Maiden, Mother, Matriarch: Empowering Women with a Child-Centric and Lunar Aligned Approach

Interview Title: Maiden, Mother, Matriarch: Empowering Women with a Child-Centric and Lunar Aligned Approach


Today's Valuable Free Resources/Links:

Free Resource Link: https://www.moonmaidenmeditation.com/product-page/lunar-affection-a-28-day-self-love-manifestation-journal-taurus-new-moon

Summary

In this episode, I introduce you to Tennille Jacobs.

Tennille is a certified Trauma-Informed Conscious Parenting Coach and Lunar Aligned Manifestation and Meditation Coach.

As the co-founder of Moon Maiden Meditation and originally from Zimbabwe, Tennille combines psychological insights, spiritual wisdom, and a culturally driven, child-centric approach to empower women in all stages of life.

She is dedicated to helping women achieve fulfilment and balance, whether they embrace motherhood or pursue alternative paths.

Today she speaks about:

Child-centric parenting and the importance of understanding the impact of stress on fetal development. (0:00)

Child-centric parenting, lunar cycles, and intentional living. (7:47)

Femininity, healing, and the lunar cycle. (13:08)

Parenting, awareness, and self-care for parents and their children. (20:00)

Parenting, self-love, and lunar cycles. (24:11)

Join me for this episode of Mommy Heal Thyself to learn how to raise children with a child centric and lunar aligned approach.

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Intro  0:00 

Welcome to Mommy Heal Thyself.  We featured guests that provide you with the tools, resources and strategies you need to say no to a life of pain and suffering all forms of preventable disease, toxic drugs and unnecessary surgeries. We hope to inspire you to boldly reclaim your ability to heal, and to serve ones to love.

Dr Michelle  0:16 

Welcome my beautiful ladies to another episode of mommy heal thyself today I have with us the fantastic to Tennille Jacobs and she is a certified trauma informed conscious parenting coach and lunar Aline manifestation meditation coach, as the co founder of Moon made meditation and originally from Zimbabwe, to Neal combines psychological insights, spiritual wisdom, and culturally driven, child centric approach to empower women. In all stages of life. She's dedicated to helping women achieve fulfillment and balance, whether they embrace motherhood or pursue alternative paths. Thank you so much for joining us here today to kneel. Thank you for having me. Well, you know, I am super excited when you have the idea of talking to us about maiden Mother Mary Ark empowering women with child centric and lunar aligned approach. So, first and foremost, how did you come about? Doing this stuff?

