Following Zuraida’s uplifting and grounding guided breathwork and visualisation session at GLAMOUR’s Wellness Event in April, we discuss the science and soul behind mental fitness.
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Many women know the feeling of putting themselves last, with careers paused and dreams delayed, passions quietly tucked away until “things feel more stable”.
South African well-being expert Zuraida Jardine challenges that narrative in a raw, relatable post about motherhood, education, change and starting again.
Her message is simple but powerful: a woman is allowed to evolve even while her children are watching.
Jardine, a renowned mental performance coach specialising in psychology, functional medicine, neuro-linguistic programming, and breathwork, recently shared an Instagram carousel reflecting on the year she and her daughter started school together.
Her daughter was six, walking into Grade 0. She was 40, walking into a university lecture hall for the first time in decades.
And she didn’t sugarcoat it.
“When my daughter started school, I didn't just drop her at the gate and drive away to a ‘normal’ day,” she wrote. “I was also packing my own bag, finding my lecture halls, learning how to study again in my 40s.”
For most of her daughter’s life, Jardine has managed deadlines, dinner, exams, work and motherhood all at once. She admits it wasn’t perfect, but it was real.
The wellness expert is refreshingly open about the emotional complexity women face when choosing themselves.
“There was guilt,” she admits. “‘I should be there’ guilt. The ‘am I allowed to want more?’ guilt.”
But something else was growing quietly in the background: evidence.
“Evidence that a woman is allowed to evolve while her children are watching. Evidence that starting again isn’t selfish, it’s a living lesson in what’s possible.”
In a world that expects women, especially mothers, to push pause on their own dreams, Jardine’s honesty resonates deeply with parents trying to navigate responsibility and self-growth at the same time.
She is quick to credit the people who helped her rebuild her life and her identity.
“I didn’t do it alone. There were partners, grandparents, and friends. Support structures are the reason we can expand our lives. If you have them, use them. That's what they're there for.
It’s a reminder that motherhood doesn’t have to mean martyrdom. Community, she argues, isn’t optional; it’s essential.
She also addresses a common double standard in households.
“You don’t see the nights I studied while my kids slept, the school events I missed because I was writing exams. Then the comments like: ‘Wow, your husband is such a good dad,’ because he went to the events I couldn’t make it to, as if moms don’t do this daily, silently, as standard.”
Her message lands with precision: “Parenting is a full-time job for both parents. Sometimes one can only give 30% while the other gives 70%. If 30% is all you can give and you do it with presence, that is 100%.”
How to pursue your dreams while raising children
Image: Instagram
While she was sitting in lecture halls feeling guilty, Jardine says her daughter was learning something far more powerful than perfection.
“That her parents tag-team. That change and learning don’t come with an age restriction. That her mother was willing to be a beginner again. That starting ‘late’ is still starting.”
For Jardine, her decision wasn’t about escaping motherhood; it was about expanding what motherhood could look like.
Her post isn’t only for moms, it’s for anyone who’s been putting their next chapter on hold.
A mother's journey of self-discovery and growth
Image: Instagram
“Maybe you don’t have children, but you keep postponing your next step until work calms down, or life feels stable. Here’s the truth: your brain doesn’t need more time, it needs a clear decision and a first step,” she says.
Her message is anchored in science.
“Neuroplasticity, your brain’s ability to rewire, doesn’t check your birth year or relationship status before it gets to work.”
Growth will always feel uncomfortable. Change will always feel inconvenient. But you’re allowed to choose a life bigger than the one you were handed.
Ultimately, her journey is about modelling courage, not perfection.
“One day your child will look back at your ‘first day’ photo and your graduation photo and realise: ‘My mother didn’t just tell me I could become more… she showed me'.”
It’s a reminder that motherhood doesn’t end where ambition begins. That choosing yourself is not a betrayal, it’s a blueprint.
And that starting again, whether at 30, 40 or 60, is still starting.