In this episode of SuperPower Mommas, Payal Arora, a certified health coach and mom of 2 young children, joins Laura Greco as they explore how embracing the power of self can be achieved with confidence in small steps. Payal looks at health from the holistic point of view: food, exercise, stress management, relationships, spirituality, career and creativity. She knows firsthand the challenges when it comes to caring for yourself your children. This is where she helps other mommas as well. You are warmly invited to listen in as she shares her superpower and how you, too, can remove yourself for the feelings of aloneness. 

Hello everyone, and welcome. I’m Laura Greco, your SuperPower Mommas host, and I am so excited to be with you once again. Today I am speaking with Payal Arora on the topic of embracing the power of self in small confident steps. And just a little bit about Payal, she is a certified health coach who focuses on helping busy moms integrate healthier habits into their routines. She looks at health from a holistic point of view encompassing food, exercise, stress management, relationships, spirituality, career, and creativity. As a business owner and a mom of two children of her own, she knows how tough it can be to get… To prioritize herself and that’s why she focuses on helping moms make small, sustainable changes that have the greatest impact, and can last over time. And does that not speak to all of us as mommas when we’re busy raising children and for some of us working or growing a business? So welcome Payal, I am so excited to have you here.

Laura, hi. Thank you so much. I’m so excited to be here and so grateful to be with you today and have this opportunity to talk. So thank you.

Yeah. So tell me, as you know on our show, we always focus first of all on superpowers, and that I believe that all mommas have superpowers. In fact everyone does in general anyway, but for moms it’s a little unique. And so as a mom and also a business owner, what would you say that your superpower is?

My superpower is my willingness to allow for a certain sense of vulnerability when I’m connecting with others, with other mommas and forming relationships.

Sure. Yeah. So I’ve thought about this for a while and I think what I would say is my superpower is my willingness to allow for a certain sense of vulnerability when I’m connecting with others, with other mommas and forming relationships. And so I think what I mean by this is when I say vulnerability, I mean it in the form of a sense of openness to people, to experiences, to being okay with uncertainty. But also in terms of embracing, you know who I am, and who the person in front of me is. And I think it’s kind of important in terms of forming relationships and in the work that I do because it allows for a conversation with that momma that says, “You know, I see you there. You’re okay, you’re safe.” And, “Here I am, as I am. With all my rough edges. And I feel like this type of conversation allows for a bit of trust to start being built.

Yes, yes. And I know that in general, the world or the younger generation… You know, I’m a mom of adult children, so I have my own children that are probably similar to your age at this point. But there is a sense of wanting more realness in life.

Yeah. Yeah, I would agree with that. And I think, you know for me, I was lucky in that I think I was able to develop this sort of sense of realness and openness due to the way that I was brought up and the experiences I had as a child. Because, you know as a family we moved around literally almost every four years, around the world. And I had lived on four different continents by the age of 12.

Oh, my.

And so I feel like I’ve been in many situations as a child. As a new kid, you know? And you’re often vulnerable in that new kid position, but you also learn to be open to new ideas and new situations and new people. And in fact now I love it. I love meeting new people, I love forming those relationships. I love constantly learning new things from them. So I think it’s like I’ll forever be a student. And in that way, craving that realness. You know?

Yeah. Yeah. And to your credit, I just mentioned to the listeners, the way we met. It was through Instagram actually, because I do posts there and you know, to send messages for mommas. And maybe you want to expand on that, but your enthusiasm was so high and so delightful to experience. So would you like to say a little more on that?

Thank you. About the way we met?

Yes. Yes.

Yeah. No, I saw a post that you had put up and it was just, you know… I think it was about, your kids don’t want you to be perfect. They just want you to be happy, and sort of real, and there.

Yeah.

It was along those lines and I loved it so much and I, and it spoke so much to this topic. And also just what I feel I try to help mommas with in general. And so I re-posted it and then that’s how we connected. Just through Instagram, which was pretty cool.

Yeah, it is. It is pretty cool. And I remember after you did that, I was impressed with your openness. You know, to explore and know who you were. And that’s of course how we began this journey together. So really, really exciting stuff. And it’s one way for us to see how connected we really are as human beings.

Yes.

And it’s the hearts that draw us, isn’t it?

Yes. Yes, totally. And I think we’ll talk about this more in a bit, but the connectedness is something that I struggled with as a new mother. Because I felt very alone, I think, when I first had my child and then my second child. And it was this feeling in aloneness, in failure almost, because I found it really difficult. You know, the changes, and being a parent, and being responsible for another living being, and all of it. And I found it so hard and I didn’t understand because I had been successful up to this point in my life. You know, I had done well in school, I had a career, and I thought I was doing great. But then when it came to parenting, it felt so hard. And then I felt alone because I felt like I was failing.

And then it wasn’t until I started really connecting with other mothers in the same boat that I realized I was not failing. I realized it is hard and everyone struggles to some extent. And it was that connectedness that really kind of brought me to a point where I realized, “Wow, there are so many other mothers out there that feel this loneliness, and feel this struggle, and don’t realize that others do too.” And that’s kind of what brought me to the work that I do now, to be very… Very apparently, that’s what I wanted to do was try and help build that connectedness.

Yes. Yes. And I can see how your superpower, how your life experience has led you to this place. And so often, isn’t it true that new experiences feel so overwhelming at times? And yet when we get better at it, then it’s like, “Oh, what was I even thinking?”

I think there’s always a steep learning curve and it continues that way. I don’t know until when it stops. I guess like once your children leave the home.

Yeah. Yeah. And I don’t even know that… I mean, I think yes, you get better at it as a mother. As you gain experience at it. But every day it changes too. I mean, and as your children grow, everything changes. And so then again, you have to be okay with that change, you know? And go with that flow and then… And understand that that’s temporary, things will change again. And so I think there’s always a steep learning curve and it continues that way. I don’t know until when it stops. I guess like once your children leave the home.

Never. Never. I can tell you that from experience. And you have two children so… And I had four, and I’m sure that you have experienced this exact same thing, and that every mom I talk to, right? There are no two children alike.

Exactly.

I never thought that I had two most opposite first two children, only to discover that there was still more for the third, and the fourth.

Yeah. 

Right?

Yeah, I’m sure. I mean I have the two, and yeah they’re so different in so many ways.

Yeah.

So it creates an opportunity for you to really exercise that vulnerability superpower because of… You know the fact that they are different and you are going to be experimenting and creating curiosity. Which we are going to get into more in our… You know the second part of our discussion. But for now, I really would love it if you would share with everyone where they can find you. And then we’re going to take a quick break. 

Yeah, sure. So the best way to reach me is on my website, which is arorawellness.com or you can connect with me on Instagram at parora330.

Beautiful, beautiful. So we have been talking, Payal and I, about embracing the power of self, in small confident steps. So when we come back, we’re going to continue on that discussion. So stay with us and we’ll be right back.

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