Yoga is a love affair and centering in....

Yoga began for me as just another exercise.  I was 17 years old, overweight and ready to try anything that would possibly be a key to getting myself healthy. The library had a yoga video, so a few friends and I tried it out one day. Unaware at the moment that I was beginning a journey that would shape the rest of my life, the practice began.

Now, 8 years later yoga has integrated itself into the the roots of my being. We have had our moments of distance only to happily and gratefully be re-ignited. To me, it means so much more than stretching or contorting my body. Yoga is a way for me to embrace existence. It has led me to a more disciplined yet free sense of being that allows for greater clarity to face each passing moment. As I sit in asana, or take breath of pranayama, I am reminded of the simplicity of living. It allows me to transcend feelings of separation, as stated in the beauty of its name. Yoga, to yoke, to bring together body and mind. Amazingly enough the yoking now involves so much more than just my own so called body and mind. It helps me to see the connection in all things and understand how my existence can shape the world around me.

Yoga asana has taught me greater understanding of my body, its abilities, and functions. Used during pregnancy it helped to keep my body fluid and flowing, even using asana during childbirth. Asana is a great addition to any physical activity as it allows you to take time to learn to correctly work with the body. In our culture, there is a common misconception that asana is used mainly as an exercise aimed at achieving a yoga butt and flexibility. There is nothing wrong with wanting a healthy and attractive body, but to find an ultimately lasting happiness, yoga has much more to offer. This of course is something that you must seek through doing. Yoga is a tool that can be harnessed to find your own place of still contentment in a busy moving world.

To celebrate all the great things that have been revealed to me in my own practice, I would like to introduce ideas and thoughts on yoga, instructions for some basic asana and pranayama, and perhaps some philosophy with this blog. Of course I always welcome and suggestions, questions and or thoughts.

To show how yoga can be used by anyone, at any time, in any location I will first introduce a simple practice that can become the basis for all following practices.

• Find a comfortable seated position. If you are happy on the floor, this is a wonderful place to get the benefit of grounding with the earth.  If needed, place a cushion underneath yourself to bring ease to your body. 

• Allow your sit bones to root down, shoulders over hips, head and neck over shoulders, and chin slightly down to bring length to the neck. It is a good idea to have your hips above your knees (a cushion helps to achieve this), as it assists sitting with an erect spine, the top of the head reaching towards the sky. 

• If the floor is not accessible seated in a chair with the feet on the floor and back straight will do. Follow the above alignment for the torso, neck and head.

• Close your eyes and begin to tune into your breath. Be mindful of your in and exhalations. No strain or force should be used. Just an observing awareness. We are not training the breath here, but tapping into our natural flow to allow the mind and body to relax. The mind may naturally wander, no worries. No judgement is needed. Simply refocus yourself to watching your  breath each time you find yourself daydreaming or your body accumulating tension.

• After a few moments of complete breath awareness bring to mind an intention that you may have for yourself or another. This is entirely up to you. I like to use the first thought that comes to mind as I feel it is a subtle clue from my subconsciousness as to what I may need to be focusing energy to. If it is hard to think of an intention, just visualizing something beautiful or someone you care for can be helpful.

• Let this vision sit for a few moments and then eventually bring your attention back to your breath. Visualize your inner center being calm and still, full of lightness and awareness. Stay here for long as you like.  

This simple exercise can be used at any time to tune in and calm the senses. Try it anywhere, modify the sitting for standing with the same upper body alignment. This easy yet effective practice is how I begin all of my classes and ideally each of my own sessions, and can also be used for creative visualization. Enjoy folks, I say Namaste to acknowledge the light and love we each reflect.  Peace.

Placentophagy and the Magical Smoothie

This is a sort of follow up to Ocean's free birth story on a subject that many people showed some sort of interest in. Perhaps the sort of interest that teeters between gross bewilderment and educational amusement? Either way, here it is. 

