The Power of Compassion in Motherhood: Hana Hein's Journey | 010
Motherhood has a way of reshaping not only our routines, but our entire sense of self. In my conversation with Hana, we explore the quiet and often complicated transition that happens when the life we once knew no longer fits the woman we are becoming. Hana opens up about the identity shifts that followed motherhood, the grief of letting go of parts of her former life, and the emotional weight that many mothers carry but rarely speak about openly.
As we talk, Hana shares how hitting a personal low point eventually led her toward healing through yoga, somatic practices, and learning to approach herself with more compassion. Rather than striving for perfection, she began creating space—space to feel, to process, and to rebuild her relationship with herself. Our conversation is a reminder that motherhood is not just about raising children; it is also about learning to hold ourselves with gentleness as we grow and change.
Key Takeaways
- Healing often begins when we allow ourselves to slow down rather than push harder.
- Grief can be a natural part of identity transitions, even during joyful life stages.
- Somatic practices can help reconnect the body and mind after periods of stress or emotional overwhelm.
- Creating intentional space for rest and reflection can strengthen resilience in motherhood.
About the Guest:
Hana Hein is a somatic business coach and strategist helping soul-led women build profitable, aligned businesses from the inside out. With over 20 years of experience bringing her clients back into their body (beginning as a registered massage therapist and yoga teacher working with professional athletes and Olympians) Hana has developed a uniquely integrated approach that refuses to separate nervous system work from real business strategy. Because one without the other simply doesn't hold.
She is the founder of The Embodied Entrepreneur, a group coaching program for women who are ready to stop stalling at their own ceiling and start building businesses that are as sustainable as they are fulfilling. She also hosts Nourish Your Soul retreats and creates accessible nervous system education and embodied experiences through her programs and workshops.
Hana is an E-RYT 500 and somatic practitioner, and serves as faculty in yoga teacher training — teaching the business module, naturally. She lives in British Columbia with her husband and young two sons.
Her work lives at the intersection of self-leadership, nervous system capacity, and strategic clarity, because ambitious women don't need more hustle. They need a business that can hold them.
Links:
The Embodied Entrepreneur Program
FREE Private Podcast: Somatic Success
IG: @iamhanahein
About The Host:
Dr. Christelle Oliver-Dussault is a family physician with a clinical focus on aesthetic medicine, women’s health, and psycho-education. Her work is grounded in a holistic, whole-person approach that integrates medical science with a deep appreciation of the mind–body connection. Alongside her clinical practice, she is deeply committed to medical education and mentors the next generation of family physicians through her work with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of British Columbia.
She is the founder of Reclaim The Pink Within, a community created to support women through life’s most profound transitions. This project was born from personal experience. After becoming a mother, Dr. Oliver-Dussault became aware of a quiet but profound shift in her sense of self, one she had long observed in her patients, yet only fully understood once she lived it herself. What had once been a clinical observation became a deeply personal insight, shaping the lens through which she now supports and guides other women.
You can connect with her on Instagram at @drchristellemd and @reclaimthepinkwithin
Website: www.getyourpinkbackproject.com
Email: info@reclaimthepinkwithin.com
Medical Disclaimer
The Reclaim The Pink Within podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only. The content shared in this podcast reflects the personal views and professional experiences of the host and guests and is not intended to replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
While Dr. Christelle Oliver-Dussault is a licensed physician, this podcast does not constitute a doctor–patient relationship. Always seek the advice of your own qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical or mental health concerns, diagnoses, or treatment decisions. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice because of something you have heard on this podcast.
Thank You for Listening
Thank you for spending your time with us and for being part of the Reclaim The Pink Within community. This space exists because of women who are willing to listen, reflect, and engage in conversations that are often kept private. Whether you are in the midst of transition, questioning who you are becoming, or simply seeking connection, your presence here matters.
Your willingness to show up—for yourself and for others—is what makes this project possible.
