Love. Endless amounts of love. That is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the empowering woman we’re highlighting in this week’s Healthy Her Way feature. Whether it’s expressing her love for her family, the AMMA community, or the women all over the world she has yet to meet, it seems as though Emily Baldoni has a heart the size of California.
Though you may have heard of Emily as a Swedish actress or the adored wife of Jane the Virgin star Justin Baldoni, she is not defined by her celebrity. Emily is also a mother, entrepreneur, and activist who’s actively leveraging the limelight (and working on life-changing projects) to make the world a better place for all.
Have I mentioned that Emily is a badass mom? Emily welcomed her eldest youngin, Maiya, into the world after 35 hours of active labor during a drug-free home birth according to her talk about the spiritual power of the feminine qualities for BahaiTeaching.org. During her speech, Emily discusses how both men and women should embrace feminine qualities and celebrate just how strong women really are (tell ’em, sis). Justin also gave a similar presentation as a TED Talk—now that’s a power couple!
One of Emily’s many impactful initiatives is her service as a board member for the Skid Row Carnival of Love—founded by Justin—which strives to shine a light on the homelessness in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area and to provide often overlooked individuals with the resources they need. The success of this annual event proves that people from various backgrounds can come together to make a respectful, positive, and even celebratory impact.
Emily is also the co-founder of AMMA, a brand new product line “designed by mamas for mamas” whose mission to educate the world about breastfeeding while making it easier for mamas to breastfeed in public—all of which further demonstrates the Baldoni family’s altruistic nature.
When this kind soul isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her family, which is apparent from scrolling through her Instagram feed for just 10 seconds. We can’t help but admire Emily’s raw transparency as she shares the joys of motherhood as well as its struggles.
As she navigates entrepreneurship, service to (wo)mankind, and motherhood, Emily still takes a moment or two each day to care for herself through quiet time filled with meditation and prayer—reminding us that every mama on a mission needs to tend to the light within as well.
While Emily’s life couldn’t get much busier, we can’t imagine a world where she wasn’t doing everything in her power to make a difference. We are so grateful to know this incredible human being and for the love she’s spreading in so many creative ways.
A Day in the Life
What does your daily routine look like?
You’re catching me at a time when our life is upside down due to months of traveling, work, and building a house, so we are just getting back to something even remotely similar to a routine. So this is what I hope life will look like soon…
If my little boy doesn’t wake me up by sticking a finger up my nose, I’ll wake up from my alarm and go in to Maiya to wake her up and get her ready for daycare (one of her favorite places on earth). Our beloved, incredible, supernanny arrives to take care of Maxwell just before I leave to drop off Maiya. My husband might be home catching up on well-deserved sleep or been up since 5 a.m. to act/direct/produce/edit or just making the world a better place. #nobiggie #overachiever
If he’s home when I get back from daycare, we try to catch up on all the million things that are always going on in our life and figure out what the day will look like. I feed Maxwell. Then I feed my heart and soul with a couple of prayers, and then I go out to our Endless Pool for a swim (coolest invention, check it out) or a workout in our garage. Now—moment of truth—this is NOT what I am currently doing while living in an Airbnb with our life packed in boxes, but let’s pray to the workout Gods that I can stay committed to daily movement/workout because once in our new house I have no excuse. 😊
After this I make breakfast and shower and then start my day, which includes work for AMMA—a new company I co-founded with a mission to celebrate and elevate the experience of motherhood, and soon launching an incredible breastfeeding wrap—and/or auditioning, answering emails, running errands—somehow there are ALWAYS errands to run!—and I always try to stay connected to old and new friends, meeting for coffee and either catching up or brainstorming about projects we want to do together.
I pick up Maiya from daycare in the afternoon and after that it’s playtime with both kids, dinner, bath time and bedtime, and sometime after 8:30 or 9 p.m. the house is quiet again and hopefully Justin is home so we can have dinner together and catch up.
And I always end my day with a few prayers and checking in with myself about what I handled great today and what I could’ve handled better. We are Bahá’ís, and our teachings speak of the importance of bringing yourself to account each day so we are always evolving to a better version of ourselves.
What are your favorite ways to practice self-care?
Just a moment to myself is self-care for me these days. And if that moment is meditation and prayer, even better. Nature also has a way of bringing me peace, a clearer perspective on things, and an overall recharge.
How do you stay inspired?
I stick around really inspiring people who make a change and lead with their heart. I also love to read!
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Loving Lately…
What are the best products you’ve discovered recently?
Currently in love with the True Botanicals skincare line…it’s so hard to find all-natural products that really work.
Savory Moment is a new meal delivery company that we’ve fallen completely in love with. Super healthy, delicious, and made with love.
Whose Instagram is on your radar? #squadgoals #gramlove #hashtag
Angi Greene for incredible knowledge and inspiration for physical and mental well-being.
Celeste Barber for the best kind of belly laughs. She’s a genius.
Maya Vorderstrasse: the original letter board mom. Her posts about motherhood are insanely creative, fun and honest.
What’s your go-to healthy snack?
Cold sliced organic Fuji apples with almond butter or Greek yogurt with chopped apples or a handful of nuts
What are you reading, watching, or listening to?
My kids mainly. 😂 About to re-read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, a fantastic book about creativity. Also just started The Conscious Parent by Shefali Tsabary.
Emily IRL
What superpower would you like to have?
To be able to speak all languages. Teleporting would be pretty awesome too since my family lives in Sweden and I could just keep hopping around the world showing off my other fancy superpower
What are you really great at (that might embarrass you to admit)?
I’m tall, white, and quite skinny, kind of a perfect build for the stiff Swedish polka. But my body and soul wants to move to African drums. I can’t even control it. My butt just starts moving and then the rest of my body follows. It’s probably not the most gorgeous sight and it’s an epic cultural mix-up but it feels pretty damn good!
What woman in history would you love to take to brunch?
Tahirih. She was a heroine, poet, and feminist martyr in the mid-1800s, and a very important figure in the history of the Bahá’í faith. Her prophetic dying words were: “You can kill me as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women.” Hearing her thoughts on how we should deal with our world today, even for just 10 minutes, would be worth everything.
Would you rather explore space or the ocean? Why?
Space. I’ve always been fascinated with space. My first words were “my moon,” and when I learned in school that it only takes a few days to go to the moon, I went home and started planning my trip. Imagine the perspective on life you’d have up there…
What piece of advice has impacted you the most?
My mom always told me to follow my heart. I think that’s something we hear a lot, but to actually put it in practice is a lot harder than we think. When I quiet my mind enough and get in tune with my heart, that’s when miracles happen.
Want more refreshingly honest (and downright inspiring) posts on your Insta feed? Be sure to follow Emily to learn about what she’s up to and how you too can make a difference.
