Upgrading being Fit to being healthy through yoga education takes the proper guide. In 2006 when I began the "crazy" mission to bring the traditional medicine of yoga to Charlotte's fitness based yoga community I was "out of the mainstream". No studios in Charlotte promoted teaching yoga beyond making you strong or preety or flexible. Understanding the profound medicinal effects of combining western and eastern training tools takes a certain level of  evaluation skill, spiritual and medical understanding and a smaller group or individual training format that is not as profitable in a model where large, power, hot classes that eliminate the spiritual connect prevail.  As yoga therapy becomes more popular Charlotte has sloooowwwly broadened its style;0)   I smile because many of the local studios are now more open to spiritual evolution by FINALLY promoting the INNER health effects of yoga. This is a great thing as I am personally on a mission to get more healthcare providers on board because our national health statistics are sobering. All three top killers like obesity are related to stress.  All 50 states now having record breaking obesity numbers and US teens have hit diabetic epidemic numbers. Parents need to change our accepted hectic lifestyle that fails to value simple food, simple possessions or simple down time.   As a physical therapist and yoga educator I see the poor coordination and body awareness physical fitness education and health program cuts are making.  Now is the perfect time to find a yoga educator in your community to help keep your healthcare costs down and your family health needs a priority. It is low cost and highly effective but I am posting this because I want to make sure the public understands the difference between a group  yoga teacher and an instructor that functions as a  yoga therapist or educator.  

 

All yoga can be therapeutic but not all Yoga classes are therapy or good for your age, goals or particular state of health

Belly Guru Yoga may now have the yoga community support to open the door of yoga for holistic well care here in Charlotte,NC but Mamas must be aware that yoga is big business here in the states. Nationwide yoga wellness programs are mixing with medicine with instructors who are not inherently qualified to apply it prescriptively without additional training. Beware yoga studios and health care centers that suddenly advertise therapeutic yoga as a line of profit by understanding and asking about  a few key things:

 

• What populations do they give classes for? Popular yoga teachers and programs that aim to act as a social outlet are just that and wonderful. They may condition the body or spirit but do not always equate to safe yoga if you have a certain contrindicated condition or desire to address specific therapeutic goals. If you are a parent interested in the use of yoga as healthcare for yourself or therapeutic services for your family these practices are best applied after an evaluation of some sort and properly prescribed by a trained eye.  
  

• Do they teach traditional Yoga or yoga fitness and exercise classes? On average how many  teachers teach a traditional style class?  Yoga is traditionally about self reflection and living a just life in body and mind. It is that science and  art that makes yoga inherently therapeutic and not  just an exercise modality.
  

• How do the instructors meet the industry mimimum standards? The Industry standard for teaching yoga is a 200 hr certificate from the Yoga Alliance that educates on methodology , philosophy and postures  but teacher training programs vary and instructors do not technically have to be certified to teach. Infact some facilities such as my own internally train their instructors at a higher standard regardless of the minimum guidelines of the alliance so ask.   Furthurmore even though most teachers are registered with the Alliance,  the Alliance is not a practice credentialing body . It aims to establish a practice standard by which the industry strives to maintain. Yoga alliance credential (RYT) Yoga instructors agree to provide services by ethical standards and minimal entry level group class instruction but may not have learned how to train individual concerns.

• Are any programs being developedby instructors at the experienced level? ERYT-200 and 500 level means the instructor has taught and dedicated him or herself for hundreds of hours beyond intitial industry standard credentials. On the otherhandsome very good programs have chosen not to be part of the Alliance but when finding a teacher , he or she should have a personal practice and be able to educate you on the entire practice and not just the postures. 
  

• Ask what it is you will specifically be paying for?  For example, Belly Guru Yoga considers Yoga educators to be educated at least at a 200 hour instructor level with an ability to communicate trainings on  both the group and individual basis. I personally beliive working with an experienced level instructor (ERYT) or a yoga educator such as this is the most practical and safest way to experience yoga for the first time.  You will then hopefully learn about the practice and your body enough by their experience so that if you take a class anywhere ,with any other instructor ,you will not only know you are in a popular class but will know what feels right for you.

• How are the instructors using the term Yoga therapy? Therapy means the yoga is prescribed to the individual needs of a population or individual. This takes a trained eye and should involve some sort of skill in reading the body's needs. Therapists prescribe yoga practicesbased upon the expanding evidence towards a specific therapeutic goal or objective like "to reduce low back pain" or " increase a child's focus or balance".  Right now educational standards vary and background is improtant. Anyone can call themselves a yoga therapist. I personally think my twenty years in the rehabilitation industry, 16 years as a licensed healthcare provider and decade of personal practice and therapeutic application qualifys me to prescribe yoga better than a group teacher that takes a weekend course about yoga for MS but you may feel differently.  Obtaining certifications with only a weekend of training are leading educators and therapists such as myself to formulate credentialing programs that align with the research and 800 hrs of training recommendation set forth by the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Remember if you are being told yoga can affect your body, mind and spirit in a positive way than it can also affect it in a negative way. 

