MSI Press Blog

  From the author of  Lessons of Labor: One Woman's Self-Discovery through Birth , Julia Aziz - Lessons of Labor  was conceived a few hours after my first child was born. Battered, bleeding, and still in shock over what childbirth had really been like, one thing was clear to me: I had to write everything down, and I had better do it soon, before I forgot. My birth experience was not particularly unusual in any way, but my internal process felt like a long meditation retreat I had done some years earlier: every personal demon I had ever struggled with had somehow come to face me in the past twenty-four hours, and I was reeling from the experience.  Of course in the months to come, I came to see that giving birth, which I had given quite a bit of thought and preparation to, was actually easier than postpartum anxiety, insomnia, hormonal changes, and newborn care. As I began to inexpertly stumble along the path of motherhood, I noticed those personal demons were coming along for the r

  Julia Aziz, author of Lessons of Labor , writes: Is it just me, or does it feel like the phrase "impostor syndrome" is getting confused and over-used? To clarify, I want to explore what it's like to feel like you're faking it. Maybe people assume you know what you're doing, but you secretly fear that you don't.  First Things First: Being New is Normal If you're new at whatever you're doing and feel like an impostor, then you're probably an honest person on the right track. When we're first learning anything, it's all skills practice. We follow what we've been taught and practice the tools handed down by those more experienced than us. Over time, we integrate what we've learned into our own personality and style until it becomes our own. Everybody gets there by mucking it up along the way.  Impostor Syndrome is for Everyone Impostor syndrome doesn't just affect newbies though. Everyone has days or weeks, even years, where they&

  The following post comes from Jula Aziz, author of Lessons of Labor -- On getting triggered: Anger, guilt, blame, and the feelings we don’t want to feel OCTOBER 24, 2023  /  JULIA AZIZ I’m curious, who showed you how to feel and process anger in a healthy way? (Just kidding, that’s not a fair question!) Depending on our background, we may have learned to numb or suppress negative emotions, beat ourselves up, or lash out, but it’s pretty rare for an adult reading this today to have grown up in an environment that modeled well how to work with feelings like anger, guilt, shame, or fear. It’s something we as a species are still learning. We continue to trigger negative emotions in each other all the time though–that’s just being human and living in society with other humans. Part of growing into adulthood is learning how to respect what we feel while also respecting other people’s experience, and while that may sound extremely basic, it’s often extremely missing. You may have heard the

Excerpt from Lessons of Labor: One Woman's Self-Discovery through Birth   (Aziz) - COMPETENCE AND EASE   I started mentally repeating a request to my unborn daughter: “Just hold on until the midwife gets here, and then you can come right out.” The pain of pushing, that now familiar ring of fire, barely registered in my brain. I was only focused on holding my baby in until professional help arrived. I didn’t fight or try to control the pushing, but I didn’t help it along. I just took shallow, panting breaths, let my body do its work, and asked my baby to come slowly.   Just a few minutes later, at 11:30 p.m., my midwife walked in the open door. She came straight over to me, crouched down, and caught my baby as she slipped easily out of my body.   Committing to the moment, I can discover competence and ease.   Do you know the feeling of being in the zone, when everything seems to fall into place with little or no effort? The freedom of living life in a state of flow i

  Today's fortune cookie is associated with the Lessons of Labor (Aziz).  Read more about the Julia Aziz and her book HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.  Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our  Authors' Pages .    

  In her blog post this week, Julia Aziz ( Lessons of Labor ) discusses (and links to) her new podcast on self-healing, spirituality, and therapy . For more posts on Julia and her book, click HERE .  Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishin g with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an author-signed copy of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our  Authors' Pages .

  Fourth Trimester Podcast has listed Lesson of Labor (Aziz) as a favorite book for new parents. Congratulations to Jula! For more posts by and about Julia and her book, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC Newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 

  Julia Aziz, author of Lessons of Labor , says -- I’m the last person I would have ever imagined working online. A cabin in the woods without WiFi is my favorite weekend getaway, and when I learned about Luddites during a semester abroad in England, I was instantly enamored with the idea of smashing computers–and that was before the Internet! Yet here we are three years into our crazy new world, and I’m still discovering unexpected blessings in healing work online. Read the rest of the post HERE . Read more posts by and about Julia and her book HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25

  (graphic from Julia Azzi blog) I'm happy to say I've been meeting new friends on my morning walks again. Just last month, I had encounters with a porcupine, owls, armadillos, hawks, foxes, a  crested caracara , and coyote. I always try to play it cool, gently slowing down without making too big a deal of it, wanting to greet the animals in a natural way. As you might imagine, they don't often hang out for more than a few moments, and I find myself feeling wistful each time they leave. Not knowing when or if we might meet again, I'm left with a fleeting joy, better nourished by the connection. For the rest of Julia's post, click HERE . For more posts by and about Julia and her books, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .

  This fall and winter Julia Aziz ( Lessons of Labor ) will be offering her famous Release & Empower Women's Circles. More information and registration can be found HERE . For more posts about Julie, her book, and her activities, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .

Excerpt from  Lessons of Labor INTRODUCTION   Before giving birth for the first time, I was warned that labor would be the most painful physical experience I would ever endure, but no one ever told me I would be entering into battle with my own mind. No one explained that the pain of labor was just as much about facing my inner demons and giving up the pretense of control as it was about physical discomfort. I didn’t know that I would keep learning from the experience for the rest of my life.   This book is not a manual for having a “successful” natural birth or for becoming the ultimate Zen mother. Though you may have been searching for such a guide, I do not think you need one. I offer you the stories of my birth and early motherhood experiences to share the learning I received through this incredible rite of passage. Instead of teaching you how to labor or how to live your life, my reflections are intended to ignite your curiosity about your own labor as an opportunity for self-disc