A bit of history first... Before deciding to consume the placenta I did a lot of research to discover if this was really for me. I found out the most beneficial ways of ingesting, and read some first hand accounts of people who had eaten their placenta and what they believe it did for them. I had at that point basically decided that if needed, I would eat the placenta raw after birth to control bleeding and stop hemorrhage. If that was unnecessary, half of the placenta would be consumed raw, the other half encapsulated and taken daily. 

Why eat the placenta you ask? While researching home birth and reading other people's stories to kind of pump myself up for the birth day, a page about placentophagy appeared before my eyes. It was so convincing that more research had to be done. It all made sense to me. After birth women generally seem to accept being tired and weak for days if not weeks. We loose blood and energy allowing new life to come through us, it only makes sense that consuming what once nourished baby could be a vitamin and mineral packed source of re-nourishment for mom. It is traditionally consumed as a chinese medicine to keep postpartum blues away, and can be saved for years to late help with menopause . Placenta is used for so many more things, but these were the reasons that really meant something to me. Being a vegetarian I was opposed to the idea of eating meat until reading something that changed my view of placentophagy so much that peace was made with the idea. A placenta is the only meat that comes from birth or creation rather than death or destruction. I was sold. 

After Ocean was born we got to know each other in the jacuzzi while waiting to cut his umbilical cord and deliver his placenta. We waiting until there was no more blood flowing through the cord, clipped it in two places, and then severed the bond between baby and placenta which had been his vital life force since conception. At this time I delivered the placenta into a bowl which was then carried off to the kitchen for cleaning.  The placenta's journey was slightly unknown. No one had committed to the chore of cleaning and preparing it for my consumption. You can actually hire people to do this step for you, in fact they will come to your house, clean, prepare, dry and encapsulate your placenta for you costing about 250 dollars.  Originally I believed I would do it on my own. Lucky for me, people loved us enough to do all that for me. So while I was relaxing from the wild, psychedelic, baby birthing, Grandma was washing the afterbirth and putting it in the fridge. The next morning Grandma was removing the cord and membranes then chopping the placenta into pieces that seemed to be daily doses for smoothies. We froze those pieces and the rest of the placenta went to the dehydrator to later be ground (in an electric coffee grinder) then funneled into capsules. 

The morning after Ocean's birth we made the first raw placenta smoothie. I admit it was weird, but really the weirdness was in my head. It had no taste, just a texture that was less than pleasing. Grandma even gave it a taste test and to this day I am not sure whether or not she is SURE she ate placenta. She did. :-) I consumed a raw placenta smoothie everyday after birth for about a week or two. As for speeding up recovery... you could say I'm just crazy but less than 72 hours after a 24 hour labor that involved 2 previously sleepless nights we were back to taking our nature hikes at Oxbow, Ocean's first time from the outside. I had no baby blues, decent energy and a general zest for life. That evening we took the rest of the afterbirth, which was basically his cord and membranes, to the ocean for a celebration of his safe entrance into the world. We decided to give the remainders of his aquatic life to the aqua that gave us all life. Mama Ocean. 

And there you have it folks. The story of Placentophagy and the Magical Smoothie. Yummy!

My baby is naked! Elimination Communication for a happy diaperless baby!

My child does not wear clothes often. He is rarely seen with more than his amber teething necklace on, and there is good reason for that. Ocean and I are practicing and perfecting a "technique" known as Elimination Communication (EC for short). You could also call him a diaperless baby. Really, it is just a natural way to handle a natural bodily function that is free, causes no diaper rash, no countless piles of laundry and helps baby and caregivers bond. It seems to me these are just the surface benefits as I can think of endless ways this sort of communication is benefiting both Ocean and I.