Tennille J  1:28 

Well, honestly, it's just think some of the gaps that I found in the western world because I'm wanting amazing Zimbabwe. emigrated to Canada as an adult, I was 20 when I got here, and then you just kind of get into the groove of life, you know, many things people don't consider is how hard it is for adults when they immigrated to, to get used to a society. Right. And so by the time it came, so I have two children that are very far apart in age. My son is going to be 20 this year and my daughter just turned four Yeah. It's been amazing. So when my son was born, that was when certain things started to really kind of like Where's this coming from? You know, so for example, you know, I suppose time on without family and stuff here, you kind of trying to figure it out yourself, right? So I dug into parenting books in the life and then I'm seeing you know, certain recommendations that I make that doesn't make sense, like a big one. I know. I put in a disclaimer here. This is my opinion and my experience, but I have officially it's still recommended, but one of the big ones most eating right whether it's huge recommendations against coastal economics. You know, we always think about babies. Oh, you mean I can't think of my baby. Oh, so I mean, I post that but my son I breastfed as well. And these were just things that were just naturally part of, of my upbringing, right? Same thing with cloth diaper, and I thought I could as well and actually quite good, it may be it's complicated for some, but it actually gets the children out of diapers foster to it lots of benefits with that, because I was like, No, I'm gonna do it my way. Anyway. Right. And same thing with me wearing as they call it. Again, very much a part of this is this is what we do at home, you know, kind of maybe this is like, so close to my super because I have my own childhood. They were, you know, aspects of my childhood that weren't great. So of course, you know, I want to be the best mom I can be and really focusing in on that. And I ended up going back to because I didn't actually have I didn't finish high school because of the back and forth between Canada. So as an adult, I went back to uni, and I pursued my degree in psychology. So I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. I was like a 34 When I went back to uni, and I wanted to fast track it. So I realized three years graduated medical audit and I really liked it, I loved it, right? The neuroscientific part. And the thing about why I think I ended up doing so well in my degree was because I was able to kind of like make connections with life, you know, with my experiences at home was what I was going for as a parent. And, and one thing I really love is that a lot of now, the shift in developmental psychology is understanding that these these things I was talking about, like they're good for babies, you know? Well, people have been told not to do these things with a baby so it's crazy. But the more that I looked at it I'm like it's there's so much more to it. So even for example, in Zimbabwe, one of the things that happens is women a mom. So I mean, old couch potato chips, generally married couples, right? And when the wife is six months pregnant, she gets taken to that family and from that point, she doesn't have to do nothing for the rest of the pregnancy. Right? They take care of everything, right? They take care of everything. They make sure she's good. She's bad. She didn't have to worry about nothing, right? Yeah. And it's an oh yeah, it's like completely different mothers. Like almost, you know, glorifying working till that very last. And again, no judgment. I understand Pisces yet it's just from a top perspective. It's like what's going on? Exactly. And what the interesting was that when I was in sight, we started talking about some studies. That were found. And these epigenetic studies, which are fairly new, are coming up. And they're now showing why this thing that people have been doing culturally just naturally is actually necessary. They so the studies are recent because of many levels. During 911, they had they started some others that when you have to cite different stages of pregnancy, right, throughout pregnancy, when it comes to the kind of narrative around pregnancy, everyone's told to be worried about those first few months you know, that's when all the things can happen you this you know, all these things, but the last part of your pregnancy is just as important for different reasons. And what they found with these studies was that mothers who were in their later stage of pregnancy and when you cite, their children were born with higher cortisol levels. Essentially, they had inserts susceptibility to graft. Just because the stressing mother's face, even though most mothers were in their later stages of pregnancies. Mothers that were in the earliest stages, their children weren't really affected the same. And that's a key thing. It's showing us that whole pregnancy is important. How stress moms up affects babies and actually puts them into this world with like, a disadvantage. So things have to change, you know, society has to change. It has to change its approach to parenting. And when I talk about child centric, it's not to say everybody wants to be a mother No. But when we realize that all development as children really has such a huge impact on our outcomes as adults. We stopped to recognize number one, what we missed, right? So insights child centric allows us to focus in on ourselves on on counting, butchering that child that didn't get the things that they should have gotten. As well as of course, trying the best we can as our parents to make sure that we give the children the best chance in terms of development. Sorry, I didn't get

Dr Michelle  7:46 

I love everything that you're saying. You know, I read I can resonate with all of your stories because I cohabitated with my kids, I nursed them in the bed because girlfriend I was not getting up out the bed, my child. That didn't happen. So whatever. All that nonsense Oh, gotta sleep on the tongue. Right? Don't care. I can't breastfeed a child. That's not happening. Cloth diapers, all of that stuff. And I love you know, when you were saying that in Zimbabwe, when a mom gets to that six months part, it's like, hey, kick back, Mama and take off and chill out. Because that was the same kind of treatment that I saw in Japan because I lived in Japan for three years. And I was like, Oh, this is so awesome. And then when I checked into the maternity clinic, and you are expected to stay there for a week, and the rest of I was in the military, so the rest of the military moms would like check out after a day I was like, Oh, heck no, I'm staying here for a week. I'm taking all my seven days. Michelle is not going back. You know. So I just love all of this stuff. But as you said, it's really about being child centric, and I think we have lost that. In in this society. I can't say what's going on in other continents, but here in this society, everybody seems so obsessed with with themselves with you know, and I'm saying it is so important that we elevate the needs of the child and we've had other speakers that have called come in here to talk to us about the needs of a child and why it's so important to keep your child close to you for the first three years and not put your child in their care and all of those things. And you know, in alignment with what we were saying with the cortisol levels now we know that those elevated cortisol levels will affect the microbiome, and that sets up a child for aberrations in their immune system for the rest of their lives. You know, so,

Unknown Speaker  9:46 

ah,

Dr Michelle  9:47 

I'm just amazed. So now, you've talked to us a little bit about child centric, the child centric approach. And I'm curious as to what is the interplay with this whole lunar cycle stuff? Because it's like, are we going into the woowoo land here or you go for science?

