Rewiring Motherhood w. Angela Howard Certified Hypnotherapist

You already feel like you're doing everything wrong. The guilt is already like, which is such a scam, but the mom guilt is so heavy to begin with. And then you have somebody telling you like, this is all the other ways that you're not enough and that you're screwing up.

Welcome back to another episode of the Yes And Podcast. I am your host and serial entrepreneur Bunny Young, and today I have an incredible guest with me. I have one of like the secret weapons from being a therapist turned business coach has been being able to tap into my subconscious. And one of those secret weapons to be able to do that has been hypnotherapy. And so through a mutual connection, a mutual friend, I was introduced to our special guest today. And she is a certified hypnotherapist and creator of an incredible app specifically for mothers called the Motherwell app.. And this is a self-prescription for all seasons of pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood. So whether you just need a microdose of calm or to get heavily meditated, which I love that, for a deep full-body reset, Motherwell delivers neuroscience-backed brain rewiring remedies so you can feel better anytime and anywhere. And we get to have a conversation with the voice, the creator, the founder, the incredible mind behind the Motherwell app. Angela, welcome to the Yes, And podcast.

Yay, Bunny Young. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Yes. And we are going to— for those of you listening, I am bringing you some behind the scenes because I actually did a hypnosis session with Angela and we're going to dive into that. And I'm going to let Angela kind of take the reins and share a little bit about all of that. Before we do, though, Well, I would say you're working with a population that doesn't necessarily put themselves first 100% of the time.

Yeah. How about 0% of the time?

I'm like, you didn't pick— you didn't really pick an audience that's like pounding down the gate for, for a wellness offer.

It's so true.

It's interesting though, because like there's— they definitely need it. Mm-hmm. You and I are laughing like, let's be real. We both have this like weird cough, postnasal drip that we woke up with. We've already rescheduled this podcast. And yet, like, it's my wedding anniversary and I'm like, oh, I can totally do it today. Like, we've, we've got this. We can definitely, we, no, we just, we'll just drink a ton of honey. Like, we, it's only 45 minutes. We got this. Right.

Like, I'm like doing the homeopathic throat tabs. Yeah. Because, okay. But being real with that, there are limited spaces where we have the opportunity to be pouring into ourselves. And so letting those go sometimes is just, it feels worse. Than showing up a little bit under the weather, you know?

Well, but it— our default up until I would say about 4 years ago, well, maybe even like 5 years ago, is to put this podcast before my well-being. I don't feel like I did that today. I literally have nothing else going on. Um, but I'm laughing because like I, I have a box of tissues sitting next to the computer. Like, I, I mean, it's definitely— if I didn't have kids, I'd definitely be in like in bed. And if I wasn't an entrepreneur, I definitely like Well, maybe I would have called in sick. I probably wouldn't have, to be honest. Um, and I noticed this, I noticed this trend with moms where, and specifically entrepreneurial moms. One of my friends is, she exited her company. She's a unicorn. She sold a tech company for over a billion dollars. And she posted this story the other day and she was like, so with my calendar, I go in and on Sunday I put all of my work things first. And then I put all the kids' things next. And then if like there's stuff left over, then I'll put in my workouts. And I was like, what are you doing?

If there's stuff left over.

Oh yes. I know.

Right.

So where does this come from? Like, and why did you pick the one of the most difficult populations with one of the most difficult offers of motherhood and self-care? Yeah.

So I mean, I'm within the most difficult population. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing because I know for from my own personal experience how deep of a need that really is. And yeah, these are— I think, I think most mothers find themselves in a place of, you know, either they're recovering people pleasers themselves, they've always been a little bit on the overachiever side, they've been going, going, going. I know for me, before I even got to motherhood, I was burnt out, you know. So then you're just extra, extra burnt out. Like, my adrenals hated to see motherhood coming, you know. But that's, that's where we, most of us have arrived. And it's just this conditioning that has happened over such a long period of time from the time that we were children. For me, I've always been a caretaker. I've always been mothering everyone in my life. I have a parent who is disabled, and although she's super independent to the point of, you know, stubbornness, which again, learned behavior, right? Never really needing to ask for help and actually needing it, right? And so we all arrive into motherhood with all of our stuff. You know, I like, if you can just picture like a vase filled with, you know, I don't know, you wanna do Cheerios, something that's gonna float and you pour water into it. All that stuff comes up to the top when we cross the threshold of motherhood and we're just left with it. And most of the time we're not, we don't know to do anything with it. And so it just continues to spill and spill and we're, we feel trapped. And so the dysregulation just worsens because we don't— we think it's all these things that are current, like we're overstimulated and this and that and whatever, but this has been brewing for such a long time. And these are just learned patterns of behavior. So I hope I'm answering your question there to circle back around. Yeah, I just found myself in that population and I just burnt myself out to the point of like, enough is enough because I am not I'm not able to be, no matter how, how little I'm caring for myself, that is not maximizing the care I'm giving to my family. That wasn't the trade. It was worse. You know, my family was getting the worst of me by me giving myself the absolute bare minimum.

