and it’s also really hard!
I know what it’s like…
Some days you can hardly contain your joy.
And some days you just feel overwhelmed and depleted.
Some days your children are absolutely delightful.
And some days your children drive you absolutely crazy!
Motherhood truly is “the full catastrophe.”
We want to be calm, present, compassionate, and available as we do the important work of raising our children.
But that’s REALLY FREAKING HARD, isn’t it?!?
Here’s what I want you to know:
Mindfulness can help us meet the challenges of mothering with balance and ease.
let me show you how in…
with Sarah Rudell Beach, M.Ed.
Mindfulness Instructor and Executive Director of Brilliant Mindfulness, LLC
the next session of this powerful course begins in March 2016!
Mindfulness is a powerful tool that transforms how you relate to your own life and how you engage with the world. When we practice mindfulness, we cultivate greater balance and ease. We learn how to be kind to ourselves and nurture ourselves.
Our mindful, compassionate, and engaged way of interacting with the world impacts everyone we come into contact with — including our children.
In this course, you will receive guidance and support for establishing a mindfulness practice, and then learn how to bring your mindful awareness and compassion to the day-to-day routines of parenting.
why do mothers need mindfulness?
I’m going to let my favorite mindfulness teacher, Jon Kabat-Zinn, explain it…
Being a parent…
“Being a parent compounds stress by orders of magnitude…. It challenges us as never before, and takes our time and attention away from other things, including ourselves, as never before. It creates chaos and disorder, feelings of inadequacy, occasions for arguments, struggles, irritation, noise, seemingly never-ending obligations and errands, and plenty of opportunities for getting stuck, angry, resentful, hurt, and for feeling overwhelmed, old, and unimportant…
So why do it?…
Children give us the opportunity to share in the vibrancy of life itself in ways we would not touch if they were not part of our lives. Especially when children are young, our job as a parent is to be there for them and, as best we can, nurture them and protect them so that they are free to experience the innocence and genius of childhood, gently providing what guidance we can out of our own heart and our own wisdom…” {emphasis added..}
If you’re like a lot of us, you may feel like you’re stuck in the first part of that description of parenting, and that you perhaps only randomly and infrequently visit the experiences of that second description. When we repeatedly practice the stressed-out and overwhelmed version of parenting, that’s what we get really good at, and what we continue to do.
When we cultivate mindfulness — nonjudgmental, present-moment awareness — we can access the stillness and clarity that will help us tap into our inner wisdom. We can truly BE THERE for our children, with our loving, compassionate presence. We can cultivate a new practice, a new perspective on motherhood that can transform not only how we parent, but how we understand our own lives.
I would be honored to be a part of your motherhood journey. Here’s what I’d love to teach you…
Weekly Course Outline
Week One
Mindful Mama
- develop, or deepen, your personal mindfulness practice to cultivate greater calm, balance, and ease in your days
- discover what mindfulness is — and what it is not
- learn powerful practices for dealing with your thoughts and emotions
- explore how mindfulness can be applied to the day-to-day work of parenting
- make mindfulness — intentional, nonjudgmental awareness — your way of being!
Week Two
Nurtured Mama
- create a self-care plan to nurture yourself and recharge your batteries
- learn how to MAKE time for yourself (instead of trying to FIND it!) — even in your “busy mama” days!
- discover research-based practices that support joyful and meaningful living
- embrace self-kindness and self-compassion, and lose the guilt over “me-time”
Week Three
Calm Mama
- learn mindfulness practices that help you keep your cool when your kids are fired up
- explore and work with your “triggers” (a.k.a., actually figure out how to “stop sweating the small stuff”)
- discover soothing and helpful mantras and calming practices for tense mama moments
- learn how your personal history and experiences influence the way you parent — and how you can use this insight to be the parent you want to be
- reflect on your identity as a mother, a woman, and a human being
Week Four
No-Drama Mama
- discover mindfulness-based parenting techniques that support your child’s emotional development
- explore — and practice — positive, mindful discipline strategies (that actually work!)
- learn how to communicate more effectively with your children — without the drama and yelling!
- develop strategies for repairing ruptured relationships
Want ideas for sharing mindfulness with your kids?
Add two more weeks to this powerful course with…
just $20 when you register for Mindfulness for Mothers!