•  It is helpful to decide your own guide through who you are comfortable with but I highly recommend one who can educate beyond just teaching a class. Look for individual instructors with strong personal testimonials, additional professional studies and do not just take the gold star recommendations of the studio which can be self promoted on websites such as Yelp or Yahoo. 
  

Just like the  bedside manner of a great doctor can affect your health, there with many different styles and professional yoga instructors. Here word of mouth and research pays off. Learn about the style of the teacher. Evaluate the level of education you will be getting.  Visit where services are provided to get the vibe and remember the most effective yoga educators understand the many ingredients needed to create an experience and are not just hoping for you to pay and take a class. 

 

Let me know your experience using yoga for family health. Did you realize the different levels of training available ? What advice from your experiences do you have to offer? Are you interested in learning more? Feel free to contact me or reply.

 I lost my voice exactly 48 hours ago. Somewhere around 45 hours ago, out of pain I stopped repeating myself, saying more than three or less words in a row to anyone includingthe dog or eating anything that requires chewing longer than 5 times.  About 40 hours ago I stopped getting out of bed beyond going to the bathroom or downstairs to eat which was only if someone was not home to go fetch something for me. About 36 hours ago I started realizing the horrible effect a combination of Facebook, internet blogs and random searches can have on the life of a sedentary person as I surprized numerous clients and friends with post after post about things I thought they should know I care about. About 30 hours ago I realized by the lack of commentationback  that it is true that none of my facebook friends really care.  Sometime about 24 hours ago I 100% did not care about the piles of clean yet unfolded laundry laying on the chair and floor of my sitting room. About 20 hours ago, I mentally cancelled my day for today but in true pensive procrastination, I only made it official with client calls 12 hours later.Finally about one hour ago I thought of all the wisdom from this experience I have learned and how I realized how peaceful I am in my house of three kids, two dogs, one hamster( we lost snowball a few weeks ago- another blog) a pile of laundry and 2 parents, down one who own their own companies and somehow manage.

So  I have renounced, by force of laryingitis, a sore throat and upper respirtory infection, the following for hopefully days of health to come : 1) yelling for someone to clean up their messes beyond an executed visual palm open threat to take their most beloved appendage their cell phone. It has been very affective to motivate a cleaner house over these ast few days. 2) I am not eating hard untasty dry food because if I am going to suffer it better be worth it so juicing and steaming or snack packs of pre cut veggies, nuts and fruit need to replace the buttered bagel.  3)I will cease ignoring the need to practice upper back asana because I am lazy and it is hard. One day I may not be able to. I see it in my clinical practice all the time. After years of bad bras, holding kids and avoiding shoulder exercise menapause hits and wham, hunched , stiff torsos.  I am so sore from my lung infecton and coughing fits that I look like one of them and cant even turn in bed without a wince of strain. The 48 hour reminder verses the next 48 years made its point.

Yes, Retrospective silence has been a good thing.  I do not know why I am surprized. Yogis do it all the time. It is the point of meditation. Still, the reality of being taken out of the mix in my family, out of the ego, has firmed the fire for a more dedicated practice of my disciplines within the practice of yoga. The practices of life are much harder for me than the asana for it is natural as an emowered mom, spouse and any other title I take on, to want to do our my best out of love.  I must make sure, through periodic retrospectivre silence that I do not fall prey to the illusion that peace in the home lays solely upon my control of our situation and enviorment. With a few days away it may even thrive, not because I am not needed but because I stopped getting in the way.

Just next time Lord please let me discover this without the physical pain:0) 

 

Gratitude . That is all I can bring myself to say about the state of my mind, my body and my spirit after the past 11 months of 2011.  During this year I added another member to the family; Well , actually 4 if, in addition to my new teenager, you count the humongous puppy we fell in love with and the two hamsters that came soon after.  I started my doctor of Physical therapy classes, placed a parent in assistive living, expanded and then contracted my private practice and then somehow managed to remain happily in love, travel to NY to train with my Guru, attend several more manual therapy and women's health courses, get to cheer practices, lacrosse trips and counseling sessions. Oh and did I mention I am laying down the foundation for another business???  I don't know how I do it all but I do know it is not because I am perfect, rich,well connected or famous. I am human. I accept that I do not do as well as some of my peers on the school volunteer front and as perimenpause hits, puberty I realize was a breeze for me and I finally understand what all those PMS commercials were talking about. Yes,  It is by the shear grace of God and my blessings or karma that I am actually smiling as I write this. In full gratitude, I am fully optomistic for the year to come and yet fully conscious that it may include just a few more hurdles in my path. 

