Parenthood & Family

My Mommy Mundo Mindful Mom Re-Treat Experience

One of the main reasons I put up this blog is to help my fellow mommies to feel good despite the daily challenges of motherhood.

So when I received an invite from Mommy Mundo to be part ofΒ Mindful Mom Re-Treat, I didn’t think twice and confirmed my attendance right away. This retreat is something I need to share with my fellow mommies!Β 
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I’m a stay-at-home mom [with blogging and makeup gig on the side] with my 2-year old son who loves to run and chasing is endless! I feel lucky because of our trustful yaya who assists me with the house chores and I have someone to look after my son whenever I need to leave the house. Having one child is quite tiresome, what more those who solely do the house chores with 2 or more kids to manage? Oh that must be backbreaking!Β 
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The Mindful Mom Re-Treat isΒ a community event focused on refreshing, re-energizing, and re-centering modern mamas. Through a series of activities to be facilitated by Ms. Michele S. Alignay, MA, Registered Family Psychologist andΒ momΒ of two, moms will gain a more insightful knowledge of themselves, allowing them to identify the things most important to them and the factors hindering them from achieving life goals.Β 

“Make yourself a priority once in a while. It’s not selfish, it’s a necessary.” – UnknownΒ 

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Mindful Mom Musts:
Be OPEN with the process
Β PRESENT in the now
Be MINDFUL of yourselfΒ 
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The retreat consists of 5 fun and mindful activities I have never experienced before.
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In Activity 1, we were asked to list down our daily routine with the number of hours spent. I also learned the different life areas as follows: Family, Work, Mental, Emotional, Physical, Social and Spiritual. These life areas must be balanced in order to live mindfully. From this activity, I realized that I almost neglect my Spiritual and Physical Life.

“It is not enough that you are busy, but the question is, “What are we busy about?” – Henry DavidΒ ThoreuΒ 

Activity 2 was about identifying the “standards” we usually hear from our parents/others that we actually passed it on to our kids. Some say that at the age of 2, babies can now sing a song. My son, however, can only say few words like Ma, Ball, Kaka [water] etc. Honestly, I don’t panic at all. He may not talk a lot of words but he excels on other things like he can shoot a ball for 4 times in a row. Β I also don’t like the idea of comparing my son to others because who would want that?Β 

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become!” – Carl Jung

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I find being brutally honest to myself in Activity 3 as we identified our strengths [What I’m good at] and our weaknessesΒ [What I’m not good at] as a mom. Planning and organizing are my strengths. Furthermore, I love planning our trips, rearranging our rooms, decluttering our stuffΒ and anything about organizing. Meanwhile, I’m not good at cooking because we have someone who cooks for us. I’m not also good at teaching my son ABC since most of the time I’m working on my laptop. The guilt kicks in. In this activity, I learned the things I need some improvement.
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Self Acceptance – If you accept your own imperfections, then you would be mindful and tolerant about the imperfections of your family, other people, and circumstances.
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3 phrases we should let go from our mind if we want to live mindfully:
1. What if…
2. If only…
3. Why me..
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We had a short videoke session singing “Let It Go” from the movie Frozen as Ms. Michelle shares how fascinated she was with the lyrics. That all mothers can relate telling us to let it goΒ of our fears and worries and to live mindfully! It became my favorite song in an instant!

Activity 4Β was getting more personal seeing myself from a whole different perspective.

How we define ourselves as an individual and as a mom, our unique characteristics, interests, and hobbies. I also listed down my goals for myself and for my family.Β 
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Self-careΒ – it is a deliberate act and a daily process of attending to our needs – body, mind, emotions and spirit. It includes the shaping of our daily routine, relationships, and environment to mindfully enrich ourselves as our own person.Β 
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Why is Self-care Important?
1. Moms are multi-taskers
2. Moms wear many hats
3. Moms are the nurturers and the family’s emotional anchor
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“Self-care is a call to Mindfulness. It is to BE instead of to DO. Pausing, reflecting, and being present in the moment. It’s a treat and responsibility to the self!”

