Holistic Mothering
Hi everybody! Wow! It’s been a long while since I last sat down and wrote a blog post here for you all. Got to be transparent, last year of school mixed in with life, left me with very little brainpower to get creative enough to write something. I will be returning to posting blogs regularly here continuing to follow the four major seasons with a blog post honoring each. I just recently did a little mini seasonal fall post for you guys on my Instagram, so this blog post will be a little different, as I want to explore various themes, falling under the umbrella of a Yogic Lifestyle. So kick back, grab a chai, if you’re somewhere nice and cool, get cozy with the blanket and hope you enjoy this story!
My first visions of Mothering (aside from my mama, tias & abuelita) would be at a young age living in Peru with Mamamita (she lived at my grandparents’) who I was attached to, plus the Andean women selling their goods on the sidewalk of Lima or in the mountains of Cuzco. Impressions would continue as a young teen with dreadlocked mothers on the lot at GD/Phish shows + the beginning of the great Festivals ~ where hippie gypsy tribal women were prone to do things in a more ancient manner. This stood out to me personally for many reasons.
I would experience being raised a good deal of the time by various nannies, dressed in uniform with the family crest, who helped my loving mother in the raising of 4 young daughters. I’m not the child that condemns or throws harsh words at my parents for the manner in which they needed to or chose to bring me up. They did the best they could with what they knew at the time about raising me. I love my parents and respect them too much. I always knew they loved us, cared and provided for us ~ in my heart that fulfilled me.
However, I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that seeing this sort of natural mothering didn’t blow my mind away, considering the background that I had come from. When I chose to get married one of the things that stood out to me was his idea that if we had children either I would work and he would stay home, or vice versa. Again, with my history, this made me fall in love rather quickly. Very shortly I would discover that I was pregnant with our first daughter, I was a gypsy traveler with dreadlocks and a surfboard in tow and had not followed the conventional route many of my girlfriends had done, such as going to college or marrying their sweetheart. I needed to travel and find myself and discover the world around me. I instantly began talking to mothers I looked up to. I only knew herbalism, working with energy clearing techniques of Reiki, homeopathic studies, as well as making my own tinctures, salves and healing remedies from herbs that I grew myself. But I wanted something different for my children, I felt that there had been this obstacle on having, what I considered at the time, lack of “tribal birthing & upbringing”. I won’t trash my parents for what they had or how they raised us but I most certainly followed a very different path. I wanted what I saw these natural mamas doing with their children, so when I learned about my first pregnancy I dove even deeper into the purest organic world I was already living in. Holistic Parenting magazines were enlightening me to a path I so craved in my heart for my children. A bit later some of my Oregon girlfriends would become midwives and I almost made the decision to enroll into the midwifery program but chickened out at the last minute because I wanted to have another baby.
I was, as you guys know, already an activist and protester, helping out with animal rights, protection of the earth, especially rainforest destruction, as well as humanitarian rights. I was not legal of age to do much of anything really, certainly not drinking. Early on in this community we were eating #vegan or #vegetarian, doing yoga, meditating, supporting organic farmers. This was what we felt was important to us but things like television or supporting corporations were not very popular among too many of my friends. Many of my mother friends were either homeschoolers or most of them were Waldorf families, which began my family’s introduction to the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner.
My hippie background collided with my Waldorf parenting world, causing me to make the connection between the almost exact holistic healing techniques used by naturopaths and Anthroposophical doctors. Anthroposophical medicine is the form of holistic medicine founded by Rudolph Steiner (he is the father of biodynamic farming and Eurythmy, as well as the founder of the Waldorf schools in Germany). He was a visionary to the importance of a holistic lifestyle. It’s belief system closely matches the Ayurvedic.
When my other children were born, I realized that there was a certain connection of Anthroposophical medicine to the holistic medicine / holistic lifestyle in general – it may be that slightly different species of a particular plant are used in a certain region, but most of the healing modalities, or rather the most important aspect of holistic medicine – the lifestyle patterns, are very much the same. What Ayurveda considers circadian rhythm, Anthroposophical Medicine calls it ‘Rhythms’ in the Waldorf schools – the breathing in and out of energy throughout the day.
One of the profound things that I loved was the timing of Rudolph Steiner’s way of thinking – such an early time in history, before science & medicine could prove any of these healing techniques. It was almost unheard of among my peers in the States and when I began applying it, it was definitely not a cool or popular thing to be doing. It would put you in a vulnerable space with other mothers, and met with harsh questions, criticism and concern, regarding these methodologies.
It’s important to know that Waldorf, or what is referred to in Germany as “Steiner Schools”, is one of the biggest growing forms of education, and it has spread out to almost every country in the world. The incredible fusion of hands-on child-led natural parenting, woven into enriching the children’s surrounding with nature, connecting them to nature on a deeply spiritual level, has to be one of the most healing, empowering and loving things that we can give to our children especially in this day and age. Of course any school or philosophy can give that, so it’s not exclusive to Waldorf. A lot of the tradition follows a way of life very much in conjunction with a time when things were moving at a slower pace. Blended into that are the esoteric philosophies dating back to many of the ancient cultures. For this reason it’s definitely like everything else in life – we all are drawn to particular teachers, colors, energies, people, environments and it’s meant to be that way....we all have different tastes and longings. We need our diversity and for each of us to have our unique view point that should never be shadowed out.
