” I feel like I was born for this ! “
In fact, I feel like I have been doing this for years. I used to babysit for many families throughout my teen years and I loved babysitting during the day where I got to play and hangout with these lovely little people..well not all were so lovely..one locked me in the bathroom and sat outside laughing very impressed with herself.
I went on to train as a British Nursery Nurse (NNEB) and then became a nanny in England, Switzerland and Toronto. I worked with many families and each time fell completely in love with their children. I took my role very seriously and balanced the parents needs with lots of joy and laughter for the children.
I felt very prepared and ready to have my children, I had helped raise so many but it was quite a shock as I was unprepared for how deep my love, adoration and mother bear feelings would show up. I felt immense fear for their safety, for their happiness, for their well being. I completely immersed myself in parenting, loving the play, the sharing of laughter. I could be present and in that moment..no hurry to move on..but I certainly forgot about me, as in me Anja, not Anja the wife, Anja the mother or Anja the business owner but me, Anja.
From here too, I was an absorber of everyone’s energy or moods. If my child was having a bad day, or one of them was sick or hurt, it completely consumed me to try and make it better. I felt it too and was the holder of it all. Not a healthy place to be. I realized the change needed to be me. I knew that I had to look into ways to un-mesh myself from them. I did the work of digging deep to discover what was buried beneath my actions. To learn to accept way less than perfection and trust that all would be ok.
One of the main reasons I moved into this direction as a parenting coach was that I wish I had had someone in my life back then, who was uninvolved, and unattached to the outcomes. Someone whom I fully trusted to share in my struggles, support me and offer advice. Someone that was in alignment with how I wanted to parent and who was in my corner, as I made some difficult changes, to perhaps to what those around me felt was right. To be supported in listening to my intuition and to trust in my heart. I would like to be that person for you.
I am also a certified yoga teacher in the Kripalu tradition.