Earthy Yoga Mom

More Kids Meditation Fun

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:06:00 +0000

Yoga CD Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:32:00 +0000

It's Earthy Yoga Mom's first giveaway! Hurray!

During the month of July, I'll be giving away five copies of my favorite kids yoga CD, I Grow with Yoga to randomly selected Facebook fans of Namaste Baby, my wee kids yoga company.

So become a fan of Namaste Baby on Facebook and you could win a copy for yourself! This CD has most of the most popular music I use during my own kids' classes and my son Kai loves it, too!

Research Says Meditation Benefits Preschoolers and Elementary School Students

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:55:00 +0000

USA Today ran a great piece this week about meditation in schools and hospitals:

Preliminary research shows that Los Angeles preschoolers who were taught meditation improved in their ability to pay attention and focus. For early elementary school kids, improvement came only in those who had attention problems at the start, says Susan Smalley, a UCLA behavioral geneticist who did the research with psychologist Lisa Flook. Very young brains may be more malleable, she speculates.

I LOVE building a bit of meditation into my classes. For preschoolers, it's super brief, something like closing their eyes and imagining someone they love for a few moments. For older kids (especially those oh-so-contemplative and introspective 7- and 8-year olds), I love doing guided meditations and visualizations, or breathwork/meditation. Kids work so much more earnestly and willingly on their meditatio

Yoga, Kids, Fun, and Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:44:00 +0000

"Thank you...I had a very bad today. I was all riled up - it was a very bad day. But I feel better now and calmer." So said seven year old Henry after a recent end-of-the-school-day yoga class I taught to elementary students in Allston, MA. It had been a rough day - the class's teacher told me she herself had been in tears earlier.

I LOVE my job. LOVE it. Kids take yoga so seriously and playfully all at once. They practice yoga like they were born to practice it and the way we as adults often only aspire to practice - with joy and acceptance humor and spirit and focus!

In the coming months, I'll be teaching more and more classes for older students. I've recently had the pleasure of completing additional training in kids' yoga instruction, and am nearing the end of my 200-hour adult teacher training as well. I'm becoming very interested in research and news about the impact of yoga and meditation on young people - after seeing it first hand for over a year now, I'm more committed than ever to living a path that brings this gift to our kids.

More Specific Cuddlers...

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Continuing on yesterday's calming and soothing theme, a few more ideas for soothing your wee one by stimulating the proprioceptive system:

Walking - Try going for an evening walk around the block together. The act of walking provides gentle joint compression for your kiddo. And has the added bonus of promoting health and wellness for your whole family.
Rolling on a Yoga Ball
Snuggle up together in a tightly wrapped blanket. Holding your kiddo in your lap, give her something weighted, like a rice sack, while talking or reading a book together.
Try massaging and squeezing your little one's hands and feet. This can be extremely soothing (for grown ups, too!)

Why Hugs are Helpful, and Other Cuddling Calmers

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:57:00 +0000

Call it the other sixth sense if you will - proprioception is the body's sense of its parts and limbs in relationship to one another. What allows us to drive without staring at our feet to make sure they are moving the way we want them to. Like the vestibular sense, this is one of the eldest and most basic, evolutionarily speaking. Which is why stimulating it, just like stimulating the vestibular system, is so reassuring and calming for kids.

Hugs are a classic form of joint compression and muscular pressure. As is massage! Yogis from my Baby and Tot classes will recognize Heartwarm Touch and my instruction to use firm (but still gentle, obviously) pressure when doing infant massage with their little ones. This is because a firm touch reinforces a developing child's sense of their body's boundaries - lighter touch tends to be more stimulating (for an adult translation - think of the difference between being tickled by a feather versus being kneaded by a deep tissue massage!).

Tykes class yogis will reconize burrito rolls (using a yoga mat, parents and preschoolers take turns rolling each other up and then "eating" their burritos) as a fun opportunity to provide gentle joint compression and muscular pressure. And doing blanket swing, in which a child lies down length wise in a sturdy blanket while two adults gently swing her back and forth while singing, provides both joint compression AND vestibular stimulation!

Babywearing and infant swaddling also stimulates the proprioceptive system. For preschoolers, try a "human swaddle" - spooning and hugging your child in a dark room at night can be extremely soothing.

Sweet Stories, Sweet Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:31:00 +0000

Many of us have a set of familiar bedtime stories that we pull out for our children at the end of the day. Achieve an even more soothing effect by sharing personal stories with your wee one.

Kids love telling and hearing about themselves, so try telling the story of your day together each evening. Our children also love hearing about us - tales from our own childhood might be particularly pleasing to them.

Perhaps you could even collect some favorites into a book that you create together. Or record them so that your babe can listen to them again and again many years from now.

A Month of Calming and Soothing

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:16:00 +0000

As a teacher of baby, toddler, and preschooler yoga, I get asked quite frequently for suggestions about calming and soothing, and helping little ones to sleep. So, I thought I would spend the next month offering a different strategy each day.