Weeks 5 & 6
Mindful Mama, Mindful Monkeys
- discover what you need to know BEFORE teaching mindfulness to your children
- learn age-appropriate strategies for teaching mindfulness to your kids (ages 3-18)
- get mindfulness games and fun, mindful activities to do with your kids
- practice with your kids with videos from me (featuring MY monkeys, who have lots of great advice for their fellow littles! You can see a sample of my son’s mindfulness instruction skills here. ?)
- TWO WEEKS of content
(Questions? Scroll down for a list of FAQ’s!)
REGISTRATION BONUS
When you register, you’ll get Mantras for Mindful Mamas (a short e-book, featuring my 10 favorite mantras) so you can start your journey to mindful motherhood today!
included in Mindfulness for Mothers
Detailed instructions and guidance for establishing a personal mindfulness practice
4 weeks of amazing course content
The course content is a combination of written material, instructional videos, pdf downloads, and audio files with guided meditations.
guided meditations from me
Each week you’ll get a 5-10 minute guided meditation, made especially for moms, related to the week’s topic
Instructional videos
Over 3 hours of video content.
Access to a private Facebook group for course participants
Ask questions, reflect on your experiences, and connect with like-minded mamas. This is a great way to interact with a community that can keep you accountable for your practice! (Optional)
4 live coaching calls
Each week we will gather together online for a guided meditation, additional instruction, and lots of time for your questions!
A little bit about me…
Several years ago, as I struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety, I began to read about mindfulness. Of course! I thought, I just need to be more mindful! Thank goodness I read this book!
And then I tried to be mindful. Without any of the meditating….
I didn’t want to waste my precious time sitting on a cushion doing nothing! I mean, I had all this parenting I had to do!
But I realized that mindfulness didn’t work if I just read about it and liked the idea of it.
Once I started meditating…
…everything changed.
I discovered a peace and stillness at the core of my busy life.
I found a new way of being and doing and mothering.
I realized I could respond much more skillfully to my children ~ even when they were driving me crazy!
I learned to be kind and compassionate to myself.
I knew that mindfulness had transformed me as a mother.
I knew I should start teaching this to others.
frequently-asked questions
Is this a self-paced course?
Yes and no. The course content will be made available each week over four weeks, and in the Facebook group and weekly Q&A’s we will be referencing current topics. But you are always your own best teacher, and if you don’t have time to do a particular exercise, or you fall behind in the content, that’s okay! The Facebook group will remain open after the course ends, and you will have access to the online course through the end of 2015.
How much time will this course take?
Plan to spend about 15 minutes a day on the course content (videos, “funsheets,” or written material), plus time for your personal practice. I recommend people start slowly with mindfulness, so we’ll start with just five minutes a day. Each week I’ll encourage you to increase your daily practice time — but ultimately, how much time you spend is up to you. You are your own best teacher!
Will I have to be online at a certain time to do this course?
No. Each Monday you will be able to access the entire week’s content. You can login to the course at any time to view videos, access audio meditations, and read the content.
Do I have to join the Facebook group? Will I miss out on content if I don't join?
No. A lot of powerful sharing happens in online communities, but participation on Facebook is completely optional. All course content will be delivered via the online site — no additional content will be shared in the Facebook group that isn’t available to all participants.
How is Mindfulness for Mothers different from other online midnfulness courses?
Many online mindfulness classes are completely self-directed — once you sign up, you get a series of emails, videos, or audio files, and that’s it. You’re on your own to figure out how to fit it into your life, and there’s no opportunity for connection with others or your instructors.
In Mindfulness for Mothers, you’ll go through the course with a community of mothers — you can ask questions and share comments on the course page and connect with others beginning their mindfulness journey. You’ll also have lots of opportunities to ask me questions and get feedback from me — which you don’t always get in other online courses.
What qualifies you to teach mindfulness?
I have practiced and studied mindfulness for several years. I currently teach mindfulness to children, teens, and adults. I have been trained in the
Mindful Schools curriculum and
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and I have completed a 300-hour, year-long training program to become a
Mindful Schools Certified Instructor. I taught high school for 17 years — the many courses I have taught include
Psychology and
World Religions. Additionally, I write about mindfulness on my popular blog
Left Brain Buddha, which has over 25,000 unique visitors each month. As the Executive Director of Brilliant Mindfulness, I teach mindfulness to students, teachers, parents, and children.
Will this course get rid of all my stress and make me a happy mama all the time?