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New episodes are released regularly, each offering insight, reflection, and shared experience.
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Transcript
It was really hard for me to go back to yoga because I had associated
Speaker:that with a previous part of my life. And just to even roll out my
Speaker:mat felt really difficult to do. Kind of coming back into my own body
Speaker:and coming back to my wholeness and really realizing
Speaker:that, you know, I had really put all my worth in
Speaker:one basket. I had given all my worth to my career.
Speaker:Right. I thought that and, and motherhood really
Speaker:just awakened that part in me that, oh,
Speaker:I had it all wrong. I was whole all along, you know, and so
Speaker:slowly, you know, through therapy, through yoga, through coming back
Speaker:into and just returning to my wholeness through that and
Speaker:experiencing it through more somatic work. I
Speaker:mean, it's still an ongoing journey. Like I don't think it ever stops, right? Like,
Speaker:it's still something that I have to continue to work through.
Speaker:Welcome back. Today's episode is with someone that I connected
Speaker:with through a mutual connection about a year ago.
Speaker:And from the onset I was
Speaker:quite inspired and intrigued with all that she
Speaker:did and does. And like many of the women I've spoken
Speaker:to on this podcast, she wears many hats.
Speaker:She is someone who has a background in business coaching.
Speaker:She's a somatic practitioner and a yoga teacher.
Speaker:At the time that I came across the work that she does, I was going
Speaker:through a lot of changes in my own life and wanted to find out
Speaker:more about the services that she provided. And
Speaker:this connection of mind mentioned that she also
Speaker:hosted yoga retreats and she was due to have one on Bowen
Speaker:island, which is an island off the west coast of British Columbia.
Speaker:We connected virtually at first and then I had the opportunity to go this,
Speaker:this retreat last autumn and it really was a
Speaker:magical experience. We were all there,
Speaker:all women, navigating our own journeys.
Speaker:Hana has a way of creating space for everyone on these
Speaker:retreats and connects with everyone. And on some of the
Speaker:one to one conversations that we had, a
Speaker:certain theme came up and
Speaker:about people who work in healing spaces
Speaker:and the pressures we put ourselves under, how
Speaker:we will often come across as very grounded and like we
Speaker:have all the answers and that that we
Speaker:seamlessly navigate life stressors and
Speaker:sometimes we hold ourselves to a higher standard
Speaker:and we put ourselves under even more pressure. We show less
Speaker:compassion towards ourselves than we would for the ones that we care
Speaker:for. And with that in mind, I thought it'd
Speaker:be very interesting conversation to have about
Speaker:careering and mothering and how although it
Speaker:may seem like we are navigating things
Speaker:well, we face the same life stressors, experience the same
Speaker:challenges, and often tend to do more
Speaker:of the difficult work in the shadows and our own
Speaker:and put ourselves under undue pressure. So, without further ado,
Speaker:apologies for the long introduction. I would like to introduce to you Hana
Speaker:Hein. It's a pleasure to have you here with me today,
Speaker:and I really appreciate you taking the time to share your
Speaker:wisdom with us. Well, thank you. I'm so honored
Speaker:that you'd ask. I'm so happy to be here and just have a
Speaker:conversation with you. And yeah, my heart is like,
Speaker:so, yeah. So open right now since that introduction and just.
Speaker:Yeah, thank you so much. Most of my
Speaker:conversations often start with trying to get to know and get the
Speaker:listeners to know who is here with me today.
Speaker:And it's helpful for us to find out who you were before you
Speaker:became a mom. How would you perceived yourself or described
Speaker:yourself to others? Yeah, this is, this is an interesting question.
Speaker:I was listening, actually listening to some of your podcast episodes
Speaker:and noticing that this was a question you asked. I'm like, oh, my gosh,
Speaker:who was I? You know, I think motherhood
Speaker:puts you in some form of amnesia, probably by design.
