Hi! I’m Heidi.
I believe that peaceful parenting has the power to change the world. I also believe that the key to this change is supporting parents and caregivers so they don’t feel shame or overwhelm and don’t overcomplicate things.
For years, I “white knuckled” my way through Peaceful Parenting.
I’d stopped yelling (for the most part) but—as my son would often remind me—I was still easily frustrated and stressed out. There was such a long list of “things not to do” if you didn’t want to mess up your child and so much of the advice I was given by other peaceful parents didn’t feel responsive to my child’s actual needs, even if it made sense in light of his reflexive reactions.
I needed support so that I could stop trying to be the perfect parent and step into my authentic “good enoughness.”
And so do you.
The first thing I found that helped me to shift things was the book Raising Good Humans and the meditation practice it sparked. Prior to that I had done yoga and even some meditation. But when I got discouraged because as a young lawyer I couldn’t dedicate 20 minutes, twice a day to the practice, I stopped. That book, however, not only taught me about the stress response—as a physiological reaction and not something that I could control—it also helped me embrace the idea of good enough parenting and loosen my grip just a little bit on the perfectionism that had been driving me forward since childhood.
The second thing I found was somatics. Because after a while, despite my meditation practice, I fell back into thinking that being perfect was better than not being perfect, even if the cost of trying to be perfect was very high. And while part of me knew that my reasoning was faulty, I really struggled to change things. That is, I struggled until I found some compassionate witnesses to be with me while I confronted that faulty reasoning and then digested, composted, and transformed all of my feelings surrounding it into life force energy that I could use to support both myself and my children.
My Qualifications
One of the things that distinguishes me from other parent coaches is my strong belief in training and education, as well as personal development. Take a look at the central ones to the right.Peaceful Parenting - Trained with and certified by Dr. Laura Markham; 8+ years practicing peaceful parenting in my own highly sensitive and neurodivergent family; have studied with and learned from numerous additional people in the peaceful parenting world, including Dr. Gordon Neufeld
Mindfulness and Meditation - Graduate of Mindful Parenting Teacher Training with Hunter Clarke-Fields; graduate of Mindful Self-Compassion course (not a train-the-trainer course) through Mindfulness Northwest
Somatics, Embodiment, and the Nervous System - Graduate of Robyn Gobbel’s Being With program and Registered Raising Kids With Big, Baffling Behaviors Course Facilitator; student of Soma School and Soma Seasons with Veronica Rottman (a/k/a Waking Womb); additional studies with Sarah Baldwin and Ruby Rose Fox
Former Biglaw Litigator
Daily-ish meditator and retreat frequenter who receives somatic support at least monthly
Behind the Curtain
Even though I recognize that it isn’t exactly science-backed, I have found personality typing to be extremely accurate and fully see myself as an INTJ, Enneagram 6, and 5/1 Generator.
I am unabashedly progressive and empathetic in my political views, but it doesn’t always looks like it because I have little appetite for performative activism or the “Woke Olympics” and I am a deep thinker who sees the complexity in situations even when I feel strongly about what is right.
I don’t believe in the “just keep scrolling” idea of avoiding conflict online because, while there’s no point arguing with trolls, the idea prevents us from growing our understanding and community.
I’m not nearly as serious as all this makes me sound. I love travel, food, and beautiful (sometimes expensive) things, and every year I recommit to reading more fiction than nonfiction. (I haven’t managed that one yet, but at some point it will happen.)
The Nitty Gritty
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I live in Seattle, Washington (U.S.A.) but while I do meet with local clients in person, the majority of my work is online, and so I can proudly say that I work with people all over the world.
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All families benefit from parent coaching. The only real prerequisite to working with me is that you be open to connection-based and non-punitive parenting methods.
That said, the majority of my clients have been trying to practice peaceful parenting or a related style for at least six months and identify as one or more of the following: perfectionsts, intellectuals, deep thinkers, and/or highly sensitive.
In addition, it is very common for one or more member of the family (parents or children) to be gifted, highly sensitive, strong willed, deeply feeling, ADHD, and/or anxious.
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I mostly offer coaching, but also a membership and some courses. For more information on my offerings, check out the work with me tab.
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My email address is heidi@heidigarciaparenting.com. I usually respond to messages within 48 hours.
Does working with me feel like the next right step for you and your family?
Get to know my style better by downloading my free “Embody Peace” workbook.
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