This post a part of a project I am calling the Awakened Mama Community. I am featuring spiritually conscious mothers in this space to encourage us to find our Tribe, to connect with like-minded mamas, and to help them boost their digital spaces. During these interviews, Awakened Mamas pick five (out of eleven) of their favourite questions to answer. You don’t need to be entirely spiritual to be featured; you just need to be working towards raising conscious children who will hopefully build a better world.

If you want to be a part of the venture (I am happy to feature you!), please email me at: awakenedlittlesouls[@]gmail.com

Awakened Mama Community Featuring: Heidi of @SimplyRaisingLittles

Please introduce yourself to readers:

I’m Heidi, a UK mama to 2 gorgeous girls. I have a background as a coach and personal trainer but I’m now a SAHM and a (very) small business owner selling educational printables. But i dont like to be defined by a ‘job’. Im a health and wellness enthusiast, I love gardening, foraging, cooking, picture books and spending time outdoors. Travelling is also a huge passion, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to do much since the kids were born.

Etsy: https://simplyraisinglittles.etsy.com

Can you share a bit about your background and upbringing, and how spirituality became an integral part of your life?

I was raised in a non religious household, but I very much as a free thinker, my dad especially always encouraged me to form my own opinions and do my own research. I still identify as non religious but I do believe in a powerful connection between us and the natural world which I guess qualifies me as spiritual?

It wasn’t until my teen years that I discovered a passion for health and fitness, through this I delved into books and research on nutrition especially and the healing power of the mind and of the natural world. I’m convinced nature holds the answers even for things we don’t understand much yet.

I believe there is a strong connection between your mindset and your ability to achieve. Aswell as between our health and wellness and our affinity to nature.

How does your spirituality connect with or influence your relationship with nature and the environment and how does this influence your parenting journey?

For me, spending time in nature provides me with clarity, it gives me a sense of the bigger picture and stops me sweating the small stuff. There is something about being immersed in nature just makes me feel good.

Spending a portion of our day outside even if its just 20 minutes helps us all regulate, im a better parent for it and the kids are easier to manage too. Parks and playgrounds don’t hit the same either, I mean forests, lakes and mountains.

My goal is to raise my children with respect and admiration for nature.

How do you cultivate mindfulness and presence in your daily life, and how does it impact your parenting?

Honestly….not always with great success. Its something I’m working on. I try to have down time during the day where we are intentionally present rather than scrolling or lost in busy work.

Ill try to cultivate slow periods during the day like taking a walk and trying to notice the details, hear the birds, appreciate the change of the seasons etc.. or me and the kids have a ‘morning tea time’ where we enjoy a hot drink and a good book together. Ive also recently taken up crocheting, i find handcrafts or creative hobbies are great for encouraging mindfulness.

Importantly though the focus is on just being present in these moments and appreciating the littles things. It’s important to me that the girls learn how to slow down and be mindful without leaning on technology to fill life’s pauses.

It’s super important to me that my kids see me be present with them, without distractions and to give my full attention to tasks without it being a half hearted effort, nowadays I feel like that’s a rarity!

How do you approach teaching spiritual values to your children, and how do you encourage their own spiritual exploration?

My kids are still very young, 9 months and 3 years so at this point its less of a conversation and more just modelling it for them. If they see me slow down, spend my time intentionally and honour the seasons both of the year and of life then my hope is they’ll grow to do the same.

I’m big on them learning about nature and the world so we have a healthy selection of nature based seasonal books, we’ve been learning to identify (and forage) native plants and we also grow a raised bed garden to give them an appreciation for seasonal eating and what nature has to offer. With my oldest we loosely keep a nature diary where we’ll track the moon phases, weather and what’s going on in nature that month, and as a result she already a wild child who loves being outside with her hands in the dirt!

We practice deep breathing to regulate and occasionally ill do yoga or mediation and invite her to join me, this is something I strive to do more of.

We have also fairly recently started honouring the solstices and equinoxes. Usually just simply, with a seasonally inspired homemade meal and a craft or two, nothing fancy but enough to recognise its significance. This is something I was determined to do when I had my own family because to me celebrations are far too commercialised!

What are your aspirations for the future of your spiritual journey, and how do you hope it will continue to influence your family and community?

I hope to grow and evolve spiritually as I would in every other portion of my life. I’d love to continue learning about foraging and the healing properties of nature. I want to make more of my own natural remedies and to spend more time barefoot outside.

I also want to learn to love spending time outside in nature when the weather’s poor. Living in the UK, the weather is often cold and rainy and up to this point I’m usually uninspired to get outside during those wet months. I want that to change, I want to learn to enjoy nature all year round and truly immerse myself and embrace the seasons (even if that means getting soggy and cold).

Anything else you wish to share? A quote? Advice? Wisdom that you heard and stuck with you? How to manage motherhood and business?

“Never get so lost making a living that you forget to make a life”

Endless gratitude to Heidi for being a part of this digital tribe of spiritually conscious mothers that I am trying to build! Be sure to follow Heidi on Instagram @simplyraisinglittles and check out her Etsy shop: https://simplyraisinglittles.etsy.com

And remember, if you want to be a part of the venture (I am happy to feature you!), please email me at: awakenedlittlesouls[@]gmail.com

xx C