Yeah. Everything that was left over.

Right, exactly. Barely.

Yeah. So how do you, I'm gonna use the word convince, but how do you talk to a mom who is like you were and like I was without— because I, I often see the marketing for some of these products, some of these companies, some of these self-care almost as giving me more shame about how I'm taking care of myself and how I'm showing up as a mom.

Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree with that. It comes off as like, here's all the extra things. You already feel like you're doing everything wrong. The guilt is already like, which is such a scam, but the mom guilt is so heavy to begin with. And then you have somebody telling you like, this is all the other ways that you're not enough and that you're screwing up and this is how you should, for sure. And so I, you know, sometimes we have to trick ourselves into doing things for ourselves in a way that we are still mothering and serving others. And so a lot of times moms will come to me. Because they, they know that there's something missing in how they're actually wanting to nurture and care for their children. Like, okay, I really am dedicated to breaking these cycles and showing up. And so it's like giving what they, what they want, which is to be a better, more grounded, more calm, more present mother, and then really delivering what they need, which is to be a well-resourced, well-watered woman, right? So I sort of position it in a couple of different ways where it's like, this is serving your children. Like, if you can't do it for you, let's do it for them. And also just by example, leading from that. Like, I am, I am such a more grounded, calm, and present mother, and I share that too in the way that I'm showing up for myself every day. So it's like motherhood, the hot mess motherhood. I can't, I can't stand it. It's one of like, We've gotten so into this place of like, I, a relatability being almost just concerning because we can't draw the line with what is normal and what's self-neglect. Right. And where, so like when you're filling your feed, literally everything that's curated your environment with like, it's okay to just be a mess all of the time. Yes. And yeah. What's, what's, what's going on? You know what I mean? Like where can we get a grip instead of just always giving ourself grace? Yeah. You know?

Yeah, well, I— first off, I love that you use the S to— yes, and I mean, let's just celebrate that.

Yes.

I had this conversation yesterday. It wasn't around motherhood, but it was with one of my entrepreneurial friends who— she runs a company called Boss Babe, and she had shared this story, and she was like celebrating the fact that this person, this man, was sharing like the the issues that he had to success, you know, the struggles, the, the mental health obstacles, all this kind of stuff. And she's like, you know, her story was basically like, I love hearing the struggles behind success, not just the celebrations. And I messaged her privately and I was like, yeah, but can we not normalize it? Can we not like normalize sacrificing our self-care and insert motherhood rather than entrepreneurship? But like, can we not normalize almost losing yourself in— for this was success with entrepreneurship, but like in motherhood. And absolutely, you know, she wrote back and she's like, I totally agree. And but it's like we are almost addicted to the drama and addicted to this narrative of like it gives us an excuse to continue the chaos.

Absolutely, it gives us an excuse. I was just gonna say, all it's doing is like reaffirming how shitty you feel. It's like just reaffirming the story that you are wanting to stay in. It's like, yeah, look at this. This is exactly— this is what every mom is dealing with. Just because it's common doesn't mean that it's normal. And just because, you know, you're seeing it all the time doesn't mean that that has to be your reality. Like, in fact, I would argue that most moms do not want to feel like a hot mess every day and be in the chaos and feel that, oh, this is just how it is. It's a struggle. This is what we do. We deplete ourselves beyond recognition. And then, yeah, you know, later down the line We'll pick up again. We'll find ourselves.

Yeah.

At what expense? I agree. It becomes your reality. And again, like getting into the science behind that, when you're really— that's all you're seeing all of the time. That is, that is what is your truth. That is what is your reality. And it feels really difficult to step beyond that. It doesn't really— the possibility of that feels even more— there's more resistance there.

