Zen(ish) Mommy

Kaajal Agnani on LinkedIn
Kaajal Agnani on Instagram
Boundless Blooms

Raising the Next Generation of ‘Kindful’ Human Beings with Kaajal Agnani

Episode S4E2: Show Notes.

Studies suggest that mindfulness affects many aspects of our psychological well being; improving our mood, increasing positive emotions, and decreasing our anxiety, emotional reactivity, and job burnout. From their earliest moments, mindfulness can help kids to experience less anxiety, and feel happier. Today’s guest, Kaajal Agnani, is all about equipping parents to teach and model mindfulness behavior with their kids. She uses the term ‘kindful’ to encompass the emotional intelligence and thoughtful behavior that mindfulness cultivates in kids. Her thoughts on mindfulness changed once she had become a parent and noticed her child’s natural inclination towards presence and curiosity. During our conversation, she shares how she empowers parents to nurture this in their children while unlearning the patterns which prevent them from staying mindful as adults. Learn how Kaajal prioritizes mindfulness with her own family, and find out what’s next for her business, with the goal to create, inspire and uplift others at its heart. Kaajal also walks us through two mindfulness practices to give us a taste of what she teaches. Stay tuned all the way to the end to receive a special gift from Kaajal today!

Key Points From This Episode:

An introduction to today’s guest, Kaajal Agnani, and her work teaching parents mindfulness.
Her focus on raising the next generation of ‘kindful’ human beings who are kind and mindful.
Kaajal’s observation that kids are inherently curious and full of wonder.
How life’s many distractions prevent us from nurturing the ability to stay present.
Benefits mindfulness gives us: improving emotional intelligence, connection, and regulation.
Kaajal’s journey with mindfulness and what prevented her from nurturing these skills.
The skill of mindfulness and why it needs to be practiced regularly to reap results.
Why teaching mindfulness is also showing kids that they have the opportunity to learn.
Integrating mindfulness practices into your day as a family.
Small ways to use your senses and be in the present moment with your children.
Bringing childlike wonder to every situation to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life.
Why mindfulness is extremely broad and always comes down to being present.
What is on the horizon for Boundful Blooms: the Good Morning and Good Evening books, Spanish translations, and to continue creating products that inspire and uplift.
Why mindfulness is especially necessary after the pandemic.
Kaajal walks us through the Hoppy Bunny mindfulness practice.
Why everything in the stack has been designed to be customized.
Kaajal walks us through The Rays of Sunshine exercise for bedtime.
A discount code for all listeners: slowdown.
Kaajal invites listeners to engage with her on social media.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Back to School Mindfulness - Breath Technique to share with your kids!

Zen(ish) Mommy

08/04/22 • 1 min

Back to School Mindfulness: Breathing

Welcome to the Zen(ish) Mommy’s Back to School Mindfulness series, where we discover tools to help your kiddo to manage the stress and anxiety that comes with going to school. Moms, remember that you can use these techniques too! Today, we’re talking about breathing, more specifically, the Seven to Eleven breath technique, an easy-to-remember practice to down regulate, shift your nervous system, and stabilize your energy. During today’s mini episode, you’ll learn a tool you can immediately implement to communicate to the body that it is safe and can release some of the stress that it is holding. Join us today to add this technique to your mindfulness toolkit!

Key Points From This Episode:

An introduction to our series on mindfulness in schools.
What it aims to do: equip you with tips and tricks to help your kiddo manage stress.
A reminder that you can use these techniques in your own life as a mom too.
The method we will be discussing today: the Seven to Eleven breath technique.
What it aims to do: down regulate, shift our nervous system, and stabilize our energy.
How to do it: inhale for a breath of seven, and exhale for a count of 11.
How this method communicates to the body that it is safe and can release stress.
Jessica encourages listeners to reach out and let her know how this method worked.

