The Motherkind Podcast

This week’s guest is Dr. Tara Swart. Tara is a medical doctor, a neuroscientist, a psychiatrist, a lecturer at MIT, a business coach - and she’s also the author of the best-selling book, ‘The Source’. Tara teaches people how to apply lessons from neuroscience and behavioural psychology in simple and achievable ways to enhance our everyday lives for the better. In the episode, Tara shares about how we have the power to create whatever we want in our life through understanding how the brain works. We talk about how so many of us are living on autopilot and not asking ourselves the profound question, 'What do I really want out of life?'. We also talk about the science behind the law of attraction, manifestation, journalling and gratitude, which are all tools we explore regularly here on the podcast. This felt like such a timely conversation to have - here in the UK, we have just gone back into lockdown so speaking with Tara was a real gift. I hope you find it helpful. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, I’m speaking with Josh Connolly. Josh is a coach, a speaker and one of the UK’s most influential advocates for mental health. He is the child of an addict and an addict in recovery himself. Josh is also a dad of four and in this episode, we really unpack how dysfunction, trauma and addiction get passed down through the generations. We speak about how we can help people we know who struggle with addiction and how we can help ourselves if we struggle with addiction and the tendency to avoid our feelings. Josh also speaks passionately about how positive thinking and spiritual bypassing can be dangerous – and why this seems to be so prevalent in the wellbeing space at the moment.   I really loved our conversation – I’m really passionate about this topic and I hope you find it helpful. For the full show notes, please head over to motherkind.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, I’m really excited to be speaking with Richie Bostock. Richie is a breathwork coach, author and speaker, and he’s made it his mission to spread the life-changing possibilities of breathwork. Richie’s book, Exhale, is fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about using your breath for healing.  No-one ever really teaches us ‘how’ to breathe and so many of us are actually breathing in ways that aren’t serving us. In the episode, we explore how we can change the way that we feel through the way that we breathe. Richie also shares some simple breathing techniques that you can use throughout your day to help shift your energy and feel better. We also talk about how breath can be used for healing and why sometimes it can be more effective to start with bodywork practices, such as breathwork, than with traditional talking therapy. I am absolutely fascinated by breathwork and I loved this conversation with Richie, I think you’ll find it really practical and helpful. For the full show notes, please head over to motherkind.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I’m excited to share this week’s conversation with you. I’m speaking with Susy O’Hare, who is an author, a meditation teacher and a mother to three, very soon to be four, children. Susy’s first book is called ‘Diary of an ADHD Mum’ and since then, her work has expanded to talk about the huge importance of healing ourselves, instead of trying to ‘fix’ our children. Susy and I both believe this is the most profound way to raise our children – and we have a really deep conversation around this topic. We talk about allowing ourselves to understand that our children are our mirror, reflecting back what work we need to do on ourselves. Susy shares her wisdom from a very grounded, down-to-earth place. She’s a busy working mum and life hasn’t always looked this way for her. Susy shares her own traumas and how she felt she got her parenting ‘wrong’ for a long time, until the gift of her daughter arrived which was the start of her healing journey. I think you’ll find this a really inspiring conversation. For the full show notes, please head over to www.motherkind.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I’m speaking with Gelong Thubten, who is a meditation teacher and author of the fantastic book, ‘A Monk’s Guide to Happiness’. Thubten was led to completely change his life after suffering from burnout in his early 20s. This led him to a Buddhist monastery in Scotland where he studied, and was ordained as a monk. Since then, Thubten has been sharing his wisdom worldwide and is a pioneer in mindfulness meditation. Thubten has over 20 years worth of experience working with schools, universities and businesses, such as Google. He’s lectured at institutions like Oxford and the UN and, he worked as a consultant on the Marvel Movie, ‘Dr. Strange’. In our conversation, we unpacked what happiness really is and we talked about how can we find freedom from our 'crazy minds'. We also talked about meditation, of course, and Thubten did a great job re-framing some of the resistance that we often feel towards meditation. Thubten also gives guidance around how the practice can support our children and the way we show up as parents. I really loved our conversation, and hope you enjoy it too. For the full show notes, please head over to motherkind.