Category Archives: passion

When is the right time to start Prenatal Yoga?

Posted by Apr 30, 2019 Birth, Burlington, Burlington Doula, Doula, fitness, Happiness, health, motherhood, Oakville, Oakville Doula, parenthood, parenting, passion, Pregnancy, Prenatal Yoga, yoga , , , , , , Leave a Comment
When is the right time to start Prenatal Yoga?

Congratulations on your pregnancy!
If you are reading this you are probably thinking about starting some healthy lifestyle changes or adjusting your current activities now that your body is going through some massive changes. If you are unsure about how prenatal yoga can benefit you and your baby, see my previous post “Why Prenatal Yoga?”.

I get the question often “When can I start practicing Prenatal Yoga?”

While this is totally an individual assessment, I hope to answer some common dilemmas people have. Over the many years of teaching prenatal yoga I have seen people start as soon as they have a positive pregnancy test all the way to coming to their first class at 41 weeks when labour was delayed! As with most things in life, consistency is key to seeing the benefits. A regular practice started early can have wonderful benefits for both you and your baby during your pregnancy and also during birth (see my post “How Prenatal Yoga prepares you for birth”.) I don’t want to discourage anyone from starting mid to late pregnancy as some yoga is better than no yoga!

First trimester:
If you have a history of high risk pregnancies or miscarriage it is wise to speak to your health care practitioner and discuss your intent to start yoga. Exercise during pregnancy has been shown to reduce complications and improve birth outcomes when the risk is low. If you have a health concern that is a relative contraindication but you have been approved for moderate activity, it is wise to let your yoga teacher know as he/she may need to offer you some modifications so that your practice is safe and enjoyable. Often times in the first trimester people feel ill and very tired. This is common and normal and should be honoured! If you feel like rest is what you need then that is what you should do. You can start yoga when you are feeling much more energetic. Listen to your body mama!

Second trimester:
This is commonly when most people start or renew their yoga practice. Some energy has returned and most will say that they get the urge to move their bodies as sitting or lying down for long periods only causes more discomforts. If you have never practiced yoga or it has been a while, let your teacher know and they can give you some extra guidance in class. Yoga teachers will remind you to listen to your body. This is important during and after class to see if you may have overdone it a bit. Remember not to compare yourself to others in the class. You are unique and your pregnancy is special so adjust when you need to.

Third trimester:
Guess what?! It’s not too late to start prenatal yoga! Take things slow and remember that your body has changed A LOT. If something doesn’t feel good, take a rest. It may take a few classes until you feel more comfortable but you should never feel pain or ill. Pregnant bodies are amazing and they can still move in wonderful ways but everyone is different and pregnancy can feel different from day to day. The mindful aspect of prenatal yoga means that you can truly listen to your body throughout class and respond to your its needs.

I urge you to have a conversation with your health care provider and let them know that you want to start prenatal yoga. If you have questions about what a typical class entails please reach out to me!

How Prenatal Yoga prepares you for Birth

Posted by Feb 25, 2019 Birth, Burlington, Burlington Doula, Doula, fitness, health, motherhood, Oakville, Oakville Doula, parenthood, parenting, passion, Pregnancy, Prenatal Yoga, workout, yoga , , , , Leave a Comment
How Prenatal Yoga prepares you for Birth

There is a reason I am so passionate about teaching prenatal yoga. Actually, there are many reasons and I can talk for hours about the benefits to birthing persons, partners and families. Through my own birth experiences and my experiences as a yoga teacher and birth doula, I can say without a doubt that practicing prenatal yoga regularly (one or more times per week) is great for preparing yourself for birth. Many will say that labour is called labour for a reason, it’s hard work! You may also hear that you need to train yourself for birth like you might for an intense athletic event. I am not just referring to the physical demands of labour but also the energetic and emotional demands. Yoga may seem to be simply be a type of workout focusing on stretching to some, but those who dedicate themselves to a consistent practice know that it is much more than that. Yoga can be an hour long asana practice, a 15 minute meditation, a few restorative poses, a mindful strength practice etc. All forms of yoga will benefit you during pregnancy, labour, birth and beyond. Here are some ways;

