and Carina, to mothers around the world who are struggling with their mental health.

We created the Mindful Mamas app so that no mom would have to suffer the way we did. We never want another mom to have to fill up her bookshelf and take time-consuming courses on mindfulness, only to have to filter everything she learned through the lens of motherhood. As mamas, we need our mindfulness to be super accessible, quick, and restorative. It also needs to acknowledge all that we’re dealing with emotionally, mentally, and physically.

It’s easy to feel judged for our career choices. This only adds to the guilt that accompanies the choice we are making to work. But after two years of being a stay-at-home mom, it became clear that I am truly a better mother when I have a career. 

Spring is a time of renewal, rebirth, and feeling energized. But so many times throughout our mom life we just simply can’t get out of bed, the fatigue of motherhood is so real. Thankfully here are five steps you can take to regain some of your vibrant energy, and get that spring back in your step.

If this pandemic was going to last a week or two, maybe “wash your hands,” and “stay home” would be enough advice to stay healthy. But unfortunately, it looks like we are in for the long haul, and with that in mind, we are going to need some more tools to keep us all happy, healthy, sane, and hopeful during these unprecedented and unusual (that’s an understatement) times.

Hey Mamas! Meet the Mindful Mamas App. It’s been a long, hard journey, but we can finally introduce our digital baby to you.

It seems like there are times in the day when everyone melts down all at once, and you, Mom, are expected to clean up the mess. Everything seems top priority there’s no clear plan of attack. That’s when overwhelm can take over and you can feel out of control.

Why is it hard to make “mom friends?” It’s the subject of many articles, from parenting blogs to popular news sites.

Like many parents, I had a picture in my head of how parenting would be.

No one can do it all. So, as a mama, learn how to ask for support, and how to manage all the stresses of day-to-day life with your kids. It all starts with one important realization… 

Asking for help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness.

As we close out this decade of technology and innovation—the decade that saw the advent of self-driving vehicles, Google Home devices, consumer LED light bulbs, and the Ipad—let’s remember that although a lot has changed in the past ten years, the magic of our world happens in a single day.

I like Santa. I love that he represents magic and imagination. Santa is the ultimate symbol of childhood fantasy. However, I never wanted my kids to believe in Santa.

I propose that self care is taking 4 hours of your limited time to create a budget and reassess your finances. Yes, those 4 hours will be uncomfortable. It won’t be relaxing and it certainly won’t taste good (which is why you might need to add some chocolate and maybe coffee). The end result, however, will reduce your stress and give you comfort moving forward. Isn’t that worth more than 30 minutes sitting in warm water with a good book?

After several “why nots” then not returning things because “who cares,” I found that I wasn’t able to afford the next tentative family trip, and I still owed money to my mother-in-law for helping pay off the last bit of my student loans. Not to mention my small but lingering credit card balance. In an effort to be more mindful about my spending, I took conscious steps that you can take too.

Sādhanā is literally everything you do in a day to create a better life for yourself, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. EVERYTHING.