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, I’m speaking with Bernadette Russell, who is an author and expert on hope and kindness. Bernadette has written a number of books on kindness, hope and wonder. Her newest book is called ‘How to Be Hopeful: Your Toolkit to Rediscover Hope and Help Create a Kinder World’, which I think is such a beautiful message for these times. In the episode, we talk about kindness, compassion and the power of hope. Bernadette shares how one incident totally changed her outlook and the trajectory of her life. We also explore why being hopeful is so important to connect us to feelings of joy and positivity. We have a really interesting discussion around the news - and how to walk the fine line between staying informed and not feeling all consumed by what is going on in the world around us. the news around us. I loved our conversation and hope you enjoy it, too. For the full show notes, please head over to motherkind.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sponsored episode in partnership with Barbie. Commissioned by Barbie and led by Cardiff University, ‘Exploring the Benefits of Doll Play through Neuroscience’ is the first scientific study using neuroscience to explore the positive impact doll play has on children. Through Neuroscience, research found that doll play activates brain regions that allow children to develop empathy and social information processing skills, even when playing by themselves. In the episode, I speak with Dr. Michele Borba, who is a world-renowned parenting expert and author of 22 books. Dr. Michele is known as ‘America’s most trusted parenting expert’, and her most recent book, UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed In Our All-About-Me World, helps parents to develop empathy in their children. We have a fantastic conversation all about empathy, and why exactly it is a super power. I hope you enjoy the episode and for the full show notes, please head over to www.motherkind.co. For more information on the study please visit barbie.com/en-gb/benefitsofdollplay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I have a fantastic episode for you this week. I’m speaking with Laurie Gerber, who is an Executive and Senior Coach at the Handel Group, which is one of the world’s leading coaching businesses. The Handel Group work with some of the world’s top celebrities, including Eva Longoria and Hugh Jackman. Laurie works with clients to maximise their ability to thrive across every single area of their life. Laurie shares her own story and how she came to this work after realising there was an area in her own life that needed unlocking before she could be fully empowered to live the life she dreamed. We talk a lot about empowerment during the episode and how to become the person you were meant to be. We also talk about how we can ‘alchemise’ the way that we were parented and show up for our children differently. I was really inspired by Laurie’s message – I think you’ll be able to hear the symmetry and energy between us in our conversation and I hope you enjoy the episode! For the full show notes, head over to www.motherkind.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I’m delighted to welcome the lovely Joanna Fortune to the podcast. Joanna is a clinical psychotherapist, an attachment specialist, and the author of the brilliant series of books, ’15 Minute Parenting’. Joanna has been working with children and families for over 20 years. She came up with the fantastic concept of ‘15 Minute Parenting’ after hearing from parents over and over again that, often, they only had 15 minutes of quality time every day to connect with their children. The books centre around how we can use play to connect with our children, underpinned by Joanna’s years of experience in psychotherapy and attachment theory. We had such a great conversation, exploring self-parenting and taking care of our own stuff as the caregivers for our children. We also talk about our inner critic and relationship with shame – and how to be aware of when we might be passing this on to our children. And towards the end of our conversation, we talk about play and some of Joanna’s 15-minute parenting ethos that can help us connect with our children in just 15 minutes a day. I really enjoyed our conversation and hope you will, too. For the full show notes, please head over to motherkind.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I’m speaking with bestselling author and entrepreneur, Kate Northrup. Kate has reached hundreds of thousands of women through her work online, and through her bestselling books, ‘Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms’ and ‘Money, A Love Story: Untangle your Financial Woes and Create the Life you Really Want’. Kate’s mission is to support ambitious women, particularly mothers, to light up the world without burning themselves out in the process. I really resonate with that - and it’s definitely something I need to keep reminding myself of! In the episode, we speak about our experiences in lockdown and the role that many women have taken in the household during this time. We speak about Kate’s experiences with her own mother, and how she saw her overworking. Kate also gives lots of practical tips and tools to help you manage your own time and energy. For the full show notes, please head over to www.motherkind.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices