Detoxifying My Mind and Body into Spring

Like most everyone else right now I am feeling pretty done with this winter. I keep hoping for spring to show it's messy, wet, mucky self but it seems to be rather shy this year. Try as I might, I cannot coax it from winter's grasp. I begin to feel this way every year, but lately my desire for warmer weather seems particularly huge. This winter has been a tough one by bringing a never ending onslaught of frustration for us. Seemingly non-stop colds and flus piled on top of a teething, non-sleeping toddler mixed in with breaking appliances, cars, roofs, ceilings, phones, and wallets all rolled into a cluster cuss of bad luck. I was also handed my first ever traffic ticket, which I will say on record was complete BS and I did not actually violate any road rules. Non-the-less I still got the ticket. Having a toddler that needs to run and play outside and who easily becomes stir crazy doesn't help much either. We just want to be able to go outside without the mitts, the jacket, the tuque, the boots, the icy sidewalks and piles of snow that have taken up all the space everywhere. Its time for grass and sun and picnics and parks and evening drinks outside with friends and family.

The snow is making us all crazy!

But we are doing our best to make the most of it!

The past months have been weighing heavily on both my mind and body. I have fallen into the terrible circular habits of poor eating and little exercise that cause me to feel sluggish and put my mind into an unhealthy state. I decided that I needed a change. I needed to jump-start my body and my spirit out of this slump and ready myself for the spring. I need to un-fog my mind and re-discover the beauty in the calm, the simplicity, the humor, the frustrations, the happiness, the crazy that is everyday life.

One week ago today I challenged myself to do a minimum of 30 yoga classes in 30 days. I have practiced yoga on and off for about 8 years and through that time I have found that my yoga passion lies in Moksha. For those who don't know, Moksha yoga is practiced in a room kept at about 40 degrees Celsius and fairly high humidity. It is definitely not everyone's cup of tea but I love it. I love the heat and I love the sweat! When I leave each class I can literally wring the sweat from my clothes, and as grossed out as you probably are right now, it makes me smile every time. Sweating allows your body to rid itself of toxins that build up and are stored in your tissues. When I am sweating to the point of a steady stream flowing off the end of my nose I can't help but think of all the nasty stuff leaving my body and it makes me feel great. I find the heat makes the practice much more challenging and because of this my mind has no option but to focus on the task at hand. For the hour or hour and a half of each practice my mind is shut off from the outside world. I don't think about my day or what I am going to make for dinner or when I am going to have time to finish this project or that, or anything else. I just am. I am able to be solely in the moment and this is so rejuvenating. All my thoughts melt away and the constant background chatter of my mind dissolves into nothing.

Aida's version of Downward Facing Dog

Yoga feeds both my mind and body. By allowing my thoughts to turn inward and focus only on my breath and the postures, I come away feeling rested, calm and in good spirits. The physical aspects of  yoga stretch and strengthen my muscles while detoxifying my body. Since having Aida I have discovered muscles I didn't know I had and discomforts I had never experienced before. The physical toll your body can take simply from nursing a child really blows my mind. I have neck and back issues I have never had to deal with before. And try as I might to carry my daughter evenly with my left and right side I still become unaligned and muscles on one side become tighter than the other. Yoga has REALLY helped me begin to correct these problems and I feel better and better with each class.

Also, for all those mamas-to-be out there, Yoga is a fantastic way to stay comfortable and healthy throughout your pregnancy. Many women begin to experience discomfort and pain at some point in their pregnancy. Often, this discomfort is caused by the much needed hormone called Relaxin that begins to course through your body almost immediately following conception. This hormone functions to soften the joints that will need to stretch and alter for delivery. Unfortunately, Relaxin doesn't specifically target the pelvic area and many women experience lose joints all over their body which, as you can imagine, can become quite uncomfortable and even painful. I personally began to feel the effects of this hormone almost immediately. My hips and pubic bone got more and more painful throughout each day. I started taking prenatal yoga when I was just 8 weeks pregnant and continued until just days before Aida was born. I also regularly visited a chiropractor who specialized in pregnancy. The combination of these two things kept me extremely comfortable and pain-free through my entire pregnancy. As soon as I began yoga and chiropractic care, I felt completely normal. No pain, no achy joints, no stiffness, nothing. I had the best pregnancy one could ask for and I attribute much of that to the yoga that kept me strong to balance my lose joints and opened my pelvis with ease and control.

So, the challenge. I will do my absolute best to attend at least 30 yoga classes in 30 days. It has been exactly one week that I began my challenge and so far (by the end of today) I will have done 10 classes in 7 days! Big thanks to my hubby for encouraging me to do this and taking on more so I can take this time to care for myself!   