And, you know, and this applies to so many different things, but we're gonna apply it to motherhood. Like, what we end up doing is we have conversations that normalize our experience. So we have conversations, like, with the most chaotic other mom in our life, and, like, it just gives us permission to, like we talked about, continue the chaos and continue to be dysregulated. Exactly. And, like, when you're having, when you're surrounding yourself with dysregulated people, then dysregulation seems like that's like the thing, you know, in your environment is dysregulated. And I'm not saying that like your house needs to be clean in order for you to be healthy, but as a retired therapist, like there's a point at which being able to have your mental health, have your spiritual health, have your emotional health does take some maintenance and it does take switching that up. And I, you know, had this conversation. One of the things I want to go back to that you said, because it's a conversation I've had with my mom. My mom will say, "You should have thought about that before you had kids," when I ask for help. And I love my mom and she's amazing, and I'm an only child and my mom is also disabled. And so, you know, she's so incredibly helpful on so many levels, and yet she has her own stuff that she struggles with on a daily basis. And so she says that as if me needing help is because I'm a mom or because I have kids, or, you know, I'm not sure what she means. Maybe this is a conversation I get to have with her. I'm not sure what she means when she says that, but one of the things when we did our hypnosis was like, I just wanted— and this is for you listeners, the behind the scenes— like, I went back to this scene of my life where I really just wanted somebody's attention and to be held. And I'm an only child, and so like, it's an only child and two parents that were running their own company in entrepreneurship, which gave me my own modeling and my own program about what it means to have your own company and have a child. And I've spent a fair amount— my oldest is 13— I've spent a fair amount of my motherhood journey taking care of myself, not because I have kids. Like, I don't want my daughters and my son to feel like it's their fault I need self-care. I wanted to model to them that I'm taking care of myself because that's what's best for me and it's not selfish, and that all the chaos in my life is not because of them. Like, I don't want to lay that on their shoulders because I know my mom hasn't done it intentionally, but sometimes I feel like I'm the reason. When she says, you should have thought about that before you have kids, what I hear is like, I'm stressed because I had you. Mm-hmm. So we can go into my hypnosis. We can— wherever you want to go with that. I'm just going to give that to you as I wipe my nose.

Yes, I know. I'm like doing the same thing over here in the background.

It's so sexy.

It's so sexy. So good.

So glad this is a podcast and you guys don't get these video assets unless you're on my social media. So there you go.

Right. Oh, but they're good. They're good. You're going to want to get on the social media. Let me plug your socials for you. And get these little video clips. Yeah, no, I agree that that's totally like, feels like a projection of her own experience. And she likely felt like, like that, like that was the, that was, that was what was normal. And so yeah, I had to struggle through that. It had to be really hard for me. And so this is what you asked for. It's the same thing, like when parents just not even complain, they're just sharing in their struggles about like not sleeping well and you're met with like, oh yeah, well you should have thought of that before.

Yeah.

It's like, That's, that's not that. That's not what we need. If you want to go more into your experience with our hypnosis session, I would love to, to hear more and you share. Yeah, because it was beautiful.

Let's definitely do that because, you know, I had shared with you, like, in some aspects I am the ideal hypnotherapy patient and then in some aspects I'm not because, right, like therapists make the worst and the best patient sometimes. I have spent so much time with— between plant medicine and breathwork and meditation and hypnosis— with— in my own journey, that my mind is so amazing and incredible, and those neural pathways will drop right in. And then in other ways, it's probably— it— I would imagine a little intimidating to be hypnotizing somebody who has their own hypnosis practice, can do it, and all of that. So What was the experience going into it for you? And, and also, also share a little bit like this is something that I share with my clients, but I want you to share it from your perspective because the number one thing that I get, the number one question that I get going into hypnosis is, are you going to make me cluck like a chicken?

Oh my gosh. Right. Yeah.

This is 100% always. I always do that. You just don't remember it. It is the only reason that I do hypnosis. It's just so I get some, you know, pleasure and some— a good laugh. But you— yeah, my clients will never remember that.

Yeah. And you spill all your secrets to me, and it's like a total thing. It's like complete and total mind control. Yeah. Um, no, for— so I love that you're asking like how I felt going into that. I, I have worked with other therapists, psychologists, mental health therapists, and it's never like— therapists need therapy too. It never feels intimidating. It's like you're a human having a human experience, and if I can help you, especially as a hypnotherapist myself, I love doing hypnotherapy with other hypnotherapists because they have a different way, and I feel like I can really drop in when I'm being held by someone else. So I didn't necessarily feel, um, you know, maybe like nervousness around that. I do think, again, like you said, like we, we maybe have a little bit more of a level of how we're experiencing something, and maybe we can not like manipulate like how we're— what we're allowing. But sometimes that's like also a thought, is like, okay, like I really want you to be able to relax into this and receive. And I think that you did that beautifully.

