Abigail Morgan

Mindfulness is defined as the state of being conscious of our feelings, thoughts, and surroundings from moment to moment.

It means being present.

Mindfulness is defined as the state of being conscious of our feelings, thoughts, and surroundings from moment to moment.

It means being present.

It means having an awareness of how good your newborn baby’s head smells, but also being aware of your heart beating faster when your kid won’t nap and you’re desperate for lunch.

Mindfulness allows us to be more fully present with our partner, our children, our boss, ourselves.

It requires not only awareness of what’s going on but acceptance of where we’re at - even if it’s not where we want to be.

It

How many times as a parent have you written a to-do list that seemed totally reasonable, only to be crushed at the end of the day when only one single item got crossed off? How many times have you beaten yourself up for not being able to return a phone call or text, let alone get dressed and prep dinner? How many times have you had to choose between pumping milk at work and eating lunch without flanges attached to your boobs? I’ve lost count on any sort of running total on this Mama Math, and I can no longer consider myself a “new mom,” as my kids are 5 and 7. But I still fall into the trap of adding too many things to my To-Do lists, whether work-, home-, or kid-related, and when I do, I become disappointed in myself. As a Licensed Acupuncturist who specializes in the childbearing cycle, I work with parents every day, and I have come to realize that most of us have expectations of ourselves that are higher than anything we would expect of a friend or family member. Before

In the United States, the speed with which a mother recovers from birth and “gets her body back” is measured in weeks, not months.  Magazines flaunt celebrities who lost the baby weight in just 2 weeks, dashed back to work after a mere month, while effortlessly bouncing a baby on their hip.  Women are expected to return to work 6 weeks after giving birth, just as if nothing had happened.  We are one of the only cultures that does not value the importance of slowing down and asking for support in the postpartum year.  I would like to help change that.  Here are ten tips for how you can enhance your physical, emotional and mental health in the first year after giving birth – whether this is your first or fifth baby.

Stay in Bed

As long as you can! Take all the help you can get in the first year after your baby/babies are born, and don’t feel guilty about it. A midwife I know has this rule of thumb: 1st week – in the bed, 2nd week -­‐ around the bed, 3rd week around the house, 4th

We're still deep in cold & flu season and it's still important to stay healthy during this season of sniffles and seemingly constant coughs.   Are you overwhelmed by the amount of Tylenol and antibiotics you take every year?  Read on for some holistic tips on thriving through cold and flu season…

1.     Wear a scarf

Grandma was right!  It is crucial to cover your neck, especially the back of your neck and the occipital ridge.  There is a saying in Traditional Chinese Medicine, “wind is the leader of a thousand diseases.”  Cover your neck (and head too, when it’s really cold) so the wind doesn’t whisk pathogens into the body via the acupuncture points along the back of the neck and head.  Even during summer, it’s important to keep our necks covered and away from drafts when we are constantly in and out of air conditioning.

2.     Get Acupuncture

It is especially important to get acupuncture at the change