Yogini Mama

Week 4

2007-10-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

Speaking of routines. The easiest way to add a habit is to attach it to something that is already a habit.
I have challenged my students to find 15 minutes daily to practise some simple stretching and strengthening poses, including practising the pose of the week. I believe that you will find that the rewards will reinforce the habit. Attach it to something that is already a habit. Do your poses immediately before getting dressed or after brushing your teeth. Or during your evening news program. Just do something every day and then tell me how it affects you.

This week do
1. some simple shoulder stretches: arm circles with a tie, clock on the wall, reverse prayer, and that eagle one (with one hand holding the tie, the bent elbow pointing up and the other arm reaching behind to grab the tie.)
2.Continue to do cat and dog tail pose (on all fours, exhaling as you drop the head and tail and lift the back, drawing the navel to the spine; inhale as you look forward, lift the head and drop the shoulders down the back.)
3. Do two standing poses: Trikonasana/triangle pose, and Utthita parsvokonasana/ extended side angle pose
4. Do half locust: lying on your stomach on the floor, lift one arm and the opposite leg as you lift the chest and lengthen through the crown of the head. repeat three times on each side.
5. Do the pose of the week.

The pose of the week for this week is a combination of three poses: plank, push-up pose, and cobra.
This sequence is the middle part of the Suryanamaskar/ Sun Salutation. It requires shoulder strength and flexibility in the spine. Build up your shoulder strength gradually, beginning on all fours and rocking forward and back (I learned this one from my baby). Next lower yourself down onto your forearms. Drawing your elbows in, lower your upper body down to the floor.
As you inhale, lift the chest and look forward, broadening the collarbones and drawing the shoulders down and back. Move the hands back under the shoulders. Exhale and press into the hands to push back into an all-fours position. If this is too difficult, keep the forearms on the floor and practise lifting the body a few inches off the floor, hips high, and then dropping back down. With practise the shoulders will be strengthened.
If your shoulders are strong, you may move into plank pose from downward facing dog with the body forming a long plank from the turned under toes to the crown of the head. Keep the elbows drawing in as you bend the arms and lower down. Push up into cobra and then lift the hips back into downward-facing dog.

Pose of the Week 3

2007-10-17T20:36:00.001-07:00

I missed blogging this week and now we have moved on. But the pose of week 3 was Virabhadrasana -- Warrior 1 pose.
This pose lengthens the front body and hip flexors, providing a bit of back bending extension. It strengthens the hip and pelvic stabilizers. It is one of the poses in the sun salutations.

Try performing this pose with the foot of the front/bent leg up on a chair. This allows for experiencing the full range of the pose while taking the strain off the low back. Be sure to keep the coccyx tucked in and the low belly lifting in order to avoid crunching in the lumbar spine.

See the pose at:
www.yogajournal.com/poses/1708

another day another day another day another day

2007-10-16T19:27:00.001-07:00

Ahhh parenting.
In our family we work a lot on routines. Routines keep us doing the things that we know we should without the fight. Theoretically speaking. In the morning, I am not supposed to have to nag everyone to get dressed, make their beds, brush their teeth, and so on. We have discussed and taught the morning routine many times because it seems the most involved and the most important. We have practised it hundreds of times. Many parts of the routines are established and automatic. Mostly those are the things that we began years ago.

Before the institution of the morning routine, every day was a new fight. Number One child hated clothes and socks and had an especially tender head. Getting dresssed was a battle every day. We began practising a formal routine with charts, stickers and rewards at the start of kindergarten. Number One was five and The Little Mother was four. We were homeschooling. Much of the curriculum was personal grooming, chores and routines. Every year we have added things to the routine and it is more the preparation for the day than the day itself. Getting dressed now is easy.

Now the big girls have this routine before they leave for school at 8:10-ish:
Get dressed, make bed, say prayers, eat, brush teeth and hair, tidy their own room and the zone that they have for that week, family devotional. Musical instrument practise seems a little much but some days someone makes a brief attempt.
Big Brother who just turned three follows the leader and has adopted the idea of a morning routine quite naturally. His routine is get dressed and put pajamas away (I introduced the idea last week that three year olds have the special ability to put their own clothes away), brush teeth and make bed with help, and do one chore. (He gets to choose between options such as empty half the dishwasher, tidy the shoes, help sort socks or fold dishtowels.) He doesn't like stickers but sometimes gets gum or stories when he finishes.