I will say this – a lot of our traditions in the Waldorf community can appear a pain in the butt to many folks, but it felt very much like a cozy return home. And, truth be told, it’s also a lot like Yoga (probably that’s why there were so many yoga teachers in that community lol). Once you incorporate the practice of coming to class or onto your mat routinely throughout your weeks, you discover a profound shift in your mental and emotional awareness of your surroundings and the world around you in general. It was really apparent to me during the last two years of my training in Yoga Therapy and Ayurveda how very similar these daily habits were to the Waldorf rhythms we provided for our children and families.
Waldorf parents are not typically cold or harsh, we don’t believe in raising our voices at our children. We actually sing to them when we call them in. The approach is done in a sweet positive fairy-like manner that meets the child where they are, naturally inviting them to open up with a full heart. One of the things I adore about this philosophy is that its education is for the Body, Mind and Heart – this really called to me deeply.
What are some of these traditions I speak of that all 3 of my children were born into & raised 100% in (potentially driving them cuckoo with their mama lol)? Let’s take a look.
In this holistic environment it is believed that all things have certain energy. If children’s toys are made of carcinogenic plastic, known to release toxic particles, then the type of energy, or soul life, that it emits would feel very different than that of natural untreated wood.
Silks, wool, organic cotton and all natural fibers are encouraged. Sticking to these materials is most important for the socks and undergarments because they come in contact with those areas of the skin that are highly prone to soaking up toxins. Most Waldorf parents chose cotton. I myself didn’t use polyester or synthetic fibers on my babies, aside from one winter coat made by a friend. Our midwife had us make our own organic cotton diapers in birthing class. So my children didn’t use disposable diapers except for a handful of exceptions.
Many of us had veggie crops growing in pots or on nearby farmland, mimicking on a smaller scale the Waldorf school farms. Our children were fortunate to attend Summerfield Waldorf school in Sonoma County which has a 12-acre Organic Biodynamic farm. So they had a beautiful opportunity to have Biodynamic farming as one of their classes beginning in Kindergarten. This was the reason our family moved to Sonoma: for the school.
I made the personal choice to raise my children Vegan from birth for a couple of reasons. First, our family is highly allergic to lactose, so introducing dairy to them, after my oldest one reacted poorly to it, was not in the cards for me. Why? I studied it with our naturopath and homeopath for a couple of years, as well as our midwives. After much research, I made the careful decision to omit Dairy from their diet – until later, when their bodies may develop the ability to tolerate lactose. I was Vegan for 8 years before I met their father so I had deep personal opinions regarding the introduction of meat. I felt it was important for our children to make the decision for themselves on whether or not they wanted to consume another living being. Not confuse them in their early years their diet was just Vegan. I felt it was too big a personal choice for me to make on behalf of my children. Back then I heard it all from everyone, believe me lol. I was told my kids would be sickly, they wouldn’t grow, told their brain wouldn’t develop. The most mind-boggling things came from college-educated relatives LOL.
My children were on extended breastfeeding, and only consumed foods that I prepared from fresh organic vegetables & fruits, steamed and puréed in the food mill that same day. I did not store things in freezers – everything was prepared fresh for the kids because I believed the nutrients would be lost. I wanted my kids to consume the most mineral/vitamin-rich foods available. Processed foods or sugary treats were not in their diet at all. If they had sweets I baked them myself, usually with agave or maple syrup.
Major Waldorf taboo was technology ~ no electronics or television whatsoever. Yeah, I was one of those weirdo hippie parents, and my children did not watch TV when they were young, unless we visited a relative. Their father worked with computers but they were kept in an office apart from our children. Interesting side note: some of the biggest Tech executives from Apple, Google, Yahoo and Hewlett Packard actually have their children attending Waldorf schools where computers and technology are not permitted. One of the fathers is CTO at eBay. Even though I believe they are not Waldorf fathers, it’s interesting that both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are also well-known low-tech parents. Jobs famously disclosed in an interview before his passing that his children were not allowed to use the newly developed iPad.
Annoying side note, especially for my kids, was that I would be a class parent every year, starting from my first child’s kindergarten experience, when I became the assistant to the toddler group program and fully embraced the philosophy. Of course I did, are we surprised that a hippie nose-pierced dreadlock girl would be drawn to such a thing and rebel from conventional public education? I think not lol
Other holistic parenting techniques I used that may or may not necessarily be Waldorf-related were home births, none to limited vaccinations (Steiner advocated to wait if done at all), natural/homeopathic remedies, baking fresh bread WITH the kids daily, encouragement of play in early years instead of sole focus on formal education, early bedtimes, child~meditation, kids yoga, breastfeeding, no circumcision, connection to the earth, no microwaves, no chocolate, etc.
This blog post was certainly not intended to come across like I am advertising or advocating for the Waldorf schools because I am not. I am simply a mother who is now a yoga instructor/therapist that would love to share my personal journey on how it came to be that my children lived this lifestyle for so long. I wanted to put a story behind it to connect the dots on who I am and where I come from because this nurtured a big part of my training for Ayurveda. But it would be impossible for me to share my journey on how I’ve learned some of the things I’ve learned in my life without acknowledging these two big key points in my life. First was being the herbalist gypsy discovering various ancient tools, second being a young and pregnant mother being welcomed into a holistic community with the very same spirits that she had traveled with. It is this community, these individuals, rebels, alternative thinkers & mystics who shared their knowledge and wisdom with me. They gave me the tools to, hopefully, having provided the most happy natural childhood experience I could, with the ultimate goal of simply raising very healthy, but most importantly – happy, kind individuals who are guided by their hearts.
