Mindful Monkey & Namaste Baby

Desert Song Healing Arts Center has a new mascot for kids, a mindful monkey!  He visits the kids' classes and shows you how to do yoga poses, so so cute.  Pick up your Mindful Monkey gear in the studio's shop, and tag your pictures on Instagram and Facebook #mindfulmonkey and #desertsongmoms so we can see your little one in their monkey goodies!

Lemon's shirt inspired her to do some yoga poses:

They also have Namaste Baby shirts and onesies as well, such a great way to represent your yoga practice and your love for the studio!

Look at Nicole's cutie in his onesie:

And Anna's little Crosby (photo by Silva Studios Photography):

Desert Song is also working hard on a Prenatal/Family page to add to their website, so stay tuned for that - coming soon!

Kids Yoga at Whole Foods

This past Saturday, Jen White hosted a free Kids Yoga class at Whole Foods Camelback.

She had this to say about the experience:

Last Saturday was a heartful celebration of breath, yoga and sending more love out into the world!  A group of 10 young yogis, and their parents, stretched and drew their way into heart warriors, tree huggers and dancing heart partners through each pose.  The heat circle ended with smoothies and hugs.  Come join the fun the second Saturday of each month at Whole Foods Camelback!

Join Jen for another Kids Yoga class on Saturday, March 12th, at Whole Foods on Camelback from 9-9:45am for kids ages 4-10!

Together, All Together

I look forward to teaching the Mommy & Me class each Monday at Desert Song. In this weekly class, moms and their babies (from 4-5 weeks old to pre-crawlers) practice yoga, play and sing together. The mamas form new friendships (and grow old ones!) and bonds between babies and mamas deepen. The adorable new children enjoy songs on a blanket next to mama’s mat and are also  incorporated into yoga poses with their moms. (Think Warrior II with babe in arms.) It is a delight to see so many friendships unfold from the community of this class; I love seeing the mom's confidence and comfort grow as they connect to their shared practice with baby.

A neat, astronomical lineup has been visible in our pre-dawn skies for the past few weeks. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all possible to see about an hour before dawn. Perhaps you’ve already noticed Venus shining more brightly than an airplane’s light when you were last up before dawn.

Several mamas in class last Monday were interested in this synchronous gathering of planets. With Mommy & Me yoga, the word together is one that stands out to me. Getting to see five other planets all at once shares that “togetherness” just like the sweetness with this lovely gathering of moms and their babies enjoying yoga. Amazing beings connecting with each other in community is like the planets gathering in the pre-dawn skies. A lot of brilliance can result! As one mom told me, “I’m so glad to be part of a tribe of moms.” Connecting with other mamas who are experiencing similar time periods in their children’s lives helps us all realize that we’re not alone.

We can really appreciate a key aspect of our yoga practice, unity growing in the connections that develop here between new and old friends and these precious new babies and their loving mamas. We’d love to hear from you. Please share what matters to you about Mommy & Me yoga below, in the comments.

The five planets will continue to be visible for the next week or so. More information on spotting the planets can be found here.  

Namaste,

Michelle

Michelle's Mommy & Me class is offered on Mondays from 10:15-11:15am and is only $12 for mom and baby.

Yoga for the Young and Restless - Kids Ages 3-6

This past Saturday Lemon and I (along with some of our friends) attended Anna's monthly class, Yoga for the Young and Restless.  Here's a blurb from Desert Song about the class:

This monthly workshop for young children (ages 3-6 years) is the bridge between the Parent/Young Child workshop and the Kids 4 to 10 class offered on Tuesday afternoons. The workshop offers a selection of active, high-energy yoga games, as well as introductory practice with breathing and relaxation techniques. Parents are invited to join in or children who are reliably potty trained may attend independently. FYI~parents are also welcome to attend the All-Levels yoga class that starts at the same time.

Anna's classes are always so much fun and she works really hard to engage all of the kiddos and get them to participate. Friends that I've talked to, that haven't been to these kids' classes yet, always say things to me like "I'm not sure my child is disciplined enough for yoga," or "She doesn't sit still and needs to move around." Well, that's why these kids yoga classes ARE for your child! They are full of activities and are not just yoga classes where your child must sit, be quiet and listen. Anna encourages movement, energy, play (there are toys!) and freedom. Yoga for kids is not the yoga class you are thinking of, and the only way you will find this out is if you attend one of Desert Song's kids classes.

Here are some pictures, and a short video, from last weekend's Yoga for the Young and Restless class:

And some past pictures from Anna's monthly Parent/Young Child class (ages 18 months - 3 years) with some yogi dads:

Anna offers three different types of classes (per month), based on your child's age. We've been to all of them and I would totally recommend them, for whatever type of child you have. I have not seen a kid yet who doesn't have fun! Here are her upcoming classes (for February), with descriptions. You can register online for each class here ($12-$15 per family), or call the studio to register at 602-265-8222. They fill up quickly (only 10 kids in each one) so hurry! :)

Parent/Young Child Yoga
February 13th 10:30-11:30am

This workshop is for children ages 18 months to 3 years. Each child must be accompanied by an adult. The workshop features a wide variety of games and activities that incorporate yoga poses, music, rhythm, and props. As with the workshop for older children, there is a theme woven into each session. Stories and a time for socializing round out this fun and active hour-long workshop. Benefits of the workshop: • Social interaction • Physical stimulation • Introduction to yoga poses and props • Practice with how to interact with a group • Experience children’s literature and music • Body awareness • Attention, focus, and self-control

Movers & Shakers (only $12 per family!)
February 27th 10:30-11:30am

This class is for mothers or fathers with mobile babies, up to 18 months. The room becomes a yoga mat, as the babies explore and the adults go in and out of asanas. Throughout the class the babies will be encouraged to try different yoga poses through song, exploration, and movement. Parent and child are able to bond over an activity that encourages patience, tranquility, and quality time with one another. Babies are supported in expanding their skills of independence, by being encouraged to explore and to maintain a healthy body of movement.