 Let me know how you faired in your maternal health and wellness during 2011 and for what you have found gratitude in this year.  Aim to surprize yourself as you write down the information . Note all you have done and support yourself in all that you intend to do.  Being a Mama Guru is not an easy path but it is in your Dharma this life so smile, breath and welcome every ache, pain, pound, scream, tear and laugh as a piece of karmic balance.        

- Lisa    

So I did not keep up with my promise to be a more consistant blogger but I did get a real third child ( read my January Post) This real one came via taking guardianship over a 14 year old family member so now I have three physical kids and my inner child to attend to. Yogis manifest their destiny so be careful as you manifest!!! So here it is April and the topic of nutrition has me thinking of the real way to see how healthy your kids are on the intake.  Take a look at their poop!

Nutrition includes making sure your gut can get nutrients out and eliminate the toxins and waste. The less toxins you eat, the more ruffage you supply, the more hydration you support , the healthier the gut and the better the elimination of what you do not want building up in the body.  Did you know that half of the weight of your poop is bacteria.  Do you want to keep that lying around for days?  Kids do.  They often don't want to sit on the potty.  Between the instilled fears of "catching something" and with the invention of the automatic flush toilet, they are clear out scared to do it out of the home. Busy lives means hydration suffers and bathroom habits suffer . Bedwetting alone has given Pull ups a market into the tweens. 

So how well do you know your little one's bowel and bladder health after they are out of diapers? Do you ask? Do you know the signs of constipation?  Did you know that everyone should have a long healthy poop a day. Did you know you should never need to strain or that constipation is the number one reason children wet the bed at night? Did you know that 40% of adults with a bowel or bladder issue had an issue as a child? 

 I love helping these kids because , like my kid guru yoga programs, this is about helping a kid's self esteem. Sure they will grow out of it but while you await your year, the embarrasment and stress of going to the bathroom at school, at home or on trips can feed into anxiety, behavioral problems and fear. As a result,as a physical therapist I have begun to treat pediatric pelvic floor issues such as constipation, bedwetting, daytime leaks,urgency, recurrent infection and regional pain. Care invloves an evaluation, lots of kid friendly exercise, behavioral training,  biofeedback training and possibly some collaboration with a pediatric urologist. Intergrating the yoga ties in beautifully for my clients because these kids are STRESSED about it. The parents are at their wits end and the entire family needs to come together to make plans work. Practicing family yoga which incorporates some of the healthy breathing and core work gets everyone on board.  I am amazed there is very little education and translation of natural ways to treat these conditions within mainstream medicine. Despite the fact that the urological peer reviewed journals state 5 years old as the expected age for full bowel and bladder control, Most pediatricians tell you not to worry, recommend a laxative if you bring the problem up but give very little guidance as to a plan of use, what to look for and how to change functional influences such as pelvic floor tension, hydration and elimination habits. Bladder issues at night are even more overlooked for a while.  In time things do correct themselves but why not learn more?

Collaboration with a pediatric urologist can make physical therapy a successful alternative to "waiting it out". So if any of the above relates to you, speak with your physician and  find a PT that treats the pelvic floor to get a functional assessment and a plan of attack. In my opinion, it is a plan of acceptance and resolution!

  

So I promised myself that I would be a more disciplined blogger this year!  I REALLY hope I succeed.  I haven't posted in a bit and I am not sure anyone even cares but I truly have missed it and I so very much enjoy and value your insights. This is why, I am up earlier than my crew on a Sunday morning to begin.I am not listening to the fact that I can not "find the time" and am assigning value to what I love enough to do and will "make the time" just as I do for children's activities. I am determined in 2011 to establish why moms do not do this more. My hypothesis is that despite the logic and despite the desire, the heart will always overrule. When the choice is between ourselves, our husbands , friends and kids, the kids of course win. The reality is, for the sake of our marriage, it should sometimes be our husbands because the kids really do appreciate a two parent household if they ever had one. Other times it should be ourselves because if we are sick or unhappy the entire system collapses anyway. Still other times it should be outside work because we need to pay the bills or as i do, really love that autonomous piece of ourselves.  I got to thinking, "Why do we not logically approach things as logically as we approach things for others? ". My conclusion is that I do it by my own choice. I just don't choose me enough. The root of which is the same one I preach on the yoga mat. "We suffer from the mind's belief that we are actually in control". We want and how we want is the only way we can accept peace. I do not behave nor educate my children this way and i know it is because i love them and do not want them to suffer by choice. I am testing this theory this year by adding a new member to my family , my inner child and I will try my hardest to parent her. This year I make a few promises to the new child of my household and you will be witness to the journey.