Today's Soother:
Take advantage of the sixth sense, your child's vestibular system! Ever notice that toddlers and preschoolers run around in circles a lot? Or that babies love to be bounced?

Sounds counterintuitive, but boisterous activity may be called for when it comes to calming a wound up wee one. Try bouncing, rocking, and spinning activities - begin fast, and get slower. With babies, match your rhythm and intensity to their breath, then bring things to a calmer place by gradually reducing your pace.

For toddlers and preschoolers - songs that involve bouncing on your lap (Hop Along Yogi and Trot Old Joe come to mind immediately) make a great start. Try running around together and shouting "Stop!" then falling to the floor in fake/dramatic exhaustion. Once you have your child's attention, are in sync energy-wise, and can bring things down to the floor (as opposed to bouncing off the walls!), you can start to introduce quieter activities. Massage or backrubs can make a good transition. If you're familiar with Itsy Bitsy Yoga, try some Heartwarm Touch with your little one. Older toddlers and preschoolers will also enjoy giving mom or dad a backrub.

Check back tomorrow for more ideas (and know that these will work on grown ups, too! seriously - next time you're too wired for bed, try running around the room singing a song, then calling out, "stop!" while falling to the floor giggling...get someone you love to give you a nice shoulder rub, and then just try not to feel more relaxed and ready for sleep!).

Photo Credit:
Sharona Jacobs Photography
"Photographing your family as you are"
617.852.2366
sha@moots.org
http://sharonaphoto.blogspot.com/

Keep Rear Facing!!

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:40:00 +0000

I've been on hiatus from blogging for a bit, but am back again. All I can say is, man! motherhood, and two newish small businesses in the family sure can keep a gal busy!

Today, I'm on a bit of a kick about car seats. Think 20 lbs and being one year old makes forward facing okay? It's a common, and deadly, misconception. Forward facing too early can lead to a severed spinal cord in an accident. Not good. Need More Evidence? Check out this video:

More from CPSafety:

All children should stay rearfacing beyond the minimum requirements of 1 year and 20 lbs. They should not be turned forward-facing before they reach the maximum rear-facing limits of a convertible seat - either the maximum rear-facing weight limit or when the top of their head is within one inch of the top of the seat shell. While most parents are aware that they must keep their children rearfacing "until they are AT LEAST 1 year old AND 20 lbs", very few are told that there are significant safety benefits when a child remains rear-facing as long as the seat allows. For most children, rear-facing can and should continue well into the second year of life.

The most common misconception parents have is that children are uncomfortable or at risk for leg injury by having their legs up on the vehicle seat back when kept rear-facing longer. This is completely incorrect. First, children are more flexible than adults so what we perceive as uncomfortable is not so much so for the children. Second, there are NO documented cases of children's legs breaking in a crash due to longer rear-facing. Even if there were, a cast can be put on the leg; with a severed spinal cord from FF too soon (of which there are documented cases) there is no way to repair the damage.

Every milestone in a child's life is exciting! First steps, first word, first day of school. Even car seat milestones seem exciting, but the truth is, they should be looked at with a sense of dread, not longing. Every step in car seat "advancement" is actually reducing the protection your child receives. In a forward-facing seat, the neck is subjected to massive strain because the head pitches forward. A child's head is much larger in proportion to the body than that of an adult.

The head of a small child is about 25 per cent of the body mass whereas the head of an adult is about six per cent! A small child's neck is subjected to much more strain than an adult’s neck when facing forward. Additionally, in a forward-facing seat, the head is thrown outside the confines of the seat and can make dangerous contact with other occupants, vehicle structures, and even intruding objects, like trees or other vehicles.

In a rear-facing seat, the head, neck and spine stay correctly aligned and the child is allowed to ride down the crash while the back of the child restraint absorbs the brunt of the crash force. The head is contained within the restraint, and the child is much less likely to come into contact with anything that might cause head injury.

In Sweden, children are kept rear-facing up to the age of 5, or as much as 55 lbs. From 1992 through June 1997, only 9 children properly restrained rear-facing have died in motor vehicle crashes in Sweden, and all of these involved catastrophic crashes with severe intrusion and few other survivors. Larger Swedish child restraints are designed to accommodate these larger children. UScertified restraints can be used rear-facing until the maximum weight limit is reached or until the top of the child's head is within one inch of the top of the seat, whichever comes first.

And a few more helpful links:

How to Tell If Rear-Facing Seat is Outgrown by Height (Feet touching the seat is not an indication of this!)
Safely Wearing a Coat in a Car Seat
Why RF is Safer? Pics of Spinal Development
For Older Kiddos: How to Tell if Your Child Still Needs a Booster Seat

Crockpot Winter Breakfast Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:31:00 +0000

I'm all about delicious, nutritious breakfasts, but sometimes they're hard to throw together with a toddler romping around! For this reason, I LOVE my crockpot - throw everything in before bed, turn on low, and voila, ready in the morning! Kai and I both love this recipe!

