Staying Connected

The Practice of Parenting

A regular yoga practice during your pregnancy can provide many benefits: finding relief from some of the common discomforts of pregancy, carving some time out of your life to nurture yourself and connect with your baby, finding the strength and flexibility you will need to deliver your child,  learning tools and tricks to help you during labor, to name just a few.  But showing up on your mat consistently can do even more that this: it can teach you how to be a better parent.  Here is a quote from Judith Hanson Lasater, a renowned yoga teacher with over 30 years of experience, the reigning authority on Restorative Yoga, and herself the mother of three:

To practice yoga is to "get on the mat" everyday and just do it, knowing that the consistency of practicing everyday itself is the victory, not the accomplishment of any specific poses. It is the daily beginning once again to stretch and challenge the body which adds up to years and even decades of an educated and healthy body. To parent is to know that it is this same consistent sharing of love and the consistent holding to clear and fair limits which over the long haul will shape the character of my child. I do not need to do "perfect" yoga poses to reap great rewards from my practice. And I do not need to be a "perfect" parent, either, just a committed one who is willing to learn, laugh and "get back on the parenting mat" and try again.

Judith Lasater will be bringing her wisdom to Yoga Yoga in March of 2009.  Be sure to check out this event if you're interested in learning how to create space to relax and renew in your new life as a parent!

Learning to teach Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga with Leslie Lytle

              an article by Fanny Priest

A little over a week ago, I had the great pleasure of attending the Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training, facilitated by Leslie Lytle. Hailing from Richmond, VA, Leslie is a massage therapist and doula, and is the founder and director of OmMama, a center whose mission is to provide "Yoga for the childbearing years,” as well as to offer childbirth education classes and to create community for the women of Richmond and their families. She has trained over 100 yoga teachers, birth professionals and nurses, including our own Lisa T., Alice, and Jenn W, to name a few.

Community is one of the cornerstone concepts of pre- and postnatal yoga, and we wasted no time delving deep into this fundamental aspects of the practice. Around 20 women gathered the first morning at the Northwest studio and, as at the beginning of a regular pre- and postnatal yoga class, we formed the circle and began to share our stories. We had come from all over Texas and as far away as Montana to attend this training together. We counted among our ranks a midwife, nurses, a physical therapist, doulas-in-training, many mamas, and many women hoping to get pregnant soon. When you get all these women together in a room and get them talking about pregnancy, birth and parenting, emotions and hormones sure do start flying high! We formed quick bonds as we listened to each other, and shared each other’s excitement at beginning this most special work.

The next five days were spent in a mix of yoga practice, lectures, watching videos and circle time. Leslie shared poems with us, led us through meditations, provided invaluable and fascinating information about the pregnant woman’s body, yoga philosophy and practice, and the culture of birth in our society, all with openness, humor, and obvious passion for the subject at hand. Each day left us tired and exhilarated, and we would return the next day, ready for more. More than simply an educational endeavor, this training was a transformational experience for many of us. We were sad to say goodbye on the last day, but we parted knowing that some real friendships had been forged.

Leslie Lytle returns to Yoga Yoga each fall to provide this training again, and I can only urge you to enroll if you have any inclination to. Leslie is as skilled a workshop facilitator and she is a yoga teacher, which is to say that, in each instance, she is sure to be among the finest you will ever encounter. I expect I will continue to reap the fruits of my attending this training for a good long while, and I am deeply grateful I got to be a part of this community of amazing women.