Erica Jago. Designer, Author, Kundalini Yoga.

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Erica Jago

One of the things I read early in my parenting journey, which really stuck with me, is our children mirror our behavior. After listening to Erica being interviewed on a podcast, where she spoke of becoming the best version of herself, in order to be the best guide for her students, I decided to reach out to her for this interview.

Erica Jago is an artist, designer and yoga teacher, in addition to being someone I’ve admired from afar since I discovered Art of Attention, a book she designed and co-authored. Although the book was written as a gift to yoga teachers, the lessons inside are universal for anyone wanting to challenge and improve him or herself.

You designed and co-wrote a beautiful book, the Art of Attention, which has inspired me so much in my doula practice; what could a pregnant mother or new parent learn from your book?

I’m so happy to hear this! Not having children myself, I can only relate to the idea of parenting. But as an adult, I find myself still learning how to nurture and care for my own inner child. The book, Art of Attention teaches ways to speak to your emotional body; feeling forgiveness as a release of tension in the body. In chapter two, we release blame in the solar plexus, which is a huge power loss. All of these universal lessons will assist you in becoming a clearer channel for yourself first, and others around you, second.

Why do you think it’s important to be your best self in order to teach others?

Conflict comes from when I’m living a contradiction. What I teach in the classroom must be a true reflection of what I live at home, otherwise I’m a fraud. Integrity is the utmost important attribute a human can obtain and a topic I cover a lot in my classes and retreats.

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Interview with Author and Positive Parenting Expert Lou Harvey-Zahra

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Lou is a mother and the author of Happy Child, Happy Home: Conscious Parenting and Creative Discipline and Creative Discipline, Connected Family: Transforming Tears, Tantrums and Troubles While Staying Close to Your Children.27650_ap

Her books have wonderful tips for connecting with your children and she empowers parents to create an environment of magic and wonder and gives you tools for disciplining without using punishments and rewards. Lou trained as a special needs teacher, worked teaching autistic children, is a trained Waldorf teacher and ran playgroups for 12 years. She travels and gives talks and workshops in Europe and Australia and is known for being a common sense educator who presents in a heartfelt way, her motto is “never to harm, only to help, I just inspire.“

She believes the most important parts of parenting take two minutes, one of the things she said that really resonated with me was “childhood is a sacred special time and children don’t know time, they don’t know minutes or days of the week and rhythms make them feel safe, rhythms hold families together.”

I know you’re a Waldorf teacher, but what inspired you to write a book about discipline and happy households?

I write to give parents new ideas to create happy homes. I know parenting isn’t easy and parents don’t have ideas unless they watch somebody, read a book or attend a workshop or learn from their own parents. I do it for children because childhood is an important stage of life and I’m passionate about childhood, I think it’s a special and unique phase. I want to give parents ways to connect with their children, so their children can have a childhood of magic and wonder. When you use creative discipline, both the children and the parents can be happy.

Lou Harvey-Zahra

Did you have any deep held beliefs about discipline you had to let go of during your training as a Waldorf teacher?

I didn’t have any deeply held ideas. I was very lucky because my parents didn’t know anything about creative discipline, but they did use creative ways. So I was never hit or given time out or grounded. When I was doing my Waldorf teacher training, I learned it’s not what you teach, it’s who you are as a person that has the most profound effect on a child. Running playgroups and having children made me more conscious about what works and what doesn’t work. My ideas have evolved based on what works without using rewards and punishments, what works without making them feel really bad. It doesn’t mean letting them get away with things. Discipline means to teach, not to punish. Teach them to self-regulate their behavior. If you punish they just learn not to get caught.

Would you say your books are for every parent or for parents that already have knowledge of Waldorf schools, Rudolf Steiner and his teachings?

Definitely every parent, a lot of people say I have a common sense parenting or heartfelt parenting approach, it’s definitely for everybody.

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