In a crockpot, combine:
1 c. brown rice + 1 c. quinoa (or any whole grains)
1 c. adzuki beans (optional)
1-2 diced apples
1/2 c. diced winter squash
1-2 diced sweet potatoes
1/2 c. raisins or other dried fruit
1 tsp. cinnamon
7 - 9 c. water

Turn crockpot to low and cook overnight, or 6-8 hours. For grown-ups, add salted nuts and a bit of brown sugar, if you'd like, and enjoy!!

Pics in the morning, because I've got a batch going in my crockpot as I type...

This recipe has a lot of flexibility. Use any whole grains that you enjoy - though it's nice to include quinoa, one of only two grains that is also a complete protein (the other is amaranth, another breakfast favorite of mine). Sometimes I add diced carrots or dates, and if I don't have apples or squash, I'm fine with just sweet potatoes. The adzuki beans are totally optional, but delicious - they contribute to the overall slow sweetness of the dish.

As far as the water and cook time go - I generally find it best to make my first attempt at something in my crockpot during the day time - all of them are a little different, so I like to be able to keep an eye on the water/moisture level, and figure out when something is ready. I recommend the same to anyone trying this out for the first time!

Yoga Odyssey

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:41:00 +0000

I'm feeling really, really excited. Why, you ask?

Tonight finds me filling out my application for 200-hour (adult) yoga teacher training and also registered for my friend Barrett Lauck's monthlong online Yoga Odyssey course in January (that's Barrett in the pic over there!).

My training begins in February with Mimi Loureio at O2 Yoga here in Massachusetts. My first yoga classes were at O2 with Mimi many moons ago, and I couldn't be more tickled to have the opportunity to learn from such an extraordinary teacher. Hooray!!

Her goal is to help people create, develop, and stick with an at-home yoga practice. For just $40, participants will receive daily inspiration from Barrett, reflections from other participants via bulletin boards, and also weekly suggestions for sequences, both active and restorative.

Barrett's pre- and postnatal classes have kind of a cult following in the Boston area, and she is particularly committed to helping parents create and maintain their practice...

So...who's going to join me in January for this Yoga Odyssey??

Green Giving - Make it a Sustainable Holiday!

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:19:00 +0000

Even the savviest of eco-gift giving guides are chock full of products these days. Sure, they're full of recycled, reused, and non-toxic stuff, but that stuff is, nonetheless, STUFF.

Now, I hail from a family that has historically relished the present-opening process – sometimes I think that each of us bought much of what we did for one another just to add one more tear-openable-box to the giant pile under our tree.

I can't lie. As a kid, I loved opening box upon box upon box of trinkets and bobbles. The parachuting plastic men made a particularly lasting impression. But that pleasure was fleeting, and soon gave way to the burden of finding (and generally failing to find) a place to put the million-and-one tiny little stocking stuffers. Did I mention that my family is also full of packrats who live in relatively small abodes?

My grandmother, whom I dearly miss, was the biggest gift-giver of us all. But she went to her grave with a secret – all those Christmas presents had added up to huge credit card bills. She carried substantial balances, paid the minimum due each month, and was so in debt that when my grandfather discovered the state of her finances after her death, he was forced (in his mid-70s after a lifetime of hard work) to declare bankruptcy.

And how many of those childhood gifts do I own now? Aside from a few books and a pieces of special jewelry, I can't think of anything that was valuable or durable enough that I still remember it, let alone own it. Those little parachuting men, made of a petroleum-based, unsustainable material, and probably loaded with toxic chemicals, have long since taken up residence in some landfill, where they will likely remain for a very long time.

This holiday season, my husband and I want to celebrate the holidays and honor our loved ones sustainably. Eco-friendly or not, we decided to ban STUFF from our gift-giving. This year's Natural Living Holiday Gift Ideas come straight from the list we brainstormed for our own "shopping." Enjoy!! Oh, and parents out there might also enjoying checking out the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood's Guide to Commercial Free Holidays. A friend just passed it along to me and I love the emphasis on traditions, rituals, and service over commercial holiday hype and stuff!

Now, finally, on to the Gift Guide…

Share a Farm
Rising consumer awareness of the nutritional, taste, and environmental benefits of eating locally means that your friends and family will almost certainly appreciate fresh produce, meats, egg, and dairy from regional growers and farmers. Give the gift of a CSA farm share – you'll be supporting local economies, your loved ones' health, and of course, in this economic climate, who wouldn't be thrilled with the added bonus of reduced weekly grocery bills? Search Local Harvest by zip code for nearby CSAs.

