Transcript:
Hey mama. Welcome back to Follow Your Gut with me. Sarah Bennett, founder of ōNLē ORGANICS as a mama of four. I've gone through the ups and downs of sleepless nights. Undiagnosed symptoms gotten a complete runaround from the medical system and I've found a different way. No more waiting out your child's symptoms, endlessly Googling in the middle of the.
And feeling lost and alone in your family's wellness. This podcast will empower you to take leadership of your family's wellness. So your family can experience that deep level of health and happiness. You so greatly deserve. I'm so happy you're here. Let's dive into today's episode.
Welcome to episode 24; When Life Gets Hard
During different seasons of motherhood our capacity is different. It ebbs and flows with the needs of our family and to be really honest with you, I am living at my maximum capacity right now. I shared in episode 22 two practices I frequently use to create space in my life but since recording that episode many things in our life have taken unexpected turns. To put it gently, life has gotten really hard. We thought we had a plan but somethings have came up that have forced us to make pretty hard decisions. I will share more as we figure things out because the truth is - there is a lot on the line right now and a lot we don’t know. A lot of what has happened isn’t our information to share but has directly impacted us so while we can’t really share details, I will let you know that none of this is ōNLē related but all matters in our personal life.
I wanted to create this short episode with you for a few reasons. To acknowledge that life is hard sometimes, to be a leader by honoring my own capacity and to share with you how and why I intentionally focus on my family’s gut health even when life is really hard.
As mamas it is so hard when our children have so many questions. When they look to us as their beacon and when we don’t have the answers it can all feel so overwhelming. I don’t know if you thought this when you were a child but gosh. I thought adults had everything all figured out. But here I am as an adult now and ha. I sure as heck don’t have things figured out - no one does. I have decided in my own mothering that it is important to me that my children don’t grow up with this false illusion - so I am purposefully very humble with them. When we show up for our children in this way we actually provide them with more security than if we are dishonest and try to protect them from the discomfort of the unknown. Our children are incredibly intuitive and they know when we are pretending. Even if we have the best of intentions it is always best to simply be humble.
I tell my children that there is a lot I don’t know but when I do I will be sure to include them. I believe it with my whole heart that the universe is always working for us and even though we don’t always know what or why things happen the way they do there is a greater reason and instead of putting on a “we’ve got it all figured out show” for our children we can embrace them in our all knowing faith that we will always be okay. That as their mama our job is to make sure if it and to pivot, expand and open our minds, bodies and hearts to whatever the universe has in store for us. This not only grounds our children, it allows them to love us and themselves even more purely. Our mama confidence radiates through our children. When we lead them in this way we raise children who will grow up to have realistic expectations of themselves. They won’t feel like they are failing when life becomes hard and unknown.
Because we all know the truth is that Life is really darn hard sometimes and when you hit a point of living at your maximum capacity it’s okay and you must trust that life won’t be this way forever. Every mama hits this point time and time again throughout her motherhood and during these times negative thoughts creep in. You have to be intentional and gift yourself space to regain your footing. These times are not great for big decision making. When you are maxed out your natural tendency is to want to fix or change everything but what your heart really needs is space. Let yourself step out of your head into your heart. Go for a walk, cry and cry some more. Don’t push yourself physically, instead nurture your whole being. This is a time to choose yoga over a strenuous workout, tea over coffee and rest over running errands.
There is an audiobook I would love to recommend to you. One that I listen to during times like this and every single time it helps me get clear on what to do to take control of my life and get back on track. To realign myself to live everyday at my full potential instead of my maximum capacity.
Let’s dive into the difference a little . . . Full potential is where you fill everyday with responsibilities that fuel your mama heart and soul while leaving you space to just be. You feel inspired, content and open for expansion. Maximum capacity means you are stretched way too thin, you aren’t enjoying anything because you are carrying too much and you feel almost paralyzed by the weight of everything you are juggling.
