At home with …Taryn Toomey &

“I was never the gal who dreamt of being a mom, but I DID know that I wanted to have a family with my husband. I didn’t think I was ever going to be totally ‘ready’ (I wonder if there is such a thing) so we just eventually decided it was time. I was pretty lucky with timing, but I am also very impatient. It took me a little over six months to get pregnant. And every month, I was very frustrated. I feel for anyone TRYING to get pregnant—it’s such a ride. When you let go and just enjoy, that’s when it clicks. At least it did for me. I remember it specifically. This feeling also carried over into my births—when you let go of the outcome and just be with what is happening at that moment, things fall into place.”

On Taryn: sweater from Intermix

Bedding by Sefte

“Book time offline (no screens) and time to focus on work. Literally add the ‘meetings’ to your calendar. Between xyz hours, it’s work time and between xzy hours, it’s family time. And then stick to it. I am NOT saying I have this down, but I know a mind like mine needs a little wrangling and the planning helps.”

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress, The Airelume by Taryn Toomey necklace

“I try to teach them that there is so much more to them than the physical. When the world says things like ‘you are so pretty’ or ‘you are so beautiful’, I teach them that sure, those things are true, but their worth is so much more than their looks. I don’t want them to grow with the need for feedback about appearance in order to make them feel proud about who they are. I instill in them the importance of their gifts, spirit, light, compassion and love.”

On Taryn: top and skirt from Intermix

Wood stools from Organic Modernism

“I wish I had more desire to play four year old games—the board games, hide and seek, spin me around against and again—ugh, sigh. For me, those games stink. BUT. I’ll color or dance with you until the cows come home!”

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress, The Airelume by Taryn Toomey necklace

Sofa by Montauk Sofa

“The knowledge that you are shaping someone’s life. I am constantly aware of this. I am doing what I can to create a different forward for my children. I try to be aware of what didn’t feel good growing up and use that awareness to inform my parenting. Then, any struggle I felt has a purpose. Awareness is key.”

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress, The Airelume by Taryn Toomey necklace

Sofa by Montauk Sofa

“Having a little ‘lighthouse’ to direct me back home. When I’m confused or overwhelmed by some drama that doesn’t really matter, I think of them. It immediately re-prioritizes life in two seconds flat.”

On Taryn: top and skirt from Intermix

“I felt I would ‘ruin’ my baby if I didn’t breastfeed ‘exclusively’ until a year, take the pacifier away sooner, potty train differently. I had to take it day by day. I would shut out all the noise and constant bombardment of opinions, check in with myself and when I did what FELT was right, I was able to rest in my decisions. It was different for both kids. And guess what! We doing OKAY.”

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams bed, bedding by Sefte

Scarlett and Finley dressed up in their mama’s silk kimonos

Taryn wears a dress by Ulla Johnson, and a necklace from her onw line of jewelry called The Airelume by Taryn Toomey

“My husband is pretty special and doesn’t really put much pressure on me. We have been through a lot together (who hasn’t?) so it takes constant work and time ALONE with one another.  I only teach one night a week and not on weekends to keep family and husband time. But it now takes a new kind of focus and reprioritization—especially now that my third baby (The Class) has had many of its own babies (The Layer, The Retreatment, The Airelume).

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress

Dining table from Design Within Reach, dining chairs from Organic Modernism

Girl time

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress

Sofa by Montauk Sofa

“The more you plan, the more frustrated you will be. It’s good to know what you would LIKE to happen, to arm yourself with knowledge and to see what feels right for your birth plan. BUT,  it’s truly the process of letting go and allowing yourself to feel whatever it is that is happening, while getting out of your own way. You have to embody that during labor. Feel it, move with it, work with the feeling, let it go. Repeat.”

On Taryn: sweater from Intermix

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams bed, bedding by Sefte

“I had two natural child births: pretty straightforward. Intense, as all life changing experiences are. Both required focus and a lot of breath. I wasn’t by any means in the mindset of ‘I need to do this,’ it was more that I wanted to experience what giving birth was. Their births are very much a nod to their personalities. My first was born on her due date—I got stuck between eight and nine centimeters for six hours. I finally got her out at 7:10 A.M., exhausted and delirious from being up all night. That was not fun. Maybe harder for my husband who I heard, after the fact, took my midwife out and asked her to please give me an epidural. It’s funny how that works, how it’s more difficult for someone else to see you in pain. I didn’t know what I was having and everyone told me I was having a boy (it’s always interesting how people like to give you their opinion about everything). I really wanted girls so when I pulled her out, I looked down and heard ‘IT’S A LITTLE GIRLLLLLLLLLL!.’ That was one of the most joyful moments of my entire life. It will go down in the top three.”

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress, The Airelume by Taryn Toomey necklace

“My second was Prodromal labor for three weeks. Starting and stopping. Driving me crazy. I really wanted to get her out—I finally gave up ‘trying’ and was supposed to be omitted to the hospital (as opposed to my ‘plan’ of delivering at St. Luke’s Birth Center) so they could break my water and get the process moving. I woke around 5:00 A.M. that morning, Saturday, and I meditated, ‘talked’ to Mama Kia in the heavens above as tears silently poured out of my face. I fully let go, stood up and boom, like that, went into labor. When she finally came, it was the middle of the day. I remember looking out the window right at the sun in the throes of it thinking, ‘Holy shit. HOLY. SHIT. This is not something that people down there on the street know is going down right now!!’ It was more intense. Or maybe I just remember it more. Finley came out and didn’t make a peep, but just looked around.  After that birth, I very clearly stated ‘I am never doing that again’, and of course now I would love to have another baby just to give birth and experience that moment when you meet them.”

Sister sister

Wood bench from Design Within Reach

“Concealer is a must. I throw a face and hair mask on when I meditate in the mornings and weekends or whenever I have down time at home. My kids always ask me to take it off. They definitely get the behind the scenes spook fest.”

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress, The Airelume by Taryn Toomey necklace

Sofa by Montauk Sofa

“To be honest, I never really envisioned motherhood before I became a mom. I used to hear all the lines like ‘Life will never be the same’ or ‘Will I ever sleep again?’ Now, in reality as a mom, I know those things I heard are true. Indeed. They are.”

“Meditation, The Class, iPads (wish iPads were not in there, but, ya know….truth…).”

On Taryn: Ulla Johnson dress, The Airelume by Taryn Toomey necklace

“I love that my daughters get to see the power of community and unity. They are being raised in a home that believes in wellness—not simply fitness. They are learning by osmosis. I am humbled and honored that I get to help people in this world, but I am even more grateful that my girls are intimately connected to me with this process. They were and really are the driving force.”