Give the Gift of Fitness
Health and wellness are the foundation of extraordinary living and I can't think of a more powerful and personal gift for someone I love than in-home personal training or private yoga instruction. Full disclosure – I'm married to a wonderful personal trainer, Robert Bellon - he incorporates meditation and a bit of whole foods nutritional education into his training and I even partner with him to provide child care for some of his clients during their training sessions – you can read more about his work at Live Well Training. And another local recommendation, this one for private yoga instruction especially for prenatal or recently postnatal moms – Barrett Lauck with Five Points Yoga, about whom I hear never-endingly good things. To locate trainers near you, check out the American Academy of Sports Medicine and to find a yoga instructor, check out the Yoga Alliance.

Plant a Tree
Plant a tree to honor your loved ones in any US state, the Amazon, or Israel with Trees Instead, which works with local reforestation projects internationally. Tree-climbing kids and outdoor enthusiasts will particularly appreciate this gesture, which will literally help green the earth.

Fight Hunger and Poverty
Heifer International lets you choose a meaningful gift to give a loved one by helping children and families around the world receive training and animal gifts that enable them to become self-reliant. Purchase a sheep for wool, a goat for milk, or egg-producing chickens for a community in need. One of my favorite options? Heifer's Earth Baskets, which provide "additional income for families and support for the environment. Bees produce honey and wax that supply income when sold at the local market. And did you know that an active beehive's pollination makes for more efficient crop growth? The Earth Basket also contains tree seedlings which provide shade and fodder for animals and prevent soil erosion."

Make a Loan, Change a Life
I'm thinking that entrepreneurs and businesspeople will particularly appreciate a Kiva gift certificate this year. Recipients get to fund a microloan to an entrepreneur in the developing world, watch via e-mail as that entrepreneur's business grows, and within a month, do it all over again as the loan is repaid.

Adopt an Animal
An especially great gift for kids, organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and Bonobo Kids provide the opportunity to support wildlife conservation efforts by "adopting" an animal. These organizations also provide thoughtful, fun educational materials as well as sweet tokens representing the adoption. Actually, this is a great gift for grown-up kids as well. In the past, I've adopted animals for everyone from my husband to a former assistant, and every recipient has told me it's one of the most meaningful presents they have ever received.

Classes
Especially for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, check out Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes (again, full disclosure, I teach this program myself locally!), Music Together, and art programs. For older kids, give them the opportunity to pursue something they're curious or passionate about – perhaps a sports clinic, a pottery or glass-blowing class, or wilderness experience!

Memberships
Another favorite gift I've given before – memberships to local science, art, and natural history museums are always a hit.

Yourself
The tried and true coupon book for your time and service never goes out of style. I remember giving these to my parents and grandparents as a child ('cleaning my room without argument' was a particularly big hit), and gave one to my husband a few years back as well (I think it also included 'cleaning my room without an argument,' LOL!).

Memory Boxes
I once brought tears to my uncle's eyes by handcrafting a small wooden box and filling it with photos and memorabilia my grandmother helped me collect related to his childhood and early adult years. If your gift is going to be a physical one, nothing beats something truly personal.

Bottom line…by thinking creatively and sustainably, the holidays feel much more special for everyone. Happy 'shopping' and happy holidays!

Fabulous Home Practice Tool!!!

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:11:00 +0000

Just came across My Yoga 2 Go fabulous looking tool to support anyone and everyone's at home practice! It was created by yoga teacher and mom Beth Siegel, after her first child was born when she realized that without much extra time to attend classes and workshops, she was favoring particular asanas and practicing the same flows over and over at home. She created this system to keep herself challenged and inspired by her practice...

At $29.95, I think I'm gonna have to order me one of these! From her Web site:

With My Yoga 2 Go practice system you'll select from 70 different postures, as well as 7 different sequences:

Ashtanga (power)
Flow
Core Strength for Athletes
Hip Opening
Back Strength
Relaxation
Energizer

Each sequence is labeled as either beginner, intermediate or advanced, so that you can begin a yoga practice and continue to challenge and grow your practice with only one purchase of the My Yoga 2 Go practice system. Unlike books or DVD’s, the My Yoga 2 Go practice system has a endless combination of sequences that you can customize yourself, using the over 70 posture cards.

Why Yoga for Kids?

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:46:00 +0000

I start to answer that question in a guest post for Boston's Savvy Source blog. Check it out, and thanks to the Boston editor, Jill Notkin (who blogs about work-at-home momhood over at The Daily Grind) for the invitation to contribute!

Calm Down with Your Sixth Sense

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:03:00 +0000

Ever wonder why yoga is so calming for babies, kids, and grown ups alike? Did you know that motion without touch is more soothing than touch without motion for an infant (touch and motion together are the ideal)? Or that in one study, babies who were held and spun around in an office chair demonstrated much faster reflex and motor development than babies who were not? Ever been on a meditation retreat? If so, have you noticed how many adults, when they silently sit with their own thoughts, begin to rock or sway to self-soothe?