Speaker:But who was I before motherhood? I was a very
Speaker:driven individual. I had very big dreams
Speaker:and career goals that I was working towards. I worked with
Speaker:high performance athletes. It was a, it was really a dream that I had
Speaker:since I was in elementary school to work,
Speaker:you know, with the body in the space of high performance sports. And
Speaker:I, and I did achieve that dream. That's a whole, whole long story.
Speaker:But I was a registered massage therapist and yoga
Speaker:teacher for teams like the Canadian Women's National Soccer
Speaker:Team. I'd worked with FIFA. I'd worked with, you know, Vancouver
Speaker:Whitecaps. You know, there was a world that I was just
Speaker:so. Had always dreamed of. I was, I was really living the dream. But I
Speaker:was, you know, in, in many ways
Speaker:masking probably some, some of my, my deeper pains
Speaker:with, with outer achievement during that time. So there
Speaker:was, yeah, probably some incongruence in how
Speaker:I actually felt inside versus what things look like out on the outside.
Speaker:That's, that's who I was before. Yeah. And
Speaker:did you have any expectations or
Speaker:visions of what motherhood would be like for you? Is that something that you had
Speaker:even reflected on before becoming a mom?
Speaker:Yeah, I, you know,
Speaker:I don't think I was ever, ever in my
Speaker:life like, oh, I can't wait to be a mother one day. Like, this
Speaker:is, this is going to be the pinnacle of my life to be a mother.
Speaker:But I definitely had moments, especially when I got into a more
Speaker:serious relation, you know, a beautiful, stable, safe
Speaker:relationship, which is, you know, who's now my husband. And
Speaker:starting to consider that. What did I envision it to be like?
Speaker:I mean, I envisioned a lot of love, and I
Speaker:envisioned it to be. I don't know, I thought. I
Speaker:probably kind of thought I was going to be good at it,
Speaker:which is a total farce. Like.
Speaker:Yeah, I think. I think that I was like, oh, yeah, I can. Think I
Speaker:can handle it. You know, I had been under a lot of high
Speaker:pressure situations and was able to handle it.
Speaker:So I thought, well, this would just be another high pressure
Speaker:environment that I'm used to being in. Yeah, yeah. And
Speaker:when that reality stepped in, when you first became a mom, how did that
Speaker:transition look like for you? Oh, my gosh.
Speaker:Well, I feel like motherhood and pregnancy were very different. I
Speaker:think when I got pregnant, that was like a
Speaker:different experience in that, you know,
Speaker:I was doing a lot of grieving at the time of, like, the life that
Speaker:I knew. So that felt like there was
Speaker:some hardship in that,
Speaker:that experience during pregnancy. But once I hit motherhood, like, once,
Speaker:like my first born was in my arms, it was like
Speaker:everything sort of melted away. I was definitely in
Speaker:bliss mode, and
Speaker:it was wonderful. I mean, now that I have a second child, it's like that
Speaker:was another experience in and of itself. But,
Speaker:you know, I was really deeply present with him
Speaker:while also holding the grief of, like, my past life. It
Speaker:was like there was just two worlds that I was kind of straddling.
Speaker:Like, both existed at once. I was, like, deeply present, deeply happy. And then
Speaker:there were moments where I was in, like, I have to find
Speaker:something. I have to find myself again. There was this illusion that I had to,
Speaker:like, grasp onto something that I no longer had anymore.
Speaker:So, yeah, it was a lot of duality. Yeah. In
Speaker:motherhood, a lot of women often will describe that. Moments of extremes and
Speaker:moments of opposites. It's interesting that you mentioned that you started
Speaker:feeling that grief and that mourning process in your
Speaker:pregnancy. Tell me a little bit more what was going through your
Speaker:mind during that first pregnancy? Yeah,
Speaker:well, I mean, going back to, like, my. Who I was
Speaker:before, you know, that what I had built for myself was
Speaker:literally a dream that I had for, you know, since I was 10
Speaker:years old. And so that's all I really knew. So to
Speaker:let that go, to walk away from it. When I
Speaker:was third, I was 30. When I had 30, 31. Anyways,
Speaker:somewhere in my early 30s, it felt like that decision was sort of made for
Speaker:me by my body that it was time to walk away.
