Hannah Gauri Ma has two delightful, radiant, rascally kids she is grateful she gets to share her life with: Nika (born in 2009) and Kiko (born in 2014). They live together in Hertfordshire, in the UK.
Hannah studied Psychology, Philosophy, and Anthropology for her undergrad, because she has always been interested in learning about human nature and what makes us tick. She has also been on a life-long spiritual journey and has kept up a meditation practice (on and off) for over 20 years. She continued to study and work in areas in line with her passions – always with a focus on uplifting, inspiring, and supporting people to support themselves. And then she had her first baby.
Even before having kids, Hannah was clear that all children should be treated with empathy, care and respect and while she found she could do this… it came at a tremendous cost, as Hannah suffered from anxiety and threatened to burn out trying to be the ‘perfect’ gentle parent!
So, it was that, in 2011, she found her way to Hand in Hand Parenting and started to get not only great theory and techniques for helping connect with children and elicit the best behaviour from them (most of the time) but also support for herself! She found this approach to be at once heart-centred, aligned with her values, effective and sustainable – because it puts resourcing parents at the very core of the approach. Hand in Hand acknowledges that theory is great but being able to make it work, even in the heat of the moment… and keeping it up, in an easy, relaxed way is where it is at. This is what she strives for, now.
After years of practice, she says:
“When I get it right, the Hand in Hand Parenting tools make me feel like a ‘child-whisperer’… and not only with my own kids. I have seen them work on many different kids and have even coached parents to use them with their children, as I stand by, a few times. I have seen dynamics shift and difficult situations ease-up, sometimes very quickly.
“These tools give families a road-map. Baffling behavior can become not only understood but also tamed (not always instantly… but over time). No-one can parent perfectly and no-one can parent in isolation but together we can begin to build support networks and ‘conscious villages’ so that little by little we can support each other to be the best parents we can be.
“One of the things I most love about this approach is that it focusses not just on connection and cooperation but also on playfulness, delight and joy… Our relationship with our kids really should be built on these things, IMO: trust, yes, but also goofing around, light-heartedness and FUN!”
Her areas of interest include homeschooling, neurodiversity and giftedness. Through her experience both as a Hand in Hand instructor and as a parent-volunteer in a number of learning co-ops, over the years, Hannah has seen these same principles work not just for her own kids but a whole range of different kids with different personalities and needs. Hannah loves working with parents and seeing the teachings transform their family lives. “This stuff is powerful”, she enthuses.
Here are some words from parents who’ve attended Hannah’s classes:
“I instantly found Hannah’s presence to be warm. Her passion for everything parenting was clear to see. I found her approach to be relaxed and from the heart. She spoke of her knowledge, as well as vulnerabilities making for a very safe space to be, share and learn. (…) The practical tools were easy to apply with instant results. But more crucially for me was the spotlight on my own triggers, bringing in a deeper awareness, helping me go some way to processing and healing my own wounds, allowing more of my altruistic self to be present for me and my child, which inevitably led to much better outcomes all round.“
Hayley, 2018
“Hannah was just great. She was real, thoroughly engaging, and answered all our tough questions. She created a great atmosphere of warmth and safety in the group and delivered the course thoughtfully, intelligently and with a great sense of humour.”
Lorna, 2020
Hannah runs the Facebook page ‘Loving Earth Mama’. Find her there or join one of her courses. She can’t wait to meet you!