Now that our whole family is feeling better, I am finally getting to one of my favorite subjects - vestibular motion!!! I know, as favorite subjects go, this one might be a bit strange, but I'm fascinated. From one one of my favorite books on child development, What's Going On In There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life:

From the moment of birth, children love the sensation of motion. Whether it's rocking, jiggling, bouncing, or just being carried around the house, babies find great comfort in the feeling of repetitive motion, and older children love to be spun, swung, or flipped upside down. The reason they are so receptive to motion is because they are born with a highly developed vestibular system - a "sixth" sense that allows us to perceive our body's movement and degree of balance. The vestibular senses are very old, in evolutionary terms, since all earthly organisms have had to orient themselves with respect to gravity and their own motion. Accordingly, they emerge quite early during embryonic development. Like touch, the vestibular system is precociously poised to transmit sensation that is not only very comforting for babies but also critical to their early development.

Surprisingly, vestibular stimulation makes important contributions to motor development, and deficiencies in the vestibular system are linked to emotional problems, perceptual or attention deficits, learning disabilities, language disorders, and autism. While not the sole cause of these disorders, balance and motion make a big difference for little ones. And infants who are born prematurely gain weight faster, are less irritable, breathe more regularly, move less jerkily, sleep more, and spend more time in a quiet, alert state when they are swayed, bounced, rocked, carried and spun.

Early vestibular stimulation provides a building block for the development of other sensory and motor abilities. And although the vestibular system's sensitivity peaks between six and eight months, as one of our most primitive senses, it remains available as a fast lane to calm.

Spinning, jumping, or moving to an upside down position has an immediately calming effect on children and grown ups alike. In my yoga classes for kids, I suggest poses to parents (like down dog, headstand, and spinning around or jumping up and down) that are particularly effective for averting an oncoming tantrum - but when my husband and I remember to try them ourselves, we always realize that they are just as effective for averting big people tantrums as they are for pint-sized ones!

Photo Credit: gemsling (flckr)

Laughing...and Coughing...

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:32:00 +0000

Just a quick note to say that as soon as I thought I was "back on track" - I came down with the bug that Kai and Bob have had! So it will be a few more days before I get back to posting.

Begin Again

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:14:00 +0000

How fitting that I recently wrote about surrendering, prioritizing, and committing to self-care. Almost immediately after writing that post, I faced several challenges to my own rituals of peace and wellness. Bob started a new nearly full-time position with a nearby gym, I started a new set of 6-week Itsy Bitsy Yoga sessions, Kai got a nasty cold, and Bob threw his back out. As soon as Bob's back got better, he got Kai's cold and a bad case of laryngitis. I went kind of non-stop for two weeks, not really getting more than a few moments to or for myself. Still not sure how single parents do it, and I bow down to them. Knowing that the circumstances I faced were very temporary, if exhausting, I decided not to renegotiate a whole new patter of self-care, but rather, to breathe as deeply as I could whenever I had a moment to do so, and forgive myself the lapse.

Now everyone is on the mend and our family is settling into new routines based on Bob's new schedule. And as always in this life, I begin again. Begin again with writing for this blog. Begin again with my commitment to practice yoga and meditation as close to daily as possible. Begin again with running and strength training.

Tomorrow I will have the post I promised last week, about the amazing power of vestibular motion (spinning, up-and-down, upside down movements), but tonight I just wanted to check in and say, I'm still here. I've been thinking of this blog, and all of you, often during the past week, and have been eager to reconnect. So happy to be doing so now!

How to Breathe Your Way to Calm

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:24:00 +0000

In Yoga, the breath (prana) is considered life force and guides everything. Focus on it quiets the mind, calms the spirit, and allows us to play to our edge in poses or challenging situations that come up in life.

I quickly learned that prana was the best place to start for soothing with my own son, Kai, in his early months. And now that he's toddling, I find that I can work the same magic I've watched other parents manifest with just a little bit of breath, sometimes even curtailing tantrums before they have a chance to begin.

So today, a few simple strategies for bonding and calming using the magic of breath:

Centering: When you feel your own reactions to your little one’s behavior intensifying, take a moment to notice your own breath. Don’t try to change it, but do pay particular attention to the feeling of it on the skin under your nose for a few minutes. We find that after a few moments, this leaves us much calmer, more present, and ready to deal with the situation at hand much more lovingly.

Baby’s Breath: Hold your infant against your chest and match your breathing to hers, inhaling and exhaling on her time. Feel the sensations on your skin where your bodies connect.

Breath Beats: Next time your well-fed, clean-diapered babe fusses, hold him close and try using an up and down motion (think a Yoga/exercise ball or Goddess pose/squats) that matches in the tempo of his breathing. As he and his breathing calm, slow your pace to follow. This used to turn even my son Kai’s fiercest crying into laughter.

Tantrum Tamer: In Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Toddlers and Preschoolers: 8-Minute Routines to Help Your Child Grow Smarter, Be Happier, and Behave Better, Helen Garabedian suggests derailing an oncoming tantrum with some simple breathwork. Show your toddler how to breathe like a lion with Lion’s Breath: breathe in through your nose using an exaggerated facial motion and expression, then out through your mouth with a “haaaahhh” sound, imitating a lion’s roar.

