Mother's Quest Podcast

We are welcoming back the 5-Day Mussar Yoga Challenge, which officially kicks off today. This is in line with my podcast episode with Edie Raphael last year on Mussar and this season of renewal. Come along for five daily prompts in the Mussar Yoga Challenge at the Mother's Quest Facebook Group.

Mussar is an ancient Jewish practice that invites us to contemplate, journal on, talk in community about... a character trait in our lives, for a specific period of time, in this case 5 days.

I'm fascinated that the "middah" we picked last year, "order" is also the issue I identified to work on without fully realizing it.

Have you heard of Mussar before or did you participate in the challenge last year? What do you think about it? Do you have your own rituals or practices for reflection and renewal this time of year?

Listen and learn more in my podcast episode with Edie if you want to go deeper.

PLUS Would love to support you in a one-on-one 90 minute Clarity Session if you want to go deeper. Special rate through Sept. 19th. You can book your session here https://mothersquest.as.me/FallClaritySessionSpecial

Ep 28: Mussar Yoga for Reflection and Renewal with Edie Raphael Brotman

Hello and welcome to the Mother’s Quest Podcast that I’m bringing to you at the start of the Jewish New Year. The holiday kicks off a ten day period, known as the Days of Awe, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement.

This time of year, regardless of your religious faith, is a season of reflection and renewal, as our children get settled into a new school year and the leaves begin to change color. I wanted to take advantage of this time to turn inward and create an opportunity for change not only for myself but also for members of the Mother’s Quest Community.

I decided to reach out to mindful mother, Edie Rafael Brotman, author of the book “Mussar Yoga,” to learn from her how she approaches self-improvement through blending the ancient Jewish practice of Mussar and the ancient Eastern practice of Yoga.

Edie’s book was a trusted resource in a Mussar class I took a few years ago. I was enthralled by the process and know that the experience planted seeds for Mother’s Quest. So, when I reached out to Edie to see if she’d share her approach on the podcast and then lead a 5 day challenge in the Facebook Group and she said “yes,” I was thrilled.

Edie is a workplace consultant and coach for a business consulting firm called Rewire Inc that leverages emotional intelligence, mindfulness and communication. She has her PhD in Sociology and was an adjunct professor at UVA, Case Western Reserve University and Towson University.

She’s also a highly trained yoga instructor, was named one of Baltimore’s favorite yoga teachers in Baltimore Magazine’s “Best of Baltimore” and co-founded Off the Grid Yoga and Camping Retreats.

In this episode, Edie orients us to Mussar in which character traits, known in Hebrew as “middot,” are the centerpiece of the practice. Edie and I explore her E.P.I.C. life story, how she came to mindfulness and Mussar, and how reflecting on middot in her life has enriched her and her relationships.

Edie also shares how her mother influenced her independence. And how her mother’s untimely death jump-started Edie’s journey to discover Mussar and connect it to Yoga as a bridge to connect Jewish spirituality and her love for physical activity.

I appreciated so much about this conversation with Edie, especially the deep dive into the history of Mussar practice, and how she came to this connection between self-improvement, spirituality and the physical body. I’m so excited to continue the exploration of all of these things, and hope you’ll decide to come along too as we challenge ourselves together during this season of reflection and renewal.

In This Episode We Talk About:

• Why the fall is the perfect time to undertake a Mussar Yoga Challenge
• How I first learned about Edie and her Mussar Yoga Book
• The path of renewal Edie’s mother took in her career, how that impacted her, and how her mother’s passing brought her to Mussar
• The power of mindfulness and daily meditation to become more conscious and aware of emotions as they arise
• Mussar as a way of rewiring your brain so it is in alignment with universal precepts
• The origins of Mussar and the people who pioneered the teachings
• The traditional way to practice Mussar, utilizing self-reflection on one character trait at a time on a continuum, and how Edie blends it powerfully with Yoga
• The connection between body and spiritual growth

Resources Mentioned:

• Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – Jewish new year holidays
• Mussar Yoga: Blending an Ancient Jewish Spiritual Practice with Yoga to Transform Body and Soul
• What is Mussar?
• Mussar Institute
• Rabbi Israel Salanter
• The Path of the Upright
• Ben Franklin Circles

This Week’s Challenge:

Join the Mother's Quest Facebook Group and do the 5-Day Mussar Yoga Challenge at www.mothersquest.com/community

Announcements:

ARE YOU…

Hopeful that the new school year will be a positive, powerful experience for your child?
Thinking about how best to set your children up for success?
Wondering what new practices you can build into your life and theirs to help make that possible?
Getting lost in all the paperwork and volunteer requests and want to ground yourself in what’s most important?
Ready to focus fully on YOU and YOUR life now that your kids will be in school?

If you’re feeling a similar desire to press “pause” on the busyness as I did and reflect on your vision for this year, what’s working and what needs to shift, and what key guidepost would help you move forward more intentionally, I’d love to support you with a 90 minute clarity coaching session.

You’ll leave with:

Clarity about what matters most to you in your future vision for this year
Reflection on what beliefs/ways of being you want to leave behind and what lessons you want to carry forward
Commitment toward one E.P.I.C. Guidepost and key action(s) that will help you and your children move forward intentionally

✨Fall Special Clarity Coaching Session ✨

A 90 minute session for the price of a 60 minute session
Book By September 19th
Say “yes” if this is calling to you. It’s an investment in yourself and your children.

$198

Just click the link below by Sept 19th to schedule a time at this special rate.
https://mothersquest.as.me/FallClaritySessionSpecial

Whether I have the opportunity to support you now or not, I wish you and yours a sweet and meaningful beginning to this new season.

Support the Podcast

If you’d like to make a contribution to Mother’s Quest to support Season Three of the Podcast and/or help provide coaching scholarships for mothers, follow this link to make a contribution.

If you would like to “dedicate” an upcoming episode to a special mother in your life, email me at [email protected]

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Mother's Quest is a podcast for moms who are ready to live a truly E.P.I.C. life.

Join in for intimate conversations with a diverse group of inspiring mothers as they share how they are living an E.P.I.C. life, Engaging mindfully with their children (E), Passionately and Purposefully making a difference beyond their family (P), Investing in themselves (I), and Connecting to a strong support network (C).

Join our community of mothers to light the way and sustain you on your quest at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mothersquest/