Plan B

 Jake and I played 9 yesterday afternoon on an amazing fall day. He is going to grow up to be a great golfer, should he choose to continue to play, and I can only imagine what my game might be like had I had the opportunity to spend my afternoons actually playing on a real course a few times a week at just 4 years old. Currently he absolutely loves the game. 

 We're off to see the Wizard! Last night was our annual Halloween haunted hayride and party at our club. This was the first real event we attended last year and it was so much more fun this year as we knew everyone thanks to swim team and junior golf! There was one *slight* mishap as they run two haunted hayrides, one not scary version for the little kids, and one scary version  for the big kids ~ they run many as there are a ton of kids. There was a miscue and one of the *not* scary versions got treated to a *very scary* hayride, a few little kids were freaking out. Doh. I was safely tucked inside the clubhouse with friends, of course, as this becomes a Dad's job hayride night ;). It was a really fun evening. 

 I love this shot of Sue, my mentor and I. This was from the warm up at the inversion class at Namas Day. Student and teacher. 

Julia and Luke giving Jake pointers for picture day at his school. It was so cute I couldn't handle it.

Yesterday was pretty much a perfect day. Yoga, Muay Thai. New boxing gloves for me for free! 9 beautiful fall holes of golf with Jake and a near miss at a hole in 1. An awesome night of celebrating fall and halloween and friends at the club with kids in costume. Seeing how many friends the kids have made in the past year, being reminded of how many friends WE have made in the past year, posting my 40th round of golf this season (FORTY! I can't believe that.) and being extremely grateful for the ability to be members there. We made a decision and were nervous about it for many different reasons, and now, a year in, we are certain from every angle that it was the right decision. I feel very lucky.

Today is Nates turn to golf while I hit the gym with the kids, then get Jules to hip hop. Have I mentioned that there is nothing cuter than little girls dancing to top 40 hits? Its adorable. She's clearly and thankfully inherited her Dad's dancing genes. Gods are good. Today we have a kids-party-that-is-ad-adults-party. Its going to be a long day but I'm bound and determined to not stay late as tomorrow is a long day of teaching 3 times then leading a teacher training on how to teach prenatal yoga. I guess I should probably put something together on that………..eh? However……as they are paying me squat (its the Y) I'm really just going to wing it. I know enough between my doula training, massage therapy training (I specialized in prenatal massage, and had an additional 200 hours of training in that in addition to my 1200 hundred hours of training in massage therapy) and yoga training……not to mention being pregnant and doing yoga for 120 weeks :)

Prenatal yoga is simple. Greet your students. Ask their names. Ask them when they are due. Find out what they are having! How are they feeling? Do they have any complications/conditions which would compromise their ability to exercise? Have they done yoga before?

Moving on. Get everyone a bolster and two blocks. Ask if they are still comfortable lying on their backs or if they get lightheaded. Note their response. I generally start in child's pose. I use more gentle and soothing music than in my other classes and I keep the lights lower. Its a class done at a slower tempo and pace. I have a nice slow warm up. In centering I talk about listening to their bodies, about really connecting with their breath, about allowing the next 60 minutes to be all about them and their bodies, about taking advantage of the time and space that they have set aside to honor their bodies. We rock up three times to the right, three times to the left, then three times to center, finally coming up to tabletop. Cat/cow tilts. Hip rocking. Leg to the side, arm up. Leg across, gaze over shoulder, etc. Come to seated, be there for a while, offer a block or bolster to sit on. Neck, shoulders, arms. Gentle twists. Really focus on chest and heart openers here. Talk about how once baby comes, whether nursing or bottle feeding they will spend a lot of time looking down at their babies face, and remind them to OPEN their chest and heart so that their back doesn't hurt. Show them how. Seated cat cows. Forward folds over each knee, maybe coming into switch foot pose to start to work on the hips. Stack the hips. come back into table, tuck the toes, and straighten the legs, pressing up into down dog. Walk out your dog. Forward fold, legs wide, leaving room for baby. Rag doll. Bend knees, come up slowly. Inhale up, hands to prayer.

From standing we can do anything. I usually do a lunging series where I have them keep blocks on either side of them. From a lunge we twist very gently in either direction (upright), straighten both legs while using the blocks to open the hamstrings, sometimes straightening then dropping back down, repeating several times, building strength and stretching at the same time. I always include balance, offering the wall, and always offer modifications. Warrior 1 and 2 are included, as are Goddess, going in and out, and talking about strengthening the pelvic floor, engaging their bandhas, lifting a heel, dropping an elbow to the thigh etc. We play. Wide legged forward folds. Shoulder openers. Chair pose.  Lizard lunge into half pigeon. Whatever they need! If they have specific aches and pains that day I try to address them, if not I just try to give them a practice that is gentle, yet still a nice workout ~ they aren't there to just flop about for an hour as Sue always says :). Pregnancy requires strength, and labor requires strength, so we do a lot of dynamic repetition so that they don't get exhausted, but build strength while stretching and through repetition. We wind down slowly, coming down to their mat via a nice long squat. I usually include a half camel using the block, and oftentimes gate pose using the block and stretching to each side.  I always do shavasana with a block under one end of the bolster so that they can lie back with their head upright. I have them bring their feet together into bound angle and bring their left hand to their heart and their right hand to their baby.

I have them send their baby a message of love. Then I have them send themselves a message of love, and remind them that in taking care of themselves, in making this time for themselves, they are already being good Mom's. I remind them that self care is just as important as taking care of their child, and that in honoring their bodies and souls they are already showing that they know how to be good Mama's to their babies, and to not forget to do that once their baby arrives. I have a few songs that I just love to play to my prenatal women for shavasana, and I make it slightly longer than my regular shavasana. I encourage them to leave their hands where they are or to spread their arms out long at shoulder height, opening up their chest and heart. The lights are off, the music is beautiful, their eyes are closed, and its just beautiful. I sometimes get tears in my eyes sneaking a peak at their beautiful bellies in silhouette, breath rising and falling, in the tranquility and sanctity of the room immediately following a practice.

Thats it! The basic premise of my talk is that pregnant women are the first line of defense in any class ~ be it yoga or body combat. THEY DONT WANT TO HURT THEIR BABY. Our job is to then help and be wise to honor that innate and obvious instinct of theirs. Its not brain scientist stuff.

Did you practice prenatal yoga? Was there anything that your yoga teacher did that you especially enjoyed? Did they do anything that you did NOT enjoy? (Anyone remember the "what's going to HAPPEN to you ?!! ) comment from a yoga teacher to me re: belly size during my pregnancy with Jake? Still won't take her classes!!! :)

Have a great day. We are off to the gym and then hip hopping our way through this beautiful day.

 There is such a special sweetness in being able to participate in creation.  ~Pamela S. Nadav