Speaker:And so in some respects, I
Speaker:felt like the choice wasn't really mine, even though
Speaker:it was. I mean, I did make the decision to
Speaker:choose motherhood versus carrying on in a career
Speaker:that was very demanding in terms of, like, world travel and
Speaker:scheduling and all those things that felt, like, impossible to keep up
Speaker:while trying to have a family. So I think a
Speaker:lot of the grief was amplified by the choice
Speaker:or by the. By the fact where it felt like it didn't feel like a
Speaker:real choice to me, you know, or that's how I perceived it at the time.
Speaker:And. And so I.
Speaker:Yeah, it was just. It was just like a constant looking
Speaker:back and watching, you know, subsequently
Speaker:watching my friends in the field who didn't choose to have kids or waited
Speaker:so later on in life, really thriving in their career. Like, we had
Speaker:just. We had. When I. When I left, I just had
Speaker:finished being at the Rio Olympics with the women's soccer team
Speaker:and winning a bronze medal, and there was other, you know, big, big
Speaker:opportunities coming my way, and I. And I turn them down.
Speaker:Whereas, you know, some of my peers, maybe not from
Speaker:necessarily from the. The team, that team, but in other
Speaker:organizations, were starting to get big opportunities working for the
Speaker:NBA and NHL. And I was just watching it with such FOMO
Speaker:and such. Like, that could have been me
Speaker:while sitting with, you know, this life that I was starting to,
Speaker:you know, this decision, this choice that I had had made
Speaker:and feeling guilt around that too. Right. I should be grateful. There's,
Speaker:you know, people who would love this moment and
Speaker:have a difficult time getting there. So. Yeah. Holding that dichotomy,
Speaker:for sure. Yeah. And how did you navigate
Speaker:that? Obviously, as the pregnancy progressed and then
Speaker:they became those. You probably were
Speaker:pulled away from that world even more. So
Speaker:was there anything that helped you reconnect or redirect
Speaker:where you wanted your energy to be focused?
Speaker:Well, it wasn't easy. It was.
Speaker:Change never is and transition never is. Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. I'm like. I wish it was an easy answer, and it's really not, because
Speaker:it was. It was a process,
Speaker:you know, for about a good year. Like, I
Speaker:was experiencing things like panic attacks. I
Speaker:was. I wasn't diagnosed, but I was
Speaker:suggested by my therapist. I. I don't think I've ever said this publicly,
Speaker:but that perhaps I have some mild
Speaker:form of ocd, because I was really just getting, like.
Speaker:I think. I think looking back now was just really my attempt for
Speaker:control. Like, I was just really feeling out of control in My.
Speaker:In my grief and my. My new way of being.
Speaker:And so, you know, things were really, like, kind of spinning out of control
Speaker:at the same time as things were thriving. Like, I actually don't know how those
Speaker:things coexisted. And, I
Speaker:mean, it first started with some therapy, some talk
Speaker:therapy, and that sort of opened
Speaker:the door for me to return to my mat. It was really hard for me
Speaker:to go back to yoga because I had associated that with
Speaker:a previous part of my life, and just to even roll out my mat felt
Speaker:really difficult to do. So kind of coming back into my
Speaker:own body and coming back to my wholeness and
Speaker:really realizing that, you know,
Speaker:I had really put all my worth in one basket. I had
Speaker:given all my worth to the. To my career.