Tennille J  10:08 

So honestly, it's really just about coming in touch with nature. So it's interesting. So I've always been drawn to the moon. It's just one of those things, right? And then so it starts with that intention. And that's how to realize you know, the different you know, new lunar phases have got significant kinds of energies and for those that think astrology is horoscopes, they'll tell me that astrology is not because right, astrology is literally just passing over the generations, like centuries that people observed, right? So there's definitely something to it right? Because it comes down to numbers and patterns of individual astrology. horoscopes, maybe. So, when it comes down to the news cycle, it turns out the different stages of the duty cycle, actually, I think, are energies that are actually aligned that oppose specific goals, so to speak, right? So in the terms of parenting, if you get in touch with your own, like if you understand and this is all comes down to intentional living, right? So something just as simple as paying attention to the business cycle and how it affects you. That can can you know, let you gauge your your ups and downs because I think we live in a world right now that everybody expects you to always be on. And that's not that's not the reality, right? I mean, just the same way as the analogy of the moon just the same way the moon goes full. Winging, yeah, that's, that's life, right. We have our ups we have housing, but it's a cycle. And if we don't become intentional about becoming aware with ourselves, yeah. Then what are the chances of actually being aware, you know, when it comes to our children, so I put in the book, it's called MIT method of conscious parenting. It's a bit of play on the words. So I'm my again baptism. I'll be my culture. And our culture when you're born, sorry, when your child is born, you lose your name. Right, you know, like, Sunil, you're now become a my that means mother and the child. Yeah. So the same thing with that, that comes about so and so. But in China culture in Somali culture, it actually goes deeper, because we have not only do you the mother and the father getting named for your child, so do your brothers and sisters become Baba Mimi Obi Wan Kuru. Where Baba Baba means father. I mean, select your younger brother would be like your child's little father. Or your your your child like you know big father. On at the end, my Michael, right same thing because it essentially the people in your family also get named for the child.

Dr Michelle  12:50 

relationship to the child. Exactly. Your identity is now in relationship to the child.

Tennille J  12:57 

Right. And so basically, that's almost like an unspoken agreement that we are, you know, we creating an environment that's good for the child, right. And it's funny because that's involved in culture. One of the things that stood out for me when I moved to Canada, you've seen a lot of similarities with Native American culture and interesting, were like, across the world from each other. There was no missionary work to teach us things from each other. We just these are just how these cultures work. And within within my community psychology post in in uni, we spoke about the native thing that just oh my god, if you know about what happened with the residential schools in Canada, but it was pretty

Dr Michelle  13:40 

horrific, same in the United States.

Tennille J  13:45 

And so what what they spoke about was how the structure of the indigenous community used to be child centric, and it was literally like a tug of war. So the circle was the children. The next speaker was the caregivers. And the whole circle was the protectors right? And so by taking away the children it basically the community now apart from that they didn't have everything. They there was no purpose anymore, because that was the core of their culture. And then we saw alcoholism, domestic violence, all these things start to manifest in these communities and then people turn around and judge them, but not their communities were destroyed by taking away their silos, right? And again, so those just those sorts of just protect these indigenous cultures. They child centric and you can go anywhere in the world is exactly, exactly the Western world. And it's treats children like their

Dr Michelle  14:43 

inconveniences or property. What labor any labor

Tennille J  14:50 

and ultimately, it's like, everything, even in terms of the parenting suggestions. It's all aimed to make time for both parents to be better workplace. Right? We want you to we want your parents to sleep through the night so that they can work better and they can be more functional at work. So you have got to learn how to make yourself go to sleep at night.

Unknown Speaker  15:12 

Sacrifice the child

Unknown Speaker  15:17 

and literally pull capitalism for the sake of

Dr Michelle  15:19 

your corporation. Amazing. So like, I tell you, it's just so encompassing and I'm curious if you have looked at the connection with the lunar cycle and our cycle, you know, because, unfortunately, most women in today's society have everything screwed up with these birth control pills. So they they have no awareness of their natural cycles. You know, so when you tell us to be more aware of how the moon is affecting our bodies, there's this obstruction because of the manipulation of our hormonal system by an external force. So I was curious if that affects any of the research or what you do with parents.

