Mothers hold a special place in Tibetan Buddhism. Even the Dalai Lama has said that his first teacher of compassion was his mother: “The first day after my birth, immediately I learned, I experienced mother’s sort of compassion. That is I think the most important part of building a healthy family and that means healthy humanity.”

This Mother’s Day, we’re recognizing a few of the moms in our sangha for all of the love and wisdom they share with each of us. Don’t forget to check out the Anna Lopez’s talk Meditation Saved My Kids From Me.

**Leah Kreger, R.A.**

Yoga, Meditation and Dharma Teacher
Age of child(ren): 18

How has motherhood impacted your sense of spirituality? When we use what a mother would do for her only child as a simile for bodhichitta, I can relate! Also, my touchstone for a moment of intense happiness that's part of the Three Jewels bliss meditation, is often the first time I laid eyes on my daughter and our eyes locked. No blinking. So all the mother metaphors we use for developing bodhicitta are very real for me!

What are your “go-to” practices when you’re feeling frustrated or overwhelmed? Reciting mantras is almost instantly centering and transforming. Service is almost instantly connecting - check out the new Three Jewels service arm called Kelwa.

Are there any practices you do with your children? Mostly I model for my child. I model consistency and solidity for her. Tapas and joyous effort. The soundtrack of covid in this house is yoga, Dharma and tibetan on zoom. She doesn’t always see me meditating because she sleeps in. I look for teachable moments to talk about karma and emptiness. Also sex and drugs.

What advice do you have for moms who are interested in incorporating meditation or other Buddhist practices into their life? Bring them to @ThreeJewelsKids, it's awesome. Give them cool enlightenment swag. My daughter used to love wearing a t-shirt that said "Aum, I have enough" on the back from a Lama Marut retreat. Do multi-generational family classes. Start your own multi-generational family classes. Most schools have ways to bring parent talent into the school: bring in a meditation session for the kids. One time I was invited to come to an 8th grade class religion panel to talk about Buddhism. Look for those opportunities.

Anything else you'd like to share that you feel is relevant to your experience of the intersection between Buddhism and motherhood? When times are good with your kids, especially mothers and daughters, especially when they are little and you think they will never not think you are god, dedicate, dedicate, dedicate those good times to mothers and daughters everywhere!

Where can people find you? On instagram @leahquick. I'm a substitute teacher, often teaching weekend mornings at Three Jewels NYC.

**Shellonda Anderson**

**Spiritual Herbalist**
**Age of child(ren):** 9.5 months

How has motherhood impacted your sense of spirituality? Motherhood has really strengthened my intuition. Before Sumaiyah was conceived I received signs and messages that she was coming. In the spirit realm I made an agreement/contract with her that I would help bring her earth side. About an hour before she came there was a moment when the waves felt insurountable and I felt as if I was dying and I was ok with that. I believe that was the moment of my rebirth into this new chapter. A doctor would probably have labeled it the transition phase. I labeled it my death. When I was carrying her, my dreams became more potent and clear. She often visited me in my dreams, usually in the space I grew up in as a child. I can easily become stressed about the naming process. My mind starts to turn and I go back and forth. I'm eternally grateful that Sumaiyah helped me with this big feat by naming her herself! She sent me her name three times while she was in the womb. It wasn't until I started YTT with Three Jewels that I learned Samaya means vows in Sanskrit. I know without a doubt that Sumaiyah brought me to my Buddhist practice, to peeling back this next layer.

What are your “go-to” practices when you’re feeling frustrated or overwhelmed? I'm currently in YTT and while I have a lot of support on the weekend during the training, during the week it's usually just me and Sumaiyah. It's so easy to become overwhelmed. I've really been leaning into the community, the teachings and my practice to transform any frustration I may be experiencing. Starting my day with meditation has been so key. It's like a mental decluttering that gives me the clarity I need to show up fully. Three Jewel's SPACE community recently reminded me that napping, something I did quite often before motherhood, is a form of self-care. Currently my favorite pranayama practice which seems to work instantly is nadi shodhana, alternate nostril breathing. I'm immediately shifted into a space where I can see more clearly, then observe and analyze why I'm experiencing "frustration" or feeling "overwhelmed". It helps me take refuge in emptiness. Nadi shodhana is also a gem for chestfeeding parents. I've found it has helped me immensely with my milk let down and hand expressing milk.

Are there any practices you do with your children? Sumaiyah is instantly relaxed when she hears the sound of a Tibetan singing bowl or when she hears me chanting. If we're feeling scattered, either helps to center us in the moment. When she was in my womb, this was a part of my daily practice; I like to think she remembers it. She joins me for Three Jewels meditation, asana and ACI downloads. Initially I was trying to find ways to practice while she was resting, but I realized she has such beautiful karma to be able witness the practice and receive these teachings. It's really never too early. I'm also pretty steeped in the woo woo! For a while I would have her pull daily tarot cards for the day and the reads for the energy were so accurate. I keep an altar and include her in my rituals, my medicine making and our ancestral work. Sumaiyah is always in the garden with me! It really is the perfect space primed for lessons on karma and emptiness.

What advice do you have for moms who are interested in incorporating meditation or other Buddhist practices into their life? I've been reflecting on this a lot lately. I've been thinking up practices that can really help parents, moms in particular with young children. I found it can be really easy to become frustrated about not being able to practice when or how I'd like, and I quickly realized that was a form of ignorant liking. My teacher Rachel Webb reminded us that needing to be the best at pranayama or asana is also a form of ignorance as well. I'd recommend slowly figuring out what works for you. Maybe incorporate pranayama for 2-5 minutes a day and meditation for at least 5 minutes a day. You can start your day with a few Surya Namaskar A. See how that shifts things for you. I've found that the biggest shifts happens by observing the mind. My at-home asana practice is now filled with breastfeeding interludes and I've accepted this as a moment to pause and smile during my practice and focus on my breath. Reimagine a practice that includes your children.

