YDGM Ep 010: Maryellen Stephens

When I was a kid growing up, my mother used to always say to me one of Nietzsche’s phrase, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

For the most part, I think that’s definitely true. 

When I have these conversations with these women for my podcast, resilience and determination are what I think about. And something about Maryellen felt so close to me, even though I never experienced much of what she did.

You could call it chemistry, and I had that connection with her almost instantly when I met her a few months ago at a chiropractic seminar. Without getting all sentimental here, it was probably because she told me she wasn’t British, she’s from Toronto, being from North America, and that gave me the common connection from the start.

She came across as super confident, fun, expressive, and intelligent, and I’ve always been drawn to women like that because not only do I like being around people like that, I tend to feel a ‘healthy’ competitive energy that I enjoy  when I meet someone like this. 

So when Maryellen and I got a chance to record this podcast episode, I was moved by what she shared, and how open she allowed herself to be. To me, vulnerability is a strength and a virtue, which I think everyone should practice regularly, especially moms. (And men).

(Ok, everyone.)

Maryellen shares, “… even from week 8 when I had that big dizzy spell, and I was talking to the baby all the time, you know I would say ‘please stay, I love you’, and all that kind of stuff, kind of knowing that something just wasn’t right. And when it kicked in and I just had a really powerful feeling that week, and I rang Alex up and I said, ‘Alex, I need to get adjusted, something isn’t just right.’” 

And he said, “Well, I can’t stop the baby from going if the baby’s going.” 

I said, “I know that, I just need you to adjust me.”

“He adjusted me, and by the time I got home, I was losing the baby. But because of the adjustment, emotionally, I was able to cope with it.”

I love Maryellen’s authenticity in telling her story, as well as her courage. It’s how we all connect with other human beings. When we hear love, vulnerability, and authenticity expressed, it’s what stirs our emotions and what let’s us glimpse into who we all are as human beings.

This is what I love about people, connecting with them, sharing and opening our hearts, laughing about life’s little things, and celebrating the things that matter.

Tune in to listen to Maryellen’s episode. I’m sure you’ll smile, cry, and enjoy what you hear.

If you’d like to reach out to Maryellen Stephens, you can email her at [email protected]. Also, check out her website and blog www.family-chiro.co.uk   

She is also currently writing her first book, and here’s a small excerpt from the introduction:

“I am certainly not the person I was before becoming a mother.  If pregnancy was a wild ride, then birth, well, that showed me I had a strength in me I never knew existed. And the emotions! When they say you walk about with your heart on your sleeve, words were never more true.  But it changes you somewhere deep inside as a human being. From the exhaustion, to coming face to face with who you really are, and having it mirrored back at you through your children. Well, now, that's been a treat! Ha! I've become softer in so many ways, it's hard to describe.  I look back and feel really good about who I have grown into, and largely, that is from a combination of being faced with children head on (the majority of which has been as a single parent) and all the crazy; years of exhaustion from lack of sleep; and willingness to heal the old bits of my own childhood, as I encountered incredible moments of compassion and forgiveness for both my parents and myself, through so many of these experiences. Embrace it, there's nothing to fear. I promise.”

For information about The Red Tent for young girls learning about their bodies and menstrual cycles, visit https://mandyadams.co.uk/red-tent/