How yoga prepares the physical body for birth:
Labour and birth requires the soft tissues around the pelvis to lengthen, stretch and relax. Most of us sit for lengthy periods of time during the day causing our hips and back to be restricted. Prenatal yoga poses focus on stretching these areas and when performed throughout pregnancy and labour can have significant positive effects on how quickly labour progresses and a shorter second phase (pushing). Deep breathing and proper cues for breathing in yoga can help one to become more aware of their pelvic floor muscles. This awareness is also key when yielding to the downward pressure of baby’s head crowing and work with contractions instead of being tight and pressing back against baby. When we practice poses repeatedly our bodies get used to them and our nervous system responds favorably. A pose like a squat is very helpful in labour for pain relief and getting baby in a good position but if a woman has not performed a squat in many months she may tense up and be uncomfortable. Gentle inversions, open twists, concave-back forward folds and subtle back bends can all contribute to optimal baby positioning when the time is right for baby to move, resulting in baby being head down and occiput anterior (ideal position for a vaginal birth).

How yoga breathing prepares you for birth:
A prenatal yoga class should contain some pranayama (breath exercises) that are safe for pregnancy. When we regularly practice breathing that is full and focused it gives us a tool to find peace and comfort. Between contractions there is time to use your breathing to release tension and conserve energy for the next wave. When your birth support team reminds you to breathe deeply you can be reminded of all those yoga classes that you did and you can find the same calm feeling, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Some times in a yoga practice we do a movement or stretch that is difficult for you and you might be cued to breathe into the space where you feel restriction. You can do this also in labour! Imagine your back feels tight and sore and when you take a deep inhale you send it there and exhale to let some of that tension go. We obviously breathe all the time but right breathing takes practice. Find a teacher who teaches pranayama then give it a go at home or any where else that works for you, like a birthing suite 😉

How yoga prepares you emotionally for birth:
Labour and birth are intense, awesome and amazing. Full of sensations and feelings that are unfamiliar and overpowering. The thoughts can go in many different ways. Fear, doubt, sadness, anger are all common emotions that come up during birth. Regular yoga and meditation are practices that allow us to notice our thought patterns and habits and learn to observe them rather than react to them or create a story around them. Maybe during your formal seated meditation you notice that you are still thinking about a heated argument you had with your partner. You acknowledge that thought and then you let it pass. Maybe it comes again and you find yourself clinging to it so you let it go again, and again. This practice will serve you well when each wave rises and you feel like it is a part of you, then you detach from the sensation, take a breath and feel it go. This is not easy to do. It’s best if non-attachment is practiced often in pregnancy to prepare you. Yoga teaches us how to surrender. How to be in the present moment, not the past, not anticipating the future. That is birth! Visualization can happen in many ways during a yoga practice. For example, I often lead my students through a meditation where they visualize their baby wrapped in white light energy which offers warmth, nurturing, protection and love. This would be wonderful to do in labour if there is any concern or fear for the baby’s well being. Allowing the birthing person to minimize her fears and allow her body and her baby to work together

I often tell my yoga students to think about their yoga practice when they are in labour. Allow yourself to be intuitive and tap into the self-discovery you have been working on as part of your practice.
There are definitely more ways that yoga prepares you for birth. I would love to hear how it helped you!

Dear Motherless Mom-to-be, I SEE YOU. Love, a Birth and Postpartum Doula

Posted by Jan 17, 2019 Birth, Doula, Happiness, health, kids, motherhood, parenthood, parenting, passion, Pregnancy , , , , , Leave a Comment
Dear Motherless Mom-to-be, I SEE YOU. Love, a Birth and Postpartum Doula

At the age of 26 I was in a committed relationship, living abroad with a stable career and dreaming about someday soon becoming a mother. Then I lost my own mother to cancer. All of a sudden the thought of navigating the unchartered territory of parenting seemed much less appealing. Like many other women, my mom was the one I reached out to when I doubted myself, when I needed reassurance and advice or just someone to listen to my nonsense. I knew raising a child without my mother around was going to be tough but I thought it was going to be tough mostly because she wouldn’t be there to enjoy her grandchild. It was so much harder than I imagined.

