Namaste, mamas!

“Why don’t you just quit your job and teach yoga full-time?” my mom asked. “You can do it.”

We were walking in Ravenna Park, across the street from my childhood home in Seattle. At the time, I was working as a journalist and teaching yoga on the side, itching to ditch my day job and roll out my mat full-time.

What my mom said to me that day was a revelation: “She’s right! I can do it!”

Now, I have my own baby and its name is Jasyoga (making my mom and I both proud mamas at its birth aka launch party in 2010 as seen above). I spend most of my time with it, I sometimes loose sleep because of it, and I know its not always pretty. Luckily, it rarely poops its pants. I’ve come to realize that in the process of caring for this baby that I’m also nurturing myself and those around me — and that is incredibly energizing, which I’m pretty sure is what following your heart is meant to feel like.

I have to thank my mom for helping me to nurture my passion before I knew how to nurture it myself — she did this simply by believing in me. So as you’re thinking about your mom this weekend, also think about what you’re “mothering.” Whether you're a man or woman, believe in yourself and nurture that baby, that project, that partner, that goal… Take the nudge from yo mama — she often does know best.

What are you nurturing this spring? How can you help others nurture their passions?