Yeah, like, how do you describe hypnosis, um, other than the Google Drive that we both keep of our clients, like, spilling their secrets and clucking like a chicken? No, I— and it's hilarious to me that people think that that's what I do. Like, that they—

totally—

they're honestly like— I— so many of my clients are so resistant to hypno— resistant to hypnotherapy because it's a loss of control, their perceived— yes— loss of control. Yeah, so, which is— I mean, you and I know this, but it's interesting to me because a loss of control is the 5% consciousness. You're actually tapping into 95% of your power, right? I just want to hear it from you anyway.

Yeah, I try to go as like simple as possible to share that like this is such a normal state of being and paint the picture of like times that they've likely experienced a trance-like state. You know, when you're in highway hypnosis, when you're driving, when you arrive somewhere and you that route, it's familiar. You get there and you're like, how did I get there? You're in that natural state of hypnosis when you're daydreaming, when you're reading a book, when you're watching a movie. Those things that they can really see themselves in and feel themselves in. And if they have meditated before, I share that it is meditation with a goal, with a specific outcome. Like, you are getting to— and for moms, it's kind of like a dream because I'm like, you are getting to practice deep rest while also reprogramming and rewiring these things that we want to move through and beyond. So it's I really just kind of keep it, keep it, keep it simple. And from that perspective, so that they can just see themselves in it, like it's gentle. And all hypnosis is truly self-hypnosis. And I actually teach that. I want to give my clients the ability for them to drop into trance themselves and do this healing work, you know, or play on their own. And so that's part of my program and work that I do with my clients too, is really teaching them the practice.

Yeah, I love that. A part of me was like, let's give you guys like a 5-minute demonstration of me dropping in. And then I'm like, no, we can't do that because if you guys are driving, like, we can't do any kind of hypnosis.

Yeah, they're doing like a whole disclaimer situation. Yeah.

And then I was like, well, we'll just put like the— a piece from my hypnosis because I recorded it, like a piece from my hypnosis in this episode. And then I'm like, that's not really going to make sense. So you guys are just—

I do have to experience for yourself.

Look, get hooked up with Bunny Young or me and we'll, we'll drop you in. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, the— I like— this is not an affiliate situation, but with the Motherwell app, I really liked the dosing in the Motherwell app to decide what I was going to do. And I think naturally when you're a hypnotherapist, I think naturally any meditation that you do has this like cinnamon sprinkle of hypnosis. And I think it's also because— and I will tell everybody listening— my neurological pathways have been hypnotized by Angela. And so when I hear her voice, it's almost like— what's that? What was that horror film? It wasn't really— it's like a psychological thriller.

Get Out.

Yeah, yeah, it's almost— it's almost like me hearing the, the teacup again, where all that is is it's called priming. And so when I hear Angela's voice, my brain responds and is like— not, not the way that she's talking right now. Like, you, you guys have to understand that there's a different hypnosis voice in a different cadence, a different tone, a different affect. But as soon as my brain hears it, like, I'm more relaxed, I'm more dropped in. And so I've found that even though it's not necessarily hypnosis on the Motherwell app, that the meditations have given me that sense of deep relaxation again. So, which is beautiful. And I'm laughing at myself because Using an app for self-care is kind of a pattern interrupt because most of the apps that we are programmed to use are for dopamine, not serotonin. Mm-hmm. You know, and I said these words out loud, I'm like, using an app for self-care, like reprogramming, using an app every single day. Well, we— there's probably 3 big apps, one that has a box with a Polaroid camera in it. Yes. Um, that we are programmed to use every single day, and we probably spend more than 10 minutes on that app every single day. And so that is leading, my biased opinion, to dysregulation because it's the dopamine hits. What is your thoughts on that?

Yeah, absolutely. And I say, like, especially like when I'm talking to moms on like where, when, how to really like get the biggest benefit from utilizing an app, a different app, is first thing in the morning and when you're getting to sleep at night because you're naturally in like a slower brainwave state, right? Right. And so like, but when you are first, like the very first thing that you're doing is opening one of those little, those little apps that you've described, and that is how your brain is receiving its first hit of dopamine. It's gonna chase that same experience of dopamine again and again. And so you are compulsively, I guarantee if you were to just try to build an awareness awareness on the amount of times that you are automatically or unconsciously reaching for your phone. It's because your brain is seeking that hit of dopamine, which is so unnatural and temporary, and it's really dysregulating, 1000%. And then add in whatever it is that you are consuming. So then once you get into the app and you've got that little hit and you're looking at what, what it, what then are you consuming, what is really filling your, your energy field and also like what you're learning from, what you're taking in. So it's absolutely dysregulating. And that's why it's also, if we can switch out and you're reaching, I love that you said this, like reaching for an app for self-care, you're already there. You're on the phone. Like moms, a lot of times the objection is like, you don't have time. Again, I would love to see what your screen time is and how much you're already scrolling on your phone. You can select a different app and actually be— I have, I have meditations in there, affirmations, some little affirmations in there that help you break the cycle of compulsion and reaching for your phone, right? So that you're scrolling less on things that are dysregulating to you.