Grown-ups (parents and non-parents alike) can work this magic on ourselves as well! It's amazing - the lessons of baby and toddler yoga can sweeten each day for big people, too. Next time you're upset, try rocking, swaying, or bouncing your body in time to your own breath, slowing your motion as your breath calms. Or let loose with a few lion's breath roars...I guarantee you'll feel better. Prana power works for everyone.

Why is up-and-down/side-to-side/upside-down motion so powerful when combined with prana? More on that tomorrow!

Mothering Is Like Meditating...

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 01:01:00 +0000

Seriously. Like a non-stop, never-ending meditation retreat. I find it impossible to cling too fiercely to the illusion of permanence when each moment presents me with a beautiful, fickle little creature who encounters every object, moment, and experience with his whole being; sometimes his whole body seems to hum with his delight, but just as quickly he finds something frustrating or upsetting. He's so obviously outside of my control that even I, practiced as I am at convincing myself I'm in charge, cannot begin to believe it is so when I'm with Kai.

There are those moments that of non-attachment, equanimity, and deep-calm-love, like when I remember to just look at Kai as he falls asleep nursing at night. Or when, as this morning, I discover something that will make him laugh right at that moment - what makes him laugh one moment does not necessarily have that effect in the next! This morning, he loved the sound of the word "oops" and couldn't get enough of it, laughing wildly whenever he heard it repeated.

But as with meditation retreats, such moments are fleeting and impermanent...thankfully that is obvious, so I can handle the more tedious moments of tantrums or exhaustion.

Today and yesterday were also filled with such moments - over the weekend, Bob both began a new job at a local training studio and threw his back out. Meaning that I was on Kai duty nearly by myself all weekend. Kai also developed a cold Friday evening, and for two nights woke up approximately every 20 -45 minutes. Add the time change this weekend, and he has been starting his days at 5am or earlier. Tired mommy. Tired mommy with no breaks during the day, and temporarily missing her extra hour of morning catch-up sleep while daddy recovers.

Every time I lost it this weekend - and my friends, I did lose it a few times, having to leave the room, Bob lying on the floor with Kai confined to a small space next to him for a few moments, because I was just so very tired and emotionally exhausted from keeping up with my sweet, crazy toddler. So yes, every time I lost it this weekend, I brought myself back into the game of parenting by reminding myself of the impermanence of the situation, and thinking about days 6 and 7 of my past 10-day meditation retreats. I have felt "done" each time at that point, and have just wished I could go home and be done with it already. But I've always dug down deep and pushed through, coming to something new and more complete in my final days as a result.

So that's what I did this weekend. And I discovered a well of playfulness deep inside me even in the late hours of the day, a time for which I had been telling myself I was utterly hopeless. I discovered that Kai likes being chased and tickled while he crawls around. That he'll chase me if I crawl away quickly and hide nearby, peeking around the corner from my hiding place and giggling. And that he will curl up happily in my lap to be read to for long periods of time. Oh, and apparently, he finds it quite soothing to listen as I quietly repeat "O-Baaa-Maaa" over and over again with the hope that he'll learn the word and make it his fourth (he's already got "mama," "papa," and "up" down pat).

I thought I was logging on to let you know that it's been a busy, tiring few days, and I'd be back for a longer post tomorrow. But then this turned itself into a longer post. So instead I'll say that tomorrow I'll be back with a more thought through and proofread post!

Surrender, Prioritize, and Commit

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:30:00 +0000

As mom to a toddling almost-10-month old, I sometimes wish that I could have learned some of motherhood's lessons before I actually had a child. I would have been able to take MUCH better care of myself!

So often I felt like I had too much to do to go to sleep early or sleep in, to work out, write, meditate, or practice yoga. When I let those things slip, I blamed the balancing act of a demanding job and professional travel schedule and various projects and relationships in my personal life. I often felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants...

Fast forward to Kai's arrival. I knew he would need his mom, and I knew he would nurse every 1-3 hours for a while. Anyone who has actually nursed a newborn knows that the big surprise lives in the reality that when your babe nurses intheir first months, it's often for 45 minutes at a stretch. So when Kai nursed hourly at times during the day, that meant I had 15 minute windows to take care of myself and "get things done." New parents often choose between a shower or eating lunch when such windows of time arise, and MUST live with other things falling away, at least for a time.

Mamas and papas adjust quickest and easiest when they do two things:

Surrender to the moment and to their baby's needs without trying to resist or change them, knowing that a time will come for doing other things; and
Identify the one or two things that really, really matter to their sense of self, or feel unbelievably nurturing, and negotiate a way to do them.

