Welcome,
Let's start by settling into stillness,
Whatever that looks like for you today.
Choosing a position that speaks to you right now.
You could be sitting,
Lying down or holding your baby close.
Let the breath arrive here without effort.
Taking note of the sound of your breath,
In and out and again slower this time,
Inhale and exhale.
This is a space for what's real,
The feelings that have followed you through the day.
The ones that sat beside you in the nursery,
The ones that crept in after the door closed and silence fell,
There's a word for the heaviness you've been carrying,
It's called mum guilt.
And it has a way of weaving itself into the smallest cracks,
In the pause between your baby's cry and your response,
In the moment your patience wore thin,
In the forgotten text messages,
The skipped shower,
The screen time,
The bottle,
The tears,
Yours or theirs.
Mum guilt doesn't arrive because you're failing,
It arrives because you care,
Because you're trying to do everything right,
In a world that doesn't often stop to care for you in return.
Let the breath move gently now,
Down into your belly,
Into the place where all that guilt has taken root,
Breathe into it with kindness and let it know it's been heard.
Mum guilt is quiet and clever,
It often tells you you're too much and not enough in the same breath,
It loops through your mind at night,
Replaying what you should have done differently,
But it forgets to remind you of what you did right,
Of how many times you showed up,
Of how deeply you love,
There may be anger or moments of overwhelm,
Tears that came too fast or silences that lasted too long,
All of that belongs here too.
Breathe into the chest and let the exhale release,
Picture yourself standing in front of a mirror,
Not to look at the body but to witness the woman,
The one who gets up again,
The one who keeps trying,
Even when trying feels invisible.
Now,
Place a hand over your heart and feel its rhythm,
Feel the warmth beneath the skin,
There is wisdom here,
There is goodness.
You are not a bad mother for feeling tired or for snapping or for needing some space,
You are simply human and being human is still enough to be a wonderful mother.
Let that settle in,
Breathing the energy into your body and breathing out the mum guilt,
Stay here for a moment longer,
Not to solve anything but to soften the sharp edges,
To let the body know it's allowed to rest,
To give the heart space to unclench,
The breath is still here and the light is still within you,
Even on the days when it feels really dim,
When it feels right let movement gently return into your body,
Fluttering your eyelashes just slowly,
To open your eyes and come back to the room.
The weight of guilt may still be present but you don't have to carry it in the exact same way,
You're allowed to lay some of it down right here,
Right now.
Thank you for joining today's session.