We started diapering Ocean with cloth diapers, and have never used a conventional disposable diaper. As a gift my mother purchased a duffel bag full of used cloth diapers in a myriad of sizes and shapes from a La Leche Leauge leader who had also purchased some of them second hand. The ultimate in re-using, re-re-using! This bag has barely been broken into, because with a bit of testing I became a big fan of the simple cotton prefold attachted to precious baby with a plastic snappi. The lovely simplicity of these diapers was nice, Ocean had little diaper rash, but laundry was a pain. Later we were given a set of Baby G diapers with 2 packs of compostable, biodegradable inserts. These are disposable, are SO much better than conventionals. The compostable part is much smaller than a full diaper, the G diaper outside is washable and re-usable. However convienient these diapers were supposed to be, they were also a bit of a mess and a pain when used.

Out on the farm, Ocean would be naked. Being outside and dirty already I did not care if he peed all over me. Then I remembered something my friend Becka had told me she tried with her daughter Lucy. She called it Elimination Communication and when they first started communicating with eachother Becka was so stoked she built a beautiful and fun toilet for Lucy to use. This simple tool seemed to be a wonderful next step for Ocean's evolution. I got on the web I found some great sites (I will put links here) about EC and diaperless babies. It was really inspiring and seemed really easy so I gave it a shot.

Babies are not dolls, and this baby did not enjoy clothes or diapers from the beginning. It was a lasting joke that he only spit up when forced to wear clothes just to get them off again! Going diaperless was just one more thing to take off and it has made a ton of difference. But what about pee? How do you know when the baby needs to eliminate? That is where you come in. There really is no handbook, that is why it is called communication. You must have the time and desire to communicate with your child so that you can learn the baby's cues, body language, and signals. Luckily, we noticed that Ocean has a tendency to get an erection when he has to pee! What a great meter. It is such an effective tool that even our roomate had learned to anticipate pee's and helps call them sometimes! So what happens when you learn the cues? When we think it might be time we ask him "Do you have to go potty/pee? Sometimes he will ignore me, sometimes he will laugh or cry. If it's a laugh or cry we like to take the baby outside to the grass. We started by holding him by the thighs and spreading his legs for him, but soon noticed he preferred to put his feet on the ground. A few moments of encouragement (we make a ppsssssss sound) and he goes.

On a normal day at home this is about 90-99% effective. On a day of travel and lots of new stimulation the effectiveness sometimes drops to about 50%. It's important to remember this is communication. If we were standing next to eachother and talking but ingnoring eachother, neither of us would know what the other was talking about. It is important to be attentive, ask questions and keep communication throughout the whole process. A simple breakdown for those of you who may be skimming through....

• Pay attention to your little one. If they currently wear diapers, try to pay attention to any faces or actions they make when they eliminate. This will be easier with cloth diapers, even easier with no diapers. For little boys an erection is a common sign they have to urinate. Some babies make pee faces.  Remember you are just harnessing your babies natural urge and desire to NOT sit in his own pee or poo. They will quickly catch on and be super grateful that you are paying attention. 
• Find a place they are comfortable with using the bathroom. Ocean likes to have his own feet in the grass to go. Some babies respond to be held by the thighs in a position that would mimic being on the toilet. 
• Make a sound or do something to cue your baby on. This helps them understand that now is the time, now is the place.  We use the PSSSSS sound. 
• Im not sure how important this is, but we always get excited after a successful pee and laugh and kiss and say YAY! I think he likes it.
• DO NOT underestimate your baby's understanding of your verbal and physical communications. They are so much more aware than what is commonly thought in today's society. You will be amazed when you start really watching. This is something I really can't stress enough in all ways. Babies know what they want and they want to tell you. 

Have fun mommies and daddies! There is no time better to start communicating with your baby than now! Peace. 

The Avocado of Awareness

I love avocados. My room mate Flint loves avocados almost as much as me. Before moving in with Flint there wasn't really anyone around who wanted to eat "my" avocados with me. I love sharing, and gladly cook for everyone in the house, but there was always a feeling of sadness when it came to giving up my precious avocados, especially when they reached $2.25 in the grocery store and the ones at the market were always half dead. Of course when you live with people who like the same food as you and everything else you have is generally shared communally how do you get away with telling people hands off the avocado?