Tennille J  16:11 

Well, I mean, when it comes down to the news cycle, and it's an open cycle, it's no coincidence that the average woman's cycle is the same men as now in particular culture. So even in our culture, the news cycle is specifically related to healing so in South Africa, I actually on my thing, visit or visit there's a bit of mythology based on you know, Africans from centuries. Particular with The Goddess name is younger. And younger. Is it also funny because colonialism really had it's, it really had an effect on the way their traditional dealers and known as Yungas. Right, and people we were raised to be scared of the evil, you know. And now we might research and I'm realizing this connection between younger and even younger or these numbers that I grew up being afraid of, you find out that they are herbalists, they're not just traditional healers, they specifically hope and younger is not only a moon goddess, she's specifically the moon goddess related to healing and she oversees AMDA right? And why is the isn't younger with the unicycle? So clearly the other ones but should we the members, not only do they know the intricacies of unicycle, but they plant the ropes. Obviously herbs according to the lunar cycle, they they do their healing rituals, according to the lunar cycle. So the lunar cycle is deeply tied with healing. Those are the energies that come from the moon is healing. And even if you look in astrology and you look at the elements of our personality, that the moon like, I guess covers its own emotions. It's everything that is the core and the root of our healing. So when it comes to overall healing the unicycle has a very significant role in our healing and and most people don't even think to look at it you know, like to really consider it. Let's take the time to to reflect along let's see if these cycles are matched up now keep in mind when it comes to the lady to the woman's cycle, we weren't always matched directly like some women for example, believe with full moon, some women will believe it. And I guess there's associations based on what you believe, right? Inherent, so that may be moving into Google land. But, but these are beliefs. I mean, these are cultural beliefs that have, you know, been held by cultures for a long time. Yeah, but yes, women feeling your menstrual cycle, the lunar cycle, it's all part of femininity, and the lunar cycle is actually I guess, deemed to be a feminine energy. And,

Dr Michelle  19:06 

you know, it's interesting what you brought up that you know, when you were younger, it was something that we were made to be afraid of, and I find that it transmits over here in this culture where we as women are afraid of our femininity. We're afraid of that power. We're afraid of the moon we're afraid of that aspect of ourselves where we deem it as something disgusting something you know, what we hide and and I think that has impact, as you said, on our ability to heal because we're not able to heal if the source of our power is being relegated to a zone that we should either be afraid of or ashamed of or think that it's just something that we need to try and get rid of, you know, and bury it somewhere. You know, so awesome. Now, tell me a little bit more about what are the kinds of people that come to you and what what are they? Why do they come to you? What is it that that is going on in their lives that says hmm, I really need to go and see to nail

Tennille J  20:20 

different things. I mean, you're going on, it's mostly coming from a parenting perspective, right? Um, and because, oh my gosh, parents are overwhelmed in so many different ways. We have AI bots. I think one of my one of my one of my closest clients is actually a gentleman, single dad and no one wants to he's primarily responsible for his children and wants to really like bond with him. So it's found the guidance to be quite helpful. Especially since he's got two girls and a guy right so you know, there's I feel like teenagers and in the parenting journey, there's so much about unpacking your own stuff. Or you can address what's going on with your children. So, awareness is the very first pillar of my methods in terms of conscious counting method. Yeah. And again, that is, comes down to just being aware of, you know, the feelings or emotions really old, you know, challenging where they come from, but also be aware of your responses because that's one thing that people overlook. The biological aspect of mental health is something that is very strongly overlooked. Like your body when something is wrong, exactly. And so many so much, so many of us are so out of touch with our bodies. We're so used to masking issues. With medication. And all that does is not really allow you know, our body to tell us, you know what, what it means. So, awareness is is the first part so that biological awareness that psychological awareness and off yourself first, and then children play with their children. A key part of awareness that parents overlook is expectation in terms of developmental stages. Because very, I guess bad habits of thinking that because a child reaches a certain age, they should be able to do this or to be able to do that for you know, control the behavior. Now, if we've never taught them, where how do they know? And most of us, don't know because we weren't taught and that's part of the movie. So a lot of my clients will be primarily parents. Where I right so I have the lunar line journals, which you can use to basically reflect daily and that's all part of the space. And it's such a space and then we can build upon your inner self there and so when it's like I said, like yourself, and then also our two kids, but you have to get to know you first.

Dr Michelle  23:08 

You have to know you first. So now what is a common mistake that you find a lot of parents are making and what would you say is the most important thing that we can do to promote not only for ourselves, but also for our children.