Tweetables:

“This counting forces the kids—and the moms—to focus more on slowing their breathing down, to really down regulate their nervous system, to tell their body it’s safe, and that we can really let go of some of that stress.” — The Zen Mommy [0:01:01]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Women often struggle with stress, sleep, and anxiety; How one woman was able to Press Pause on stress and take back her life. Dawn Fable founder of Press Pause Project, a women centered CBD company.

Zen(ish) Mommy

07/29/22 • 35 min

The Zen ish Mommy Podcast
The Zen Mommy on Instagram
Dawn Fable on LinkedI

Today we speak with Dawn Fable, a busy mom whose history with generalized anxiety lead her to incorporate a daily CBD regimen into her life, and later start a project to deliver a range of female-focused CBD projects to women in the same boat. You’ll hear why CBD has become so popular, and the science of how it works to optimize your health, reduce anxiety and soothe pain. Dawn offers some practical advice on being consistent in your daily cycle, and shares how she used CBD to reduce the symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, before telling us about Press Pause’s aim to provide quality CBD products and educate women on the benefits of CBD. She discusses how she learned that we are all having an internal struggle, and how our vulnerability and openness can empower others, and reveals how ‘pressing pause’ has allowed her to feel present and enjoy the simple things. We look at the issues that Dawn has identified that women disproportionately struggle with and Press Pause’s lifestyle and ritualistic product range that caters towards women. Dawn highlights that each woman is different and CBD products can be a preferred treatment method or a complement to pharmaceuticals, and tells us which of the products in her range she uses herself: the healing balm, tea, the sleep range, and the tincture. Next, she gives listeners some helpful tips on how to vet their CBD products and touches on the government and larger bodies’ involvement in the CBD industry before exploring the government’s regulation of CBD for over 18s only. Dawn predicts that there will be a greater normalization of natural ingredients in the world of health products, and offers a starting point for new users: topicals for tension, bath bombs for self care, and tinctures for the full benefits. We hope you tune in for an inspiring episode today.

Key Points From This Episode:

Why CBD has become so popular: people are desperate for natural solutions to feel better.
Why CBD reduces anxiety and soothes pain.
Why, in order to get the full benefits of CBD, it needs to be consistent in your daily cycle.
How Dawn used CBD to resolve the symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Press Pause’s aim to provide quality CBD products and educate women on its benefits.
How ‘pressing pause’ has allowed Dawn to feel present and enjoy the simple things.
How CBD has helped to take the edge off the little things that would become inflated.
Issues that women disproportionately struggle with: anxiety, inflammation, stress, tension, inability to sleep, lack of sex drive.
Press Pause’s lifestyle and ritualistic product range that caters towards women.
How each woman is different and CBD is a choice or a complement to pharmaceuticals.
Hear from Dawn about the intimate range and how it supports women’s sex lives.
The products Dawn benefits from: healing balm, tea, the sleep range, and the tincture.
How her family experiences a better version of her when she is using CBD.
How to vet your CBD products: check for a COA on their website, check the ingredients.
The government and larger bodies’ involvement in the CBD industry.
Dawn’s mission to normalize mental health and help women not to feel alone.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Are you a racist? Last year had many of us asking that very question. Join philanthropist and leader in the black community, Katara Mccarty and we discuss wellness, racism, and how we can help.

Zen(ish) Mommy

07/25/22 • 49 min

The Zen ish Mommy Podcast

Many of us understand the importance of yoga and mindfulness. But when you do not have basic necessities like food, shelter, and visibility, you will have difficulty accessing your consciousness. Over the past summer, with growing food lines, police brutality, and a political divide that rocked the country to its core, we saw the struggles that Black and brown communities face being played out time and again. Katara Mccarty has made it her life’s mission to reach out to Black, indigenous, and women of color through her speaking, writing, and philanthropic work. 2020 gave her the fuel to redirect her focus, bringing mindfulness techniques to Black and brown communities through her app, EXHALE. In this conversation, Katara opens up about how being adopted by a Black mother and accepted into the community led her to philanthropic work. We talk about her experience of running a truly inclusive church, given that a lot of organized religion is not accepting of everyone. Our conversation then moves onto systemic racism, where we touch on how we, as individuals, can work to dismantle it, and the power that comes with being open to learning. As we wrap up, we touch on the wellness space and how, through its whiteness, it excludes and can even harm marginalized communities. Taking apart systemic racism is not easy, and we might feel as though we have no part to play. Our actions do not have to be perfect. However, if we approach change with vulnerability and humility, we can make a difference.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Why Katara struggled with a sense of belonging despite having a supportive community.