One of the valuable offshoots of establishing morning routines for the children is that is has made me more aware of them for myself. I need routines to keep me on track. It is tempting as a stay-at-home mother to start working as soon as I get up: feeding people, tidying up the dishes, helping people with their routine. Shouting "get dressed," while I am still in my pajamas and with bed-head. Now I try to lead by example, tidying up my room and getting dressed even as they are. I suppose that ideally I would dress and shower and exercise before they get up. Perhaps when the Baby starts sleeping.

week 2

2007-09-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

This week's pose is Utthita Parsvakonasana --Extended side angle pose
Utthita means "intense", parsva (pronounced "parshva") means "side" and kona "angle," and asana "pose."

Standing poses like this one are fundamental to a beginner (and beyond) yoga practise. They inspire confidence, strength, and balance. They lengthen the spine safely.
This pose, as it is named, opens the hips and sides of the body, as well as shoulders.

For instructions, visit yoga journal's link:
www.yogajournal.com/poses/749
(if the link doesn't work, just try later)

Week one for beginners

2007-09-18T07:41:00.001-07:00

For this fall's yoga classes, I will be posting simple weekly practises and a pose of the week. This week's pose is Utthita Trikonasana --Extended triangle pose.
It is my personal favourite. Triangle pose is a standing pose so it lengthens the spine and strengthens legs and core. I love the opposing movement of reaching up and down simultaneously. I love the hip and shoulder stretch I get; unlike many yoga poses, I can enjoy it without too much strain on my tight hamstrings.
click on this link to yogajournal.com to get the full instructions:
www.yogajournal.com/poses/494

Remember that lengthening the spine is more important than getting your hand down to the floor. For most beginners, placing your hand on a chair, a block, or on your shin is better.

This week's 15 minute morning yoga practise has 5 simple exercises. Make a space for 15 minutes of simple yoga this week and begin to notice the benefits:
1. Cat and dog tail pose: Begin on all fours. As you exhale, drop your head and tailbone. Lift yourself out of your shoulders and draw your navel back to the spine. Arch your spine up like a cat. As you exhale, look up, lift your tailbone up and let your back arch down, beginning from your shoulders. Repeat with several cycles of breath. If your wrists are sore, do with bent elbows.
2. Triangle pose
3. Downward-Facing Dog pose: From all fours, extend the arms in front, palms flat and fingers extended. Tuck toes under and lift hips. Point tailbone up and keep knees bent at first. Then slowly begin to straighten legs and drop heels down. If hamstrings are tight, keep knees bent. Keep arms extending and draw chest back toward upper legs.
4. Half locust: lie on stomach on a blanket. Inhale and Lift R arm and L leg as you lift head and chest. Release with exhale. Then lift L arm and R leg with head and chest. Repeat several times on each side.
5. Good Morning Salute: This is a precursor to sun salutations. Begin with hands at namaste position. Inhale and draw arms up. Exhale release arms out to sides as you fold forward, hinging from the hips. Bend the knees. Inhale and lift the front body up halfway until your back is flat. Then exhale and release down again. Inhale and roll the body up as you take the arms out to the sides and up. Then exhale and release the hands back to heart centre.

The gifts of yoga

2007-09-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

A friend who had attended one of my classes recently asked my husband, "Why do yoga?"

For him and for all of those who wonder why they should carve out a space in their busy schedules for a personal yoga practise, here are my reasons:

1. The gift of proprioception:
Proprioception is an awareness of our place in space. Children have a sense of how to sit, bend and move as their bodies were designed to. Because of stress and too much time in a chair, among other factors, most of us have lost that sense of balance and posture. Yoga stimulates the brain centers (proprioceptors) that keep us in proper alignment. The breathing and body awareness that we develop and use in yoga class can remain with us outside of class. We find that we stand and sit and breathe taller and straighter in all of our activities.