Anything else you'd like to share that you feel is relevant to your experience of the intersection between Buddhism and motherhood? Approaching Buddhism as a mother has been so integral to my practice. Protecting life and treating every being as if they were my only child, it's so tangible. My daughter has catapulted me into a deep understanding of what that looks like. Lama Sumati in a podcast reminded me that the opposite of anger is patience and compassion. My daughter teaches me this daily. "When the dagger of hatred is lodged in the heart the mind can know no peace. It obtains no joy or hapiness..." Everyday I choose joy and happiness, so my daughter will know how that looks and feels. I'm really grateful she chose me and that I'm able to see her as my teacher.

Where can people find you? I'm on Instagram @herbsandchill and @wombnifest for my herbal creations. I'm preparing to finally share medicine with the world and will be launching my website www.wombnifest.com soon!

**Jingjing (JJ) Liang**

Yoga and Meditation Teacher, Attorney
Due Date: Expected June 2021!

How has motherhood impacted your sense of spirituality? Since becoming pregnant, I have felt an urgency to practice everything I'd been studying and "wanting" to practice. I have moved all my spiritual to-do items to a currently-doing list. I remember learning about the idea of "refuge" and "taking refuge" in an ACI class, and the teacher gave an example of seeing a shelter when caught in a storm: the shelter is refuge, and running to the shelter is taking refuge. For a long time I was meditating, taking classes, learning about (and enjoying) these Buddhist concepts, and discussing (and debating) them with the Three Jewels sangha. When I found out I was pregnant, I found myself truly taking refuge in the three jewels and everything I had been learning. When I felt anxiety and fear in the middle of the night, I couldn't turn to Instagram, lavender, or even family members for help because not only was it often at odd hours, most of the time I barely knew how to express what I was feeling in the first place. So I turned to my practice and studies of karma and emptiness and Three Jewel's motto: if you want something, help someone else get it. Ok, I wanted peace and confidence in my heart. So I went to the online communities with other pregnant women to find ways to provide comfort and calm to others; I sat down on my meditation cushion and dedicated my practice to all mothers everywhere, past present and future, in all forms; and I consciously intended any anxiety and fear I felt to be the absolute and final experience of anxiety and fear of pregnancy/motherhood for all mothers everywhere. While at Three Jewels we often teach students to not expect immediate results of your planted seeds, I found that these practices brought me a sense of calm, compassion and joy very soon after the practice. Thinking and caring about others help you get rid of your own mental afflictions!

Any insights you’d like to share from pregnancy so far? One of my “realizations” that brought a lot of comfort as I was watching my childbirth ed video was that, I’ve done this before... in my past lives. I MUST have done this before, that’s why my body knows what to do when the time comes. I just haven’t done it in this life, and my baby has done this before, too. In its past lives, it has gone through the birth canal, navigated its way out, we’ve all done this so many times before, possible that me and my baby have gone through it together before. And when I thought of that omg, there was an unreal sense of confidence and comfort.

What are your “go-to” practices when you’re feeling frustrated or overwhelmed? When I feel really overwhelmed, I like to set a little timer to allow myself be flooded with the emotion so that I experience the human emotion before pulling myself together and turning to the next step. This strategy has worked for me in the past, and since studying karma and emptiness, for a while I was concerned about planting bad seeds. But further studies allowed me to accept (and even embrace) the human experience with mental afflictions. I don’t think we should lock away the negative emotions when they come up because of fear of planting bad seeds, I think it’s ok to let them flow, let past bad karma ripen, purify, and then plant new, intentional, thoughtful and compassionate seeds. I guess this would also be my advice to my future self when I have my baby and come across all the craziness that motherhood brings!

Are there any practices are you doing to prepare for labor? In addition to a consistent yoga practice to move the prana in my constantly-changing body, I have been adapting our traditional meditations to serve the mental afflictions I have during pregnancy. I try to apply emptiness to the physical and emotional ups and downs, and I’m hoping that when “exam time” comes (i.e., when I have to deliver my baby), I can really apply the wisdom in Tibetan Buddhism to the moment - to start our lives together with love and wisdom.

What advice do you have for moms who are interested in incorporating meditation or other Buddhist practices into their life? My advice is to just start. There's no need for a "plan" to incorporate meditation or other Buddhist practices into your life, just pull out a cushion and sit down for 5 minutes. Start small, maybe it's a 5-min meditation for this week and then 7-min meditations the week after. Maybe you spend 10 minutes journaling this morning before being interrupted, but next week you find a good 30-45 min to yourself to read some meaningful text (check out Three Jewels' shop for amazing Buddhist books! Overtime, each of these little meditations and spiritual acts will ripen and flourish into an "established" practice.

Anything else you'd like to share that you feel is relevant to your experience of the intersection between Buddhism and motherhood? I simply cannot imagine entering motherhood without the spiritual practice I have developed and the knowledge I have gained from my various trainings at Three Jewels. For this, I am forever grateful.

Where can people find you? On instagram, @come.back.om.
For teaching schedule:
Mondays 8:30am EST - Deep focus meditation with @awarehousenyc
Sundays 9:30am EST - Gratitude meditation with @altyogacollective
Sundays 6:00pm EST - Vinyasa yoga with @threejewelsnyc

Celebrating Meditation Mamas