• The story of Katara’s spiritual journey and how she met her husband.

• The importance of acknowledging the systemic racism that we are upholding.

• Why sitting in neutral and saying you are not racist does not create change.

• It's not that systemic racism does not benefit Black and brown people; it literally kills them.

• Why Katara believes that anti-racism is a practice rather than an endpoint.

• We have to be willing to change and evolve and accept that it will be messy.

• The work that the yoga and mindfulness spaces have to do to be more inclusive.

• Difficulties that Black and brown women have in predominantly white wellness spaces.

• When we think about antiracism, it’s about Black and brown liberation.

• We need to move past an all-or-nothing mentality; there is a full spectrum in between.

• Katara’s impetus for starting the EXHALE app and the feedback she has received.

• How Katara believes we can educate our children about racism; we can learn with them.

• We need brave spaces, not safe spaces for Black and brown people.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

The Zen Mommy on Instagram

Katara McCarty

Katara McCarty on Instagram

‎Red Lips & Eye Rolls Podcast

'EXHALE App Supports Emotional Wellbeing Of Black Women'

Fannie Lou Hamer

Orgasm Your Way to a Better Life with Kim Anami

Zen(ish) Mommy

07/16/22 • 44 min

The Zen ish Mommy Podcast
Zen Mommy on Instagram

Liberating Your Life Force Energy through Orgasm with Kim Anami

Welcome back Moms to this thrilling episode with the Vaginal Kungfu Master, Kim Anami. Join us today to learn why Kim's mantra is, "If I can do it, you can do it", and how she is fighting the status quo about sexuality and motherhood in Western cultures. From her wealth of knowledge, Kim educates us about how sex can be used to rebirth and recharge us, and how when you feel you don’t have the time for it is when you need it most! She takes us through what we should expect from our partners and how we can teach them to respect female sexuality (and more!). From the traumatic birth process to how mainstream medicine doesn't address the underlying cause, this episode has it all. We learn about Kim's journey to realizing that sexuality and God are not mutually exclusive concepts, and how she has learned to liberate her life force through orgasm. She takes us through her teachings and the courses available to listeners and gives personal advice on when you should demand more from your partner. Tune in to find out how self-realization equates to the Well-fucked woman, and why it is your right as a mother to embrace your sexuality.

Key Points From This Episode:

Welcome to holistic sex and relationship coach, writer, and vaginal Kungfu master, Kim Anami.
What “Anami” means in Sanskrit and how Kim identifies with it.
How women are impacted by God and sexuality not meeting in western cultures.
Why you should see sex as rebirth and a chance to recharge.
How the current birth process takes the power away from women and is a traumatic situation.
Defining the Well-fucked woman: what you don’t know you don’t know.
Hear some of the highlights of Kim’s sexual savant salons.
Kim’s mantra: “If I can do it, you can do it”.
How Kim created her life through her vagina.
Why people latch onto the victim mentality and push back against the Anami Guarantee.
Find out about the four orgasms for women-centered around the vulva and vagina: clitoral, G-spot, cervical and ejaculatory.
Liberating the life force energy through orgasm.
How bad sex takes women’s power away and what you can do to educate your man.
Resources to overcome the overarching narrative of women having sex to placate the man.
Find out how you can use sex to feel uplifted.
The five courses Kim offers: Vaginal Kungfu; Coming Together for Couples; How to be a Well-fucked Woman; Sexual Mastery for Men; and Sexual Mama.
What Kim’s courses can teach you about yourself and your partner.
How Kim became the Vaginal Kungfu Master.
One take-away Kim wants you to remember from this episode.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kim Anami's Website

