19. Holiday Time: What's in it for You?

Happy Suzday Everyone,

At the time of this recording, the December holidays of Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa are a week away. This is the final stretch of a very busy few months for Moms. 

Because they’re interspersed with colds, they change up your routine, and could involve some extended-family drama, the holidays might feel like the last place you can secure some personal peace.

So I’m here with a bit of seasonal perspective and a guided self-inquiry that, unlike your to-do list this week, takes minimal effort, costs nothing, and adds a warm glow to your holiday memories-in-the-making. 

As always, the magic begins when your attention goes within.

Welcome to Yoga for Mom Life. I’m Susana Jones, and I help lighten the load of early motherhood. With healing perspectives and a minimalist approach to true self-care, being a mom of young kids looks and feels more like you’re thriving. Join the movement today at YogaforMomLife.com.

So last week, I was chatting with a Mom whose kids are in high school and college. She was cutely dressed in a Santa hat and platform converse, but seemed a little run-down. She said that she had felt super on top of holiday preparations this year, but then realized how much more she still has to do, and then shook her head.

But then, her face lit up because her older child was coming home from their first semester of college that day. And it changed her whole vibe. So, I thought, this is what it was all about for her: spending quality time with her kids.

I’m glad I got to witness this moment, because so many conversations with Moms this time of year veer into an abyss of “so busy.” But there is something special for each one of us to glean from the holidays, and giving it some recognition can help us experience it more fully so we don’t feel like a shell of a human come New Year’s Day.

So, I’m intrigued, what motivates you around the holidays? What’s in it for you? 

There’s no wrong answer to this, 

but it’s worth asking 

because the holidays do take extra effort on top of an already intense 

and wonderful 

time of life with young kids. 

It’s easy to get lost in the details and miss what the point is for you. 

For example, while contemplating this episode and having some feelings about rampant consumerism and how much I participate in it, the thought occurred to me, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” 

For people who have known me for awhile who are like Jesus, what?

I was raised by two New Thought ministers, and somehow that led me to Yoga and Vedic spirituality as an adult, and now here we are. But a big part of me still wants to hold up a candle and sing Silent Night and pray for world peace on Christmas Eve wearing patent leather shoes. Cause the 90s were cute like that.Plus, Jesus and I would definitely be homies

Barefoot, performing miracles in the desert. For sure.

In fact, I often think people are calling for me when they shout ¡Jesus!. 

You should see me with a mustache on tho. We’re total look-alikes.

OK, Moving on!

Had some nutmeg in my coffee this morning - highly recommend - and I’m feeling the holiday spirit.

So maybe the point of your holidays is to have fun, and be lighthearted. To enjoy a break with your family, and bring some levity to what normally feels so heavy. More power to you.

Maybe you’re motivated to share the cultural significance of a tradition with your children this year. Maybe that will inform their worldview, and give your family something more enduring than consumerism to value in life.

Or perhaps the holidays invigorate your creative side, and making special, tasty things to share with people is your jam. 

All of these motivations, like the lady who’s hustling so she can enjoy having both her kids under one roof, come from our hearts. And they’re like examples of the light that various traditions will celebrate next week.

So acknowledging what’s most dear to you this holiday season puts your efforts into perspective and helps you choose what to do with the moments-in-between. 

Despite the prevailing attitude the week before,t he holidays aren’t just here to run you down, they’re here to light you up, too. 

That’s why I sent my yoga members a hanging sign for their doorknob that reads, “Please Do Not Disturb. Yoga in Progress.” And I genuinely hope those make it onto some locked doors this month so Moms around the country can exhale some of the stress of it all, and breathe in some lightness.

Now, I have to say that it’s interesting to me that I only hear Moms talking about how stressful the holidays are. The men in my life - who are exemplary, if not doing their best - seem pretty chill about it.

And overall I’m very curious about lopsided stress between partners. Maybe I’m perceiving this because most of my friends are female, maybe it’s due to gender expectations and how those show up at holiday time.

Either way, for the purpose of maternal well-being, it’s worth looking at how much of this we take on as women, why we do that, and to where we might assign some handsome elves to take charge of some tasks. 

For example, I kindly shut down a close family member who asks me on every single gift-giving holiday what to get for so-and-so. I’m not doing it anymore. If I’m going to be Santa’s agent, I want a cut.

Just sayin.

So, whether it’s family tradition, religious observance, or pure social convention that motivates how you celebrate the holidays, keep your sense of what matters to you in the picture.

Our culture totally supports us getting so into the consumerist aspects of the holidays, and maybe the expectation that women should do it all (that might be on us a bit) that we lose all sense of their true purpose in our lives.