2. The gift of a healthy back:
According to Vijay Vad, M.D., 4 out of 5 people in North America will suffer an episode of serious low back pain in their lives. In his book, Back Rx, (Gotham Books, 2004), he tells that of those, 80% will have a recurrence within one year. Yoga emphasizes proper alignment of the spine. The postures encourage back suppleness and flexibility, including extension, flexion and rotation. These movements improve the health of discs by massaging them and bringing nourishing oxygen. Yoga also encourages hip flexibility. In his research, Vad found that limited hip flexibility is a commonality among elite tennis players and golfers who suffer low back pain.

3. The gift of youthful confidence:
As we age we tend to lose muscle tone, coordination, balance and flexibility. But these diminishing faculties can be recovered and strengthened by yoga. Many exercise regimes focus solely on cardiovascular fitness and muscular development, neglecting the other areas of health that keep one youthful and confident into old age.

4.The gift of relaxation:
I think I only learned to relax during yoga class. Before that I would sleep, of course, but still not relax. Yoga can teach you how to relax at will and not just fall into bed tense and exhausted from stress and overwork. Leaving a yoga class feeling relaxed and warm and happy must be experienced to be understood.

5. The gift of the present moment:
Yoga is a form of moving meditation. When we do the poses we maintain continual awareness of our breathing and our body. We let outside worries and distractions go. By focussing on the breath during meditation and relaxation, we can learn the art of mindfulness. Staying present is a gift because it allows us to enjoy the reality that is occurring all around us and stop living in our heads.

6. The gift of energy:
Yoga wakes you up and releases tension through movement and stretching. Breathing with an open chest makes you more alert. Deepak Chopra has pointed out that energy is everywhere in nature. (Have you ever seen a tired squirrel?) When we are in harmony with nature, we have energy.
Much has been written about how the stress response affects our bodies over the long term. Yoga counteracts the "fight/flight" chemicals that raise blood pressure, slow digestion, and weaken the immune system. Exercise, Breathing, relaxation and restorative postures combine to bring the body into balance.

Some is better than None

2007-05-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching beginner yoga classes two times a week since the beginning of April. But I have struggled with inconsistency in my personal practise. I know that I am a better teacher when I practise on my own. At first I was very committed to waking up early and practising for a few minutes before the gang woke up.

Lately other things have gotten in the way. Sleep seems to be more important at 6:30 in the morning than yoga. I have also been running two times a week during that time in order to prepare for a 5K race on June 30 and a 10K at the end of September. And the yard and garden have seemed urgent and important.

For this time, I am giving myself permission to eat yoga in little bites. A couple of sun salutations in the morning or legs up the wall in the afternoon. I find that I come to yoga because I need it and want it-- the solace and stretching and energizing powers-- rather than because of an external goal.

Back on the mat

2007-04-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

I got on the mat for the first time when Golden was three weeks old. Previous to this I had stretched a few times to relieve my tight upper back and hunched chest. But I didn't consider it yoga. I had begun to worry about my ability to do yoga because I had neglected my physical practise in the last two months of pregnancy. I logged on to yogajournal.com and found a great article about postpartum practise. It settled me down. I had been imposing expectations of myself that were very un-yoga-like. In her article "Yoga for New Moms, Learn to navigate your first year of motherhood," Yoko Yoshikawa reminds readers of the reality of new motherhood. Then she says:
Be kind to yourself; let yoga be a balm to muscles that long to stretch and lungs that yearn for a deep breath. Use yoga to stretch wide open and play. . .

Engage in a gentle practice of asanas with the intention of listening to and loving your body, and you will give yourself-mind, body, and spirit-much-needed time to rest and re-integrate.