The book is You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. I recommend the audio version because the author reads it and those are always the best and because I can just turn it on and head out for a walk and come back home feeling so much better. Sometimes when life gets hard sleep tends to get a bit disrupted so if I wake up in the night with a busy brain I will turn the book on and let Jen Sincero speak to my mind as I move between conscience and sub conscience. In many ways it feels this is a magical way of letting information really sink into my soul without my brain getting in the way.
Now I want to share with you how I am honoring my capacity this week to hopefully inspire you. It starts with letting go. I had a longer podcast in mind that I really wanted to share with you this week but I have to honor my heart and my capacity. With everything going on in my life I knew I didn’t have it in me to record what I originally had in mind. So instead I am sharing this one that feels aligned with where I am in my personal life and what fits within the capacity that I have right now. When life gets hard the number one most important thing we must do is honor our own needs first and be okay doing the bare minimum with everything else. This doesn’t mean we are failing. It simply means we are human.
Before I hop off to take my daughter on a date to a draft horse sanctuary I want to quickly share with you what my bare minimum gut health regiment looks like and why it’s so important for us to stick to it.
When life gets hard it is so easy for everything to slip. Important things like nurturing your family’s gut health. But it is the absolute most important time to stick to at very least a bare minimum regiment and here’s why. Stress, disruptive sleep and the increase of adrenaline are all damaging to the fragile gut bacteria. Your gut is much more likely to become imbalanced during times like these and because your gut is intimately connected to your immune system, hormones and brain it is important to nurture it all the time but especially during hard times. In the moment it feels so much easier to grab some fast food or skip your supplements. But in the end, nurturing your gut will help your hard time pass quicker whereas neglecting your gut health will undoubtedly prolong your hard time.
Here is what my bare minimum regiment looks like. I start by simplifying our menu. I will pick one breakfast, one lunch and three dinners to rotate through. These are meals that are simple to make, my family loves them and they are deeply nourishing. I make a menu plan for the whole week which is something I do during normal circumstances too but it’s especially important to do it during hard times. This week we are having smoothie bowls for breakfast, avocado or hummus rice cakes with fresh veggies and fruit on the side and rotating through my red lentil soup, rice and beans and nourish bowls with roasted veggies for dinner. This does a few things - it makes grocery shopping trips easier and more streamlined. My brain doesn’t have to waste any energy in figuring out meals on the spot and most importantly, it leaves zero space for junk food to creep in when you are maxed and don’t have the capacity to figure out what to feed yourself and children. It’s already done and decided for you and it leaves no other option that to nourish your family in a way that feels aligned with what your mama heart knows is right.
I share all of my simple nourishing recipes in my cookbook Recipes That Nurture Gut Health with the Cycles of the Moon. You can purchase this on my website in pdf or hardback format and it is also an included bonus that you get when you enroll in my course. I will attach a link to it in the show notes for you to explore.
Nurturing a balanced gut does not have to be complicated. In fact that is why I have written my cookbook and created my course. To teach you how so you can nurture your family’s gut even in the hardest of times. It is all easily incorporated into daily life. I decided it all for mamas like me who have a lot going on but know it’s important.
The other part of what is included in my bare minimum regiment is making sure we double up on our Cleanse and Nourish. So a small dose in the morning and a small dose before bed. These help keep the gut bacteria balanced. Lastly, I make certain to not miss a dose of Balance CBD as it supports all of my other bodily systems in maintaining balance.
My friend, please don’t ever think any other mama has it all figured out. It can be so darn easy for our minds to fool us. Especially when we see all of the good and beautiful on social media everyday. Behind those photos though are mamas just like you trying their best to figure life out. I’m glad we are in this figuring out motherhood thing together. I’ll see you next time.
Thank you so much for tuning in today. Before you go, something you should know is that everything I share on this show is also applicable to you, not just your child.
And did you know, I started only organics as a way to create and share the absolute best quality supplements and products that support gap balance shop onleorganics.com. That's www.onleorganics.com. Lastly, I always wanna be very transparent that I am not a doctor nutritionist or dietician.
I'm a certified family health coach, and most importantly, a mama with a passion sharing my story and the products and practices that have brought abundant health and happiness to my own family. Please always listen to your own inner voice of wisdom and your healthcare professional. I'll see you next time.