Kim Anami on YouTube

Kim Anami on Instagram

The Zen Mommy

Have you ever been described as "too"; too much, too sensitive, too overwhelmed; you may be a Highly Sensitive Individuals

Zen(ish) Mommy

07/15/22 • 44 min

The Highly Sensitive Person

Raising Highly Sensitive Children with Amy Vasterling

If you or your child are easily overwhelmed by things like bright lights, coarse fabrics, and intense smells, and you have been described as too much, too sensitive, or too intensive, there is a chance you could be a highly sensitive person. Today's guest, Amy Vasterling, is a highly sensitive individual, who is navigating raising highly sensitive children, and she shares some incredible insights with us. We learn more about what high sensitivity means and the character traits that are synonymous with it. Being highly sensitive is not a disorder, and we must shift the paradigm to view it for its strengths rather than simply trying to make people fit into narrow boxes. Amy shares her own journey of learning about being highly sensitive, as well as examples of how her children benefitted when they were given the space they needed and allowed to tune into their intuition. As work on parenting techniques continues to expand and information becomes more accessible, we are in a position to constantly learn and grow as parents so we can be there for our children in the way they need. If you think that your child might be highly sensitive, this show is essential listening!

Key Points From This Episode:

• A look into what it means to be a highly sensitive child.

• Why highly sensitive people often are not categorized.

• Most highly sensitive adults will either be INFJ or ENFP personality types.

• Some of the skills that highly sensitive people typically have.

• Why high sensitivity is not a disorder, but rather an evolutionary necessity.

• The importance of letting highly sensitive people process things on their own time.

• An example of how Amy gave her daughter the room she needed in a specific situation.

• Highly sensitive children know the path of least resistance and know what they need to do.

• Being conditioned into doing things you don’t like sets you up to not speak for yourself.

• Moving past the belief that high sensitivity is a problem.

• Amy’s journey of discovering that she was a highly sensitive person.

• How Amy believes being a highly sensitive person has helped her as a businessperson.

• What you can do if you suspect you have a highly sensitive child.

• The two parenting techniques that work well for highly sensitive children.

• How parents can model behavior for highly sensitive children.

• Some of the work that Amy is doing with highly sensitive children.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Amy Vasterling

Sensitive The Movie

Making Work Work for the Highly Sensitive Person

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen

Love & Logic

Empath Mama

The Zen ish Mommy Podcast

The Zen Mommy on Instagram

Become a Luscious Mother with Sarah Olin from LUMO

Zen(ish) Mommy

07/05/22 • 38 min

Sarah Olin on LinkedIn
Luscious Mother

Hey Mamas! Today we’re going to slow down and talk about the area of women in business. Here to guide our conversation is Sarah Olin, CEO and founder of Luscious Mother, whose mission is to support women in their pursuit and creation of great lives, however they define them. Listeners will hear all about the genesis of Sarah’s company, and what she considers to be ‘luscious’. Sarah tells us about the greatest gifts that coaching has given her, why it is so important to advocate for yourself, and how the pandemic has made everyone more equipped to succeed in the workplace. Sarah assures listeners that things are actually looking promising in the work landscape, where people are eager to hire great women. You’ll hear all about LUMO’s goals, and why Sarah believes that women should be asking for whatever it is that they need, unapologetically. She encourages us to remove imagined barriers to what you want to create and tells us how loving people helps them to see their own greatness. Join us today to hear all this and more!

