The Mindful Mum

Forget hiding in the pantry eating chocolate to escape the kids. These Australian Mums have created an Online Sanctuary for Mums to focus on their wellbeing

"We dreamed of an online sanctuary that would make it EASY for mums to be supported and cared for while they were busy caring for others"

The Mindful Mum, an online sanctuary that supports and cares for the wellbeing of mums, was co-founded by Sally Wood and La Muxlow. The duo are finalists in the AusMumpreneur Awards for Digital Innovation. The awards take place in Melbourne this week.

Sally hit rock bottom after giving birth to her first baby. She had ongoing mastitis and a breast abscess, all while being extremely sleep deprived and learning to adjust to her new role as a mum. She felt overwhelmed with all the conflicting advice and was struck by how hard it was to look after herself while caring for her new baby.

Sally says: "Before long, I was getting ready to transition back to my role in digital media and was feeling increasingly anxious at the thought of juggling a demanding career on top of everything else. I kept thinking if only there was a place where mums could go to practice self-care in their precious spare moments, wherever and whenever they wanted. The day before I returned to work, my mum sent me off for a massage (to calm some of the nerves!) and while I was lying there the name "The Mindful Mum" just popped into my head and from that moment on, I could not stop thinking about creating this beautiful online sanctuary completely devoted to the wellbeing of mums. "

After coming up with the idea, Sally met La, who had been through a very similar post-partum experience. .

Sally adds: "We put an immense amount of pressure on ourselves to be everything to everyone and can quickly lose ourselves in the process. Taking time to nurture our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is the BEST thing a mum can do for herself and for her family. In prioritising self-care and adopting a mindful way of being she can protect herself from the impact of life's inevitable stresses and ride the ups and downs with more grace and ease."

"The Mindful Mum is made up a range of blog content and The Sanctuary which is a paid membership program filled with a wide range of online classes exclusively tailored to the wellbeing of mums. We've collaborated with yoga, mindfulness, meditation, Pilates, nutrition, fitness, psychologists and holistic wellbeing practitioners to guide and support mums throughout their journey. Our talented teachers are all mums who've been carefully chosen based on their passion for women's health and wellbeing. "

"Whether through a guided meditation during nap time, a simple breathing exercise when the day (or night!) is getting the better of you, or a restorative yoga class to wind down after the kids are in bed, The Mindful Mum is all about helping mums develop the skill of mindfulness and learn to nurture their health and happiness, for EVERYONE'S benefit. Mums can access our classes from the comfort of home all for the less than the cost of a single yoga class each month. "

The Sanctuary currently has over 200 high quality classes ranging in length from 5-40 mins with a brand-new class released every week, live monthly masterclasses and giveaways to motivate and inspire members.

The most popular classes are guided meditation sessions to manage anxiety and stress, Pilates and yoga, plus live monthly masterclasses where an expert will dive deep on a topic such as self-care, relationships and self-confidence to name a few.

Sally concludes: "Maternal mental health problems are too often under-diagnosed and under-treated public health issue and many mums are suffering behind closed doors. After struggling with our own emotional, mental and physical wellbeing following the births of all our children and in juggling the pressures of modern-day motherhood, we saw a huge gap in the market for an easy and accessible, self-care solution to support mums throughout the journey of motherhood."

There was so much information available on pregnancy, birth and "how-to" parent, but we found very little focus on caring for the mum postnatally and beyond. The nucleus of the family, an essential role-model in our children's lives, was largely being neglected. We dreamed of an online sanctuary that would make it EASY for mums to be supported and cared for while they were busy caring for others."

https://www.themindfulmum.com/the-sanctuary/