No. Mindfulness is not a cure-all. It does not eliminate the stressors in our lives. The power of mindfulness comes from
learning to live in wise relationship with our thoughts and emotions. Studies indicate that people who practice mindfulness
do experience less stress and report greater levels happiness. That said, no one is happy all the time, and no one can avoid stressful events! As with many things in life, your mileage with mindfulness may vary. But this course will give you
brilliant guidance and direction for the journey!
I like to say that mindfulness transforms how we relate to our life — and that’s life-changing!
Is there anyone who shouldn't take this course?
This course isn’t for everyone. Specifically, this course may not be for you if:
- you are looking for a course with a strong religious component (either Buddhist, Christian, or something else)
- you are not willing to put in the time to practice mindfulness
- you are struggling with significant depression or anxiety and are not currently in treatment — if this is the case, I strongly encourage you to contact a mental health provider (this course is not intended to replace therapy or other mental health services)
I'm a dad. Can I take this course?
Certainly! As a mother, I write a lot about motherhood and mindfulness has been a core component in developing my identity as a mother. The examples I use come from my experiences as a mom, and the course content is written with mothers in mind. That said, anyone who is a caregiver — moms, dads, grandparents — can benefit from developing a mindfulness practice and exploring how taking care of children is an important part of that practice.
I really just want to learn how to teach my kids mindfulness. Can I take that part of the course alone?
The most important way we teach our kids mindfulness is through practicing it ourselves. I strongly believe that we must cultivate our own practice before we try to teach it to others. In the first four weeks of the course, we will lay the groundwork for personal practice, develop a common vocabulary and understanding of mindfulness, and explore mindfulness in the specific context of parenting. This is an important “prerequisite,” and therefore Mindful Mama, Mindful Monkeys is only available as an add-on to Mindfulness for Mothers.
What's your cancellation policy? Do you offer refunds?
You can cancel up until the day before the course begins and receive a full refund —
email me here to request one. Once the course begins, if you decide that the class isn’t right for you, you can request to cancel your registration, no questions asked. This must be done by the end of Week One, and you will receive a full refund.
No refunds will be issued after Week One.
testimonials
This is the first-ever session of Mindfulness for Mothers, but you can read what participants in my popular course Brilliant Mindful YOU say about my classes:
I'm filled with more joy and wonder than I have ever known!
“After my divorce, life got away from me. I was depressed, stressed, anxious, and had to handle all those rampant emotions while also caring for my two children, both under the age of five, as a new single parent. Through Sarah’s course, I was able to recognize and acknowledge those negative feelings and let them go.
Mindfulness helps me be more patient and tolerant with my children, it helps me notice more of the world around me, and consequently fills me with more joy and wonder than I have ever known.”
– Arwen M., 2015 course participant
a brilliant mix of research, inspiration, tips, and tools
“Sarah is a gifted instructor who fills this rich course with knowledge, humor, compassion, and wisdom. She introduces mindfulness to students with enthusiasm, generosity, and insight. Sarah makes it realistic to begin or deepen a meditation practice, and, what’s more,
she educates and inspires course participants to awaken to the real value of mindfulness in our daily lives.”
– Stephanie Sprenger, 2015 course participant and writer at Mommy, For Real
Things seem much more manageable now!
“I am a full time teacher and mother to a 17-year-old son with special needs. My nerves are quite often frayed and at times I struggle to cope with my son’s unpredictable mood swings at. This course has really
helped me to calm myself when my son loses control. Things seem much more manageable now.”
Jeanne, 2015 course participant
The next session begins in March 2016
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“Being a parent compounds stress by orders of magnitude…. It challenges us as never before, and takes our time and attention away from other things, including ourselves, as never before. It creates chaos and disorder, feelings of inadequacy, occasions for arguments, struggles, irritation, noise, seemingly never-ending obligations and errands, and plenty of opportunities for getting stuck, angry, resentful, hurt, and for feeling overwhelmed, old, and unimportant…
Children give us the opportunity to share in the vibrancy of life itself in ways we would not touch if they were not part of our lives. Especially when children are young, our job as a parent is to be there for them and, as best we can, nurture them and protect them so that they are free to experience the innocence and genius of childhood, gently providing what guidance we can out of our own heart and our own wisdom…” {emphasis added..}
Several years ago, as I struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety, I began to read about mindfulness. Of course! I thought, I just need to be more mindful! Thank goodness I read this book!