Yeah.

So it's— yes, it's a pattern interrupt and a replacement of that, that dopamine hit that you're reaching for with those apps.

You know, it's interesting that you said retraining your relationship with your phone because I did Child Protective Services for 6 years. Like, I was a therapist, caseworker, support staff in, um, a variety of roles in Child Protective Services for 6 years. And it probably took me over 2 years to break my relationship with my phone. I almost had a traumatic response to the point that I could feel the phantom vibrations. I I had like the weirdest form of tinnitus where I would hear my phone in my head, like in my ears, but it wasn't— I— it was when my phone was not even like on. And I worked with a therapist on this because I had this compulsion that you describe, and that's because for years when my phone rang, a child's well-being or their life, yeah, was on the line. Yeah, like, and my brain and my body and my cells had trained to that. This is before having kids, you know, like Rocky was— I think she was like a couple months old when Steve told me that I had to like quit because it was just— I wasn't sleeping. Yeah. And I wouldn't— my phone wouldn't even be on me and I would feel the vibrations. And it— we've gotten to a point, so this was let's say 2000 2011. So it's now 2025. So 14 years later, I still am conscious about my phone use and about like that compulsion. But 14 years later, I'm seeing the same phantom vibration. I'm seeing the same compulsion in people that don't have a high-stake, you know, phone dependency. And it's just they're, they're used to that. And so I would give, give yourself this exercise, like my homework for you and Angela's homework for you, you know, would be to set your phone down and like set it in front of you on the table and see how long it goes before you have this desire to just grab it again.

The urge. Yeah.

Is it 10 seconds? Is it 30 seconds? Is it a minute? And the anxiety that might come— and anxiety is not bad. Anxiety— we actually couldn't survive without anxiety. But anxiety is energy, confused energy. It's energy that doesn't know where to go or what to do. And so the second part of my homework piece for you guys, and I hope this, you know, let me know on social or put it, um, in the comments, tell Angela and I how this exercise goes for you. We do this in our DEFY program, our business accelerator program, when people say they don't have time, is to verbally say out loud when you grab your phone what you're doing. So like grabbing your phone and saying, checking my bank account, grabbing my phone and saying, you know, calling my mom, because 9 out of 10 times what we grabbed our phone for isn't what we end up using it for. Yes.

Yeah.

Like a minute later.

Right, right. Exactly.

And the last little piece on this that as far as dysregulation that I think that is worth discussing is last night we were sitting around the fire pit in our backyard, my parents, my husband, it was just like this beautiful moment because actually today is a year since we put an offer in on this house in California. And so we were discussing that. Yeah, it was beautiful. We were discussing that. And, um, uh, I think my mom went on her phone to get a photo of the house, like the first photo she saw, and she ended up on this like reel of a container ship. My mom doesn't even have social media, so like she had to dig for this. 'And it's a reel of the, like, the big container ships in a storm losing the containers.' And she's like, 'Look at this.' And then my husband's like, 'Oh, look at this.' And it was like a reel of all the recent plane crashes compiled.

Oh my gosh.

You know, and they're like in this spiral.

Uh-huh.

And I was joking but not joking. I went over to my dad and I was like, 'Look at this.' and it was a reel of like horses doing funny things.

Yes, yes, please more of that, right?

And I'm like, my algorithm is like horses.

Yes.

And like affirmations, right?

Right.

My husband's military and like, you know, he has a different sense of humor. Like his algorithm is like not that. And I'm thinking to myself like, who's regulating Right? If I spend a minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes watching funny animal videos and he spends 5 minutes watching like disaster videos, who is more medicated coming out of that? Whose dopamine and serotonin levels? So, you know, and I, I also think that goes back to what we had talked about before of the, um kind of like chronic chaos.

Yes.

And so go into the dysregulation of that a little bit. You can go anywhere you want with all of that.