Promise #1) I will try to present accountability and logic in a way that you the adolescent child within will listen.  So have you done it yet?  You know, heard your mother's words come out of your mouth and cringe!  I know it is such a blow of enlightenment when it happens. Suddenly you understand the consequences of certain actions and you do not want your child to suffer so I promise to work as hard as I do to parent myself as I do to parent the other fruits of my loin.  Number one is to live more by taking accountability for my actions and try not to blame others.  My suggestion stems from my constant quandry as to why moms hardly practice the healthy behaviors they preach and to what they qualify as a necessary reason why they could not do something as important as this for themselves. They kept me up all night, my work schedule is crazy, I try but I just don't find it interesting. I know it is healthy but I don't like the way it tastes. I am too fat for that, I am too weak for that, You just don't understand how hard my life is. I am trying my best. Problem is, I hear this almost everyday from my 11 year old and i call her on it often. Conclusion: I need to care for myself as an adolescent.

Back in the day, I acted in physiological, mental and emotional chaos. I  justified because i knew more than anyone else , no one understood my needs and I was magically invincible.  I wanted alot and never needed. I stayed up late because I wanted to. I did not eat right, wasted time gossiping for power and honored other's opinions of me more than my own under the excuse of my age and puberty. I was an overachiever and it was praised because I was popular, a leader and got good grades. How did I never self destruct? Apparently science has proven that my brain was wired for self destruction at that age so I was prepared to survive the lack of enperience and impulse control I suffered phisiologically from. Well Ladies, those of you finding all of the above behavioral tendencies as still a fact of life may still want to blame hormones, the kids, financial hardship and society but you are older and your brain and body is not as equipped to act this way. Thankfully you are smarter than that anyway and really should have developed impulse control by now. So have you? That is what my mat work on the mat is for this year. It is not for the firm muscles or the flexibility. There I vow to spend time with my inner child and listen. I want to learn why she acted like that and did not choose better. If I sit there and blame or condem I will either be tuned out or become the enemy. This is what I may hear my mother on the mat say." You should have the control to rest when you need to." "Someone else may need to learn how to respect your time and efforts to do so." " You should NEVER NEED to give your time to check your Facebook if you have not fed, bathed or exercised that day".  "You should not find any pleasure in another's pain because you have established the confidence and enlightenment to not need to rely on feeling empowered in this way."  I know that To love myself I will need to help that child see the facts as I see them. Then I need to listen to hear her point of view then I need to pray that despite the fact that teen in me knows EVERYTHING already, I hope she hears enough to want to suffer a bit towards an intention of a greater good in the future.

 HMMM! this does sound a lot like me speaking to my 11 year old girl after a particularly rough day amongst the queen bees of middle school. In my business, "the kids" comes up a lot!   All I need to do is approach a situation as a mom to myself.  Lets do this together this year. Next month, Promise #2.

The Darkness:Of Third Chakra

It has been a couple of months since my last blog and I am sorry for that but one thing a parent learns fast is that discipline is easier to ask for in word than to demonstrate by action.  I thought I had absolutely no discipline these past two months.  I felt overwhelmed. My work towards all my many professional endevors fell to the side as I sought out the mommy hat and committed towards all those year end obligations at the kids school and organized their fun in the sun for the coming summer. Of course during my hiatus I saw my private practice finally expand and transform Belly Guru life into that of a full centered studio. All good and necessary but as I donned my mommy hat, I quietly walked away from my personal yoga practice and with that my clarity.  After all, with more "parenting" commitments something had to give.  Unfortunately, as is  often the case with moms, it was my extra curricular activities that got axed. Without the stillness of my yoga, It was such a sneaky transition too.  

Within 2 weeks, I allowed my mind to wander into judgment of myself against all the "home making career moms" that made end of year gifts look like a year of planning and creativity went into them. I was neither that mom or  the percieved "more accomplished" full time career seeking mom who had a boss to please that gave them the rewards to spoil their kids and their teachers. I looked at my gift cards and my child's artwork and wondered if the teacher would think It was enough. Of course, looking back, the real issue was would it mean I am not enough of a mom. Then came June with swim team,  travel and career balancing around summer schedules and childcare .How the heck does anyone pull this off with more than a couple of kids??? It took me away from teaching and even attending class at my own center. I reached my limit the third week. In a full out brawl with the kids , my 7 year old yelled he was going off to meditate and that we should all do our Yoga" thunder breaths", a pranyama technique I adapted for the kids to blow off some anger. Well that shut us up. I yelled "Surrender!" towards the heavens, my daughter ran off to cry, we cancelled a long weekend dragging the kids around D.C and I stayed still. Without my yoga, Illusion prevailed.Third chakra my nemesis once again had complete power.  I was the worst parent. Darn Ego.