This recent dillema got me thinking deeply about myself and this selfish urge that had me wanting to hide purchased avocados and eat them in moments of solitude. First of all, I believe that we are one. If we are one, even if the cat ate the avocado and it brought her joy I should be grateful. So I began to ponder that. Why do I like avocados so much? Well they are delicious, and I know that they are great for me. So if my roommate eats the avocado and gets the benefits of its deliciousness and nutrition, and that brings him joy, it should bring me joy also. With these things in mind, I opened myself up to not only accept that I may only eat a portion of eat avocado I bring home, but also to be happy and grateful for each bite. I was going to just love that people loved avocados.

You may be wondering what exactly this did for me other than allowing me to just be happily complacent- and that my friends is the beauty of the story. As soon as I opened myself up gratefully and appreciated what was around me avocados came pouring in! Friends brought avocados, we found a cheap connection to loads of them at the weekly farmers market, and promises of a tree that is almost ready with more fruit than people can eat was made to us.  I ate guacamole 3 days in a row, in mass proportions. My whole reason for wanting to publish this is to as usual share my experience and perhaps help another person in a similar situation. Insert the object of your desire into the space avocado holds. See what happens when you let it go and love it when its around. You may just end up with more guacamole than you can eat. Peace.

Wheatgrass in the Morning

We started growing wheatgrass a few months ago in response to our desire to be healthfully frugal. I had some previous experience with what seemed like a wheatgrass "overdose" a few years ago and for quite sometime had a natural aversion to it. Nonetheless after a visit to Happy Healthy Human and getting a wheatgrass shot "on the house" from owner Jason for my bulging pregnant belly I remembered how much I do enjoy that shot of liquid chlorophyll. At 3 or so dollars a shot though, not very likely I would be enjoying it often. The solution of course was sitting in the shed. We pulled out the old wheatgrass trays, bought some good soil and searched for all the pieces of the manual wheatgrass juicer I had purchased all those years ago.

Having a new baby really opens me up to loving the simplicity of things, so I will often speak of things being super easy. Let me walk you through these very simple steps so you can try it out for yourself.

ocean in the wheatgrass

Supplies needed:

about 1 cup of wheat berries (we use hard red winter wheat)

Soil

h20

some sort of tray

We find our trays at our local organic farm, but you can probably find them in any garden supply store.  Before you begin you will want to soak your wheat for about 12 hours, or just overnight. The next morning you can fill your tray with soil to about 1 inch high, sprinkle the wheat berries on top, and cover with a paper towel. Water them well and keep an eye on their progress. We water ours everyday, you may need to water more or less. So you may be wondering, why on earth would I drink wheatgrass and even further, will I enjoy it enough to grow it myself? Well let me give you a few reasons why you just may want to:

For one, it just feels good, it is so green! You can really feel the benefits of it if you tune into your system.

It is a great detoxing agent, and for this reason many people have similar experiences to mine of "overdosing".

It has loads of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids...YUM.

It is a quick way to get a load of green leaf veggies into your diet if you have an aversion to them regularly.

I could go on, but I truly believe in personal experience over the opinions of others to form our own individual ideas about things, so try it out! You have nothing to lose. In fact, if you do not want to grow your own, many health food stores and juice bars carry their own wheatgrass, or you can purchase wheatgrass that has been juiced and then dehydrated, although many people believe the benefits of the juice are the best absorbed if consumed within a short time of juicing.

While I am on the subject of juicing let me tell you, although some people say they use methods of extraction like blending and centrifugal juicing it is really best, if not necessary,  to have a wheatgrass juicer. We have a manual wheatgrass juicer at our home. Although this takes some time, it is worth it to know all the enzymes and nutrients stay intact and to make sure you get all the juice you can get out of your precious grass.