Yeah, I love— I just love that you're having this beautiful moment and then all of a sudden there's like these just tragic reels being shared around the fire. Anyway, yeah, very true. Like, it's like one is very— can be very regulated. And that's why I don't want to like, you know, to say that there's no, like, no social media, no whatever. I just want you to be mindful and have an awareness around what it is you're consuming, because that's right, those are two very different things. And you're both on your phone, so it's not the phone, it's not the— it's not— it's just how you're utilizing it and what you're consuming when you are. I also think what's different with mothers in particular is the compulsion also comes from, like, the deep feeling of being alone. And that might be the only source in a day that a mom, especially a stay-at-home mom, feels like she's connected to something or someone. And so then there's a whole other piece there where it's like you're getting further and further disconnected from yourself in an attempt to fill this wounding and feeling of being so deeply lonely and alone in motherhood. And so the phone then becomes, yeah, you know, this is my, my, uh, my lifeline. This is my connection, my community. So yeah, I did want to mention that too. Like, there's a, there's a dysregulation, but then there's also a deeper disconnection, even though what it is we're really craving is connection, but getting us further from that, really.

Are you— Guinness, are you here to regulate?

Hi, Guinness.

Guinness is like, you don't need funny horse videos. I'm right here. You got me. I am basically the same thing. Not a horse, but I am here to regulate you.

Same, same, but different.

Yeah, I mean, we can definitely open an app on our phone and have a magical Great Dane appear and regulate us, right?

Absolutely. Yeah. I can show you how to make one. I got you.

There you go. Yeah, I have two. I think I have two more questions until our fated yes and question. Okay. So if we go back to the hypnosis.

Yes.

Why is that more effective for a lot of individuals other than meditation? Like more so than meditation?

Yeah. Again, it's the goal. It's the specific outcome. And it's, it's too like the, the terms that you're using, the way that you're weaving in— like, I really like to weave in, you know, somatic experiencing to that too, because the subconscious mind is the body, and it is, you know, I believe, our projection of our relationship with the feminine too. And so when we're really deepening into a hypnotic state, when we're in trance, and when we are being, you know, fed these suggestions that are helping us to reframe whatever the experience is or what we're wanting. Again, there's a specific outcome. So it goes beyond just getting into a relaxed state, and it's actually doing change work at that relaxed state. So that's the biggest difference for me there, and it just really helps to quiet that critical, conscious, thinking, analytical mind so that you can drop into what's what's real and what's most present. And especially for moms that are— that just don't get that opportunity to be that deeply with themselves. So, uh, that's the, the biggest difference there.

You know, there's obviously so much more to that answer and so much more to that question, right? And that's a very personal journey. And the other thing, as, as a woman who owns a tech company myself, when I think about you being a mom and I think about how little time you actually have for yourself and building an app. Like, how did— I'm not going to ask like how you did it, but what was that conversation with yourself that said that I'm gonna prioritize this? And what was the practice of weaving that into your calendar in a way that it didn't become something else and it didn't burn you out further? Because there's not a whole lot of women in tech. And most women, when you talk about building an app, it's like so far outside of their awareness. I really just want our listeners to hear of how you can take something that seems so big and so astronomical and so outside of the realm, because, I mean, you don't have a tech background, correct?

No, no, other than just like me teaching myself and running business operations for other entrepreneurs. Like, I've just self-taught, completely, completely self-taught. Yeah.

So what was that practice though when you said, okay, here's something else I'm going to add to my plate? Like, what was the conversation with yourself and what were the tools you used?

Yeah, because of course while I'm building this, I'm also like, I have, I have one-on-one clients. I had a program. So this is just to bring you back, I have a program by the same name of Motherwell, and it's holistic. It's a like transformational program where we're in a group together, so we're getting that group connection. And it was so life-changing, so transformative. I'm like, I need this to be accessible. How do I do that? Okay, I need an app. So this was always a dream of mine, and it just came to, um, you know, I thought it was going to be a 2025 goal. And, you know, the end of 2024, as I was like closing that, um, group program, one of the rounds of it, I'm like, I need— I want every mother to have access to this, to these tools, like as many as possible. And so I'm a generator, so I just want to mention that as well. Like, I get energy, I get replenishment when there is something I am deeply energized by and passionate of. So of course I still have to have an awareness around my output, but when that is in alignment, when something is so deeply aligned, there is completely different energy behind how I'm able to manage that. So of course, I made sure that I was never letting the self— like, I 10x'd my self-care, if anything else. Like, all the practices I always do, walking my 10K steps a day, making sure that I'm doing my— what I practice, what I preach. I listen to my subliminal affirmations. I do all my rituals for myself, and I fit these in with two small children and running a business and do all these things, right? So I just really I 10x'd what I was already doing and I had something that I was deeply passionate about. I feel like if you have the recipe of those things, it's so much easier to manage the fullness of what that brings. And yeah, I was just like kind of tunnel vision while still always checking in with myself. Like that's really important is like, okay, if I'm feeling like ahead of that, I'm checking in with myself every day. What do I really need right now? What am I feeling? And when you are, you're meditating and you're doing your hypnosis practices, when you're slowing down enough, you catch yourself a lot quicker because you have that connection to you and an awareness. If you're just go, go, go and you're not slowing down, you arrive already in the burnout when you realize that you're there, right? So there was just a lot of intention and practice for me.