In her book “Motherless Daughters”, Hope Edelmen writes:
“A husband can offer emotional support and a father a sense of family, but birthing is the business of women….This verbal legacy that passes from mother to daughter, and which daughters rely on for comparison and guidance. When the mother-daughter relationship is going well, the daughter depends on her mother to help her build self-confidence, asking for stories about her birth and early childhood and seeking encouragement that she can handle motherhood’s demands.”

Before I became pregnant I never thought to ask my mother about her pregnancy with me or what my birth was like. I remember the odd mention of it around my birthday but once I was having my own experience I had so many questions that only she would have been able to answer. I struggled with that emptiness. I was fortunate to have a really great pregnancy with no complications and very little discomforts but I can imagine that other motherless daughters who are experiencing difficulties might struggle with this even more. Perhaps it was my easy pregnancy pay-back when I had a colicky newborn for eight weeks. The early challenges with breastfeeding, a bout of thrush and a baby that needed constant holding, rocking and nursing meant that I had a difficult time not knowing what to do and felt it I had to really work hard at trusting my own instincts without my mom to consult.

Edelmen writes; “Pregnancy and the postpartum period can be bittersweet times for the motherless daughter, who feels closer to her mother as she becomes one but also feels an intense sadness as she confronts her loss again. As a milestone event in a woman’s life, childbirth-particularly with a first child-commonly triggers a new cycle of mourning for the lost mother, involving intense feelings of grief, sadness, anger or despair. The woman mourns not only the loss of her mother’s advice and support but also the loss of a grandmother for her child.”

Virtually no one can replace the emptiness of not having your mother during the prenatal and postpartum experience. I do believe that having a doula is key to making this transition a beautiful time when one can honour their mother and feel her closeness again. Perhaps grief can be felt in a more peaceful way with fond memories. It is my opinion that no one needs a doula more than a motherless daughter. If this is you PLEASE reach out to me. I feel your pain and I want you to know that you are not alone….I SEE YOU! xo

The Busy Mom’s Guide to Getting Fit and Strong

Posted by Jan 7, 2019 Doula, fitness, health, kids, motherhood, new year's resolutions, Oakville, parenthood, parenting, passion, Prenatal Yoga, sports, workout, yoga , Leave a Comment
The Busy Mom’s Guide to Getting Fit and Strong

A new year is upon us and many see this as an opportunity to make or improve on some healthy habits. I know I do! I am a mom of two busy kids; an eleven year old daughter and a nine year old son. Before they were born I was very active playing rugby at an amateur level and hitting the gym 5-7 days a week. I remember saying to my husband that once the kids were born I wasn’t going to make excuses not to maintain this pace….Wow, was I in for a surprise! The truth is that once you become a parent all of your priorities change and it becomes challenging to find time for yourself when your little humans need a lot of your time and attention. I hope this guide gives you some ideas and motivation for yourself but I am also available if you want to brainstorm for your personal situation.

First of all, let’s just take a moment to acknowledge your body the way it is today in all of its wonder and glory. You made a baby (or babies) and for that you should be proud! We can still love our bodies and be grateful for all that they have done yet want to become stronger and fitter. Be weary of quick fixes or too-good-to-be-true solutions. This stuff is hard work and takes dedication to make every day changes, but so worth it for your health and the health and happiness of your family. From a very young age I remember engaging in active pursuits with my parents and watching them play sports. This has stayed with me over the years and I already see it impacting my children. Never feel guilty for wanting to spend time working on yourself Momma!

Over the last ten years my exercise regime has changed and evolved based on many factors, but primarily the needs of my children. So I’ve broken this guide down by years to help you.

IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING BIRTH

Every woman and every birth (even by the same woman!) is so different. Immediately after birth the only thing you should be concerned about is healing and bonding with your baby. Slow things down and enjoy this time. There will be plenty of time later to think about workouts. The best workout or “workin” you can do at this stage is deep belly breathing, it helps to reduce stress, aids in milk production, and tones your abdominals. The other “exercise” that is helpful at this stage is Kegels. Once you have been given the green light by your midwife or doctor then you can consider incorporating more. I would also recommend getting seen by a physiotherapist that specializes in postnatal core rehab to rule out diastasis recti (abdominal separation), prolapse, or pelvic floor issues.