Speaker:Right. I thought that. And. And motherhood really
Speaker:just awakened that part in me that,
Speaker:oh, I had it all wrong. I was whole all along,
Speaker:you know, and so slowly, you know, through
Speaker:therapy, through yoga, through coming back into, you
Speaker:know, and just returning to my wholeness through that
Speaker:and experiencing it through more somatic work,
Speaker:it's. I mean, it's still an ongoing journey. Like, I don't think it
Speaker:ever stops. Right. Like, it's still something that I have to continue to work through.
Speaker:It can be so hard when you have lived such an organized,
Speaker:controlled life to let go of that control, because
Speaker:you can't control those early years at all. You can't control
Speaker:motherhood and childhood and what's going to unravel throughout the
Speaker:day and plans often throughout the window. And that can be really hard to
Speaker:navigate when you. You haven't. You are someone who's typically been
Speaker:very organized, ambition, and able to do a whole lot, and
Speaker:it's really difficult. And our society, I think, also
Speaker:pushes us to value ourselves in relation to our
Speaker:achievements in our career. And then
Speaker:motherhood, you're suddenly a little bit more invisible. And
Speaker:many will tell me, yeah, like, you kind of reassess that worth. And
Speaker:I think it was really profound that you're like, well, I was actually whole all
Speaker:along. I just didn't see it. Yeah, did
Speaker:you. You mentioned that you did talk therapy. Was that something that was
Speaker:easy for you to reach for, that help or recog that you needed
Speaker:help or did that some. Is that something that, you know, you had
Speaker:support to get to? How did that look like for you?
Speaker:Yeah, you know, it's. It's interesting looking back
Speaker:now, knowing, you know, what. What I do in my work and stuff,
Speaker:but I had a re. I had a lot of resistance.
Speaker:I had a lot of resistance to going to talk therapy first.
Speaker:I don't. I think. I think because there was a part of me that felt
Speaker:like a failure and, like, it was like an admission to my
Speaker:failures if I. If I went and. And,
Speaker:you know, my husband, bless him, I have really, really amazing
Speaker:support, and he would just, like, continue to
Speaker:encourage me to. To get support.
Speaker:And, you know, it was really hard on a relationship
Speaker:when. When I was, like, really in the thick of it.
Speaker:So, yeah, like, I think I kind of had to hit rock bottom,
Speaker:to be honest, to finally kind of surrender me, like, fine, I'll
Speaker:get some help. Um, and even though.
Speaker:Even though in the end it wasn't like, the thing
Speaker:that I think that, like, really, like,
Speaker:continued to have that, like, deep impact on my. My
Speaker:healing for me, but it was certainly the doorway, which
Speaker:is incredibly meaningful. It was just like,
Speaker:oh, there's a lot of. There's a lot of pain
Speaker:here. I haven't really considered and looked at or given
Speaker:myself the. You know, or have had the courage to turn towards.
Speaker:You mentioned that you had to wait till you got to rock bottom. What did
Speaker:your rock bottom feel like or look like, if you don't mind sharing.
Speaker:Yeah. As I say that, I'm like, oh, I can, like, feel, like,
Speaker:a tightness in my chest and, like, my
Speaker:throat kind of closing up. Not. Not in a way that I
Speaker:can't talk about it, but just. Yeah, I've really taken myself. Your body is going
Speaker:back to the sensations that you have. Yeah, totally. It's just, like. It's really
Speaker:amazing. Yeah, I.
Speaker:I just really remember feeling so
Speaker:inadequate, you know, Inadequate as a
Speaker:mother, Inadequate as. Just like, who. Who am
Speaker:I if I'm not, like, I'm not important anymore, you
Speaker:know, who am I if. If
Speaker:I'm not achieving something great? As if
Speaker:motherhood isn't one of the greatest achievements of all time, you know?
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah. Just funny. Like,
Speaker:literally the hardest job in the world and.
Speaker:Yeah. But just. And. And sort of like the
Speaker:physical symptoms of just being so
Speaker:anxious and any. Anything.
Speaker:The smallest thing, being able to really, you know,
Speaker:have me spiral. And I think I just was, like,
Speaker:not okay with feeling that way anymore.
