Rise & Flourish Series: Rediscovering Yourself in Motherhood
Lessons on ease, support, and soulful leadership from our first in-person women’s event on episode 134 of the Raising Wild Hearts Podcast
🌿 How Motherhood Strengthens Your Intuition (and Why Listening to It Changes Everything)
This special Rise & Flourish conversation, guest-hosted by my dear friend Danielle Neufeld (Co-Host of The Most Important Thing Podcast), features Sarah Gyampoh—licensed social worker, yoga instructor, author of The Mindful Mother’s Way, and devoted mom of five.
Sarah’s work sits right at the intersection of mindful motherhood and intuitive self-care—and she has a way of reminding us that peace and purpose are not things we have to chase. They’re already here, waiting beneath the noise.
✨ The Six-Year Return: A Hidden Cycle of Transformation in Motherhood
One of the most powerful moments in this conversation came when Sarah shared this:
“Postpartum is actually six years. When your youngest turns six, that’s when you really start to come back to yourself—hormonally, emotionally, spiritually.” 🤯
Motherhood doesn’t end after the fourth trimester—it reshapes us over and over again.
Sarah talked about how her own six-year transformation mirrored her children’s. As she began to reclaim her sense of self, her youngest was also entering a developmental stage of self-awareness—learning to play, create, and think for herself.
It’s what Sarah calls the parallel awakening:
“As they find themselves, we find ourselves.”
That’s the quiet miracle of motherhood—it’s not just about raising children.
It’s about raising ourselves into the next version of who we came here to be.
🌸 The Myth of Self-Sacrifice
Like many of us, Sarah learned the hard way that “good motherhood” is not about total self-sacrifice.
She described the season when she believed her worth was measured by how much she gave—until her body demanded that she slow down.
A sudden vertigo attack became her wake-up call.
It was her body’s way of saying: You can’t pour from an empty cup.
“I had to learn that tending to myself isn’t selfish—it’s sacred. It’s the foundation for everything else to thrive.”
That’s a truth we all need to remember.
Research from positive psychology and neuroscience shows that when mothers feel calm, rested, and supported, their children’s nervous systems regulate faster, and family communication improves dramatically.
Self-care isn’t indulgent—it’s the heartbeat of a healthy family ecosystem.
📣 Listen to the Full Conversation
This episode of the Raising Wild Hearts Podcast was recorded live at the Rise & Flourish event and guest-hosted by Danielle Neufeld of The Most Important Thing Podcast.
You can listen to The Most Important Thing wherever you get your podcasts or at tmitpod.com.
🎧 Tune in to this soulful, grounded conversation wherever you listen — and remember, the energy of Rise & Flourish is something you can feel through every word.
🕊️ Listening to Your Intuition (Even When It’s Inconvenient)
Motherhood has a way of refining our intuition.
It’s that quiet nudge that tells us to slow down, to listen, to look deeper.
But so often, we drown it out with “shoulds.”
Sarah explained how learning to trust her intuition—whether in birth, parenting, or business—became her spiritual practice.
“We’ve been conditioned to outsource our wisdom. To rise and flourish, we have to pause and ask: is this true for me?”
That question—Is this true for me?—is the beginning of intuition.
🌞 The Power of Presence: A Morning Ritual That Changes Everything
Sarah shared that her most sacred self-care ritual happens in the quiet hours of the morning:
“I wake up before everyone else in my household and give myself that time. It’s a non-negotiable. My kids even know—‘you don’t want to be around me if I haven’t had my time to myself.’”
That intentional solitude sets the tone for her entire day.
Before bed, she checks in with herself again—reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and where she found joy.
This mindful rhythm—beginning and ending with presence—is the essence of her book, The Mindful Mother’s Way.
It’s not about perfection; it’s about paying attention.
💃 Reclaiming Joy and Play
When asked about her favorite self-care ritual, Sarah smiled and said, “Dance.”
