The Happy Mama Movement with Amy Taylor-Kabbaz Amy Taylor-Kabbaz

In this episode Amy takes a moment to reflect on ten years of coaching mothers, and both her personal journey to get to this point, and how she sees the focus on mothers changing.
Just a few short months after becoming a mother 16 years ago, Amy started writing and researching the question: what happens to us?
Why does it feel this way? How can we do it better?
And since then, she's listened to thousands of hours of coaching and interviews, with both experts and mamas around the world.
But, as she shares in this episode, she's also had to find her own confidence and voice.
How can you talk about motherhood when no-one really respects it as a professional focus?
How can you stand up and speak out when you don't think you have the answers?
How do you keep going when you're dealing with your own inner turmoil?
And, most important of all, are we making any difference?
The answer? yes. In small and big ways. And we can't stop now!
May this episode be both an inspiration and a reminder that we are all in this together -
imperfect but activated and committed to changing the support and understanding of mothers. 



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Throughout a woman's life, she experiences so many metaphorsis and change - and until very recently, most of these have been hidden and unspoken. Like matrescence - and menopause.
Why is that? Why is it that we, as a society, have kept so many of these huge transformations hidden? And what does that do to a woman as she experiences it?
And imagine if you were experiencing not one, but TWO of them at the same time?
That's what today's podcast episode is all about.
CiCi shares her story of finding her passion for women’s wellness following the birth of her first child; when the intensity of becoming a mother left her struggling to find herself within it all. By the time she had her second child in her early 40s, she was navigating postpartum alongside perimenopause. 
 
It was then that her passion for finding balance, led her to qualify as a yoga teacher, earning specialisations in Restorative and Menopause Yoga. As she pursued her own healing, she qualified as a Health Coach from The College of Naturopathic Medicine and became an ICF accredited Mama Rising Facilitator, specialising in matrescence.
 
As The M Coach, she now helps women transform their journey through motherhood and peri/menopause by guiding them into becoming the expert over their own journey and hormones. She is passionate about helping women find the evolution that exists within the menopause transition but also ensuring women feel knowledgeable about what happens to their body hormonally throughout their life. Through her honest & compassionate approach she provides a safe space to explore these difficult transitions throughout a woman’s life. 
⁠In the journey of motherhood, we often find ourselves carrying heavy burdens—the weight of our own struggles, the hopes and fears of our children, and the responsibilities we bear. Let alone the societal expectations and the overwhelming stress of being in the world at large. 
Imagine setting down the burden of these backpacks full to brimming with all these concerns and responsibilities we've been carrying for so long, taking a moment to breathe, and sorting through each item with intention. 
What's essential? 
What's worth carrying forward? 
What's better left behind?
It's a powerful metaphor for embracing motherhood with a lighter heart and a brighter outlook. We don't have to carry every burden alone. It's okay to let go of what no longer serves us, to travel light, and to embrace the beauty of the road ahead.
SPECIAL OFFER:
Cici is offering a 20% discount off her 90-minute MOT when they use the code HAPPYMAMA. These sessions begin identifying what may be causing issues in your hormonal journey and how they can begin to feel better.
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS WEEKS PODCAST GUEST CICI GOKTAS HERE:
Website: www.themcoach.co⁠
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Instagram: @the.m.coach
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In today's Take the Mic episode, we hand our mic over to Elena.
Elena bravely shares her experience of matrescence, and her vision now for her work - and in particular, her desire to create a space for the mothers in her community and in her country to be vulnerable about their own experience, free from judgement.
But as she asks so beautifully in this episode... how can you create that for others when you don't even have the words for it yourself yet?
How can you support other women's experience of anger, maternal rage, overwhelm and inner doubt, when you are still unsure where it has come from yourself?
And so, like so many of these phenomenal women, she started with herself.
Elena Sánchez Martín is a dance and movement therapist, Mama Rising Facilitator, and founder of Mamasenda, an emerging mother support project based in Northern Germany. Through her body-oriented therapy, coaching, and workshops, Elena helps mothers find their path to a fulfilling and self-determined everyday life. With her work, she aims to contribute to the cultural and social change needed for mothers to be seen, valued, and supported as she believes they deserve: with respect and without the pressure of unattainable ideals. 
Elena lives in Bremen with her 3-year-old daughter and her husband. She loves dance, small improvised daily rituals, and the changing seasons that remind her that life has its ups and downs but light always follows darkness. Elena is driven by a strong will to create a more peaceful world for our children and future generations.
If you want to know more about Elena and Mamasenda, please visit her website, follow her on Instagram and feel free to get in touch! Please note that both Website and social media are in German, since she is not (yet) offering her work on-line. 
www.mamasenda.de
https://www.instagram.com/mamasenda_bremen/