 The balance of third chakra

Third chakra holds the ego.  In life and parenting, it is a double edged sword. On one hand the fire gives confidence and will power to do much good and on the other hand that same fire and willpower can easily intoxicate you into believing it is all about you and that the activities and accomplishments of the kids' lives must be a reflection of you.   As a parent I take pride in the fact that my kids have always loved their themed birthday parties, creative rooms and crafts.  I am still amused with the fact that I actually recreated an Ace of Cakes worthy Elmo replication for my daughter's first birthday . But left unchecked by certain disciplines, third chakra is dangerously addictive. With that fire came the tendency to overload. With that came the illusion that I was stuck on the rollar coaster demands of life as a mom/business owner. I manifestedf family meltdowns as I yelled at the creativity getting paint on the carpeted floors or that the experiements the kids produced would one day lead them to injury. So come mid June, as I asked my husband , who by the way owns his own business, to take on more than he admitted he could chew and the kids revolted into actually crying when the daytime nanny was called off because "she is fun" , I wondered why two hours before I was happy I had a cancellation and could be home.

Enlightenment

 I guess the fact that my lack of action on the mat corrolating with my parenting becoming less than yogic in thought, word and deed did little to knock me off my game until my kid Guru, in his 7year old profound and enlightened voice yelled out amongst the before mentioned brawl that he was "going off to meditate . At that moment I remembered my obligation to parent as a yogi was my gift. Through taking my action and words off the mat and into my family's world,  I had been joyfully making an impact that mattered more than any DVD, professional title or thought out trip to the President's house could ever do. Demonstrating a discipline to Live my Yoga  offered  a definate step by step path for immediate enlightment. My son got it, Why with all my experience had I notI?  So to get back to my first sentence and the key to how parenting and yoga blend.. I am here , With some assemblance of emerging discipline, I am parent, I am student and I am back on my mat and writing my Blog. **OM'

 "Do it because it has to be done"  -Sri Dharma Mittra

 So I have been absent on the Blog front for a month and so I say ,"sorry". As I opened my Family Yoga Training center in Pineville, NC over the last two months, I was also late on some fundraising for my kids, some marketing for my business, some loving for my man and am still trying to catch up on my quota of me time. You know real quality, I never felt so empowered by aloneness and freedom to do as I please" time. Not the often  "I am the only one home with a load of laundry" me time but rather the "Ah, finally some guiltless, I actually am caught up with my life" me time.  AHHH, thank you God for yoga!!!!  

 Well in the world of yogic science, one does not deal with many food allergies because one does not necessarily eat many of the contaminants and types of food that carry high allergy risks. Children brought up into a yogic houshold preety much go from breast to nutrient dense products in a variety of colors and consistencies.  When you are practicing a non harming life, you tend not to partake in consuming flesh when you can just as well live on non flesh products.  Remember babies are bubbly and light and active and for most , if not more of their first year you they grow and change everyday with little exposure to high risk allergins. Yogic diets tend to stay as simple as those first years. a handful of berries, some prunes, dates and yes the highest risk to their allergin exposure, nuts. I often wonder if our production cycle of these proteins is the problem verses the substance itself because seeds and nuts are prevailant in a non meat based, nutrient dense diets but the nuts are consumed in less quantities.  Even without the nuts, what is necessary is providing yourself nutrients.Nutrient dense food is becomming more and more of a rarity and I wonder could that be a piece of our allery puzzle. Could it be what we do not have verses what we have when we have an allergy?  As a more serious aspirant of yoga one will make a point to eat  cleaner foods before conception and not just because they are pregnant because those food are digested better and give more energy and essential nutrients to begin with.It makes sense to let food run it's natural course and not pump it up with a chemical "preserving" it for your schedule. I am not one to say I have not resorted to a frozen meal now and again but make it more quality product to begin with.Remember clean foods have a short shelf life because they are alive and can give life to you. Would you care to eat a hamburger from the meat of an old cow that could no longer produce enough milk to be useful and was sent and injected with hormones to beef it up and make it appear preetier and then after slaughter treated again with chemicals to make it last longer before decay???  So why eat plant based or grain products this way? I do not know the research but I have not come across one disciplined diet yogi in readings or in person who expressed to me they had or had know another serious practitioner that had food allergies. In fact, I have only come across people who swore the health benefits and subsequent detoxification practices of the holy science of yoga and aryuveda helped eliminate the allergy.It seems logical that taking care of what you put in and out of your body, even if it means more dedication, less sensory gratification, more planning and more initial effort to obtain, actually goes a very long way. Like anything else, after a bit of work transitioning, it would seem the benefits verses the risks would make it a necessity. In school I heard of my teacher's, guru's guru's guru surviving 4 years on almonds and their milk alone in deep meditation. I guess that is a testament to how much we consume and have strayed from the ideal fact that we should eat to live and NOT live to eat but that my friends is a topic for another day. Be Well.