There’s a fine line between enabling your favorite things about the holidays, and spending too much time, money, and energy on those things to be able to really enjoy it yourself. 

As you can tell, I’m big on Moms enjoying themselves. Creature comforts are my second favorite delight in life. My first is to kiss my little boy on the cheek and tell him he looks exactly like the Elf on the Shelf. Ah! That’s what in it for me. More than Jesus, if I’m being honest.

The comfort and joy factor is essential to Mom’s health this time of year, when the pressure to do it all intensifies. Because after awhile, living things that under too much pressure break down, and we all know how much the world needs us up and running.

When Moms do well, everyone does well. 

So, as the village maternal yoga therapist I’m here to offer the Mommas a self-preserving approach. Take what you will.

For the sake of having truly happy holidays now and in the future, I’m going to lead you through a little meditation of sorts that hones-in on what’s most dear and meaningful to you. 

This is intended to make your last-minute preparations easy, and your celebrations sweet, like frosting on a really good cake.

If your mouth is watering now, that means that your insides are happy. Let’s build on that.

You can keep doing what you’re doing. Maybe you’re at home breastfeeding, or putting groceries away. If you’re driving, just stay focused on that. 

***

All forms of yoga begin with a peaceful, inward flow of attention. Eyes can stay open, but see what it feels like to invite awareness inside. 

And know that you can come back to this later as needed. It’s all good.

Notice the temperature and the textures around you. Anything you smell or taste, see, or hear. You are now being mindful.

There’s no need to fix or change anything. 

You’re free to be exactly as you are.

Notice what’s showing up in your awareness. Sensations of the body, random thoughts, whatever. A memory or an image. 

Let them come to you, like little greetings.

If uneasiness comes by, see if it has any message for you today. Perhaps from your higher self.

Now, cozy up with your heart for a minute. Feel its presence. And let it express to you what it really wants. 

Maybe it’s quiet, and just being with it is enough for now.

In time, let your heart’s desire come to you. Perhaps as a vision, or a phrase. A feeling in your body.

Like you know where it comes from.

Now let your entire being experience what it’s like for your heart’s longing to be fulfilled. In this moment.

Let yourself be totally immersed in your heart’s fulfullment. Welcome what it feels like for your body, what it looks like, tastes and smells like, what sounds are a part of it.

Imagine this heartfelt experience infusing your actual life with meaning and purpose.

Like life is living through you, for you, and as you. 

Feeling at ease, all is well. Just doing some self-inquiry.

Now look back on the journey you’ve just taken. The heart’s longing expressing itself in your life, experiences coming to you like visitors, the freedom to be just as you are, and all five senses receiving the world within you and around you.

where everything arises, unfolds, and curls back into the source. Changing perceptions in unchanging awareness.

And you’re here, taking things in and letting them move on.

Now inquire, if there’s anything you could do in the next days or week that would help you integrate this journey?

If so, see yourself doing it.

Thank yourself for the gift of this self-inquiry.

Now feel into the areas of the body that are being held up right now, by your seet, or your feet. 

Arriving fully into this moment, where all is well.

Everything still arising, unfolding, and dissolving in a field of unchanging awareness.

Sensing yourself as pure awareness, move on with your day. All is well.

***

In prior episodes, I’ve talked about how our personal interests and desires can escape us for months or even years while we get our bearings as moms. But tuning into what feels meaningful and enlivening to you, like we just did, can give you something to move toward as your mothering journey unfolds. 

So that even when your sense of self is shaky and you’re navigating constant change, you have something to measure the distance between where you are and where your heart’s calling you to go next. Like a compass.

So that is my gift for you this holiday season: a sweet orientation to the compass of your heart.

The practice itself was based on Yoga Nidra, as it was taught to me by Richard Miller. At length, it’s a practice that supports deep personal integration, and the more you revisit it, the more your everyday life starts to resemble what your heart longs for.

Whether we use it to gather ourselves in a difficult moment, or as a constructive way to rest, Yoga Nidra is like surfing between awake and asleep, which helps us feel awake and at ease, even during the holidays.

With mom-tested practices that meet you where you’re at, you can feel strong and centered at any time of year. Sign up at YogaforMomLife.com, and together we’ll replenish and thrive in 2025.

And for the kind of gift you can tie up with a bow, check out Caring for Mama’s curated care packages that are filled with nourishing creations from woman-owned companies, including mine. See their full lineup at CaringforMama.co.

Thanks for tuning in, and sharing this show with the moms you love.

It’s Yoga for Mom-Life, and it’s holiday time :)