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We've spoken with a number of relationship and sex experts over the years on this podcast - and there's a reason for that.
Babies can change so much. For both partners.
How do we connect after so much has changed? How do we even know what we want anymore when our bodies feel so different and the time and space we had for our partner has evaporated?
The truth is, intimacy and sexual connection can - and often does - take a back seat for the early years.
But when you finally do have the space, time and energy to start exploring this important part of yourself again - where do you start?
That's what this interview with Daniela Stevens is all about.
Daniela Stevens (she/they) is a queer bi+ trauma- and attachment theory-informed certified Sex and Intimacy Coach for couples and individuals of all bodies and all expressions. Named one of the ten best Sex & Intimacy Coaches of 2023, she supports people to experience deep sexual connection and intimacy with themselves and their partner(s) by co-creating a Sex Practice to ripen into the best sex of their lives.
By naming and addressing the intersections of personal experience with multiple systems of oppression, she supports them to clarify, connect, communicate, heal, and co-create the sex they want and the intimacy they desire. For her, nothing is more important than connection.
And as she shares with Amy in this intimate and inspiring interview, that is something we can all start exploring for ourselves right now too.

⁠FULL AUDIO VISUAL PRESENTATION HERE: https://youtu.be/H_xKvO2vjSM⁠
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DANIELA:
https://www.danielastevens.com/
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The beautiful - and confronting - thing about matrescence is it often leads us deep into our own familial story, and how we were mothered.
Sometimes, without even knowing it, it can be the portal into looking at our mothers, and our mothers' mother's experience of being a woman and a mother...
which, without the proper support and understanding, can feel very overwhelming.
But what if we were to see this has a chance to heal our red thread?
What if the gift of matrescence included the gift of generational understanding?
This is what Ngombo Chansa speaks about in this week's podcast.
Ngombo is a mother of two and a professionally trained Postpartum Doula and Zambia's first Mama Rising Coach and facilitator. And in this divine interview - which she recorded back in London as she supported her sister's birth of her first child - she reflects on the process of healing her own family story, and taking that wisdom and commitment back to Zambia to support others.
VIEW FULL VIDEO PRESENTATION ON YOUTUBE HERE.
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NGOMBO RIGHT HERE:
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Ngombo provides guidance and support for Mothers as they navigate the complexities of Motherhood. Her passion and devotion for this work stems from witnessing the profound transformative effect that occurs in a woman’s life when she connects with her inherent strength and chooses to experience Motherhood in a way that resonates with who she truly is.
As a mother of two and a professionally trained Postpartum Doula and Zambia's first Mama Rising Coach and facilitator, she brings a unique blend of personal and professional experience to her practice.
Her journey into this work was sparked by her own personal struggle with postnatal depletion, postpartum depression and anxiety following the birth of her youngest child six years ago. She has experienced first hand how the right tools, understanding and care can transform Motherhood from a daunting and overwhelming experience into an expansive evolutionary journey filled with joy.
To Ngombo, mothering in alignment with her values means choosing to romanticize her life, treating herself with kindness and sitting in the driving seat of her existence. Having an adventurous life is really important to her which is why two years ago, she heeded the call of her intuition and returned to her roots in Zambia after living as a daughter of the diaspora in England for 30 out of her 36 years. She has since settled in the lively capital city of Lusaka with her husband and 2 children, where as a family they are thriving in an environment that feels like home.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MATRESCENCE VISIT MY WEBSITE:
https://amytaylorkabbaz.com/

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What if we were to view the experience of Matrescence as a spiritual assignment?
How would we feel if we knew that all we are going through is actually here to help us grow?
Would that make this wild ride any different?
Over the years, I have interviewed many different authors and experts about matrescence and motherhood - but rarely have I been so inspired to view this experience as a deeply spiritual one as when I spoke with Kelly Van Zandt.
Kelly is the author behind "Powerful Postpartum: Unveiling the Spiritual Depths of Motherhood", bringing together her own spiritual studies with training in Vedic Counselling and postpartum studies. She is also a graduate candidate in Marriage and Family Therapy, which allows her to explore the tender topic of family dynamics and emotional well-being in a beautiful approachable way.
And in her own graceful way, somehow inspired me to consider this gift of motherhood in a new way.
I know it will do the same for you.
Kelly will be releasing her next book, "Your Baby Your Guru," in late 2024, in which she will uncover the sacred connections between mothers and their little ones, and exactly what they are here to teach us.
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KELLY HERE:
ORDER KELLYS BOOK: Powerful Postpartum, Exploring the Spiritual Significance of Motherhood HERE: www.powerfulpostpartum.com

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