Speaker:You know, I just felt so. Like, I just felt so disempowered.
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah. How old was your baby at that point?
Speaker:Your son? Oh, my gosh. Roughly,
Speaker:like, literally can't remember.
Speaker:I think it pro. I think he was probably less.
Speaker:Maybe less than a year old. Okay. I think less than a
Speaker:year old because I think that the real, like, it was
Speaker:really Starting when I was pregnant. Okay. And
Speaker:it's kind of spilled it over into. Into like those
Speaker:early months of motherhood. But, yeah, I think.
Speaker:I think probably he was probably like six or seven months old.
Speaker:Yeah. And you mentioned it had a big impact on your husband and that you
Speaker:guys, you know, you have a very supportive husband. Was
Speaker:there anything that you found helpful or difficult in a
Speaker:relationship that helped you navigate that tough time
Speaker:in our relationship?
Speaker:Oh, my gosh. I think compassion,
Speaker:honestly, I think if there was anything and, And
Speaker:I really believe that, like,
Speaker:relationships aren't always 50. 50. No. You know,
Speaker:like, I think that it's just that he. He, bless
Speaker:him, had more in the tank to offer me. I was at like, 10,
Speaker:and he could be at, you know, maybe he was at like
Speaker:75, and the other percent was just out in the ether up for
Speaker:grabs. But
Speaker:he. He really just was able to,
Speaker:you know, and, And, And I know it was really hard for him, but he
Speaker:just had a little bit more capacity. And so that
Speaker:I'm. I'm grateful for his compassion and then for me
Speaker:to be able to access my own compassion, that I just not only
Speaker:went through a very difficult grieving period, but also, like, I
Speaker:had all kinds of things going on with my body that I'd never experienced before.
Speaker:Hormonally, physically, all the things. And
Speaker:yeah, I think compassion for each other and
Speaker:just knowing that we had. We were able to, you know, we are in
Speaker:a season that we could get through,
Speaker:really, really helped. Helped us to know that there was a
Speaker:finish line somewhere for this season. Yeah. Gave
Speaker:us hope. You mentioned that you
Speaker:were navigating a lot of changes in your body, and as probably someone who
Speaker:has been. Was previously in a very athletic, fit world. How did
Speaker:you find those changes or what did you struggle with?
Speaker:Oh, I. What did I struggle
Speaker:with? I feel like I. I went sort of like, right back
Speaker:into achiever mode in. In the way that I could.
Speaker:You know, I think that's probably, you know, looking back, was probably a coping mechanism.
Speaker:I mean, I went as soon as I
Speaker:could. I, like, went back to soccer. I went and signed up for a million
Speaker:races. I, you know, I got a running coach,
Speaker:all those things to try to get back what
Speaker:I had before. And,
Speaker:and physically speaking, you know, I.
Speaker:I was able to, like, return to some, like, quite a
Speaker:level of fitness after my first. I had a lot more challenges after my
Speaker:second. But. But, gosh, the. The
Speaker:grasping again. It was really like my. My
Speaker:inner world. That. Yeah, that. That
Speaker:wasn't. That wasn't Well, I guess.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah, but, but yeah, physically speaking, I think I
Speaker:was really, really just like, trying so hard to get back something that
Speaker:also just wasn't. Like, you can never get any, like,
Speaker:what's the point of getting it back? And, you know, we're meant to grow
Speaker:and evolve and it can be hard. And when you're chasing that. That being said,
Speaker:like, exercise can be really beneficial for your mental health, but
Speaker:100%. And it probably did help on certain levels.
Speaker:Yes. But you've mentioned a lot of it was more doing it for
Speaker:internal battles that you likely
Speaker:addressed slowly through talk therapy. Yeah.