Key Points From This Episode:

An introduction to today’s guest, Sarah Olin, coach, CEO and founder of Luscious Mother.
Her background in teaching yoga and how she still integrates a yoga practice into her life.
Why she believes that all spiritual paths lead us to where it is that we want to go.
How she talks about becoming a mother as the most ordinary extraordinary thing you can do.
‘Luscious Mother’ and how her company came to be, before changing it to ‘LUMO’.
The story of how she put together a team of dynamic women to start the company.
What she considers to be ‘luscious’ and how that differs between people.
Why she thinks that the younger generation is doing a great job: they have boundaries!
How the pandemic has shifted priorities by limiting the list of responsibilities we all have.
One of the greatest gifts coaching has given her: the understanding that she can’t do it all!
Advocating for yourself and asking for what we want as an essential skill to win at work.
How the pandemic has made everyone more equipped to succeed in the workplace.
Why the landscape is looking good at the moment: employers want to hire great women!
What women should be asking for: whatever it is that they need, unapologetically!
Sarah’s advice to ask for what you want and check it with a savvy friend.
The extraordinary freedom that can be found in clear boundaries and why clear is kind.
Removing imagined barriers to what you want to create and how loving people helps them to see their own greatness.
LUMO’s mission: personal and professional development, putting women back in the driver’s seat of their lives.
Why Sarah’s focus is on creating the best experience, with more joy for all women.
The importance of knowing what’s important to you and that you’re doing it, or working towards doing it.
Sarah recommends a book to Jessica and listeners: Essentialism.
What dinnertime looks like at Sarah’s house: ‘high low, buffalo’ and gratitudes.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Essentialism

The Zen Mommy

Compassionate care with doula Katy Kelley

Zen(ish) Mommy

06/12/22 • 35 min

A Compassionate Presence for Every Birth with Doula Katy Kelley

Today’s guest is doula, Katy Kelley, who has supported hundreds of couples as they brought babies into the world. We start the conversation with a definition for the word doula, which means a mother mothering, and Katy shares with listeners that she has learned something new at every birth, which she takes to the next couple. We dive into the four cornerstones of her practice: nurture, support, education, and celebration, and she describes the labour prep classes she offers in the privacy of a couple’s home. Find out why she believes that the birthing experience has become such an anxious time, why it is important to trust the birth process, and her belief that it is divinely planned, as Katy shares her advice that listeners be team players and trust the healthcare practitioners assisting you through your birth. Katy tells the story of the most meaningful birth experience she has had and what the journey to becoming a doula entails, as well as why she chose to become a childbirth educator. Learn how she aims to empower couples when she educates them leading up to a birth, what a doula can’t do in a birthing process, and how she uses essential oils and acupressure for pain relief. She also reveals her amazing success rate with vaginal births after C sections and tells us about the importance of educating yourself, knowing the medical field, and knowing that it is your experience in order to move through it in a relaxed manner. In closing, she shares some things that can make the birth experience more positive, including music, angel massage, reiki, and more. We hope you join us to hear from this highly experienced practitioner today!

Key Points From This Episode:

The Greek definition of the word doula, which means a mother mothering.
How many births Katy has been present for: hundreds and hundreds.
How, through each birth, she learns something new to take to the next couple.
The four cornerstones of her practice: nurture, support, education, and celebration.
Her overall purpose to provide a positive environment.
Why there is increased anxiety during the birthing experience: electromagnetic fields, stress, and not embracing the present moment.
The importance of trusting the birth process and the belief that it is divinely planned.
Why it is important to be a team player and trust the rest of the team.
The most meaningful birth experience Katy has had: seeing her granddaughter being born.
The journey to becoming a doula and why she chose to become a childbirth educator.
How she aims to empower couples when she educates them leading up to a birth.
What a doula can’t do in a birthing process: birth the baby, mandated care, pain relief.
How she uses essential oils and acupressure for pain relief.
Why a doula can be helpful for any kind of birth.
Katy’s acronym for the word doula: devoted, observing, understanding, loving, and attentive.
Why you have to have a connection with your doula.
Katy’s amazing success rate with vaginal births after C sections.
The importance of educating yourself, knowing the medical field, and trusting in your experience in order to move through it in a relaxed manner.
Making the experience more positive with music, essential oils, angel massage, and reiki.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Katy Kelley on LinkedIn