However, carving out the time to do yoga isn't easy. If you had a practice before you became pregnant, you will probably expect more of yourself than is possible in these early months. Don't be too hard on yourself. Recognize that in the beginning, 20 minutes or half an hour—even 10 minutes—is enough."(www.yogajournal.com/parenting/883_1.cfm)

This was just what I needed to hear. It released me from the fear of failure of not being able to find time to practise and reminded me that a little is better than nothing. I was amazed how much a little time could do for me. I did legs up the wall for several minutes and rested and breathed. Little Big Brother stood over me and said, "Do you want me to jump on you?" I declined and told him that I was doing yoga. Then I did cat and dog stretch and downward dog. Little Big Brother said, "Oh, you are a ladder," and tried to climb up my legs (perhaps if I had not had bent knees he would have thought I was a slide.) I did my favourite three standing poses and then the baby began to complain and fuss and my meditation was ended.

I was surprised at how different I felt after perhaps only fifteen minutes devoted to yoga. I felt energized. I felt the joy of being inside my body. I became The Observer and for a few minutes I stood outside of the pain and discomfort that had been my companion for several weeks. Painful breasts, painful bottom, aching back. I reconnected with my inner self, the self that is not just "Mother" but Carmen. It renewed my committment to continue my practise in whatever way I could find, and however short.

Week Five

2007-03-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

This week all of the children have been sick. Coughs, runny noses, earache, plugged noses. And then the baby got thrush. Everyone has slept poorly (understatement?), especially the Little Prince. And then he got thrush. WE got thrush. His sore white tongue has its counterpart in my sore red nipples.

I have tried to be two people all week. Failing that, I just try to do two things at once. Carry the fussing baby and cook supper; carry the sleeping baby and sweep the floor; feed the baby and read stories to the Big Brother; feed the baby and sleep; Walk with the baby and think. Most of my thinking is about planning when I will sleep next or when I will get to the important things I must do. But reading Wherever You Go There You Are during feeding/burping sessions has been just the antidote.

I can't make the baby stop crying and get well again. And I can't make things happen by thinking hard about or wishing them to happen. Like Kabat-Zinn says, "If you did die all your responsibilities and obligations would immediately evaporate. Their residue would somehow get worked out without you." The world does keep going when everyone is sick at home. The laundry piles up but it is still there when the sickness passes.

Breastfeeding is a great chance to sit and "not do" for a few minutes. Last week I took a few minutes one evening to remember to just be. I breathed. I listened to baby's breathing. I smelled him. I stopped and just existed in the moment. It was wonderful. I must remember to do it several times today.

A few words about carrying baby. I have borrowed a Snugli front pack from a friend and I really like it for going for walks. I also have an "vintage" Over-the-Shoulder-Baby-Holder handed down from somewhere in the '80's. I revisited the instructions for carrying baby in a sling and that was really helpful. The sling is very versatile and, once you get the hang of it, a great way to carry baby around the house. The instructions are at babyholder.com/how2tie.htm.

I've had thrush with a baby a few times before. It is an oral form of Candida Albicans. And it is very painful. Baby doesn't want to eat because sucking hurts his tongue, but he is hungry and uncomfortable. Then he doesn't sleep. White patches appear on his tongue or inside of lips. Nipples start out itchy and painful and then let-down feels like broken glass in the breast. Since it was the weekend, I tried natural remedies: lemon juice on baby's tongue after each feed. A daily dose of acidophilus powder mixed with breastmilk for him; I applied aloe vera and olive oil laced with garlic oil on my nipples. This kept it from progressing rapidly but by Monday afternoon baby wasn't feeding well and I was ready for relief from the pain. Now he is on oral nystatin drops and I have some wonderful cream called Lamisil. I also asked the doctor for an oral dose of diflucan. I am boiling his pacifier daily and added a cup of vinegar to my laundry this morning. Baby slept better last night and is eating much better today. www.kellymom.com has wonderful resources about breastfeeding and "more than you ever wanted to know about thrush."

