The Heart of Parenting 💙

Cultivating Compassion for Ourselves, Our Children, and Our World

with Heather Austin

Online Drop-in Sessions (On hiatus until July 2nd):
Weekly on Thursdays, 8:30 am - 9:45 am PT (Check your local time here.)
First Saturdays, 9:00 - 10:30 am PT (Check your local time here.)

In these online sessions, Heather invites parents on a courageous, transformational, and fulfilling parenting adventure to transcend socialized parenting paradigms and limiting beliefs instilled from their own childhood experiences. Rather than teach “parenting techniques” or “behavior management”, her intention is to reconnect parents with their own innate wisdom so they can engage with their children more compassionately and responsively rather than parenting on auto-pilot – fueled by repetitive patterns – and often (over)reacting in regrettable ways.

Packed with wisdom from her own journey, challenges, and discoveries, Heather teaches and encourages self-care, self-kindness, and self-compassion, because experience (and science!) has taught her that doing so gives parents more of each to offer their children.

Additionally, when children experience settled nervous systems modeled in the home by their parents, they are much less likely to interpret stress as their fault and less likely to carry burdens that are not theirs to carry. In this sense, self-care is an act of mutual care because the parents learn to honor their own capacity while protecting their children’s sense of mattering.

These sessions weave together a wide range of content with space for deep engagement, with the hope that you will experience these benefits and more:

Compassion for yourself through understanding why your capacity may lag so far behind your commitment and what you can do to bridge the gap;
Compassion for your children as you understand better what life is like from within their own experience rather than from the outside looking in;
Compassion for and from other parents: so many parents, especially those shifting into more liberating paradigms, feel alone and lack support;
More capacity to remain calm when your children become dysregulated and more skills to help their nervous systems settle;
A growing capacity to remain empathic with your children even in challenging moments;
More choicefulness about your “yes” and your “no";
Practices for cultivating more mindful and heartful presence for yourself and with your children;
More togetherness (and ease!) in your relationship with your children and others in your life as well.

You will also learn practices and principles for cultivating more presence, awareness, compassion and resilience so you can show up in ways that are more deeply aligned with your values and dreams. And because children learn more from what parents do than what they say, you will be instilling these same life-serving qualities in your children as they cultivate them in themselves.

No parent (or person) is perfect, and modeling imperfection and being explicit about cultivating new habits to care for yourself and others provides a compassionate template of authenticity for children as well.

"The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence.
When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Registration & Tuition

Weekly on Wednesdays, 8:30 am - 9:45 am PT (Check your local time here.)
1st & 3rd Thursdays, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. PT (Check your local time here.)
First Saturdays, 9:00 - 10:30 am PT (Check your local time here.)

Sliding Scale: $20 - $40*

*If the suggested contribution range presents a barrier to your participation, please reach out.

CLICK HERE to explore the specific dates and themes of upcoming sessions and to register for those you feel inspired to join.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to Heather at TheHeartOfCommunication@gmail.com with any questions or to schedule one-on-one support.

💕You are also invited to click here to sign up for free resources and invitations to future offerings.

Heather is passionate about supporting parents, children, and educators in cultivating their capacity for non-judgemental present-moment awareness; deepening their connection with themselves and one another with compassionate communication; and co-creating collaborative, purpose-aligned systems in families and schools, with the hope that these systems will serve as seeds for creating a world that works for all. She has been doing this by sharing very practical tools from her training in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Attachment Theory, Polyvagal Theory, UCLA's Parent Empowerment Project, The Compass, and multiple other modalities. She also brings insights gained from her experience integrating the principles and practices from this body of training into her own life.

In addition to facilitating parenting classes, retreats, workshops, and groups both online and in person, Heather also offers individual support sessions, including home and school visits. She brings wisdom from her decades-long journey of supporting parents, educators, and children of all ages, in and out of school settings on four continents, and from her own journey of parenting her neurodivergent child.

Heather can also be reached directly at TheHeartOfCommunication@gmail.com
for one-on-one and couples parenting support and guidance. 💕

In-person workshops and retreats returning to Europe, September ~ November 2026!

(Italy, Austria, Romania, Czech Republic, Germany and Spain - details coming in late April / early May.)

Testimonials

“Heather is able to widen any circle of awareness, bringing in what is not easily seen in our parent-children relationships. Heather is connected to her innate care for others, and with her, I feel seen, heard, and understood in my challenges as a mother. She has inspired me with her commitment to walk the path of compassion.” ~ Fernanda Cecin, Argentina

“Heather has given me clarity about how to strengthen a heartfelt connection with my children. She has offered me practical strategies to transform patterns of reactivity into behaviors that are more aligned with my values.” ~ Grace Deckers, Brazil

“Heather is a person who gives herself without limits, without judgment, she is a being full of compassion, love, empathy, and resilience." ~ Carolina Zamorano, England

"Heather’s sessions have nourished me in many ways. They help me stay “on track” by allowing me to reconnect each week with my deeper longings and values, in a space where I feel a strong sense of community and togetherness. Heather has a way of “getting you” and seeing the humanness in everything we bring up. This helps me feel truly seen and meets my deep need for empathy. I love how she listens so attentively and then gently guides you toward self-compassion, offering new insights and supportive perspectives using NVC, mindfulness, inner child work, and the latest in neuroscience. I feel so supported on my journey, Heather is always reminding us that even tiny steps matter, and are worthy of being acknowledged and celebrated along the way. Attending Heather’s sessions has greatly increased my self-awareness and self-compassion. She has given me tools to be more present, and opportunities to practice each week. This has helped me connect with what’s alive inside me, giving me a sense of freedom and choice. I feel so much gratitude in my heart for you, dear Heather, and all that you offer to me and the world! I was so much longing for exactly a space like this. Thank you soooo much!" ~ Csenge Fekete, Romania

"I am now, at 77 years old, learning the many unconscious ways my body and mind have been habitually programmed, specifically around my parenting. Because of Heather's caring, compassionate heart, her skilled teaching methods, and her embodiment of the modalities she shares, we are experiencing the material intellectually through her references to brain science and developmental theory, viscerally, through practicing and experimenting with our bodies, and spiritually, through the presence and unconditional love and acceptance we all feel from Heather. I am grateful for this opportunity to create and model a world for my children and grandchildren more in alignment with my highest values." ~ Margery Pricket, United States

Google Sites

Report abuse