the weight of the world, an autumn equinox, and baby base layers
matrescence missives #22
As we turn the page on summer, I’m reflecting on all that has taken place this last season, both in the outer and inner realms. I am making sense of new family rhythms and routines and where to focus my energy so it aligns with what matters most right now. While summer is my season and I’m still trying to hold onto the last final moments of it, I’m noticing my body is getting ready to slow down.
I’m ready to do the autumn things that bring us into the kitchen, crafting around the dining room table, and crunching leaves during a crisp morning hike.
Other changes are slightly less welcome. Whether it’s the longer hours logged in front of a computer, or a long-standing physical manifestation of feeling like I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, my neck and head are aching with tension that has come and gone for the last several years since becoming a mother. It’s stuff like this, that we as mothers learn to accommodate in our lives while we’re busy taking care of new humans and careers and households. But if we’re not careful, the chronic aching neck, the lingering birth trauma, and the long periods without solitude can pile on and start to weigh us down while we continue being as productive as we once were, leveraging smart systems, hacks, and multi-tasking to do more and more and more because we can. Until we can’t….
I believe it’s our job as new mothers to notice our ever-expanding responsibilities and the magnitude of the changes taking place while we learn to tune into the signals our body is telling us when we’re at- or over-capacity. If you’re coming from a place where YOU see the value and weight of what you’re doing as a new mother and you can feel it deeply in your bones, then it is SO much easier to understand your current capacity in a realistic way.
This takes practice, untangling from long held cultural narratives, and support. But it’s definitely possible.
So, I’m taking this transition moment between seasons to listen to what my body is telling me. I’m amping up my care team - acupuncture, massage, and making space for more movement. But perhaps more importantly, I’m sitting with the question:
What can I set down right now?
Just because you can “do it all,” doesn’t mean you should, mama.
+ a few favorites for you:
A meditation for this moment:
Autumn Equinox Meditation by Aspen Marino on Insight Timer
A question to ponder:
What can you set down right now?
P.S. It doesn’t mean you’re setting it down forever, just that you don’t need to hold it ALL right now.
A repeat purchase for growing babies this season:
Iksplor Merino Wool base layer Iksplorer set
A quote for the month ahead:
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. -W.B. Yeats
Are you coming up on a new season in your motherhood journey? If so, I’m sharing a resource from my group program - a personal matrescence inventory that walks you through the process of acknowledging all that has shifted since becoming a mother and clarity on areas of your life that are calling for more attention. It’s free for all new mamas. Go ahead, take a peek:
Happy fall,
Lauren
Hi, I’m Lauren - Certified Matrescence Guide, Identity Doula and Mom of two. I help women in the early years of motherhood restore their life force postpartum, redefine what matters most, and redesign their rhythms and routines to navigate this transformational period with less overwhelm and more ease.