Hi, I'm Michelle!
Here's why I do what
I do.
After my third baby, I got a bit fed up with the usual trite and patronizing advice out there for moms.
"Take more time for yourself! Wake up earlier!" and the usual input doesn't work across the board for all stages of motherhood and sets you up to feel like a failure instead of being helpful. "Just worry less" is not a strategy! Moms are being left behind, and as they're slowly drowning they are made to feel like they're just not trying hard enough.
Well, not on my watch.
After working with hundreds of patients as a registered massage therapist and helping people through physical and mental burnout, I decided this was way too common. We are tired of being tired. Clearly, what we're doing isn't working and it's time to change the game.
Imagine a world where everyone knew how to regulate their emotions in a healthy way! Families would be stronger, and the world would be a much kinder place. That's the world I want to help create for families who want it.
Read more of my story below...
A little backstory...
When I was newly married, I woke up one morning and couldn’t move my neck. My whole body felt like I had been hit by a bus. I couldn’t stop crying and feeling emotional, I had multiple cold sores and could barely put a coherent sentence together.
I luckily was soon able to see a naturopathic doctor who helped me figure out that my cortisol was spiked and my immune system couldn’t fight off anything. I was in full on burnout. From then on I have been FASCINATED with how stress has short and long term consequences on your body. Your THOUGHTS can directly have an impact on your health. Isn’t that amazing?
After I had my third child, I became acutely aware of the lack of practical self care strategies for moms in the trenches of motherhood. Sure, you hear, “Sleep when the baby sleeps!” all the time, but that’s not applicable when you have two other young kids that need you too, a disaster of a house and a family to feed. How was I supposed to have any form of self care practice when I didn’t even have the time or energy to shower?
I struggled with keeping my newborn’s weight up, and felt chained to a chair between feeding and pumping. I felt like I was neglecting my other kids and failing every single day. I felt like my own body wasn’t my own, my life wasn’t my own, I went to bed exhausted knowing I’d have a couple hours of sleep to wake up and do it all over again.
That was a lightbulb moment for me. I still have seasons where life feels a little more than I can handle, but combining my education with my experiences into a system to keep my hormones happy and my nervous system regulated has made everything so much simpler. I use what I’ve learned to teach other moms the same thing.
Now, I have 3 kids, we homeschool, I work part-time outside the home on top of building a couple of businesses online, along with animals to take care of. I am no stranger to chaos!
I’ve been practicing massage therapy for almost 10 years. I love to learn everything I can about human anatomy and physiology, combining natural wellness with what I’ve learned. I love to nerd out over it and break it down so you can apply it to your daily life without needing to spend the time and money on a degree or diploma.
When I get overstimulated from all the noise and chaos, when I’m exhausted from sleepless nights with the baby, when the house is a mess and I have too much to get done, I can still feel grounded and parent from a place of joy and create a home filled with peace.
I’m not a perfect parent and I still mess up sometimes. These things don’t come naturally to me. However, because of what I’ve been through and learned along the way, I now have the tools and skills that I can pass on to other moms, so they can have the motherhood experience they long for, without burning out!
Some fun facts
about me!
one
I’m a little bit counter-culture and have a quiet stubborn streak. Basically if the world says, “You can’t do that,” I say “Watch me.” Not in a loud rebellious kind of way, but more in a nod-and-do-what-I-want-anyway kind of way.
two
I love all animals! If I could have a farm full of rescue animals, I would!
three
I love to draw, paint, create designs, take photos, edit videos, decorate and thrift for pretty things, basically anything to flex my creative muscles.