Yoga like Valentine's Day is all about attachment. Well actually , it is about detachment from that which no longer serves it's purpose and attachment to that which is a productive element.  Motherhood rides such a constant balance of attachment, detachment and reattachment that it is often perplexing as to how we all make it through. For 40 weeks we focus on our attachment with this little life inside only to wish by week 37 that it were out. Within moments of his or her birth we are reattached through feedings, cuddles and cries only to find ourselves exausted and wanting detachment from those very same things in the coming weeks.  It follows this pattern for the rest of our lives.  We want junior to grow but mourn the loss of their innocence. We work our hardest to help them get to the most perfect college, meet friends, get married and leave only to miss them being at home under our watchful eye.  Yes being a mom is one big emotional roller coaster. 

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Integration of the whole person. Integration of multiple disciplines. Integration of different foundational principles. Integration of nature, etc.  It seems logical to approach health care from this perspective but here in America, this is not the case. All of these aspects are part of what one would call Integrative medicine and while some integrative medicines are beginning to emerge locally, it is more unique. The westernized traditional medicine we see here is based upon a model of single system failure. Various specialties or disciplines view their patient's complaints via their chosen organ or model of study. So if a 55 year old overweight male goes to the orthopedist with a Left shoulder pain, he will most definately have some deconditioned shoulder muscles and so is likely to be diagnosed with a Left shoulder orthopedic problem.  That same person may present to their cardiologist the next day to get his blood work about high cholesterol but by the doctor not routinely addressing lifestyle changes and only looking at the blood work from last week , the doctor fails to learn the patient has stopped attending the gym due to regular indigestion and left shoulder pain. Day four the patient attends physical therapy as referred by his orthopedist for his shoulder and tells the therapist how stressed he has been due to a job lay off and is concerned he may not be able to attend sessions due to cost.  The physical therapist notes that his shoulder is stronger than she would expect for the diagnosis but since the doctor has sent a specific protocol with this diagnosis instead of an order to genuinely evaluate and treat, she treats the shoulder as ordered and refers the client to the billing office to assess financial needs.  Day 5, The patient is rushed to the ER and is diagnosed with a massive heart attack.  How could three medical professionals not notice the signs????

The answer is a classic lack of integrating all the pieces.  Each of these people knows the heart refers pain to the left shoulder.  They know that stress, poor diet, obesity and high cholesterol can lead to cardiac disease but the connections are not readily seen in a system where evaluation looks endlessly for the missing tree instead of the state of the forest. The pieces only add up to the whole when the whole is seen as the summation of it's pieces.  Integrative medicine professionals like myself aim to take their evaluations as a possible piece of the puzzle. Objectives are flexible and subject to the patient's report or subjective. We continuously seek to find co team members that may be able to facillitate our procedures for better overall outcomes without compromising the effects of our own approach.  I as an integrative physical therapist may address chronic pain by referring out to a psychologist who specializes in chronic pain so that my client may work with me from that approach. An integrative physician may utililize Acupuncture or refer a stressed out back pain patient to yoga instead of traditional PT.  The concept makes sense in an industry that is obviously broken.  It takes a villiage to raise a child. Why manage healthcare from the point of ego????

  

When I first read this month's topic my first reaction was "What care?" mainly because I feel that there really is none for mom as it becomes all about baby.  This being said, I did get to get out of the house in four 1/2 weeks after my second delivery as opposed to the 6 weeks after my first to see the doctor for my post part um check up. I guess this was care but it consisted of me sitting in the waiting room for 20 minutes while I freaked out at anyone coughing over my newborn and toddler only to be lead into the room and wait another 10 minutes debating whether I had the time to breast feed or not before I would need to jump into the stirrups and get my approval to go back to contraception, as if in fact my insides wanted anything to do with intimacy. Oh the joys of being so naive.  I actually thought that was care. Three and a half years before, I did receive a post par tum well check visit from a nurse 24hours after returning home from my first delivery because my insurance company was so great and proactive and it was part of my "Well Mommy" benefits but now I understand that this was merely their compromise to booting me and my baby out of the hospital in 48hours which could allow them to miss the common onset of jaundice in newborns up to three days after birth and so they were actually covering their butts and validating not covering a pediatrician visit until the child was old enough to take her first series of shots.  So again, how naive.  The reality is that you must look to care for yourself which means taking time to recover, taking time to adjust and being proactive about anything that does not feel right to you.  Yes mood swings happen and sleepless nights prevail but you should be getting back in touch with you and learn to seek out moments in your day or night to do so.  I highly recommend keeping a journal to jot down insight, frustrations and complications this new addition has brought into your world.  It is a way to validate your thoughts but also a way to move onto the joys among the muck!  Seek support on line, from family, from friends and breath!!!!!! You will be amazed how empowering taking a few moments for your care can be. 

