“Our sharing creates an invitation for other mothers to share their story. And that creates empowerment”
Gemma Douglas is a breathwork and meditation practitioner, and an amazing mum of three, who is not afraid to share her truth about motherhood. Her beautiful way of sharing this truth, and inviting other mums to do the same, was the catalyst for her highly successful online movement The Motherhood Project (TMP) – a New Zealand-based online support community for mothers. At the time of this podcast episode, TMP boasts 150,000 followers on social media, but this number will undoubtedly grow because TMP is fantastic!
Through TMP and her own motherhood journey, Gemma knows all too well the importance of sharing, connection and supporting ourselves and each other in motherhood.
In this episode of the Tough Mothers Podcast and Tough Mothers TV we sat down together to talk about Gemma’s journey into matrescence*, why sharing our truth in motherhood is so important, how The Motherhood Project came about, and how we can all support ourselves and each other through this rollercoaster motherhood ride.
*Matrescence is the developmental transition women go through when we become mothers. It is physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual. Motherhood transforms us!
Key takeaways from this episode of the Tough Mothers Podcast and Tough Mothers TV:
♥ Your motherhood story matters. Please share it!
♥ Mothers are powerful and resilient
♥ Competitiveness does not belong in motherhood
Or hit the play button below and watch the full episode on YouTube
In this episode you will learn [Podcast, TV time points]:
[2.30, 2.00]
Gemma shares her journey into motherhood, how she found raising her children in a new town, and how it helped her grow as a woman.
“I’m still trying to get my head around motherhood [7 years later]”.
[5.40, 5.10]
The experience Gemma had of having a newborn baby with whooping cough (pertussis), and how the recovery was not linear.
“We just had to move into survival mode; I don’t think I realised the depth of the fight or flight mode I was in ”
[7.35, 7.05]
It’s important to learn how mothers deal with their challenging situations. We can all learn from others’ experiences. Gemma found a real strength within herself through mindfulness and meditation.
[8.00, 7.30]
It was through her own journey and realising mothers need a place to share their stories and recognise their own and each other’s resilience that The Motherhood Project was formed (more on TMP and where to find them in Mentions in this Episode, below).
“Everybody has their journey and their story. If we open up to each other, we allow other people to do the same.”
[11.30, 11.00]
There’s a lot of power in sharing our story and hearing other people’s stories. However, we need to be really careful not to take on other people’s stories as our own, and especially to not let them frighten us.
“Our sharing creates an invitation for other mothers to share their story.”
[15.25, 14.55]
Let’s scrap competitiveness in motherhood.
[19.00, 18.30]
How to encourage mothers to share if they feel too shy face-to-face.
“We feel ourselves holding back [because we worry about how our story will be received.]”
Mentions in this episode:
♥ The Motherhood Project is an empowering online support system for mothers, which is passionate about helping women find more joy, calm and community in the beautiful challenges of motherhood. Check out TMP HERE
♥ Follow them on Facebook or Instagram
♥ Gemma is kindly giving us FREE access to her fabulous Yoda Nidra meditation. Download it HERE now.
♥ Tough Mothers courses implement a three-step framework to:
1) Help mothers understand how matrescence and motherhood changes them and their brain
2) Explain to women that they can train their brain to thrive in motherhood.
3) Teach simple, specific, individualised exercises mothers can fit into their busy day to train their brain to be a happy mother.
♥ I Wish Someone Had Told Me… – unspoken truths about what really happens to women during labour childbirth and the first few weeks of motherhood.
Get your FREE E-book with the top 7 truths from I Wish Someone Had Told Me… HERE
A little more about my guest Gemma Douglas:
Gemma is a certified Breathwork and Meditation Practitioner, NLP Practitioner, and has a diploma in both teaching and coaching. She is also a mother of three with qualifications as a Reiki Practitioner, and a music degree from Otago University. Gemma’s passions have led her down many paths, including playing for the successful Southern Sting netball team, in the pursuit of growth, meaning, and fulfilment.
After Gemma’s third child was born, she created The Motherhood Project as a way of bringing all the mothers she knew in her life together. She could see there was a need for mutual support and connection, and the community grew to empower mothers in New Zealand, and then around the world with a community across social media channels over 150k.
Gemma has recently launched The Conscious Project a ‘sister’ to The Motherhood Project. The Conscious Project was born out of a deep desire to make these achievable self-care techniques available to all mothers, giving them back their power.
Want to learn more about breathwork?
Check out Gemma’s The Conscious Project and work with Gemma.
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Mental Health Support Services
If the topics in this episode are triggering for you, or if you feel you need support, please contact you doctor or local mental health line.
In Australia: www.healthdirect.gov.au
In New Zealand: www.mentalhealth.org.nz
In the USA: www.mhnational.org
In the UK : www.mind.org.uk
In Ireland: www2.hse.ie
In South Africa: www.safmh.org.za
If your country is not listed please search “Mental Health Line” in google in your country.