To the first point - Babies are the world's best meditation teachers. Years of 10-day silent meditation retreats can't even hold a candle to what Kai has shown me about accepting reality as it is at any given moment. When he's hungry, I feed him. When he's tired, I help him sleep. When he needs cuddles, I give them. And really, even in those moments when I'd rather be doing something else, I don't even consider making the choice not to respond. That choice is off the table.

Now to the second point. What feeds you? The answer may be intensely personal, or it may be somewhat universal. Here are some of the things parents in my classes do for themselves:

Extra sleep - when you're working really hard, an extra hour of sleep makes a tremendous impact. Parents often achieve this by trading off an hour in the morning, and an hour in the evening with each another - one parent gets to go to sleep early, one gets to sleep in. If you don't have kids, pick a night each week to head to be early and a morning to sleep late, and don't compromise on that time! And single parents can have a relative or friend come over from time to time to make this possible.
Write - one mama I know realized that when her babe woke in the wee hours of the morning, then nursed back to sleep, she herself could actually stay awake for a bit and spend the time writing. This time made all the difference for her.
Solitude or Time with friends - Introverts can use an hour or two to themselves for a recharge, while extroverts might need some time with good pals to decompress.
Get a weekly massage
Head to a yoga class once a week or do a few poses every day
Go the gym or out for a run several times a week
Meditate for a few minutes every day

For me, the difference between pre-baby and post-baby is truly a matter of commitment and prioritizing when it comes to this kind of self-care. Motherhood gave me no option but to choose what matters most to me. And the all-out focus on someone else most of the time made commiting to my choices imperative.

I rarely compromise on the hour or two each morning of sleeping in that Bob makes possible. Lately, I stay up a little later in order to write these blog entries, because the time for reflection and sharing is really sustaining me. Each evening I work out in our living room with my husband as my trainer, and when I nurse Kai to sleep at night, I often use at least some of the time to quietly meditate.

When we feed our spirits, and that's what we're really talking about here, we recharge that infinite and ever-expanding supply of love that we have and make it much, much more available for the people (tiny or big) in our lives.

I'd love to know how you find the time to nurture yourself, and what you do! Send me an e-mail at lauren dot bellon at gmail dot com, or leave a comment!

Gratitude Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Earlier today I found a few moments to read a recent article by Pema Chodron in Shambala Sun. She described the importance of building gaps into your day, intentional moments for the mind to live outside of the constant flutter and craziness of Everything That Must Get Done. These gaps, she insists, are what give us the opportunity to love and live better than our old habits would have us do.

Also today, I taught the first classes of my new six-week Itsy Bitsy Yoga sessions. I teach 11 classes at three locations, and typically, half the families who register do so during the last week before a new series begins, no matter how early I begin advertising. The lizardy fear part of my brain finds this terrifying and tends to use the days before new classes start as an opportunity to run around in crazy little "We're going to fail!! We're going to fail!!" circles, causing me to snap at my lovely husband and become utterly distracted while spending time with my beautiful son.

Not so today, however. Here's what building reminding myself to breathe throughout my day made me aware of:

The steady, hard sound of my breath toward the end of my evening run, quiet and booming at the same time in the freezing, dark air that made it visible.
What a gift it is to have so many returning families in my classes, kids and parents who grace me with the opportunity to watch them grow and change.
Kai's laughter.
The astonishing fact that Bob is doing work he loves, I am doing work I love, and we both get to spend so much time together at home and with our son. We did it. More soon, but through wonderful serendipity, Bob has stumbled into an unbelievably perfect opportunity that gives us confidence we will be able to continue down this path we've begun.

Contributing significantly to my calm of late has also been the free daily personal training that I get from my husband. It's a bit absurd, and perhaps overly obvious, to point out that when I take care of myself, it's easier to take care of myself, but there it is.

So in many of my Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes this week, I'll be asking parents to share what they are doing to nurture themselves.

It's an important question for all of us, whether we do or do not have kids. Tomorrow I'll share a few ideas, from my own experience, and from the wisdom shared by mothers and fathers in my classes, about caring for yourself in the face of responsibilities that are very, very time-consuming.

Learn more about this post's image, crafted by Thich Nhat Hahn.

Healthier Halloween? Get Active!

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:58:00 +0000

I confess that in years past, Halloween was really just an excuse for me to chow down on leftover Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kats - the one time of year I went to town with junk food. But as a new mama who works with kids and thinks about their fitness on a regular basis, I'm feeling not-so-good about handing out high fructose corn syrup in a wrapper to the world's littlest folk.

Thankfully, the Mom blogs I follow are filled with tips and ideas for a greener, cleaner, healthier Halloween. Check out Crunchy Domestic Goddess and Boston Mamas for great alternatives to candy that won't get your house egged this year.

