Hello and Welcome to Parenting Inward!

My name is Yesenia and I am passionate about supporting parents on their journey to transform their parenting experience from the inside out. I help people use their parent-child relationship as a portal for personal evolution. Conscious, non-violent parenting, personal development, psychology and spirituality are my jam. I am here to be a bridge towards healing.

I was born and raised in Porterville, California. The daughter of Mexican immigrant farm workers, I learned early to work in the fields, picking grapes in the summer and oranges in the winter. I went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern California.

But even with all of that formal education, nothing prepared me for the emotional challenge of parenting.

I remember the exact moment when I knew that the way my husband and I were parenting our children was not working. Our son was about 5 years old when he walked into our bedroom and went straight over to slap his little sister. I felt my blood boil. I asked him to leave the room because I did not want to spank him and turned my attention to consoling our daughter. After a few minutes I could hear him sitting right outside our doorway. He was hitting his head against the wall and I could hear him saying:

“Why can’t I do anything right? I don’t know how to do anything right. No one loves me. I do everything wrong.”

I immediately felt so much shame because I realized that the choices I was making as a parent were teaching my son the exact opposite of what I wanted. He was learning to doubt himself and that he was unloved. I decided in that moment that I was going to figure this out.

Parenting Inward is the culmination of years seeking education, challenging traditional parenting paradigms, and doing MY inner work.

As a committed life-long learner, I grab from brain science, psychology, personal development, spiritual teachings, non-violent parenting practices, and more. But conscious parenting is the foundational thread for how I parent. Here is what you can expect from me…

Knowledgeable Guide

I have been certified by Dr. Shefali in her Conscious Parenting Method and I also bring all of the knowledge I have gained from years of reading countless books, attending conferences, workshops and retreats.

But just as important, I bring my personal experience as a practicing conscious parent and firm believer that doing our inner work is the greatest gift we can give to our child(ren) and more importantly, to ourselves.

Conscious Approach

To be honest, this is the part of the practice that I resisted the most, but it is also where change began for me.

Regular meditation is the portal for cultivating present moment awareness which allows for us to gain clarity and create the space to thoughtfully respond to our child’s needs. Together, we will figure out how to get you into a regular meditative practice.

Safe Space for Inner Exploration

Developing a practice for inner work is a foundational piece of conscious parenting. I am committed to being a safe container for you to explore your wounds, and making sure that you don’t get stuck there.

This work is about shining a healing light onto our childhood pains so that we can show up authentically for ourselves and our children.

Accountability Partner

So many of us set goals, but we don’t have anyone to keep us on track and accountable.

At the beginning of our work together we will establish goals which I will then help you track. We will also explore any blocks or resistance that comes up for you along the way so that I am supporting meaningful and lasting change for you and your family.