FIRST YEAR AFTER BIRTH

Maternity leave is a great time to start some healthy habits because you have taken on the most important role of your life; Mom! First and foremost, nutrition is key in all stages of life. Start or maintain healthy eating habits now to feel your best. There are so many fitness options these days for new moms in most communities and at home. There are a lot of gyms that have childminding if you feel comfortable leaving your baby. However, if you do not there is a plethora of Mom and Baby classes that are mother-centered but allow baby to be in a carrier or close by so that you can stop if needed to attend to your baby. While at home programs might be convenient, they may leave you feeling isolated, lonely and unmotivated. Perhaps a combination of classes and at home workouts is the best option for you. Classes are great because you get to meet other moms and they are tailored to the postpartum body. If the weather is nice grab a friend and take baby out for a stroll. Mom and baby yoga, mom and baby fitness, dance classes, barre, aqua-fit….the choices are endless. I enjoyed mom and baby yoga, salsa babies and walks outside (even in very cold temps) with my first baby. When I was tired from frequent waking at night or not eating properly, I let myself rest. This is very important so give yourself time to get back at it gradually. Try different classes to find the right combination for you. A trainer that you connect with, class times and location that work best, and costs are all factors to consider. See below for my classes west of the GTA.

BACK TO WORK: THE TODDLER YEARS

This was by far the most difficult time for me and I can honestly say that after my first I struggled for a while to find the right balance. Long working hours and commutes make it very difficult to prioritize yourself. Time with your toddler seems so precious that you can’t bear to leave them.

Here are some ideas:

6am workouts! I know that sounds painful but I can guarantee if you do this consistently you will be astounded at how good you feel for the rest of the day. It’s out of the way and it frees up time in the evening to be with your children.

Noon workouts! Take time on your lunch hour to workout, find a gym close to your place of employment and I guarantee this will become a regular part of your day.

Good news is toddlers need a lot of sleep and usually go to bed quite early. If you have enough energy an 8pm class might be the ticket for you. Then on your days home take your children out for a walk or to play at the park, get active with them when you can so that they see how important it is. Pushing a child on a swing or chasing them around a park IS a workout!

THE SCHOOL AGE YEARS

Once when my kids were in the baby/toddler stage another mom warned me that life would only get busier once my kids were slightly older and involved in extra-curricular activities. I didn’t believe her but now that they are I totally get it. Evenings and weekends are spent taxiing and carpooling all over the city for their sports and activities. I love that they are active and involved but it consumes a lot of time. So now how do you fit in a workout?

When my kids could play a little more independently at the park I would do a workout near them. I would plan out my exercises and reps and do my burpees, squats etc at the playground. Once in a while I would be needed to push a swing then I would get back to it.

Running with little ones in a stroller or chariot, this is a tough one but everyone wins!

6am’s are a good option. I do yoga in my home in the early mornings and it’s not always peaceful. My son is an early riser so some times he cuddles on my blankets and bolsters while I finish my practice but it’s ok, at least I got some in (I figure this is just part of the Mom life and I get savasana with a little-man cuddle).

Noon workouts again are great because it frees up your evenings to spend with the kids doing homework or taking them to their activities. If you can manage it why not strap on your runners for a jog or head to the gym while they are doing their sports. I see so many parents scrolling through their phones or playing Candy Crush when they could use that time more wisely. My daughter’s dance lessons become a run around the neighbourhood for me during warm weather or a weight session at my gym closeby. Sure I’m sweaty when I pick her up but the endorphins feel amazing. Plan activities you can do as a family like skiing, skating or biking. Head to the park and chase a ball. Getting active as a family is wonderful on so many levels!

AFTER PRIMARY SCHOOL WHEN YOUR KIDS DON’T WANT TO BE AROUND YOU MUCH (LOL)

Ok so I don’t have any experience with this stage yet. I do envy the other Moms at my gym who are at this stage and get more workouts in during the week than I do, but I figure these years are so precious and my time will come. I know it seems daunting at times when there is so much to accomplish during the day. Lifestyle changes take time and perseverance but feeling strong physically is so important as a Mom to keep you balanced emotionally. Go to bed early, eat well, drink lots of water and plan those workouts in advance. Not only will you see major changes in yourself but those kiddos of yours will thank you one day! Best of luck Mommas and if you need support and motivation please reach out, we are here to support one another! -Namaste