Tennille J  23:31 

Um, the most common mistake is thinking that financial support is support. It's an if you live in a world where you have to make the money, but children need your time more than anything else. And that's fine. Doesn't have to be a lot of time. It really doesn't. They just need you to be there for present, and I think a lot of parents get caught up in Oh, I don't have money to do this all I can buy my child at all, you know, all of a sudden tech not just to sort of like cuddle them. Awesome holiday. It was but not just like how was your day like, Oh, what did you like, you know, like, what were some wild today? What was something that made you sad day like literally engage with them. When I say children open up and they love it and then they start looking forward to being around you because it can't wait to tell you and this is no matter the age teenager teenagers. Oh my gosh.

Unknown Speaker  24:32 

Even the 20 year olds Yeah.

Tennille J  24:34 

You know, and I think one thing that parents also have done to this country, they have to forgive themselves for what they don't know. Because right now, of course a lot of like social conscious parenting has become a thing people are beginning to send at when parents don't I don't understand that they may not have learned the tools this right. But that doesn't make them bad parents. Exactly. I believe every parent is doing the best they can with this one. So if you are open to learning you get to improve it. And that's even myself, as I said, I'm about to two different age groups, right? I had a very traumatic childhood. So I knew going into parenting I didn't want to do to my son but things that were done to me. But the thing that I don't know is that when you have a trauma it's not only that, for example, I used to get beat right and I think it's common with certain ages. It's not just the patient that causes the trauma. It's all these survival mechanisms that you develop as a result, and if you're unprocessed then and that was a situation with my son while I never hit him, never had to he was always able to talk to me openly about places were shut down because I didn't know how to deal with it. Right. And thankfully, my son was, you know, able to speak to me and tell me, and I was willing to reflect and consider, you know, if I don't agree with what he's saying, maybe there's something to it and a lot of the time they was and all that did was to grow. So parents don't know what they really need to get rid of that idea that your children telling you how they feel is rude or disrespectful. No, it's actually giving you an opportunity to grow. So it really is them and they may you may learn something about yourself that you didn't know and know. There is no one in the world that sort of love you more than your children. And when they really love you. You know that it's a place of love, right? They're not saying this because they want to kiss you or they stay in it because they love you and so take it in.

Dr Michelle  26:38 

Absolutely. I tell you it's it's a treasure to me all and everyone that the lessons that I've learned from my children far supersede any piece of paper that I have gotten from any university or whatever it is, you know, they are the ones that God has sent to us, to allow us to make that journey to grow closer to the beauty and the divinity that we all have within ourselves. So absolutely. Well, I thank you for being here with us and you said that you're going to share with us a very special gift. And can you tell us a little bit more about that gift that we have in the show notes for everyone? Okay, yeah, so

Tennille J  27:26 

that's the self love journal and talking about so visa updates a month and you can go back every month and we'll be free. Everyone aligned with the unicycles so it's specifically related to the energies because the moon goes through the through the whole zodiac cycle, and it gets no specific energy. So the the general is the way for you to stop kind of action prompts is affirmations. There's little intentional practices that you can do all aligned with the energies off the afternoon for that day. So you know, that'll leave you if you're interested in considering the lunar line with aspect. This is kind of a stunt and it's the goal itself loud. So all of these are kind of related to self love

Unknown Speaker  28:10 

is a different one for every lunar cycle.

Tennille J  28:12 

Every cycle every cycle is updated. Every new cycle is updated because again, the energy shifts slightly every year cycle. So therefore the content shifts it every cycle. I mean, there'll be you know a little bit of repetition Yeah. Oh, my gosh, affirmation affirmations, new, intentional practices. I called it because initially they were rituals and I'm like, that sounds to achieve that just as it is

Dr Michelle  28:45 

oh, that is so keeps on giving ladies. So please be sure to go into the show notes. And download your free intentional journal not only for this lunar cycle, but go back every lunar cycle and get the new updated version. Well, in any case, to Neil, thank you so very much for sharing this time with us and I look forward to getting my journal so I can continue my journey with you. Ladies, as always, go ahead. You were saying? Oh, sorry. I'll just say thank you for having me. So sorry. Oh, no, no, no, there's nothing to apologize for. So as I was saying, ladies, as always, we wish you the best. And until next time peace and blessings.

Closing: Thank you for tuning in for this episode of Mommy Heal Thyself, if you liked what we're doing here, please share subscribe, like us and leave a comment. Your feedback is very much appreciated.

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