Things I No Longer Believe After Becoming a Mother

1. I no longer believe that needing time alone is selfish.

2. I no longer believe that rest has to be earned.

3. I no longer believe that beauty disappears with tired eyes, white hairs, or changing skin.

4. I no longer believe that my practice only counts if it happens perfectly on the mat.

5. I no longer believe that motherhood is only about caring for someone else. It is an invitation to finally care for yourself.

It’s 7:58pm and my alarm goes off.

Not for dinner.

Not to meditate.

Not for a meeting.

To book the gym crèche.

Because if I don’t do it exactly now, in 9 days’ time there won’t be space, and I won’t get those two hours to myself.

One hour to move my body.

And another hour of silence.

It’s expensive.

But not more expensive than my mental health.

Motherhood has changed me.

Not just emotionally, but in the smallest, most ordinary moments.

I’ve learnt that I genuinely need time alone in order to feel like myself.

Not because I love my child any less.

But because having space makes me a better version of me when I return.

More present.

More focused.

More patient.

I know that on those gym/crèche mornings I’ll wake up early and still probably won’t have time to do my makeup properly.

And honestly? I don’t really care anymore.

Motherhood softened something in me.

I’ve learnt to accept my face as it is.

The tired eyes. The grey hairs. The lines that weren’t there before.

I look different now.

But I also feel more myself than I used to.

And in the evenings, when I’m tired and haven’t had time for a “proper” yoga practice, I no longer force it.

I’ve stopped believing that presence only counts if it looks perfect.

Sometimes my practice is simply focusing on the breath while breastfeeding.

Sometimes it’s slowing down enough to actually arrive in the moment I’m already in.

Motherhood hasn’t made life slower. But it has made me more aware of how I want to live it.