Self-awareness is a key principle of yoga that is encouraged as a way to understand and reprogram our minds toward universal alignment.

The classic imagery of a yogi sitting on a mat in meditation may invoke a sense that they are exploring internally as they embark on a path to spiritual enlightenment. But for the everyday yogi living in modern society, pulling that practice off the mat and into the every day is a critical skill.

As busy moms, it can be easy to plug ahead into our routines and allow our behavior to naturally follow the mood we feel that day, whether blissful or stressed from too many to dos. Self-awareness, or the yogic concept of svadyaya, challenges us to take note of our own patterns and rhythms so that we may better align them with the moms we want to be.

This article is inspired by Brett Larkin's Yoga for Self Mastery course. Sutras quoted in this article come from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Translations and quotes describing the sutras are from Tantra of the Yoga Sutras: Essential Wisdom for Living with Awareness and Grace by Alan Finger with Wendy Newton.

Svadyaya in Yoga Philosophy

In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, svadyaya is one of five niyamas, or "principles of self-training that help us to reprogram the mind toward an attunement with universal intelligence." The niyamas are basically a yogi's guide to what we should be doing day in and out (in comparison to the yamas, which are effectively a list of to don'ts).

Svadyaya is the practice of self-awareness, or self-exploration to understand who we habitually are compared to who we truly are at our core when we are aligned with universal intelligence. According to Finger and Newton's translation, svadyaya "requires a willingness to look deeply into ourselves so that we don't stay stuck in what we habitually believe ourselves to be."

Combined with the yamas and other niyamas, svadyaya is a critical part of reprogramming and realigning with our truest selves. In the modern world, this realignment has the capacity to transform our daily rhythms and habits into the version of ourselves we know we can be and want to embody day to day.

Applying Self-awareness in Everyday Motherhood

Deeper exploration in yoga can sometimes feel out of reach for the everyday mom, especially when you have competing priorities and responsibilities filling your days. Do you have to go to a meditation retreat to integrate these concepts?

The answer is no, you can start to reflect on and integrate concepts like self-awareness in your regular yoga routine or even off the mat if you're still working on getting a regular routine in place.

In everyday motherhood, tapping into self-awareness may be as simple as taking a brief pause after segments of your day or interactions with your kids and asking whether the version of you that showed up was the one behaving out of habit or the one leaning into the mom you want to be.

Often with these ritual reflective pauses, we can recognize the patterns driving when we're the mom we want to be and when we aren't. For example, maybe your fuse is shorter after work compared to in the morning. Or on the flip side, maybe the morning rush crushes your calm motherhood intentions but the evening routine is slow, thoughtful, and connected.

Living into your yoga each day means working to reprogram patterns that are out of alignment. When you understand your patterns (self-awareness), you can implement change to establish new patterns. And a different facet of svadyaya can support that shift for you.

Using Self-awareness to Live as the Mom You Want to Be

As you start to understand your habitual patterns and how they differ from who you really are as a person and mom, the natural next step is to shift the habits into something more reflective of your true self. This is where your self-care routine comes in.

I know, cue the eye roll. Of course moms need to be engaging in self-care. And maybe to an extent you already are. You go on walks, you have a yoga movement practice, you do your evening skin care routine. But the basic self-care that keeps you operating as a human isn't what I'm talking about.

Think about the little things you do, or maybe that you used to do, that light you up. The things that really fill your cup when you simply make the time for them. It could be sipping your morning beverage from your favorite squishy armchair in the living room while your kids play. Or baking sourdough. Or knitting. Or tending your porch garden.

Tap into that self-awareness muscle again and think up those activities that make you feel whole, that make you feel aligned with who you're supposed to be. Are they part of your life right now? Are they integrated into your every day?

Spend the next week or more in examination and reflection, identifying your most out of alignment moments using reflective pauses and keying in on your fill your cup self-care activities. Seek opportunities to integrate your self-care activities into your day to day. Notice whether using self-awareness to feed your soul via self-care in turn allows you to live as the mom you want to be, even in the moments patterned for friction and stress.

Yoga, Nature, and Slow Living for Busy Moms

• The online yoga studio for busy, working moms seeking a slower way of life offers monthly pre-recorded yoga and meditation you can use to sink into a slower pace, plus a slow down framework where you can restructure your most overwhelming challenges into peaceful, rhythmic routines that support you and your family.

• Two-minute Reset Meditations for Routine Calm Days includes ten completely free two-minute meditations for you to capture a moment of calm right now, without spending an hour at the yoga studio or taking paid leave.

• The Mama Naturalist on my website and Substack is a space where I share both conceptual and practical guidance on slowing down, connecting to nature, and living seasonally.

• Mindful Moms Digest offers exclusive yoga and meditation classes, nature stories from a wildlife biologist (me!), and free, supportive resources including links back to every blog post for busy, working moms journeying toward a slower, more seasonal way of life.

• Cultivate Calm Mornings is a structured series of three yoga workshops that supports you in transforming your morning routine from chaotic to calm.