Welcome to What Moves You!

I’m Naomi Gottlieb-Miller and I’m so happy that you’re here.

Movement is the language I communicate with.

I have always been a mover.

When I was a kid, I loved to dance. And roller skate. And walk around my neighborhood. I even played basketball in elementary school and volleyball in high school.

Movement was my way of using my body to express myself.

To blow off steam, yes. And also to share big emotions. Or simply to feel things through my body and process them in ways that felt safer, stronger, and more satisfying.

I also used movement as a way to punish my body for existing in a way I didn’t like. It took me years to unlearn that behavior and to fall in love with movement for the simple joy of moving. I am so glad that I did.

For the past 19 years, I’ve taught yoga and other movement modalities, to convey the incredible power of the human body. How much capacity we each have to explore, play, discover, grow, transform, and create change. Yes, I strongly believe that movement can help us tap into all of that.

Part of that belief is rooted in the fact that movement is more than what you can do with your body.

Movement has so much to do with how we exist in the world. How we connect with one another. How we exist in relationship. How we navigate challenging moments. How we engage in conversation. How we live our lives.

I knew that but didn’t fully understand any of that until I became a mom.

And as one dear friend mentioned to me in a conversation on voxer:

Thanks for that, Val.

For the past 10 years, I’ve been exploring the intersection of modern motherhood and movement.

Some of the questions I am always asking are: How does motherhood move us? How do we move within motherhood? Where are we getting stuck within the expectations of mothering?

For many years I’ve been using social media to share the messy truths of my own motherhood. I’ve written openly and honestly about my struggles, with the intent to make other moms feel less alone.

But more and more lately, I’ve wanted to shift away from social media — a landscape governed by an algorithm that isn’t really fostering community or connection.

That’s where the idea for this substack was born.

I wanted to create a home online for my writing — something several folks have asked me to do for years. I also want to create a community where we can connect. To move and be moved by one another through honest, vulnerable, and compassionate conversations about what keeps us stuck and what moves us.

Being a mother can feel so isolating. So lonely. And yet, parenting is incredibly social. We don’t parent in a vacuum. We parent alongside one another. And sometimes (although arguably not often enough) with one another.

My intention is to bring more of the messiness of motherhood into the light. The parts that don’t easily fit into a square or easily scrolled through.

I also believe that motherhood and movement interact with so many other things, like diet culture, wellness and health, breaking generational cycles, social justice, beauty standards, and social expectations. That’s just the short list of topics you’ll see me write about here.

Ultimately, I am interested in the movement that happens on your mat, in your kitchen, at the dinner table, at the bus stop, in grocery store aisles, on your porch, in your bedroom, and everywhere else in between.

What will this look like?

I’ll share new essays every other week. As a subscriber, you’ll receive them directly in your inbox as a newsletter. I’ve actually been sending out a weekly newsletter for years. I started way back in 2007. Most recently, I’ve shared Weekly Love Notes: a story from my life with a little love note at the end “from my mat to yours.”

Once a month I’ll share a round up of all of the books, music, podcasts, writing, and watching I’ve loved.

I might add to this, but I figure starting small is more manageable and realistic.

Paid subscribers: You’ll receive 2 additional emails in the LoveNotes format, adding a little more depth and in some cases, more personal details. Things I am less interested in sharing broadly and publicly via social media.

I also have some other ideas cooking. I’d eventually love to do a monthly Q&A, as well as online gatherings where we can connect and be in community. And I have some ideas for themed posts that would invite more group conversation. I’m still mapping it all out and figuring it out, but excited to create and co-create here with you.

Why pay for a subscription?

Well, first of all, you don’t have to. Much of what I share here will be free and not paywalled. This is also why I have a free YouTube channel in addition to my online studio, MOVE with Naomi.

I understand that paying monthly can be a stretch for some folks and I have always worked hard to make my content, both movement and writing, accessible to those who need it.

That said, this is my work. I am proud of the work I do. I put a lot of time and energy into my writing. As my mentor and friend, Molly Caro May says in her own substack, “Creativity is undervalued by our capitalist system. Paying for art is essential, especially if we want a vibrant and functional world.”

So if you can pay for a subscription, monthly or yearly, you’ll be helping me support my family, which in turn helps me better support you.

Thank you for reading, for connecting, for supporting me (and these kiddos).

With love,

Naomi