When we give birth, the elements of Space and Air are elevated by the fast shift from being pregnant to mama and baby's bodies parting.

Last year at this time, I listened to a wonderful talk by Jackie Dobrinska at Jubilee! Community Church in Asheville. Her message was one that I needed to hear: In this season, life is supposed to be hard. Winter has been dark and cold; we’re running out of resources. But we are also incubating, nurturing seeds that will grow in Spring. Just when it seems unbearable, February arrives, and we get hints that light is returning, and temperatures will rise. Hope swells within us

As we near the end of January and the excitement of the holidays settles, I am enjoying this New Year's wish that a friend here in Spain recently sent me. I worked with Google Translate ;) to send it to you, along with a big hug: "I do not wish you a wonderful year in which everything is good. That is a magical, childish, utopian thought. I wish to encourage you to look at yourself, and to love yourself as you are. I wish you enough self-love to fight many battles, and the

Most of the words we use to talk about becoming a mother evoke the season of Spring: blossoming, birthing, blooming, joy, wonder, radiance, etc. However, a hidden, yet inextricable, piece of the postpartum journey for new moms is letting go. In this season of Autumn, nature is showing us how to release and retreat within. For many new mamas, one of the most challenging shifts is related to self-identity. Gone are the days of total independence, control over your to-do list

As I work with families and their new babies, two things often strike me: New parents don’t know how to ask for help, and Friends, family and community members of new families don’t know how to offer help that is actually needed. In the past, and in many indigenous societies, there were social agreements that allowed people to impose order on their world, thereby feeling safe in it. The two things listed above leave everyone feeling like they are in limbo, not sure what to do

I recently saw the movie “Tully” and I can’t stop thinking about it. After mulling it over, I am left unsure if Tully actually existed or if she was a figment of Marlo’s (the postpartum mom played by Charlize Theron) psychosis, awakening within her the young woman she used to be. This is the same feeling I had after watching “A Beautiful Mind.” I replayed each moment, trying to separate the actual reality from reality perceived by the main character. The preview seemed like