I love that. Yeah, I love that so much.

Well, those generator vibes though, it's like, it's a different, you know, it really does, it's like a lot of energy fueled.

I'm a projector, so I am the superpower that burns like super, super bright for like exactly 12 seconds.

Exactly.

And then goes and takes a nap for a week.

Mm-hmm. All of my dearest friends are projectors, so it's like an ongoing like joke between us all. Like, you need to chill. You have 4 good hours and like then that's it.

We were joking because, you know, you know, I just did the Costa Rica retreat the first week of January, and then I did the Nourish retreat last week for 2 days. And so the joke was that I got back from Costa Rica and I slept until February 12th. You know, we got back from Costa Rica on like January 8th. No, yeah, January 8th. And then I slept until February 12th.

Hibernation.

I did the retreat the 12th and the 13th. And now I'm gonna sleep for another week until we go into the Work-Life Alignment Challenge next week. So, um, yeah, and I was laughing that like my body is even like purging as we speak, you know, with all of my snoticles, because my body's like, no, we don't need a week to rest, we need a month to rest, right? Like, you did 2 days of work, you need a month.

This requires 30 days minimum for us to recover. Yeah, I feel that.

Oh, I'm a projector to like the nth degree, you know.

So, but that's the key right there, is knowing yourself. So like when you ask me that, it's— that's, that's the secret, is know yourself. And if you're not slowing it down, down enough to be connected, to even know, then that's it. That's where, that's where things are gonna just go sideways because you have that awareness.

I had such a projector conversation with my husband the other day where he's like, well, I let you sleep in this day, and then I let you sleep in yesterday. Um, and I'm like, well, do you want to sleep in? He's like, no, I don't need to sleep in. And then I'm like, my projector energy was like, then this is a waste of energy to have this conversation. Like, what's the point of you telling me that you— of course you let me sleep in.

Like, and that needs to be the routine every day from now until Forever. Yeah, like, right.

By the way, sleeping in is like me sleeping till like 7, guys. Yes, right, right, right.

Yeah, I don't know a day that I slept beyond 7, right?

I do remember I flew from our house in California to our house in Virginia, and I woke up and it was like 11:20, and I was like, what is going on? And then I realized like it was 8:20, and we also— my flight didn't get in until like 12:30 in the morning. We didn't get home till like 1 or 1:30 or 2. So I'm like, you really only slept for like 6 hours? But like, at the same time, the time difference, I was like, oh, really? What is— what is going on?

Like, am I a teen again?

Yeah, I know. Oh man, do you remember those days?

Oh, do you? Like, what? My sister, she was the one— she would sleep till like noon, 1 o'clock. Like, I've never really slept like that hard that long. But like, yeah, 10, 11, I'm like, whoa, what What a different, different world.

My, my, one of my friends has a 15-year-old son and she's like, he will sleep until 4.

And then start the day and be up all night long.

Right. I'm like, I, I, that's what I asked. I was like, does he play video games all night long? She's like, no, he'll go to bed at like 8:30, 9.

No way. Oh my gosh.

I don't, I would see a doctor.

I was gonna say, I'm like, that feels, that feels on the aggressive side of the sleep. Like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know about that. I don't know. About getting 20 hours of sleep a day, right?

Like, it's a newborn baby.

Yeah, exactly.

Maybe 18 hours of sleep. He's just regressing back to the newborn stage.

He's in the sleep regression. Yeah, I've never had a teenage boy. Um, I will eventually, but like, I've never had a teenage boy, so I don't know. So, and my, my 13-year-old is like— she's so amazing. I— we're just gonna give her a shout out because like every morning she's self-regulated. She gets up, she, you know, wants to pack her own lunch. Who knows? I, I do know what she's putting in her lunch, but sometimes I think she's sneaky sneaky about that. Um, she makes her water bottle, like she gets herself ready. And then on the weekends, one would expect her to sleep until like 10 AM, and no, she's, she still gets up regular. Like, she's on time.

She's got that circadian rhythm down.

She does. Yeah. And then there's my 8-year-old who full-on starfish thrashes. And she's argued with me that she doesn't have school. She says, my body tells me I need to sleep in, I don't have school today. And I'm like, honey, it's a Wednesday, you for sure have school today. My body says I don't. I'm like, okay, cool.