The moment of Truth:

No matter how many births; no matter how many books and hours in what ever birthing class, when time comes to actually give birth there is this surreal moment where the past, present and future all meet the body to dispel the illusion of time. It is a moment when times appears to stand still. It is a moment that every delivery has but the participants may not be aware of. It can be lost among the egos in  the room, the mother's monkey mind, distractions created by opposing information, medical technology, the monitors, the sounds, the fears, the stimulants or the depressants surrounding modern day birthing. None the less, it is a profound moment of Being that I work hard to have the moms train for so that they can find it in their process. For a natural vaginal birth, the "It" is a moment , the hardest moment, just before your child is pulled from your body. It is in that moment that nature, the source or whom ever you believe is in charge of the process,allows a woman to be very close to her truth. It is a moment, that when realized, justifies all that you have done and places awe in all that you will become. For surgical deliveries, that are non traumatic and planned, I believe it comes with less intuitive connection but is still a force that is palpable and could be looked for in the moment you are opened up and feel the pressure or are verbally told of the birth of your child from your womb. It is a moment of empowerment and not depletion. In your weakest , it gives you unyielding strength. It is a moment that you are given the opportunity of a lifetime. At that moment, there is a window to a more in depth view of  your self . A reason you are here on this earth . At that moment you can come in touch with the realization that birth resides in many more layers than the physical body alone. There is something that has changed within and is again about to change.

 When I gave birth, I was not yet a yogini state of mind. I did yoga as a physical practice and so I was maybe more flexible or strong in areas but I was still very naive. I researched the birth process as a very physical one and so I had no attachment to that surge of power. It scared me when it should have supported me. I only knew that I must be in Transition when I was sooo tired and about to cry, yell or wanted to give up because that is what I had been told.

Transition:

In a natural delivery, modern medicine labels TRANSITION , when the cervix hits 10cm dilation and the baby moves into the vaginal canal, the hardest part of natural delivery and as is always the natural order, it is also the shortest part of natural delivery. Time and time again, society intuitively pick our words from truth. It certainly is a transition but not only in the physical state of the cervix and the baby but also from a place of ego and reclaiming the "I" of being one body, mind and spirit with the baby to the reality now of separating the self from the "we" your transition will become. You begin right there to take on the duty or dharma on this earth of letting go in balance with the restraints of holding on. Being a parent means letting a piece of you go. It is not about control or manipulation but about trust, love, faith and knowing full well that you will lead by your truth, your gut and the faith in the process. You will take on your child's pains and joys and while difficult, encourage necessary but difficult growth. You are a parent to another soul on this earth. You have transitioned to become that child's first guru in this lifetime and what an honor that is in return.

Becoming Mama Guru:

 My teacher's guru, taught me that a mother is a child's first guru. I wish I had realized this during my first pregnancy and I wish I had more support in taking this developing awareness to the next level of actually giving birth during the second. Becoming  Guru in yoga is an honor bestowed only upon the lucky few, to those with the discipline and knowledge of the practice, the science and the philosophy of the teachings. It is a role earned and not taken lightly. It means you are entrusted with guiding another person's soul and are empowered without ego with these responsibilities. It means that with intuition, faith, discipline, compassion, forgiveness, love, acceptance, surrender and self awareness you will be able to have and share what you need for the role and that you are not deterred by the challenge, isolation or growth this role may provide. There is something more than you. Someone or something that does not make mistakes and will therefore guide you and knows you are strong enough to have taken on the duties set forth. In yoga, your guru is your guide towards your  fullest potential. Sound familiar? .

Giving Birth with Awareness

In a very karmic way, I believe that I am doing the work I am meant to do in this life. I needed to give birth as I did to develop the passion for the work I do now.  I needed to walk away from my initial work to find my last teacher to give me the bridge between what I learned in books to what I experienced in reality. Now I can train others with yoga for birth as as the holistic body immersion program it was always meant to be. Developing a Birthing with yoga program has become a cathartic path for me toward understanding the blessings and empowerment that come to you at the edge of  giving birth. I know now that awareness should be nurtured in pregnancy, especially if a C section is the plan and that after C Section there is a level of healing in both in the physical and emotional body , due to the loss of a vaginal delivery,that may need special attention. Likewise, I wonder how one can truly feel empowered taking on a role they never felt entitled to take on or how someone can one take on such an enormous role in the journey of another's life with eyes closed and walls up?  You may do so in body and to an extent in mind but to do so in spirit is what will give you the true experience and empowerment in giving birth.  I hope all who may read this take a moment in their day to connect with their whole self even before conception and well on into motherhood. As with all forms of giving, in giving birth, or even through giving adoption which has the similar process of emotional risk and surrenders,  you truly receive more than you will ever sacrifice.  I realize now that despite the physical supports I had, the fear and a lack of emotional support in my own experience lead to me missing out on this for a long time. I offer this story in hopes more people learn from my ignorance.

