I met Denise Ackert twelve years ago as part of a healing collective in Jackson Hole, WY. Denise is a gem of gems, especially for parents who practice yoga, meditation and mindfulness. On days when I feel unskillful in how I’m navigating my life, my marriage, or my mothering…. I call Denise.

I realize that some of us don’t have a Denise on our speed dial. Which is why we created this particular audio. This podcast is packed with reminders and instructions for you to skillfully navigate your family evolution.

In this interview I talk to Denise Ackert about:

• Mindful Parenting in Action

* How do we handle when our kids are edgy, or misbehaving?

• Turning yourself around….. before connecting with your kid

• How to make evolutionary agreements at home

• Are we too busy for mindfulness?

• The importance of modeling

What we mention in this Episode:

• Developing the capacity to handle difficulty

•Normalizing your children’s experience

•Developing practices with your children

•May i be healthy and strong happy and safe and at peace.”•Fear around deeper connection

Creating an environment in our family for whatever is arising to be OK.

Links from the Conversation:

• deniseackert.com

The Simplest Parenting Practice:

Check in with yourself
Share what you’re feeling
Check in with what is going on with them
Give choices that are agreeable to all parties
– ex. “Can we agree that when we come home, we spend a few minutes together not doing anything else, and connecting about our day.”

About Denise:

Denise Ackert, exceptional healer, yogini, and children’s mindfulness teacher from Salida, Colorado area.

Cate’s Favorite Quotes from the Conversation

“May i be healthy and strong happy and safe and at peace.”

“The more settled in ourself we are…. the more skillfully we can show up.”

“The more attentive we are the less our children needs to act out to get our attention.”

“The more we model that the more our kids develop the skills through osmosis.”

I need to do this ________ before I connect with you.

The more we model that the more our kids develop the skills through osmosis.

“What longing is here, how I can approach this from a centered place…. propose a new agreement.”

“Skillful action often leads to skillful results. Unskillful action leads to unskillful results.”

“Life is messy – if we grasp at the pleasant and push away the unpleasant and disregard the neutral, we will suffer. If we become present with what is, as a family, we will evolve. If we get stuck in perfectionism, our children will rebel.”