But since I haven't seen this anywhere else, I thought I'd share some activities to incorporate into your Halloween celebration to ensure that it's a healthy one. Especially if their junk food intake will increase, make sure you offer more opportunities for physical activity in the days to come. Some ideas to get you groovin' (these go for grownups without kids as well!):

Hoof It: Skip the car for your trick-or-treating this year and walk instead. Maybe even use your spooky stroll as an opportunity to start a new family tradition of going for a walk together every night.
Spooky Yoga: Do a Halloween yoga practice together. Cat pose becomes Scary Black Cat Pose, for instance. Let your kids go to town inventing new poses based on their costumes, on animals, on whatever their imagination can come up with.
Leafy Treats: If you live in New England, celebrate Halloween and autumn with my favorite fall activity, leaf pile jumping! The time spent raking leaves into piles will give everyone a workout. Little ones and big ones alike will delight in the sound and running through and into all the leaves.
Pumpkin Picking: If you haven't already picked your pumpkin this year, get your kids outside running around a pick-your-own field. Pick up some squash and roast it and the seeds for a healthy fall treat while you're there as well. You'll help your kids understand where their food, and their jack-o-lanters come from, and everyone will get some outdoor activity as well.
Halloween Dance Party: Dance the night away with your costumed kids to Monster Mash, Thriller, and Ghostbusters, and Time Warp! Check out The Complete Halloween Party Album on iTunes or just do a music search for "halloween party" and come up with your own playlist!

Never Doing Now

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Yesterday I explained my Not Doing Now List. Today, I turn my attention to my Never Doing Now List.

A few of the items currently on this list:

Cleaning the spaces between tiles on the bathroom floor with a toothbrush.
Washing down the porch.
Dusting the tops of ceiling fans.

Funny. I just realized that most of the items on my Never Doing List tend to be related to cleaning. This one works a little differently than the Not Doing Now List. I tend to reserve it for those things that occur to me as 'shoulds.'

So, for instance, I notice Kai looking up at the ceiling fan (maybe I'll do a post soon with some research on why babies and toddlers love ceiling fans and light fixtures so much - I would love to know), then think to myself, hmmm, it's probably very dusty up there. I really should dust it...

But I'm not someone who gets my kicks doing tasks like this. I know some of you out there are, and frankly, I'm a little envious of your spotless ceiling fans and sparkling porches! It really makes far more sense to spend my limited cleaning time on high priorities like making sure all the little fuzzballs and specks of who knows what that Kai manages to locate on the floor are, well, not on the floor.

Never Doing Now lets me acknowledge that a should is something "To Do" but also gives me explicit permission never to do it and frees up valuable brain space from worrying when I might get it done. What could you let go of by putting on your Never Doing Now List?

Not Doing Now

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:00:00 +0000

A few years back, one of my wise women role models gave me a tip for finding peace with what I thought was the tension between all the ideas that my brain likes to generate and the finite nature of a day - that whole 24 hours thing.

Instead of a to do list, she recommended creating a Doing Now List, a Not Doing Now List, and a Never Doing Now List. More on the Never Doing Now List tomorrow, but in the meantime...I've fallen head over heels in love with my Not Doing Now List.

The concept is not unlike another instruction I once received from a donor I worked with in my former career. He asked whether I'd been to China. When I replied, "No, I haven't had that opportunity," he replied, "You haven't had that opportunity yet."

As a mama, the available hours in a day have had to become even more focused. My Not Doing Now List gives me permission to become completely enamored with an idea while also being realistic about existing priorities. I reserve it for the things that I want to daydream about and absolutely will do, but am not going to focus on at the moment. Items on the list sort of choose their time to move onto my Doing Now List...this blog, for instance, had been on my Not Doing Now List since June. An earlier start would have compromised existing commitments, but by committing to Not Doing It Now for many months, I was able to love it without compromising anything.

A few recent additions to my Not Doing Now List:

Read Naomi Wolf's book Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries
Submit an article for publication to Attachment Parenting International's publication, API Speaks
Organize a Mama Bliss Day, somehow getting massage therapists, manicurists, and other yummy pampering professionals to provide free services to moms for a day, while organized activities were available for partners to do with kids.

The Power of Playfulness

noreply@blogger.com (GooberMonkey) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:59:00 +0000

Yesterday's post and focus on my inner Buddha turned out to be a good setup for today. The afternoon found me and the littlest bear home alone together, with me low on energy and him right in the midst of his newly discovered baby tantrums. He crawls up a storm and pulls up to standing on his own, but he's just itching to walk and gets really upset that he can't yet.

Since my inner Buddha babe was fresh in my thinking, I asked her for guidance and the answer she gave was obvious and immediate - PLAY. I upped my energy level and several minutes later, bear and I were laughing and making faces at one another on the floor.

For more on the power of play, check out Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen, PhD. His ideas have made it sooooo much easier for me to work with kids and parents in my Tykes (2-4 year old) classes and have provided the knowledge I need to be patient with Kai's endless games of I-drop-you-pick-up. From his Web site:

...an award-winning book about nurturing close connections, solving behavior problems, and encouraging children's confidence...Playful Parenting means joining children in their world of play, focusing on connection and confidence, giggling and roughhousing, and following your child's lead.