Everything worthwhile I’ve written on Medium and elsewhere. — Thanks for Following — That’s the First Step in Our Relationship! Please subscribe so you can be the first to know when I write something for you. Just hit this 💌 button and you’ll get notified. Not a Medium member yet? Join here to support writers like me and get full access to every story. I respond to comments! Write me…

I know am not the only parent cracking open, so when I wake up to the list my inner critic has been writing all night long, I turn inward with compassion. — I wake up most mornings overflowing with doubts. Am I on the right path? Am I taking care of this body well enough? This mind? This home? Am I a good enough teacher? Partner? Citizen of the world? Yoga practitioner? Friend? Most of All, I Doubt My Mothering

If you think stigma has been erased from autism, you are living in a dream world of extreme privilege. — I read the recent NY Times Op-Ed by Emma Camp, “Why I Am More and More Ambivalent About My Autism Diagnosis” with increasing fury. Ms. Camp’s political bent is perplexing, but the point that is most essential to me, because it could perpetuate ignorance and cause damage, is her bizarre…

As a new parent, I was riddled with guilt because I had the unreasonable expectation that I was supposed to know what to do. — Do you ever feel parenting guilt? I’ve been there. I’ll show you how to forgive yourself in 3 steps. I’ll also tell you why self-forgiveness is essential for parents. The photo above is the obligatory first birthday shot. By then I was riddled with guilt on a daily basis. …

Our unpleasant emotions will unconsciously control us, until we listen to them. — Nature gives us daily lessons in the beauty of imperfection. Mindfulness helps us find equanimity with the ups and downs of life. But it’s not always sunshine and daffodils. …

I seized a golden opportunity to teach my kid self-regulation. — I Am Literally a Breathing Expert I hold professional training in pranayama, the evidence-based, ancient approach to breath awareness and breathing exercises. My son has always rejected any breathing ideas I try to share with him. “That’s not my thing,” he says, “It’s YOUR thing.” The problem is, the self–regulation strategies that are his “thing” aren’t…

The most important thing you can do when your neurodivergent child is having a hard time is not what you think. — We parents don’t have all the answers. When your kid is stuck, unmotivated, or overwhelmed, it’s hard to think straight. I understand how frustrating that can be, and how hard it is to keep calm when you aren’t sure how to help. We just want to DO SOMETHING to fix it! If you are fed up with top-down parenting approaches, but you don’t know what to do instead, you’re not alone.

Is havoc happening at home? Are you at a loss when it comes to your neurodivergent kid’s intense behaviors? — We can’t let our kids get away with it… or CAN we? Here’s a mindfulness practice and a parenting script to help you stop walking on eggshells and start leading by example. Join us for Unstuck & Understood: How to use connection to motivate your neurodivergent kid. Sure, behavior is communication, but if your kid is saying something inappropriate, or acting rude…

When you are grounded in self-love, it helps all of us. — Do you have a love hangover? Sometimes I hear Hallmark platitudes disguised as meditation and it pisses me off. Even the sentiment, “May you live with ease” annoys me. It feels unrealistic for many parents who are struggling with real systemic inequity, and it can be alienating. That’s not what meditation is about. …