She’s been taking Brazilian partner dance classes a few times a week—something that’s fun, feminine, and freeing.
“It’s humbling,” she laughed. “I mess up 4,000 times before I get it right. Just like motherhood.”
That playful humility is a reminder that joy is part of the work.
When we loosen our grip, when we allow ourselves to move and laugh and make mistakes, we model for our children what it means to be fully human.
Because as Sarah said, our children will remind us how to return to joy—if we let them.
🌿 What It Means to Rise and Flourish
At its core, this conversation is about remembering—
Remembering your inner voice.
Remembering your body’s wisdom.
Remembering that joy, rest, and presence are not earned—they’re your birthright.
Motherhood and intuition are partners in our evolution.
When we tend to one, the other blooms.
“To rise and flourish,” Sarah said, “means honoring what’s true and real for me—every single day.”
And maybe that’s what this season is asking of you too:
to listen, to honor, and to begin again—gently, intentionally, joyfully.
💫 About the Guest: Sarah Gyampoh
Sarah Gyampoh is a licensed social worker, yoga instructor, and mother of five who has spent more than a decade helping women move from stress and self-doubt into trust, joy, and peace. Through her signature blend of mindfulness, nervous system work, and intuitive guidance, she empowers mothers to make confident, heart-centered choices in pregnancy and beyond.
She’s also the author of The Mindful Mother’s Way, a gentle yet powerful guide to creating more ease, presence, and joy in your motherhood journey.
Learn more about Sarah and her offerings at sarahgyampoh.com.
Up Next: Rise & Flourish Series: What I Learned from Event Planning (And How to Create a Kick Ass Gathering that Inspires People)
Resources: Sign up for Ryann’s free 3-Part Video Series, Do The Thing🔥
Full transcript of this conversation with Ryann Watkin, Danielle Neufeld and Sarah Gyampoh
Ryann: 00:00
Hi friend, welcome back to the Raising Wild Hearts podcast. So today's conversation was recorded live at Rise and Flourish, and it's guest hosted by my dear friend Danielle Neufeld. Don't worry, you're in great hands. Danielle and her husband Greg host a podcast that I love called The Most Important Thing. It's all about family leadership and building culture at home. Yes, please. It's very intentional, very inspiring, and you can listen wherever you get your podcast or tmitpod.com. And I'll put the link in the show notes so you can check it out. This conversation that Danielle is having with Sarah today captures the heart of the Rise and Flourish experience. You can almost feel the energy of the room, the connection that was happening behind the scenes, the deep exhale that everyone experienced, and the collective remembering of who we really are. So Danielle sitting down with Sarah Jampo. She was a speaker at the summit. Sarah is a licensed social worker, a yoga instructor, and a devoted mom of five whose work blends the wisdom of yoga and mindfulness with practical inner work to help women feel calm, confident, and deeply connected throughout pregnancy and motherhood. This is Sarah's third appearance on the podcast. So when you're done with this, if you want to go back and listen to Sarah's other two episodes, she was on December 4th, 2023, and her episode was called The Mindful Mother's Way. And then she was also on September 30th, 2024. And that episode is titled Mastering Calm in the Chaos. I love how Sarah's been on every single year since I started the show. And she is also author of The Mindful Mother's Way, an amazing book that I told everyone at the summit I keep on my nightstand all the time. Sarah has spent over a decade supporting hundreds of women who felt overwhelmed, unfulfilled, or just really unsure how to honor themselves in the midst of caring for everyone else. Does that sound familiar? I know it does for me. So her mission is simple but powerful to help mothers move from stress and self-doubt into trust and peace so they can parent from a place of presence, not pressure. Let's dive into this heartfelt conversation from Rise and Flourish with Danielle Neufeld and Sarah Jumpo.
Danielle: 02:31
Thanks so much for joining me. Sure. Thank you for having me. Yes, you just finished your talk. How do you feel?