Then and Now

2007-03-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Life sometimes takes interesting turns. Change seems to come in clusters. I don't know about the lucky three but the spring of 2006 went this way:
I got pregnant in May. The Partner and I had planned on having another child but I didn't want to get pregnant until at least August, after the teacher training. I doubted my ability to do an "Intensive" anything when pregnant let alone yoga for seven hours a day. But then again, I would still be in my first trimester and not limited in the postures, at least. Up until the week before I contemplated withdrawing my registration. Without The Partner's encouragement I undoubtedly would have. I worried excessively about leaving him with the children and leaving the children. The plan was that the first and third weeks they would stay home with him and I would return for the weekend. The second and fourth weeks I would take them to Calgary with me, and my mother and sister-in-law would watch them during the day. But he reasurred me that all would be well and that everyone could handle it.
The second Big Change was that the last day of May was The Partner's last day as an articling student at his law firm. And his last day at the firm. He thanked them very much for the education and walked away to hang out his own shingle, choosing uncertainty, risk, and independence over safety and a guaranteed income. He has spent the last 9 months building his own practise as Leading Partner in his own law firm, with another lawyer as co-partner.
As if that wasn't enough change for one summer, In June, we also bought a new house and got our house ready for sale. The closing date? August 15th.

Whew!

How it all began

2007-03-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

Last spring at about this time I was doing yoga a few mornings a week with Rodney Yee, Ali McGraw and Patricia Walden . . . Well, my well-worn favourite yoga videos. Instead of keeping my attention focussed on my present pose, I was daydreaming about becoming a yoga instructor. Out of the blue, The Partner said one evening that he had been thinking about the Summer Intensive Yoga Teacher training course, offered at Yoga Passage in July. I was shocked. Had he read my mind? I took it as a sign. We talked for two months about how to afford it and make it possible. Should I do it? Couldn't we both do it together? How could we?

I got a great idea of how to earn part of the money. Most of my great ideas go through a short cycle: inspiration--talk--fizzle. I wanted to change that so I sent a pitch to the CBC radio program Outfront to do the story of me taking the course. They sent me a polite reply that "Our producers feel that this piece is missing the kind of 'unique perspective' that we are looking for." By then I had convinced myself that I had to become a yoga teacher. I had to follow through on the teacher training no matter the personal and financial costs. Here is the pitch:

Yoga Mama

My name is Carmen Letourneau and I live in a small Southern Alberta town. I spend my days home schooling my two daughters and caring for my toddler son. I teach piano three afternoons a week and try to find time to run, write for the local paper, and do yoga. My life is safe and fulfilling, although sometimes I feel harried and tired. I am in great demand as a piano teacher and I am good at it, having been a piano teacher for more than half my life. Teaching is as natural for me as smiling or talking.

I have had many dreams of greatness that have fallen by the wayside. Once I was a dancer. Once I wanted to be a great pianist. Now I struggle to find time at the piano when my eighteen-month old son isn’t crawling on me, or when the dishes piled in the sink don’t distract me from such selfish pursuits.

My greatest moments these days are when I can spend a few minutes doing yoga in the morning, centering my mind and stretching out my tight . . .well, everything.

I need yoga like I need to breathe or drink water. I need it to fight a sore back and a tendency to worry and over-analyze. I need it to calm me and energize me.

I discovered yoga ten years ago in a Modern Dance class at university. I could barely touch my toes. My body was sore and stiff from hours of piano practise—years of piano practise. Yoga was the antidote and the cure.

Because of my remoteness (and before that my poverty), I mostly practise yoga alone. Sometimes I can convince my law-student husband to return to his neglected body and practise beside me. The sound of both of us breathing together is harmonious and helps us remember the goodness of life. There is calm energy and joy in an awareness of the present. I have also known the power of a good teacher and a regular class. I know that with another person I practise more consistently and more intensely. I don’t push myself too far, but I find that my limits expand when I am in a class situation with a good teacher. For many years I have wanted to be that inspiring teacher and to share the power of yoga with others.

Finally the time seems right. I am trying to lay aside the doubts about my abilities, the worries about how I will afford it, and whether leaving the children with my mother will kill her. In July 2006 I will be a participant in the Summer Intensive Teacher Training program at Yoga Passage in Calgary. I will meditate and practise and learn about the human body, forty hours a week for four weeks. I want to do it passionately. I want to leave with an International Yoga Teacher certificate in my shoulder bag. But more than that, I want to see what will happen to my body and my mind as I practise yoga more intensely than I have ever done before. I think I will never be the same again.