Sina Oefeli from Mindful Mothers talks about how she and her co-founder Hanna Ganzmann help clients with fertility issues, prepare women for birth and postpartum as well as keeping mothers and women mindful.
Sina grew up on the German/Swiss border and has worked internationally in finance before moving to Switzerland to later on pursuing her mission with Mindful Mothers in 2015. Sina is a mother of two boys and has experienced the benefits of her methods first hand.
She developed different programs for women and does one to one:
Fertility Coaching
Prenatal and postnatal Classes
Woman's balance (menopause etc)
Coaching using hypnotherapy, mindfulness, breath work to name just a few to help her clients in the different phases of life and motherhood.
Her top 3 life hakx for fertility are:
Help it! Find a medical doctor that you trust and feel comfortable with to look at it from a physiological point of view. In addition, find a holistic fertility expert that can support you. That expert should ideally work with a method that you can relate to.
Brain it! Don't underestimate the mental aspect of it. Do regular exercises like mindfulness, meditation, hypnosis to work on your neuroplasticity and the aspects that might mentally block you, such as stress, negative self talk etc. Your brain is like a muscle that you can train, so work it.
Health it! Not just your mental health is important, eat healthy, get enough sleep, exercise…everything in moderation.
Her top 3 life hakx for birth:
Understand it! Understand what it is all about - ideally from a physiological point of view, but not just how the baby comes out; but how your whole body is adapting towards birth from the way your hormones change to help you to how you can support your baby and how it helps you. Look for some professional prenatal class that covers more than the usual push breathing ;)
Prepare it! Mentally and physically. This starts with different breathing techniques, pelvic floor muscles training and relaxation, mental preparation like hypnosis, perineal massage and what have you…You wouldn't run a marathon without preparation? And as mentioned above, you also need to train your brain to get where you want to be.
Plan it! Get your partner involved, discuss how you want to bring your child into this world and how he can support you! It can be helpful to write a birth plan and visualize your ideal birth.
Her top 3 life hakx for postpartum:
Organize it! Better to be prepared than surprised by the amount of time your baby might need you. Therefore, fill the freezer, get the paperwork done beforehand, look into possibilities of getting help, even if it is just a friend that pops by to help you with anything that you might need help with. Also think of when your partner wants/can take his paternity leave etc...
Work it! Go to a professional postnatal class or yoga, physio etc… for your pelvic floor, tummy muscles (diastasis recti) and to get out and socialize. It is often underestimated the impact of a pregnancy onto your body.
Heal it! Take time for yourself and the baby and take it easy– this will help you with the bonding between you and your baby, your healing and recovery as well as lack of sleep. Hypnosis is a brilliant way to help during this intense time and also allows you to establish a self care routine and a little bit of 'me-time'.
Her top 3 life hakx for mindful mothers:
Routine it! Life can be so wonderful with kids, that we often forget about our needs. Build a self care routine–mentally and physically - for you. Do your workout and exercises like mindfulness, meditation, hypnosis, yoga, fitness etc – you are the number 1 . It is like on an airplane, you always put on your oxygen mask first before helping your child.
Me-time it! On top of a regular self care routine, plan time for yourself, fun times, wellness, girls night out etc. It is like in most relationships...distance makes the heart grow fonder. When you spend time away from your child, you will very likely enjoy being back with it even more with recharged batteries.
Help it! Becoming a mother often comes at a price. That may be weight gain, hormonal imbalance, physical issues like pelvic floor problems, diastasis recti, etc or even impact your mental health. That is why we think it is vital to get help. In whatever form or shape this may be, some may get the help they need from a doctor or physiotherapist others may seek a holistic approach.
On a final note, why not repeat this Mindful Mothers Mantra regularly for some weeks and see how you feel:
I am enough and I am perfect the way I am!
