Empower Massage Studio

Welcome to this little corner of the internet where you’ll never feel judged for being you or for prioritizing your self care in the thick of mother hood 🤍 come learn with me!

If you’re new here, Hi! I’m Michelle, a Licensed Massage Therapist and mom of 2 boys with a 6 year age gap 👦🏼👶🏻. Follow along for more content about massage and nervous system regulation for parents and kids.

pregnancy, avoiding induction, labor preparation, natural labor support, birth preparation, labor coping tools, pregnancy tips, first time mom, motherhood, postpartum, nervous system regulation, nervous system support, overwhelmed moms, women’s health, prenatal massage, postpartum support, maternal wellness, realistic motherhood, mom life, intentional motherhood

Going from competing and lifting over 200 lbs to rebuilding was probably one of the hardest mental shifts after my first baby.

Knowing what I was capable of and feeling so far from it during a time where I felt like I needed that outlet the most really sucked.

To feel like yourself and have some sense of normalcy during such a transformative time in your life is something I think we all crave as moms, especially after our first baby.

But what I didn’t know then was how much that experience would change me in ways I’m so grateful for now.

I used to think lifting made me resilient, and I do think it gave me a lot of mental toughness because you don’t get strong without learning how to work hard, be disciplined and keep showing up. But for the most part, I was always progressing. I went from barely being able to lift the bar to lifting over 200 lbs, and even when training was hard, I was still moving forward and getting stronger.

What felt completely different was knowing what it felt like to be strong, feeling like I had lost all of that, and then having to find my way back while also trying to figure out who I was as a mom and having this little person depending on me.

I think that experience gave me a different kind of resilience than training ever did, because I learned that I could lose my footing, not feel like myself for a while, and still eventually find my way back.

I still get overwhelmed and I definitely don’t handle every curveball well, but I do think I move through hard seasons differently now than I did before becoming a mom.

Did becoming a mom change the way you think about strength too?

motherhood, postpartum fitness, postpartum recovery, strength after baby, identity after motherhood, maternal mental health, postpartum journey, rebuilding after baby, motherhood identity, strength training, nervous system regulation, postpartum life

Most people don’t pick up on this until their baby has developed a flat spot. And many still don’t seek out help.

But as someone whose background is in functional movement, I wish I had known more about this with my first as I know the chain reaction that this can cause.

By the time I realized what it was, he had already developed a flat spot and I lost so much sleep over positioning him while he slept.

My best recommendation is to see someone who works on babies within their first 1–2 weeks of life. The sooner you catch things, the easier it is to address and the faster progress typically is!

If you’re new here, Hi! I’m Michelle, a Licensed Massage Therapist and mom of 2 boys with a 6 year age gap. 👵🏻👶🏻 Follow along for more content about massage and nervous system regulation for parents and kids.

Torticollis, baby tension, plagiocephaly, brachiocephaly, head flattening, head turn preference, baby milestones, baby development