Sarah: 02:36
I feel amazing and also like a big exhale. The exhale is needed, right? Yes. Yes. Coming in back into the body, right? I feel like while I was there, I was present and aware, but also in tune with whatever wanted to channel through me because some of it was scripted that I had written down, and some I read from my book, but the other parts I was like just flow. So opening it up to just receive what came through. Now it's like I'm re-embodying myself.
Danielle: 03:07
Yes, you're in that liminal space, if you will, right? Where there's like the optimal amount of preparedness that allows the universe to take you with it. Exactly. Yeah. That's beautiful. Yes. What did the energy feel like in the room?
Sarah: 03:23
I think it was great. I was nervous because I was a second session, right, in a row. But I think because um we moved before my session started, and then the session was very interactive. I think women were very engaged and excited. The energy felt like people were very present and with themselves and just happy to have time to think about themselves.
Danielle: 03:50
Isn't that what today is all about? Just making that explicit space for ourselves and vulnerability and connection. You just led a session on developing your intuition, right? And trusting your true self. What inspired that work for you?
Sarah: 04:06
Motherhood took me on a huge detour to thinking I had to sacrifice myself in order to be a good mom. That what my likes, my desires, time for myself, thinking about myself, being present with myself, that none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was taking care of the children and the home and being a good partner and being a good business owner or employee, right? It was never self. And I learned the hard way because I had a major vertical attack from not tending to myself, that we have to. That is the foundation for every other part of our life to thrive and to feel good is we have to be present.
Danielle: 04:54
Yes. Absolutely. I think that's a pretty common story, kind of the losing of ourselves in motherhood, right? I can certainly relate to that. My kids are eight, six, and four.
Sarah: 05:04
Okay.
Danielle: 05:04
And it's only really in this past year that I think that I've really started to come back to myself. And that person that I was in my 20s is different, but I'm kind of remembering her more than ever, which feels good. You can see it in the kids too, right? They they are like, oh, I didn't I've never seen that side of you, mommy. Or I I didn't know you like that kind of music, for example, right? So it's a it's a nice space to be. And I appreciate you welcoming us as moms to back there.
Sarah: 05:33
Yeah, it's vital. Right. It's vital. Postpartum period is actually six years. So when your youngest is six, is when you really come back in just brain-wise, hormonally, all of the things. And I've seen it because my youngest will be seven in a few months. And I've seen, wow, I feel more like myself than I ever have. And it's also intentional, right? I put a lot of intention into tending to myself. But yeah, it's a journey, right? Motherhood is such a journey.
Danielle: 06:05
Yeah. That's fascinating. I've never heard that before, but I do know, like in the Waldorf approach, they talk about the six-year transformation for the child and how that is the time of a lot of explosiveness in the brain, but particularly around moving from being externally motivated and be kind of doing what other people are doing in the space or what someone tells you to, to actually having your own ideas of how you want to play. Like I see it in my daughter who's about to turn six. This is the first time in her life, because she's our middle child. It's the first time in her life that she's been, wait one moment, mommy, let me just finish. And she's really engaged in what she's doing purposefully for herself. So it's interesting how those two intersect, if you will, kind of the motherhood transitioning after six years and the children transitioning to being more internally driven.
Sarah: 06:59
Right. Their awareness is changing. That's probably where it comes from because Steiner was a genius, right? Um, in that they are finding themselves. So that gives us more space to find ourselves.
Danielle: 07:12
Absolutely. What does rise and flourish mean for you in this phase of your life? Honoring what's true and right and real for me.
Sarah: 07:20
Right. I think we've all been conditioned and programmed through friends, teachers, parents, media. And to rise and flourish, we have to come back in and see, is that true for me? Right? Is that true for me? So it means honoring myself, celebrating life, making sure I'm doing something that brings me joy every day and just being present.
Danielle: 07:45
Yeah, that's beautiful. Because I was gonna ask you, how do you how do you tap into that and make sure that you um allow space in your day to honor yourself? Well, I wake up before everyone else in my household and give myself that time.
Sarah: 07:58
It's like the golden rule of motherhood. I know it's so hard when your kids are little and you're not sleeping, but mine are a little bit older, so I have that ability to do it. And it's it's a non-negotiable for me. I tell my children, you don't want to be around me if I haven't had my time to myself in the morning. Yeah. Yes. So that's it for me. So that's when you kind of um lay the groundwork, if you will, for the day. Set the tone for the day. And then before bed, I kind of do a check-in every night. How was my day today? Where would I like to grow? What worked for me today? Did I honor myself? Did I have fun and laugh today? Right. We forget that joy is part of it. And our children will remind us at every turn if we pay attention to them, because they'll move through anger and then they're laughing and they're playing again. Because it's so vital to our essence to have fun.
Danielle: 08:49
Absolutely. I mean, human beings were made to play. Playing is so important for learning. Play is we were, I was speaking with Jessica earlier about how play is so important for getting out of that very linear kind of problem-solving mentality that so often I think as parents, we find ourselves in that position that if we can take a step back and learn from our children around creative playfulness to solve a solution, perhaps when we're back against uh our backs are up against the wall, it can just really invite a new understanding of how to go about our day.
Sarah: 09:22
Learn more quickly if we're playful while learning. So repetition, right? They're key. But if you play, it takes a lot less repetition to integrate that or behavior. Because we're magic, right? Because we are magic.
Danielle: 09:39
That's beautiful. Yeah. So when you first heard about Rise and Flourish, what made you decide to speak today?
Sarah: 09:45
Because I know Ryan and I know what she's all about and how she shows up in the world. I knew that she would call in a group of women who my message would resonate with them. And I feel like through sharing our stories, other women can give themselves permission to be human because sometimes we forget how to do that in our effort to be, again, that good mom. We forget that we are still human and we will experience the full range of human emotion. And so I was like, you know, I have a story that I can share. And even if one person walks away with a useful tool or tip or practice from what I've shared, I will feel good about that.
Danielle: 10:27
So, what would you say to those moms out there that weren't able to join us this time? How would you describe the energy here and how would you encourage them to come for the next event?
Sarah: 10:36
Yeah, I think there's so much love in this room. I don't know anyone, I know Ryan. I don't know anyone else in the room, but I feel really comfortable because when you connect heart to heart, human to human, everyone belongs. So I would say it's a room for any mom, any stage of motherhood. There are some women here who only have college-age children and women here with newborns. And I think what unites us is first and foremost that we're women, and second, that we're moms. And we're learning how those two roles, places, ways of being in the world can intersect and connect and dance with each other.
Danielle: 11:12
That's beautiful. I can say your energy is very warm and inviting. So I think that I have no, I'm not surprised that you feel it in the room right back. Yeah, thank you. On a personal note, last question for you What is your favorite self-care ritual these days?
Sarah: 11:27
I think going to dance class. Ooh, class has become my favorite self-care ritual. I go two or three times a week. I've been going to Zook class, which is Brazilian partner dance, okay, which is so fun. And it's really like sexy and embodied and feminine. And I think that sometimes in mothering we lose that part of it because we have to set containers, and that's more of a masculine energy type of a practice. But if we remember we can get in our body and move and flow, that has been a great form of self-care and joy for me. It speaks to play as well. Exactly. Kind of loosening up those boundaries and laughing at myself because I mess up the moves 4,000 times before I get it. Very humbling in a good way, just like motherhood, right?
Ryann: 12:18
What a beautiful reminder that motherhood can be both sacred and simple, that our intuition, joy, and playfulness are not luxuries. They are the way home back to ourselves. If this conversation stirred something in you, that quiet nudge to create, to begin again, or to put your work out into the world, I want to invite you to check out my free three part mini series called Do the Thing. It's all about finding your spark again and taking brave, joyful action one small step at a time. You can sign up at raisingwildhearts.comslash do the thing or the link in the show description below. Until next time, go love someone well.