Speaker:How. How did you start
Speaker:reconnecting with yourself or is. Do you remember a time
Speaker:where you started to realize things were shifting and that you were
Speaker:kind of reconnecting with the person within or discovering new parts of
Speaker:you? For me, it was
Speaker:yoga. You know, reconnecting with my yoga practice, that
Speaker:was really the biggest, the biggest catalyst
Speaker:to like, returning to that and just having.
Speaker:Creating more spaciousness to examine my
Speaker:thoughts, examine my feelings, being. Being
Speaker:with my feelings. You
Speaker:know, I, I know that you maybe experienced this during the retreat, but
Speaker:I just think that there's so much power in space. Like, the magic really
Speaker:happens in the space. And what, what yoga offered me was like, I wasn't trying
Speaker:to, like, stuff myself with
Speaker:ways to fix me. I, like, just gave myself space
Speaker:and for things to sort of like the dust to settle to, you know,
Speaker:settle and, and, and through that,
Speaker:like, really being able to hear myself
Speaker:again and feel myself again.
Speaker:Because I think in an attempt to like, make all this stuff go away, that
Speaker:I just didn't feel good feeling, I just kept adding more.
Speaker:Right. More races, more therapy, more courses, more this, more
Speaker:books, all the things. And I was just like, fix, fix, fix mode. And then
Speaker:all I really needed was the.
Speaker:Was the quiet and the space to finally, like.
Speaker:Yeah. Just reconnect to what was there all along.
Speaker:Yeah. One of the things that I'll just kind of mention, that yoga retreat that
Speaker:you hosted that I found so therapeutic was the yoga nidra practice
Speaker:we did in the evenings where it was just, you know, and I
Speaker:know myself younger. Like, I didn't like the slow yoga. I was very much like,
Speaker:let's do all the, you know, Ashtanga vinyasam. I want to move.
Speaker:It gets to a certain stage where you actually just need to have that more
Speaker:kind of that, that restorative
Speaker:type practice that helps you just be with your thoughts and
Speaker:think. And I loved how you combine that with some journaling too. It just
Speaker:was very introspective and our worlds are so
Speaker:fast paced now. We'd often, you know, make the
Speaker:time for that. Nor is it something that you will glorify on social media,
Speaker:you know. Yeah, the pause is all about just
Speaker:stepping back and being with yourself, which can be really uncomfortable at first,
Speaker:but absolutely. Once you kind of
Speaker:get used to not feeling guilty when you're slowing down, it.
Speaker:Yeah. It's very, very powerful. Yeah. Is there anything that
Speaker:you find society misunderstands about the identity shifts
Speaker:that motherhood mothers go through in that. In the Arab transition?
Speaker:Hmm. Very good question. Sorry to land that on.
Speaker:No, it's really beautiful because I. I don't always talk about motherhood. I think
Speaker:it's like, oh, my gosh, it's literally the biggest part of my life.
Speaker:The misunderstanding. Oh, my goodness.
Speaker:I mean, I think there's some misunderstanding that
Speaker:there's somebody out there that's figured it out, you know,
Speaker:that's like, really nailed it and perfected
Speaker:it. I. I know that for me, like, I often get this.
Speaker:You know, people have this idea about me that I'm, you know, very
Speaker:calm and grounded all the time. And so there's like, oh, you must not
Speaker:get phased by your kids. And it's
Speaker:like, no. Oh, my gosh.
Speaker:You know, my relationship with Overwhelm
Speaker:has shifted greatly, but it does not mean I do not
Speaker:get overwhelmed. Does not mean that I haven't raised my voice
Speaker:at my kids. I've got two boys, like, bless them, oh my
Speaker:gosh. You know, and have difficult times or, you
Speaker:know, I've had moments where I've had to like, shut myself in my room and
Speaker:have a cry because I, like, can't, you know, I feel so
Speaker:overwhelmed. And I guess I would just love
Speaker:for people to. To know and see that a. There's just like
Speaker:no such thing as perfection. I know that's cliche. I think people really understand that
Speaker:now. But we still hold ourselves to that standard. Right. Like you said at the
Speaker:beginning, especially when you are sor Of. In this space where you are
Speaker:like a healer or, you know, therapists, doctors, that you have to.