 

When I had my first child, I was an urbanite in NYC. Always on the go, getting things done in as little time and money as possible. I was scared to death of delivery. I focused on it. I saw way too many natural births on TV  and read way too many books on how I was either supposed to love excruciating pain as a sign of womanhood or maneuver an excuse to schedule a c section and have my physician manage everything as if I were making an appointment to have my car’s transmission changed. It was summer , I was hot and still working full time as a Physical therapist which meant little time off my feet and lots of manual work. As any 9month mom to be will tell you, There comes a time when you are just done and  I was in body and mind. I did not care at that point that I was still 3 weeks away from my due date. At my 36 week visit I swore I dropped . The male MD I dread sees me as I rotate through everyone and was not as excited as I was about my progress. In fact, he was only animated as he claimed I “surprisingly” gained 6 lbs this month stating “no dilation, no effacement, it’s too early”  and with that I was no where near birth. Ieft feeling disregarded in all the subtle changes I felt restating the science of birth in my head backed by medical journal statistics and calculated due dates. I had big time heartbreak.

How things Change:

Well, the doctor says I am no where near delivery and I would know because I would then be screaming and pacing like all the books say ,right???  Fast Forward to 2 days later, I am now officially 37 weeks. There is no pain but I feel funny at work so I have a coworker take my Blood Pressure and it is a bit higher than my normally low but normal. I figure it is a panic attack of some sort. My pulse is fine (no signs of panic attack) but my gut tells me I am sick so I should go to the doctor.  Again, I say to myself, “I'm done”  

The Effect of a Welcoming Environment

Yeah! My personal doctor can see me. I trust her opinion and with 3 kids of her own, she actually relates to some of what I say . “1/2 cm dilated, baby’s heart rate normal but you seem to be in a pretty firm contraction” she says. Apparently since I was told two days earlier that my opinion of things did not count, these words posted no alarm. Nor did the fact that she placed me on a monitor for the next 45 minutes.  I was tired remember and had already worked a few hours so I was calm and at peace in a comfortable reclining chair with lots of magazines, a glass of water and my legs up. 45 minutes later I proceed to register on the monitor  “HUGH” contractions . She is baffled as to why I am not reacting to the size of these contractions and thinks I am in labor. Well, I secretly doubt it. It should hurt but I call my husband with the news and head home to rest. Yeah! my doctor is on tonight and she is not a bit worried or surprised that I am 3 weeks early. She states she will probably see me tonight.  I am excited, “Wow , I can do this”  .  I look around at the office and get scared “No I can’t, I am not ready, I need to call work, I need to get in touch with my husband”   “ I am scared of labor”  All of a sudden, I begin to feel the cramping and it is in sync with the monitor. I am being given specific instructions on not to eat the rest of today, “Just in case” but I have not eaten since breakfast.  I am excited again,waiting for my husband, still feeling funny but only a dull deep ache here and there. Then I am getting all my hospital stuff together. Now the fear returns and I wait for higher intensity pain or some scary thing called the bloody show to emerge and you know what?  “I don’t want to deliver anymore”  I want to push it off.  Doctor said I have three weeks. I fight the fact that I want an epidural but having seen one too many spinal cord mistakes in rehab, I am petrified of having a spinal cord injury which is a risk.  I know I need one so I panic, I cry and then no more pains. Well for the next two weeks I went in and out of Labor many times. In fact, the birth, recovery and post partum period followed this pattern. It is a story in itself; my entire inspiration for Belly Guru, LLC  and the root of the Belly Birthing curriculum that I teach. Doctors had a name for it called Prodromal labor but now I know, it was merely my mindset.

“The More things change, The more they stay the same….”  Proverb, author unknown

Baby number 2 came 3 weeks early in the middle of February in New York.  Again by week 36 I felt done but this time around I was more confident and liked all the doctors in my practice. I remember looking at the calendar and saying to my belly  “Come be my Valentine’s day baby” because the books stated that 37 weeks was full term and that would be 37 weeks to the day, a good compromise between my western medicinal trainings and my emerging eastern medicinal mind.  Having practiced body awareness and relaxation with yoga from this conception on, I truly thought I would have more control and decided to have less fear but the trauma of the first go around and the fact that I ended up feeling soooo awful the first 24hours after delivery with the epidural made me firm on my non use of one this time but there continued to be ignorance to how painful birth needed to be and I had a big lack of confidence to birth naturally due to “all the pain birthing baby 1,a mean labor nurse and the pelvic floor damage I now know I had but was never formally diagnosed with” . Still at the hospital , I was ignorant to doulas feeling I was not into all that feminism stuff and not sure where to turn to for information.  Funny thing, I awoke one morning feeling fine, got a bit emotional in midday , started crying to my doctor that I felt emotionally and physically done at 4pm and at 10:48pm on Feburuary 13th I  had a quick, painful but empowering birth. I could not believe I was in labor all day. The last two hours, yes; it was  definitely labor as things went so fast that nature decided I  give birth naturally. I returned home from the hospital within 36 hours feeling physically better post delivery (WHAT A DIFFERENCE NO EPIDURAL MAKES ON PELVIC AREA RECOVERY) with my Valentine’s day Baby. ----The Belly Guru