That's my oldest fully. And I'm like, oh really? I don't want to go against your body. Like, I feel, I feel that. I'm gonna validate the feelings that your body feels like it doesn't have school and You have school.

I'm like, you know what? Let's make this deal. If your body doesn't feel like you need to stay at school once you're at school, you can call me and I'll come get you at 2:40.

Which is like the normal time to get out of school.

Deal? She's like, okay, but if I call you, you have to come get me. I will come get you at 2:40.

I've got you on that. Yes, I promise. And that's the way to make a promise and really keep it. That's it.

I will be there. So I have made a deal with them, both of them, that like if they call me from school and like they just can't, I will come get them. Like they don't actually need to be sick or something like that because, you know, I want them to be able to trust themselves. Like, for sure. So I have made that deal with them and and my 8-year-old's been the only one who's like actively tried it. And she, she had this like cat that ate the canary look on her face as we walked out of school where she's like, it worked. And I— all I could, all I could think about was, man, like, you really did just show yourself that you can call your mom and your mom will be there and like like, that's okay, you can trust yourself, you know. Um, and she just got into it. We had like this big expedition at the time. She got in the back seat and was just like, yeah, here I am, look at this, look what I did. Yeah, I did this. I called—

it's that self-trust, baby, right?

And I'm out of school and it's not 2:40.

That's amazing.

I'm like, so P.S., if you call me tomorrow, might be a different output. So yeah, anyway, but today, today you, you're queen for a day, you get that. So, and she's like, can we go to In-N-Out?

I've not had In-N-Out. I can't, I can't even speak to the, to the hype of it. I've never tried it.

Wow. I, I'm a vegetarian and I'm gluten-free, so like the french fries are great.

Okay, right? The lettuce, the lettuce bun, love it.

Um, all right, so your question is, what is your definition of a yes and life?

I mean, okay, I'm living it right now. Like being a like fully embodied woman who has passions and desires, and a fully embodied mother who is present and really like, the best thing in my life is my family. That would be— that's the yes and. That harmonization. That my motherhood is not separate from my own desires. Like, it's just this journey. Yeah, that's my yes and.

Dude, that was so good. That was so deep. And I'm over here thinking, yes, we can have snot running out of our nose and like be coughing and have all the coughs edited, and we can still record a kick-ass, uh, like podcast episode. There you go. I like your yes and.

Yes and.

I mean, it was deep. It was meaningful. And I just am over here as a snotical.

I— my sleeves have snot all over them for me just shoving them up my nostrils. Yeah, I did not come prepared with tissues.

It's fine. I didn't have tissues, but I happened to have a random washcloth because I was folding laundry and like left the— you know, because you put all the other laundry away and then the towels are still here because the towels live in a different part of the house. And so luckily I had a very soft washcloth for the snots. Yeah, there you go, there you go. Um, I just want to thank you so much for being on this episode and for sharing everything that you shared. This is just such, such an incredible gift.

Thank you so much, Bunny Young. It was seriously just such a dream. I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I'm so happy to share with your listeners. I also have a code for them, so wherever you put things things. They'll get a discount on the app. That'll, that'll be down there. But I'm just so grateful. Thank you for having me.

We're gonna put all of that in the show notes as well as I want to make sure that you guys have access to Angela. So all of her information, where you can find her on social, more information on the app, um, that's all going to be in the show notes. And so I'd highly, highly encourage you to be able to connect with Angela. Um, let us know, like, it means the world there's two pieces of doing this podcast that just keep me going and light me up. And one is when I get a message from you guys about an episode. Like, because I record this and then the episode goes out a couple weeks later, and sometimes I don't remember everything in the episode. And when that episode drops and then I get a message from you guys and you're like, this really landed for me, or when you shared this, or when Angela shared that, like, can we have a conversation around that? That's amazing. I of listening to your guys' voice notes, all of that kind of stuff. And the second thing that just lights me the eff up is when you share the episodes with somebody that you care about and that you love, and I end up hearing that they found the Yes And Podcast because you shared it. And sharing it on social, sharing the actual link with somebody in a text message, and your reviews, your comments, your ratings, your downloads of the episodes, they help so much. There's no ad money going behind this podcast. This is all an organic growth, and it's so beautiful to see the thousands of downloads from you guys. And this is a conversation between you and me, your best business and life ever, and today with Angela as well. So thank you for wherever you had that conversation with us. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening. And until the next episode. Episode. I am your host, still and hopefully forever, Bunny Young. This is the Yes And Podcast.