And, don't forget, Desert Song also offers weekly classes for families including their Mommy and Me class (newborns to crawlers), Kids Yoga (ages 4-10) and Teen/Tween Yoga (ages 10-16). All family class times/days can be found here.

The Fourth Trimester - Prenatal Discussion

Last week in prenatal yoga, Susie was talking about the fourth trimester and how our government only gives us 6 weeks (vaginal birth) or 8 weeks (c-section) to recover, and 12 weeks unpaid FMLA maternity leave (if your company is large enough).  It was an interesting topic and I wished we had more time to discuss it, so I thought I'd post about it here so you could share your experiences/thoughts with all of us.

There is a great website of photos and information called the 4th Trimester Bodies Project that I love and many great articles/books that mention the 4th trimester (after birth).  One of my favorites is Ina May's Guide to Childbirth which doesn't just stop at birth, but goes on to talk about the 4th trimester.  I LOVED reading this book when I was pregnant, it gave me peace and taught me that women have been giving birth for hundreds of years, naturally, and that I could do it too.

I had a natural birth, in a hospital, but I'm not sure I would do it again.  I guess we'll see where it goes.  Just because it was natural, doesn't mean it was easy - I was in labor for 36 hours (12 at home) and then wouldn't stop hemorrhaging, so had to lay there forever and get a shot to stop the bleeding.  I also had a terrible time nursing my babe.  I went to La Leche League meeting and they said everything was fine, then hired a consultant, Zabrina, to come to my house and only after she left did I have the confidence to keep trying.  3 years later I was still intermittently breastfeeding my girl, and I was so proud of my accomplishments, but man oh man was it a struggle!  (I used hypno-birthing techniques that I learned from Love and Light Birthings classes during birth, and I would totally recommend this technique.)  (You can also read my birth story and about my nursing struggles, on my blog.)  I share these only because I feel that 6 weeks off, unpaid, and 12 weeks off FMLA (also unpaid) is just not enough time to figure it all out.  In Canada, Australia and many other countries they have a year off, paid.  A year!  What a blessing.

Minutes after birth.

No one tells you these things.  No one tells you this, on top of the fact that you'll get 12 weeks off of work, then your husband may be able to also take some time off too and then what?  You're paying a paycheck to a daycare facility or nanny until your babe is 5 years old.  It's bananas!  Why are we so backwards in America?  I truly believe there will come a time when we'll move to giving new mamas a year off, paid somehow, and my kiddos will be all grown up by then.  Ugh.

So, what happens next?  Not only was your birth exhausting and in some ways scarring both mentally and physically, but now you are in your new role and are more exhausted then you have been in your entire life.  Now what?  Do you have family watch your babe, stay home, hire a nanny, pay for daycare - what?  In our family, we did a little bit of all of it for the first year.  I went back to work when Lemon was almost 5 months, then my husband took time off and then we had a friend watch her some days, my mom other days and a daycare for infants one/two days a week as well.  I had a backpack for each place and it was a lot of work, shuffling her back and forth and creating a calendar of when she could go where.  Then, the next year, we found a nanny, who ended up only staying with us for 6 months, and after that we found Brittany, our friend and nanny who we have now and who has been with us for over 2 years.  And next year, Lemon goes to preschool which also costs money, and we will have another baby to find childcare for - the struggle begins again.

My first day back to work after maternity leave, tears in my eyes.

People say "it will work out" but when you are pregnant and in the thick of it, it doesn't seem like it's going to.  How will I find child care?  Who is going to pay for this?  You are constantly doing the math in your head to see what will work out for your family, weighing that against the cost of insurance (another amount no one tells you about!) and all the while just wanting to stay home and snuggle your newborn babe.  Not to mention your hair is breaking off, you're leaking in places you never thought possible and your baby is just not sleeping.  The fourth trimester, the one no one talks about but the one everyone needs the most support in.

I myself was super prepared for birth, lunged my way through contractions and felt like I knew what to expect and advocated for myself in what I wanted even at the hospital.  But I will constantly say that I was not prepare for the after birth, and that's where I actually leaned on social media for help and found other mamas who were experiencing it right along with me.  It was such a blessing to me and I still have many of those friends today (almost 4 years later and who are having second babies too)!

Let's support each other, let's share in our experiences.  Instead of giving advice or criticizing, let's lift each other up and just say "you're doing a great job mama."  Sometimes that's all you need to get you through the day.

So my advice for coping with the 4th trimester?  Find other mamas to lean on and lift you up.  Find them online, find them in your prenatal yoga class, find them in your group of friends - just find them.  Don't be friends just because you are mamas, be friends because you share this commonality in feeling like you have no idea what you are doing, and hopefully find other things you have in common too.  Have your husbands also lean on each other, take each other out, buy a beer and talk about dad stuff, or how crazy it is to be a dad - dads need that time too.

I invite you to share your experiences here, in the comments, or talk about what your plans are after birth during the fourth trimester.  Connect, share and come together here, we are all in this together.  (Or, you can be a guest contributor and email me your story at desertsongsocial@gmail.com.)

Even while pregnant, as a new mom or one that has an older child - let me just tell you, you are doing a great job mama!

A 4 month old Lemon at our last Mommy & Me class with Peri at Desert Song!

Update 2/4:

Ran across this blog post today and loved it, worth a read whether you are having your first or your second (or third or fourth)!  :)