Good health begins with your Feet, featuring Dr. Emily Splichal

Zen(ish) Mommy

06/07/22 • 44 min

Naboso
Vivo Barefoot
Xero Shoes
Feelgrounds
Flux Footwear

Hey Mama, have you ever heard the term ‘grounded’? You might already know what that means, but that doesn’t always make it easy to get there. So, how important are our feet to our overall wellness? Today’s guest, Dr Emily Splichal, is a podiatrist, human movement specialist and leader in barefoot science, focusing on functional and regenerative medicine. She believes that we hold the power to our own health and wellbeing in our own hands and this approach forms the foundation of her work with patients. Tune in to hear her story, and how she supports her patients to understand their own bodies. You’ll hear the science of why the health of your feet is so important, and listen to plenty of powerful practical advice to help you care for them. Dr Splichal introduces us to a few of the products she has designed to help you to do just that, and offers listeners some tips on how to integrate foot care into our daily routines. We touch on caring for our children’s feet and do a deep dive into foot health during all three trimesters. Join us today to hear more!

Key Points From This Episode:

An introduction to today’s guest, podiatrist and human movement specialist, Dr Emily Splichal.
Why she recommends seeing multiple doctors for different opinions and then making your own decision.
Why she believes it is so essential to get good at being bad.
How your feet are the mechanical foundation of the body.
Her belief that modern footwear is a lot of the cause of the muscular problems that we see today.
Why she tries to give her patients at least 30 minutes barefoot.
Why it is beneficial to spend time in less structured shoes.
Shoe brands she recommends: Vivo Barefoot, Xero Shoes, Feelgrounds, and more.
Her relationship with high heels at this point in her life.
A brand that is really working for her own child: 2 Tiny Feet.
The importance of the care we do with our feet outside of shoes.
How toe spacers can support your feet by creating space and straightening the digits.
Why you need to work it into your schedule to take care of your feet while doing other things.
Foot health during pregnancy and how best to support it through every trimester.
How insoles, socks, mats, flooring and release tools to integrate the pyramidal texture.
Her goal to force people to be conscious of their feet.
Her definition for feeling grounded and why it is so important to connect with your physical body to find a feeling of aliveness.
The role of movement in connecting you to your body so that you don't lose a part of yourself.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

20% Discount Code: ZEN20

2 Tiny Feet
Dr Emily Splichal
Dr Emily Splichal on Instagram
Dr Emily Splichal on Facebook

Dr Emily Splichal on YouTube

The Zen Mommy

Mom, Slow Down!

What is Mindfulness?

Zen(ish) Mommy

08/18/22 • 4 min

Welcome back to the Zen(ish) Mommy Podcast! During today’s mini-episode, we’re diving into the question of what mindfulness really is. Join us as we explore how to combat the mind’s tendency to keep us stuck in either the past or the future through mindfulness. We start by discussing the benefits of mindfulness found by mindfulnessschools.org, which include decreased stress, increased attention, improved interpersonal relationships, and more! Next, your host, the Zen Mommy, walks listeners through a simple introductory mindfulness technique, making sure to check in with the results in the body before, and after. Join us each week for a new exercise to add to your mindfulness toolkit.

Key Points From This Episode:

What mindfulness truly means: to be in the present moment, without judgment.
How the mind often keeps us stuck in the past or in the future.
Why it is hard to stay present and rooted in reality.
Training our mind to come back to the present moment to feel the sensations that are real.
Results of the research done by mindfulnessschools.org.
Mindfulness benefits: decreased stress and anxiety, increased attention, improved relationships, and more.
Why mindfulness helps teachers to manage stress and find emotional support.
Jessica urges listeners to notice their surroundings, and do a body scan.
She brings our attention to the breath, and to notice where the mind goes.
We check in with the body again and assess the quality of our attention.
How you can teach your kids to do the exercise Jessica has walked listeners through.
Dropping out of the mind and into the physical body through feeling into the body.
An invitation to join us for another mindfulness exercise next week.

Tweetables:

“Mindfulness is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but it truly means to be in the present moment, without judgment.” — Jessica Gershman [0:00:43]

“Feeling into the body - allows us to drop out of the mind and into the physical body.” — Jessica Gershman [0:03:49]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: