Beginning September 19, 2016, Turning Pointe Dance Studio in Falmouth will offer Baby & Me Yoga  as well as Little Yogi classes.   Yoga is a great way for baby and child to bond and connect with their parents while promoting the health of both the parent and child.  Sign up today!  

Now he doesn’t get to go fishing half as much as he would like to, but he still goes. I see that it’s important to him. It definitely makes him a happier person. It is how he relaxes.

Now for me as the Mom, I had two children and then rewrote the oldest story in the book. I was taking care of everyone else and neglecting myself. Slowly, I stopped going to yoga. Just “too busy” or when I would have the opportunity to go, i’d lay in my bed alone instead. Knowing it would be the only solid two hours that week of alone time.

Eventually you always hit a wall. You can’t take care of everyone else if you don’t reflill your own cup. I had practiced Bikram yoga for years and had benefited greatly physically. I was strong and energetic. But the mental benefits were even greater. Such stress relief. Teaching your body to effectively calm down. It’s a 90 minute open eyed meditation. The teacher talks and you move your body. You get to take time out of your crazy life to just focus on yourself in the mirror.

Therefore when Bikram Yoga Cape Cod sent out an email saying that they would be doing the first Teacher training in New England at my happy place, I knew what I had to do.  Fine, if I can’t make it my hobby, i’ll make it my job. My own health and wellness is that important to me. I had always wanted to go to the 9 week teacher training in LA, but at the same point in my life, I also really wanted to start a family.

Yet, here it was right down the street from me. So when opportunity strikes, you must jump on it. Yes, I have a 3&2 year old. Yes, I have a husband. Yes, I have a job.It would be the most amount of time I would spend away from my kiddos since I laid eyes on them. I knew they would support me though. All I'm doing is try to build the happy life that they deserve.


So I packed my lunch box and headed to yoga camp, 3 week immersion program. 9 am- 11pm every day. Sundays off to rest and hug my kids all day long.

I repeated, “we can do anything for 3 weeks.” to my husband over and over. Even though I think I was just saying it to myself.

With the help of my Dad who would drive two hours here every Monday to hang with the homies, a school they love, supportive in-laws,  and better friends than I deserve, I did it. If you want to read more about my training experience you can check it out here.

Date: April 25, 2015
Time: 1:30-3:30pm
Location: InnerGlow Yoga
30 Steeple Street
Mashpee, MA 02649
Sponsor: MK Yoga & Health & InnerGlow Yoga
Cost:  ShopLocal Members Free, Non Members $10
Description:  This workshop will focus on taking care of self and focusing on the outdoors as we come out of hibernation for the rebirth of spring. We hope to promote a sense of community while doing activity with purpose.  Our space will be a place where women/moms can come together to support one another in challenges, family, health and self.  You will be welcome to voice concerns and challenges in a community safe space while creating friendships.  We will do yoga, some guided mediation as well as some holistic health and focus on helping mom feel good which in turn helps the whole family feel good.

Registration to ShopLocal Members Will Open April 10, 2015. Open registration will begin April 14, 2015.  ShopLocal Members can register now by clicking here.  Non members can visit this link to register on April 14.

By: Maurene Merritt, RN & Yoga Teacher

There was no blood or tears, but plenty of sweat to help me remember how difficult the process was. I pick up my heavy, wet, brown terry cloth towel off of my yoga mat that feels like I've just taken it out of the washer after it has been spun dry. That's how much sweat drips off of me in the 90 minutes. In my first class, I was forced to my knees several times with nausea and light headedness. It's the closest experience I've had of pushing my baby out of my body 25 years ago. 

Through the years, I've struggled with how to prepare women for the second stage of labor. I'm sure it helps your body to remember the ancient process that coils in your DNA, panting lively with every baited breathe for a chance to unravel,
when in prenatal yoga we practice creating a deep, bellowing sound while resuming a wide-thigh, open stance. And I'm sure the list of do's and don'ts that I once created on how you may feel and what you can do to help yourself provided a familiar frame to manage the unknown. But it's clearly not enough. It doesn't help either that many of us (including myself) skim over this part of the experience, like we do with cesarean sections. It's the part of the story that either is not going to happen to us or that we don't need, believing that if we've gotten that far, surely we can make it to the finish line.

It's too late once you’re pregnant, to do Bikram yoga. The combination of heat and exertion is in my opinion way too demanding at a time in a woman's life that calls for a gentler, slower more moderate form of physical movement. However, if you are not yet pregnant and are thinking about it, consider trying Bikram yoga
as a practice to help you prepare for the demands of the second stage of labor. 
 
It's no surprise to me that I find myself continually drawn back to Bikram. I certainly do not envision myself becoming a staunch supporter, for there are threads of the practice that I do not condom (for another blog!).
However, there is nothing like a process that demands your entire focus to leave you feeling deeply satisfied, and hungry for more.

Together,
Maurene

by: Linda Bartosik

Yeah. I know. I asked the same thing. What on earth is Laughter Yoga? My Bikram yoga buddies shanghaied me into going so...
 
...here  it is, the skinny on Laughter Yoga. Last night I attended my first Laughter Yoga class in West Barnstable, taught by
Bobbi. First let me  start off by saying that if there's ever a person that should be teaching  Laughter Yoga, it's Bobbi. Bobbi is a fun loving, jovial person with an  infectious laugh.  
 
The class started by learning a rhythmic clapping chant that would be used to move  us from one laughing activity to another. Then Bobbi proceeded to tell us the  rules - no talking - everything is done by eye contact. For instance, one exercise was to hold your hand up to your ear listening to a funny phone call.  Then walk up to someone in the group laughing and put it to their ear. They   would pretend to listen and start laughing, too. You would proceed from person  to person until Bobbi started the clapping chant, then she would explain the next exercise, and so on, for about an hour. That's the general idea of how the class works. Now, what did I think of my experience?

Uh...first  of all, if you were with the group of women I was with last night, you wouldn't really need a laughing class. They are warm, kind, and hilarious all at once and  have been dear friends of mine from Bikram yoga for three years now.  We were  the right group for Bobbi to share her first class as an instructor with. Now  let's cut to the chase - what did I get out of the class?

 The  first thing Bobbi did was hold her hands in a circle and go around and have each  of us deposit our ego in her basket. I just thought, okay...we need to be  uninhibited to do this. I could do that. 
 
Then we began learning the chant. I felt silly. 
 
Then we did the first laughing exercise. I was hot. 

Then  we did the second exercise. My ears were hurting due to the loud laughter. (We were in a small dining room in a  house - not acoustic friendly)

Then  we did the third exercise. The glands behind my ears were hurting really bad. 
 
Then we did the fourth exercise. 
My  jaws were killing me from holding them in a laughing position for so long. 
 
By the fifth exercise I was tired, sore, and my head was splitting. At the end we sat in a circle and talked about our experience during the class. Of course, I  had nothing to say because I was 'Miss Crabby Pants" throughout the whole thing.  But my dear friend, Lisa, of whom I don't get to see near enough of, says, "You  know, we don't take time during the day to make eye contact with the people we  meet and we miss learning so much about them."
 
Wham! I bit my lip and just hung my head. Guess who didn't put her ego in the basket? I once again made the whole class about me and how I was feeling, completely disregarding making any connections with the people I was with. It was hard to  keep laughing for so long. I hurt. It was hot. My head was spitting.  But
there  were lessons to be learned.
 
Does this sound familiar? It sounds like so many Bikram yoga posts I've written about  putting the physical irritants aside and push through to find the wisdom to be  gained by the experience. Just like after even the roughest Bikram classes, when  we were done last night I felt really good, relaxed, and so glad I came, despite  a long work day. 

Even  though my ego didn't make the basket, I was proud of myself for pushing through the tiredness, not making an excuse, and actually going. If I didn't, I would've  missed not only a great time afterward visiting with my friends, but another  chance to learn more about myself. Would I do it again? Absolutely. I'll have a  different frame of mind going into it, just like ...Bikram. This is a huge gain  for me because three years ago I definitely would've given the tired excuse and  not gone at all. 
 
And  so, as another day goes by, finally I'm able to put my fear and insecurity regarding trying new things aside and just go for it and see where I land, I  always discover I'm capable of more than I think I am, and...I have  written. 
 
What  about you? Are you willing to try? If so, there is going to be another Laughter Yoga class in West Barnstable soon. When I get the info I will pass it along to you. In the meantime - try something new that crosses YOUR path. Push the  envelope. Experience the exhilaration of stepping out of your comfort zone. You  might be surprised at your reaction. 

*   This post first appeared in the blog Another Day Goes By where the purpose is to not let another day go by without writing. 

Linda :)
 
Personal Blog: Another Day Goes By
Website: iTeach
Email:   lindabartosik@aol.com

By: Maurene Merritt, RN & Yoga Teacher

I did not give birth the way that I had imagined, in a full, wide open squat like the 21st century contemporary hybrid creature that I was, half hippie and the other, a high-heeled, disheartened   business woman. I tried, with one of my arms wrapped around Candyce's father, and my other one around Maura, my doula. But the force moving my baby out of my body was so strong that my spine arched back like a running, overextended fishing rod! So instead I squatted by baby out with a fully extended spine behind me, like the unintentional leaning tower of Pisa! I didn't know it at the time, and wouldn't find out for at least another decade, but I had just performed one of the ultimate class of poses in yoga called, "backbends". It makes perfect sense now, of course, that my body would take the form of something so vital and beautiful and outrageously untamed
with such rare, cosmic force moving through my body.

When we give birth to our babies, I believe that the release is so  powerful that the spine has no choice  but to move into extension followed by a springing action back into  forward flexion.

It is here, if we wait and allow our attention to be expansive coiled in our origins,  that we are privy to experience all of the energy accumulated in our bodies from  giving birth before it dissipates into space. 

It's why backbends are highly sought on a yoga mat, because they provide for the same energy release except in a much less exaggerated form; there is not approximately 8.5 pounds of substance moving out of the body!  However, if one chooses to
remember their experience by journaling, contemplating and articulating, they'll deepen and enliven the newly opened pathway created in their nervous system. Then, more and more, opportunity will exist to strengthen and intensify the energy, clarity and happiness that backbending provides for.

It is with this in mind that I have created  "The Star Gazer", a  sequence of poses that simulates the actual birth experience and the  subsequent release of energy.

We will soon be celebrating my daughter's 25th birthday. It feels like yesterday, that I had her in my arms and all to myself. And although she has left my arms, she will forever remain in my heart, along with my longing to recapture and live those rare precious moments, over and over again.

Together, forever, in our hearts,
Maurene
*reprinted with full permission from http://www.birthblessingsyoga.blogspot.com/

By: Maurene Merritt, RN
How do you handle intense frustration? Do you give up at the first sign of difficulty, or lean more towards the opposite end of remaining steadfast to the very end?  Or maybe you tow the middle ground in fall somewhere in between?

 I recall in my formative years, this feeling was so uncomfortable for me that I would give up at the first sign of difficulty. Often it was with math problems or writing, endeavors that require so much fortitude and tenacity to remain in times of not knowing, and to push past giving up. It wasn't until childbirth that I was able to change this very disheartening, debilitating pattern.

I dilated like a model for an OB or midwifery textbook to 9 centimeters. Then, gradually my contractions slowed to waves that served children on the seashore and not the tidal wave ones that I needed to
open up my body!

I remained  there, walking, showering, talking, breathing for 6 hours to no avail.  Finally, my doula encouraged me to get back into a position that I found extremely painful hours prior. It worked, and I gave birth to my daughter 20 minutes later.

Over time, I found myself returning to the physics problems and more recently creative writing, actually enjoying the tug-of-war it takes to get to
resolution. It's been such a huge shift for me, it makes me feel sometimes like a puppet on new, golden threads that moves me down camouflaged pathways that I wouldn't have dreamed of going down before giving birth. Often they hold the most pleasant surprises - one in particular, as big as my birth!

When I'm pushed to tears for the words to flow, I  remember the words of one of my teachers, Bonnie Bridge Cohen of BodyMindCentering.  She says that when there's a block and you remove the block, that there is this huge release of energy. I love this teaching, and like to imagine my frustration a dam that holds back water, and that when I release the dam, there is a flood of movement. In my mind, I can hear the roar and feel the spray of joy and satisfaction that comes with the release. 

Consider the following;

*When you give birth to your baby, you very well may experience frustration since "failure to progess", often a benign category is, according to the World Heath Organization, the number one reason for a 30% ceserean section rate in this country.
 
*Birth, like any art demands a commitment to the process.  You may practice the discipline required of continously coming back to something by establishing a daily, regular meditation practice.

*Childbirth is a highly charged experience that touches the very
heart of a woman. It's a golden opportunity to revisit those patterns 
established at a time when belief and hope reigned high and rekindle their power.

 If you want natural childbirth, and you get stuck, try the following;

1.  Make sure you have the privacy and quiet required for the intense focus required of  any serious artist.
In other words, keep your door closed and noise and family and staff to a minimum. 

2.  Whatever you are doing, if you have been doing it for a time, do something different. Remember, your perception of time is very different then those around you. Take your cues from those you trust.  
 
3.  Keep your flame of intention high, your very deepest desire.

4. Let go of outcomes and stay present in the moment with your breath. It's such a dichotomy, but birth requires the perfect balance of yielding while moving towards a definitive goal.

5. Change happens in a moment. Never give up, until the very "sweet" end.  

Together, forever and our hearts,
Maurene

*reprinted with full permission from http://www.birthblessingsyoga.blogspot.com/

By: Maurene Merritt, RN

It's so big to give birth, our ability to surrender. Yet, somehow I couldn't neatly package  the recent "aha" moment that I had with a friend about it, that surrender is not being submissive, forced action rooted in
fear but rather expansion, that we become so enraptured in something that we are rekindled to the kind of enthusiasm that we all once had when we were children, that we loved so much that it was indeed a pleasure to give. Where and how could I fit such a powerful, lofty characteristic about surrender into an experience that is so heavily draped in contraction?  It had to fit somewhere into the equation though, since love is what got us here in the beginning, and if we chose, it is love that will carry us through to the end!

My teacher says that our ability to surrender requires our attention and effort and is a conscious choice on our part.  Help yourself surrender to birth with the following ritual.

At some point in the last trimester of pregnancy, after you feel complete that you have done everything in your power to give birth the way you intend to,  let it go and give it over to the god of your understanding. To help strengthen your surrender, consider integrating ritual.  For example, if your tendency was to explore every appropriate childbirth preparation book under the sun, take three flowers, each one representing the corresponding zodiac flowers for you, your partner, and your baby and place them in a page of your most inspiring, frequently visited pages. Or, if you are the scrap booking type, place them in your baby photo book. Or if you're like me and enjoy creative writing, place them in your journal.

As you close your chosen book with the flowers that are destined to become a very special triad book mark in its pages, verbally state your intention of letting go of your birth experience.

Say it out loud with feeling so that it becomes your mantra, words that protect, enliven, and guide.

"I surrender all my thoughts and concerns and energies about giving birth over to the almighty power that conceived my baby."  
 
With your days and nights leading up to birth, continue to steady your mind on surrender by repeating your mantra over and over again. I think that what you will find with approaching your labor in this way is that  you
will be more likely to surrender to an experience like Nicole's who described herself as "euphoric"  just seconds after giving birth.

Together, forever, in our hearts,
Maurene
*reprinted with full permission from http://www.birthblessingsyoga.blogspot.com/

By: Maurene Merritt, RN

Truly, we are so fortunate to have an experience in life that gives us still another opportunity to test the very one in us that believed that we can do or be anything, and if in that moment we have someone courageous
enough, committed enough, clear enough to let nothing, absolutely nothing prevent us from the challenge, then such a moment is a blessed event that is a gift to both the giver and the receiver, because in order
for the teacher to provide such alchemy, she herself  in that moment will need to remember her own strength seen by her own teacher, when all else failed her. 

Chandra articulated beautifully how powerful such a connection can be. She gave up several times in the midst of pushing, exhausted, the words barely audible beyond her eyes sunken in the tears of despair, and the beads of sweat formed on her brow, "I can't do this anymore", and even asked her physician to take her baby boy out of her body as he descended closer to her vaginal opening.

I was able to reconnect with Chandra the next day and inquired about her experience. She said, "I was so unprepared for the pushing stage. I felt confident for the first stage, working like it was an extension of my
daily yoga practice, holding steady to the breath with each contraction. But I had no idea how hard pushing was going to be. By far, it's the hardest thing I've ever done".

If you welcome childbirth with an open heart and a positive mind, it's an experience that can reward you with the gift of what was one of Chandra's original intentions, to feel triumphant.

Then comes the real challenge, will you put forth enough effort to keep your towering inferno of awe for yourself  from cooling to a dancing, struggling tear shaped flame too deep in to grow? Or will you tend to yourself enough to provide for a gentle, soft breeze that will help sustain the flame to a steady, still white glow? All too often we are so absorbed in mothering that we fail to receive the fruits of our labor and they go unpicked and rot on the vein; and it's the very substance that can help us to remain confident and inspired to grow deeper in our understanding of how brightly lit up we all are.

Consider that the experience of feeling triumphant is about as  rare as how often it's sought after and in terms of priority belongs in  the front row seat cozy up with mothering. 

Together, forever, in our hearts,
Maurene 
In my next blog we'll look to the universal, developmental movement patterns to help give more power to our push.
*reprinted with full permission from http://www.birthblessingsyoga.blogspot.com/

By: Maurene Merritt, RN

Tanya, my dental hygienist says of her recent birth experience to her 3-month-old baby boy, "I was fully present for the moments I wanted to be fully present for."  Of course I reflected on her statement and pondered, "What are the moments that we want to be fully present for?  For me, I wanted to be as fully present for the entire experience as I could because in my mind, it would bring me closer to my baby.  This may sound irrational, but I've long felt that love is not about what is rational but rather what one is willing to risk for the sake of truth, connection, and happiness.

Consider that in labor, unlike most of life's moments when our vision rules most of our perceptions, it will be what you hear that will help to heighten your awareness to the experience.  

Begin now, in your pregnancy.  Take a safe, comfortable seated or lying posture.  Bring your attention to
your breathing and as you exhale, feel how the eyes so naturally want to close. Keep your attention focused lightly on your breathe, and let yourself be drawn to the gentle sound of the breathe moving out of your body.  Gradually, let the sound of your exhalations become louder, so that you begin to make a soft humming
sound. With every exhalation, like a gentle flowing water fall, let your awareness be drawn to the sound inside.  What do you notice?  Can you feel how the sound of your breathing helps to quiet and soothe your mind?

I am reminded of a very endearing story about how quickly sound travels through water.  The story teller was in our circle,  pregnant with her first child.  She said "when I was younger I'd go and visit my grandmother who lived on the lake. My grandmother warned me, don't share your secrets on the beach unless you want our neighbors across the lake to hear you."   So the gentle humming on your exhalations will certainly be subtly felt by your baby.  We can use our mindful, more audible sounds to help make a stronger connection in pregnancy. For example, as you sound, direct the energy to the space that your baby holds in your body, or imagine him/her in your mind.

In labor, we can apply the same principles. The gentling humming, infused with thoughts of holding your 
baby in your arms, or usurps from your diary that bid farewell to a most cherish confinement  help to deepen our connections.

The sound of birth.  When your baby slips out of your body, most likely it will not be what you will see that will tether your moment, but rather what you will hear.  Consider that the actual moment of birth is so intense for most women that they are unable to clearly see their babies.

Too, the release of rectal pressure often forces the spine into extension causing the head to be gently thrusted back so that your eyes initially will be directed up, towards the ceiling.  So for several seconds, it will be what you hear that keeps you more connected to the moment. The now empty, hollow space that once held the reassuring sounds of your baby's thumbing, beating heart beat will quickly acquise to the sounds of your baby's first gasps for new life, and your care providers gleeful shares of joyful celebration.

Of course, your eyes will certainly devour the first sight of your newborn. But until then, practice
stilling the mind with the sounds of your breathe to help yourself be fully present for these precious, short lived moments.

Let yourself make a strong connection between the sound of your breathe, your mind, and connection with your baby.  Who knows, you just may find yourself so mesmerized by what you hear in labor that you'll want to live more of your life tuned into every moment.

Together, forever, in our hearts,
Maurene  
*reprinted with full permission from http://www.birthblessingsyoga.blogspot.com/