A Quiet Moment Together on The Happy Mama Movement Podcast

In this solo episode, we're joined by one of our incredible Mama Rising® Movement Facilitators, Claire Holloway—a devoted guide for women on the journey of matrescence and the founder of The Centre of Bright Beginnings. Claire opens her heart and shares her personal story of becoming a mother, what surprised her, what healed her, and how she now supports others navigating their own bright beginnings.

We talk about:

• Shifting Expectations of Motherhood: When conception doesn’t come easily, even for those who’ve always been surrounded by babies, it can challenge deeply held beliefs about how motherhood begins.
• The Turning Point: Sometimes the journey to parenthood starts with slowing down, letting go of structure, and making intentional space—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
• The Invisible Load of Pain: Chronic pain and isolation in pregnancy and postpartum can go unseen, yet they shape the entire experience of early motherhood—and highlight the need for better support.
• Finding Language in Matrescence: Discovering a name for the transformation of motherhood can be a powerful moment of clarity—finally making sense of the shifts across conception, birth, and beyond.
• The Power of The Village: A supported matrescence is rarely a solo effort—it thrives with the right team in place, whether through professionals, friends, or accessible community resources.
• Yoga as a Lifeline and a Lens: Yoga becomes more than movement; it can be a deeply personal philosophy that aligns with and supports the rhythms of motherhood.
• A Vision for the Future: The dream of a collaborative, whole-person perinatal care space—rooted in physical, emotional, and spiritual support—reminds us how powerful community can be for mothers, no matter where they are on their journey.

ABOUT CLAIRE HOLLOWAY:

Claire Holloway is the founder of The Centre of Bright Beginnings, where she supports people throughout the journey of matrescence. She is an experienced yoga practitioner, facilitator, and movement educator with a special interest in perinatal and pelvic health. Her prenatal, postpartum and parenting programs are shaped by her own experience of becoming a mother and her training as a Matrescence Coach, creating deeply supportive spaces for others to navigate their transformation. Claire’s upcoming offering Yoga for Homebirth will launch in early 2025.

Connect with Claire:

• https://www.yourbrightbeginning.com.au/
• Instagram – @yourbrightbeginning
• Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/yourbrightbeginning

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Welcome to The Happy Mama Movement Podcast.

This week’s guest is Ilana Yahdav — a certified grief educator, storyteller, and advocate for reimagining our relationship with grief, especially during the profound identity shift of motherhood. In this deeply affirming conversation, we explore the powerful intersection between matrescence and grief, and how validating our emotions can lead to profound healing.

We talk about:

• The transformative power of grief: Ilana shares how the loss of her father plunged her into a decade-long journey through grief, and how discovering grief recovery changed the course of her life, helping her validate her feelings and eventually support others through their losses.
• Grief and matrescence as deeply intertwined: Ilana reflects on the layered grief of becoming a mother—especially during the pandemic—and how discovering the concept of matrescence helped her finally name what she was experiencing. She emphasizes that grief is not just about death, but any significant change in life, including motherhood.
• Normalizing grief in motherhood: From the loss of identity to everyday transitions like a child’s first steps or starting school, Ilana explains how grief is a natural part of motherhood. She highlights the importance of language, validation, and grief recovery tools in helping mothers understand and move through these complex emotions.
• Grieving who we were while embracing who we’re becoming: Ilana explores how we can hold both grief and gratitude—acknowledging that it’s normal to mourn parts of our past selves, even while deeply loving our children and the life we’ve built.
• Leaning on community through nonlinear journeys: From motherhood to loss, Ilana reminds us that healing isn’t meant to happen in isolation. We need each other. Both grief and matrescence unfold in unpredictable ways—and having a supportive village makes all the difference.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with loved ones who might need this reminder today.

ABOUT ILANA YAHDAV:

Ilana Yahdav is a certified matrescence coach, grief educator, speaker, writer, and CEO of The Non-Linear Journey. As a mother of two young children, she combines her expertise and experience to guide moms through motherhood's physical and emotional transformations—from embracing their new identity to grieving the life they've left behind. Ilana makes challenging topics approachable with gentle humor and deep empathy by creating a safe and supportive environment.

RESOURCES:

🌐 Website: https://thenonlinearjourney.com/

Substack: thenonlinearjourney.substack.com

📸 Instagram: @thenonlinearjourneylife

📌 Pinterest: The Non-Linear Journey

📘 Facebook: The Non-Linear Journey

🔗 LinkedIn (Personal): Ilana Yahdav

🏢 LinkedIn (Company): The Non-Linear Journey

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Welcome to this week’s episode of The Happy Mama Movement Podcast.

Today, I’m joined by Gayane Aramyan, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health.

With warmth, wisdom, and lived experience, Gayane helps us explore what’s really happening beneath the surface of anger, conflict, and overwhelm in early parenthood and how we can begin to heal and reconnect.

We get deep into the weeds:

• The Calling Shaped by Experience:

How Gayane’s journey into therapy began in her teens, and how her early exposure to anger management and mentorship shaped her path into perinatal mental health.

• The Wake-Up Call of Postpartum:

Why becoming a mother during the pandemic—and navigating exhaustion, depression, and an unexpected diagnosis—deepened Gayane’s understanding of what new parents truly need.

• The Urgency of Prenatal Preparation:

Why so many parents seek help only after things unravel—and how shifting the timeline to include mental health preparation before birth can change the postpartum experience entirely.

• Naming the Overwhelm:

What emotional flooding really is, why it’s so common in early parenthood, and how naming and normalising these states can help parents feel less alone and more empowered.

• The Silence Around Postpartum Struggles:

How cultural silence, unrealistic expectations, and internalised fear keep new parents from speaking up—and why so many mothers later say, “I wish someone had told me.”

ABOUT GAYANE ARAMYAN:

Gayane Aramyan is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) based in Los Angeles, specializing in perinatal therapy. She helps individuals and couples navigate pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood, offering compassionate support through these profound life transitions. Drawing from her own experiences—marrying her high school sweetheart and balancing working parenthood—Gayane brings a deeply personal understanding to her practice.

She earned her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University and has advanced training in Anger Management, Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT), Grief Processing, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS).

Known for her nurturing and validating approach, Gayane creates a safe space for healing and personal growth. Her expertise has been featured in Women's Health, CNBC, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, and HuffPost, where she shares insights on relationships and self-development. Whether guiding young women through life transitions or supporting couples in parenthood, Gayane is dedicated to helping clients build fulfilling, resilient lives.

RESOURCES:

Instagram: @therapywithgayane

Website: www.therapywithgayane.com

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