Motherhood, Grounding & Redefining Growth

With the passing of Mother’s Day, I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on the joys — and the difficulties — of what it really takes to be a mum. More specifically, a working mum.

For me, motherhood arrived right in the middle of huge growth within my career. People said it to me at the time, but now I fully understand: there really is never a perfect time to become a parent.

Buying a clinic space in Diamond Creek at nine weeks pregnant, almost in tandem with another osteopath leaving Om, all just felt like… a lot.

This reflection also comes off the back of my first full night away from my daughter over the weekend — and a sleep-in until 9am that I genuinely thought was no longer possible. I’m feeling all the feelings after finally having some room to breathe.

One thing motherhood has done is wholeheartedly ground me. It has taught me the astute lesson that I cannot have it all right now.

I’ve always been the kind of person with a finger in multiple pies, so to speak. Yoga teaching existed alongside my early osteopathic career. I spent years flying all over the world trying to understand what life as a nomad might feel like, only to slot back into clinic life whenever I returned home. Since COVID, business ownership has become one of my greatest responsibilities, alongside the hands-on work of osteopathy itself.

Then a tiny human came along and tethered me to the constant everyday knowledge that someone else needs me to survive. Someone needs my consistency in order to thrive.

In many ways, this feels very un-Monique.

Yet motherhood has also been one of the first experiences where I’ve felt like I knew exactly what I was doing.

This piece is really a thank you note to the changes in my life. To the responsibility that grounds me in everyday tasks, keeps me more consistently in my own city, and gives me clarity around what life, career and growth may look like in the years ahead. It has helped me prioritise what truly matters to me and my family.

Perhaps for you this hasn’t been parenting. But has there been something in your life that has floored you in the most brutal — yet ultimately beautiful — way?

Those rare moments where we allow ourselves the space to step back, breathe and reflect often teach us that the hardest things can become the ones we’re most grateful for.

I think this is also why I’ve come to appreciate osteopathy in a different way since becoming a parent. In the treatment room, I so often meet people in seasons of overwhelm, transition, exhaustion or growth — moments where life is quietly asking them to slow down, reassess or reconnect with themselves. Osteopathy has always felt less about “fixing” people and more about helping create the space for the body and nervous system to find balance again. Motherhood has deepened my understanding that sustainable health rarely comes from pushing harder; more often, it comes from grounding, consistency, rest and learning where our true capacity lies.

Perhaps true wellbeing isn’t about having it all at once, but learning what allows us to feel supported, balanced and at home within ourselves.

Written by Monique Goss 18/05/2026