I will let you know how things are going as I progress through this month. Wish me luck!



    



   

The Mama's Story of My Very First Birth

One of the most amazing birth experiences I have had as a doula was my very first one. I was so incredibly honoured to be invited into this birth. I was ecstatic that I was going to be able to work alongside a midwife, for in my mind, they are truly magical beings. When I first spoke to Sila on the phone I was nervous that she might not want me present since it would be my first birth, but instead she welcomed me and wanted to help me learn and gain experience. Also, purely by chance, the doula whom I ended up working alongside was the very one who guided me through my birth with Aida. That alone was very special to me.

It was a long but incredibly beautiful birth. I surprised myself at how calm and not nervous I was. It felt completely natural to me, like I was exactly where I belong - next to a powerful labouring mama. I loved every minute of it. Sila is a woman with such strength and beauty, inside and out, and was nothing less than wonderful to be with. We spent a lot of time chatting and laughing and bonding and when it came to the more difficult parts of her labour we worked so well together. I could feel the absolute trust she had in me and it fed my drive to do everything I could to help her have the beautiful birth she wanted and deserved. 

I witnessed for the first time the birth of a tiny, gorgeous human being and I was filled with such happiness for the mom and her new baby that I could not contain my tears. The emergence of this new baby triggered a rush of so many emotions in me along with the memories of my own birth and I was so thankful to feel these again. It was nothing short of amazing. I will forever be great full to this mama for the wonderful birth I ended up experiencing by her side.

Sila, who is back home in Kenya, sent me her birth story to share with you all. I hope you enjoy reading it! Thank you Sila for sharing with me and those who read this blog and thank you again for being an all around wonderful woman.  
   

"When I was in my early 20’s I remember wondering if a magic genie came to me and said I could only have one thing in my life but not both – a true love or to be a mother – which would I choose. In my head I always chose to be a mother. If I couldn't have both then that was the one I’d choose. In 2011, I was pregnant at 31 and in a troubled relationship. I was advised, "You need a doula to be with you through it!" and yes, you guessed it I googled it first and later decided I did need a doula! After asking my friends about doula services in Winnipeg, a friend recommended her friend friends' wife, who happened to be Bree. I later learnt that it would be her first birth! As a new mum-to-be, I was a little bit apprehensive but if there is something you will learn about Bree is that she can calm a storm. We met shortly after I reached out to Bree and she explained the package she will be providing me - but since she was still in training she will be shadowing a certified doula. I registered for a pro-bono doula with another well known doula service in Winnipeg. Bree was a great support for me 3 months leading to my birth. And when Barbara Harper was in town for a talk on water births - we made a date to attend the event. She kept me informed and also advised me on what/how I should prepare. The fact that Bree was a mother too made her a good birthing 'companion' for me. We talked about how I felt, how to improve my energy levels (I was pretty tired) and how I was coping with everything. 

On Nov 21st I started laboring at 4:30am and my midwife confirmed that I was indeed going to have my baby today. I called my doula's Jessica and Bree - Bree was to shadow another certified doula for her practicum to be validated. Bree was the first to arrive by my side and she brought me some homemade pasta sauce and a pack of sanitary towel that remained from her last birth. Bree kept me distracted from the pain as I crotchet my baby a sweater in between my contraction. Bree truly felt like a sister at that moment. At 9pm (yes, 17 hours later) my midwife suggested we go to the hospital since I was 6cm dilated.  Bree checked my bag to confirm I carried everything and helped me finish my packing. We arrived the hospital and thank fully I got my own huge room. I got settled in as my bath was prepared. Bree excused herself to pump milk for her daughter and I remember she had mentioned that she often pumps at work as well. Now, I had never heard the weird sound of a breast pump before and when she started pumping, I thought it was the funniest thing I have heard ever! Of course it wasn't so funny after I started pumping but at that time I laughed so hard I teared up. It was hilarious! 

After Midnight, my pain intensified and Bree stepped-up and made sure I was breathing right and when the pressure was too much for me, she walked me though techniques to ease the pressure. At 7:25am I was ready to push -- Bree was there to cheer me on as she snapped pictures from her phone. The photos she took are the only once I have of Mariela's birth. Pictures that I shared with my family who were back home in Kenya. Mariela was born at 7:45am on November 22nd 2011 and I asked Bree to cut the umbilical cord. 

Bree was my star during my 25 hour labour. One thing that I love about Bree is that she loves what she does as a doula and because she is so passionate about her work, she is also so great at it too! I remember my midwife telling Bree that she will make an incredible midwife some day. She is just not a doula, she is a phenomenal doula. 

Thank you Bree."

Thank you again Sila! And thanks to you all for taking the time to visit my blog. 

Have a great day!