Speaker:That you must, you know. Yeah.
Speaker:Have it all figured out. And it's just. It's just not the truth. But your
Speaker:relationship with it can certainly change and so that it's not.
Speaker:It's not always lingering and that you have space to repair
Speaker:and, you know, tend to yourself.
Speaker:Yeah. Like, I. I just. I just think that there's. There's
Speaker:nobody out there who's crossed some sort of Fancy threshold that
Speaker:they're the perfect mother. It's definitely not me.
Speaker:That's just not life either. Like, you're always going to have curveballs and
Speaker:things to navigate oftentimes within a couple minutes with young kids
Speaker:and then bigger moments. So I really liked how
Speaker:you said, it's still there, but it's shifting your own perspective
Speaker:and how you navigate those moments, recognizing them and making space
Speaker:to ride that wave of overwhelm and being like, I need a minute,
Speaker:let me have my minute and then I can jump back in. Which
Speaker:is something that I know I've tried
Speaker:myself. And not easy the first few times you tried, but the more
Speaker:you name it and act on it, the easier it
Speaker:gets. Quicker you do get over that overwhelm,
Speaker:but powering through it isn't always the
Speaker:best way to approach it. Oh, no, I don't
Speaker:recommend. Yeah,
Speaker:yeah. Is there any advice that you would either give to
Speaker:your former self or women who might be listening who
Speaker:are pregnant or in the first few weeks or month of motherhood? Oh,
Speaker:my goodness. Oh, I feel like.
Speaker:I feel like teary eyed just thinking about that. Just, you know,
Speaker:thinking of women stepping into this, like, new time in their life and,
Speaker:and thinking back to myself. But gosh, if there's
Speaker:anything, it would just be so much compassion.
Speaker:Like, I could not say, like, have compassion enough. I
Speaker:know that's not a practical thing that you can do. It's. I
Speaker:know we're always looking for those, like, the perfect tool and the
Speaker:perfect thing. But honestly, grace and compassion
Speaker:go a long, a long, long way. Like just
Speaker:how different your experience feels in your body when you offer yourself
Speaker:compassion around the discomfort and
Speaker:the guilt and the changes in the transition just softens the
Speaker:edges a little bit. So, yeah,
Speaker:that's beautiful. Thank you for sharing that and thank
Speaker:you for sharing your vulnerabilities and your trajectory
Speaker:as well, too. I think that's going to resonate with so many listeners
Speaker:I would like to share. I often will have my guests
Speaker:share either like a quote or a mantra that is meaningful to them. And
Speaker:I absolutely love what you shared with me. So I'll take a moment to read
Speaker:it now because I, yeah, could not memorize it because
Speaker:it's a little longer. It's
Speaker:beautiful. So it is a
Speaker:quote by Marianne Williamson. And here it goes.
Speaker:Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest
Speaker:fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our
Speaker:light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask
Speaker:ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
Speaker:talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not
Speaker:to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does
Speaker:not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
Speaker:so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all
Speaker:meant to shine, as children do.
Speaker:We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
Speaker:It's not just some of us. It's in everyone. And
Speaker:as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people
Speaker:permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear,
Speaker:our present presence automatically liberates others.
Speaker:So I think that's the call to action for let your inner light
Speaker:shine. Because we often don't realize the rippling
Speaker:effects that it can have on others. And you are certainly someone who has
Speaker:a ripple effect on those who you meet.
Speaker:So thanks again for your time today, and if you
Speaker:want to reach out or find out about the different services that
Speaker:Hana offers, I'll put some details in the
Speaker:episode notes so that you can learn a little bit more about
Speaker:her. Take care, everyone. Thank you.