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Practical Mindful Self-Care
1. BE present at the moment
2. Cease of OVERTHINK
3. Offline CONNECTIONS are more important
4. Do not COMPARE
5. Choose your INFLUENCES
6. DECLUTTER your thoughts and emotions
7. Set you BOUNDARIES, Say NO if needed
8. PACE each task, one day at a time
9. Identify matters you can LET GO of
10. Honor WHO YOU ARE
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Self-care results to…
.. being a more loving mom and wife
.. seeing life with a better disposition / clearer thoughts
.. feeling “fairly treated”
.. less risk of feeling “maxed-out”
.. being mindful mom and living by our mom manifesto
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“When stress, tasks, and life demands increase, so must be our mindful self-care!” – Michele AlignayΒ 
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After learning the importance of self-care, it’s time for Activity 5. It’s a take-home activity as we needed more time to assess two things – important matters in our lives and the roadblocks that hinderΒ to make an effort to that important matters. We were also asked to make a self-care plan and mine includes having a good body massage, mani/pedicure session and going to the beach. It is advised to commit to any of them at least twice a month. *battling lashes to hubby lols*
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A mindful mom seeks to take care of her individuality and sense of well-being.

If you are a happily fulfilled individual, your sense of being would have a snowball effect on everyone around you, from your spouse and your children to all the other important people in your life. Furthermore, you can give more love because you feel LOVED. You can focus more because you took the time to focus. And lastly, you can be more mindful of others’ needs because you took the time to take care of your own.
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Meanwhile, here are few of the generous sponsors who were present at the retreat.
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Belo Baby Love
Cycles & Cradles
On that same day, Ms. Michelle also launched her book entitled “Family Goals – Embracing the IMperfections of Family Life”. I won a copy during the raffle draw and bought another one as a Christmas present. She also signed it as a bonus, wohoo!
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Felt so lucky that day as I also won these Cycle goodies! Bihira lang mangyari to!Β 
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With Ms. Michele which is so pretty in this picture πŸ™‚
With Ms. Janice Villanueva, founder of Mommy Mundo and one of the women I looked up to. Thank you so much!
Motherhood is not just about providing what is best for the people we loveΒ but also loving ourselves to give more to others. It’s definitely true that “Happy mommy means happy family!”Β 
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Let’s start our journey to be a MINDFUL MOMMY!

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Thank you for this unforgettable experience, Ms. Janice and RJ [Girl, I miss you!] And thank you to the wonderful sponsors who filled our loot bag with so many goodies!Β Caltrate Plus, Belo Baby, Cycles & Cradles, Monogramstyleph, Urban Ashram, Brow Studio, Mommy Treats, Bio Oil, National Bookstore, Fly Ace – Jolly, Photobook Philippines, Scholastic, Dusit Thani Manila
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For more updates on events and retreats, visit Mommy Mundo at http://mommymundo.com/ and follow their social media accounts:Β 
FacebookΒ Β | Β Google +Β Β | Β InstagramΒ Β | Β TwitterΒ  | Β BloglovinΒ |Β Youtube
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10 Comments on “My Mommy Mundo Mindful Mom Re-Treat Experience

  1. I love the "Happy Mommy means happy family"…that is just so true. =) Mommies really need to have a time-off to recharge or to at least pamper herself once in awhile. =)

  2. Wow! Ang ganda naman ng naging retreat nyo! Andaming naging mga reflections. Sayang di ako nakasama. But it's ok, baka next time na daw ung para sakin. hehe. I miss you gaw!

  3. I agree 100%. Personal time should always be a priority. You need to take care of yourself and your needs too to be a more effective version of yourself. Thanks for sharing Sis!

  4. Mommies need retreats like this. It helps nurture oneself and be energized and recharged. Moms pa naman always are stressed because we put our family first and sometimes forget about ourselves. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Ive been looking forward for this workshop. And considering its success, I know there will be another set of the same kind. Will definitely make time for it.

    Thanks for sharing as well. I felt a little relieved after reading. Hehe, weee, we deserve a break and its not being selfish at all.

  6. wow, what a great retreat to attend. wish I was there. I like workshops that push me to reevaluate my actions and decisions. as a mom, it's easy to get lost in the busy-ness of things, but yes – purpose is my word this coming new year!

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