So there you have it folks, growing and consuming wheatgrass is groovy.

Slow Food Dinner at Varri Green Farm

Where does food come from? Many people have become so comfortable accepting the fact that food comes from the grocery store. We go to work, make money, then spend the money to buy the food. There is so much more to that! For the last 2 season I have been a volunteer at Varri Green Farm. I started working on organic farms about 5 years ago, when I decided to move to Jamaica, live simply and grow food. That was long ago, but my desire to consume food that is close to the earth with as little intervention from man as possible never dissipated.  At Varri Green, no chemicals are used. In fact, after the seeds have been sown (aside from a few transplants sometimes), nothing is done at all to the food, it just grows. It grows, it produces food, it then goes to seed, seed is collected, and used next season. It is natures perfect creation allowed to take place perfectly. This last Sunday Varri Green hosted the Treasure and Gold Coast chapter of Slow Foods for a dinner at the farm. Of course, Ocean and I were there to help out, be present, show some love, and eat some good slow food.

Slow food was the creative solution of a man named Carlo Petrini to the fast food giant McDonald's encroachment into Rome. The story told over dinner was that Mr. Petrini set up shop across from McDonald's offering free pasta and food dishes that were homemade and local to the area. Offered a choice people frequented this dining option and McDonald's was forced to retreat, or so the story goes. However it happened, this movement is now 25 years old and international. To find out more about Slow Food and see what is going on in your area check out the website here: http://slowfood.com/

The Slow Food dinner was a great event, and for this particular chapter the money earned is going towards creating school gardens which our very own farmer Sal Varri helps to establish. The food was prepared by a number of individuals whom all have a place for slow good food in their hearts and bellies. All food prepared was from local, non-gmo, and organic sources when possible. The food was so good I forgot to get pictures of it, but to list a few of the items served- raw pasta made from kelp with a tomato sauce and almond ricotta "cheese", fajitas made of local free range beef (for the carnivores) with a black bean olive brown rice addition, guacamole, macadamia nut hummus, roasted beets and carrots, quinoa, kohlrabi, carrot, radish coleslaw in a citrus vinaigrette, raw chunky dunky cookies, sugar free, gluten free, vegan carrot cake...and more.

During dinner Slow food gave awards to people in the community who are doing great things. Now is when I wish I had taken notes! Being a mommy seems to have shortened my short term memory! These people are doing wonderful things but I've forgotten their names, let their deeds be the example. One woman was a teacher who for years now has been the organizer of her school's garden, giving children who may never have seen a fresh carrot before a chance to get out and meet real food, all the while integrating math and science into gardening sessions. Another award went out to Sal Varri, who has been hosting these dinners for about 8 years. Sal has also helped to install community and school gardens and never strays from his no chemical philosophy. Let me emphasize, this means ABSOLUTELY NO CHEMICALS.  I must stress the beauty of this, as even organic farmers CAN use fertilizers and pesticides, as long as they are classified under USDA standards for organic.

The day was full of fun with people coming together bringing good energy and being grateful for the abundance around them. We ate delicious food and  breathed in the fresh air (which was also filled with good music from Lee and Helia, aka The Together Ensemble). Some people may have even seen for the first time what food looks like fresh from the earth while on the garden tour. The Slow Food dinner was a fun event with a great message and worthy cause, I encourage you to take a look at the website and perhaps put some thought into the idea behind the cause when you take your next bite, and remember- you are what you eat, literally!

Peace everyone.

P.S Pics soon!

Free Birth and Pregnancy: The Evolution of Ocean Phoenix

When I realized I was going to be responsible for the life of another, many thoughts rushed to the surface of my mind. The one thought that has made the most impact I believe in our blossoming relationship so far was how I chose to behave in my pregnancy and in birth.  Having been the guest at a friends home birthing, I already had an understanding of how psychedelic and awesome this process can if allowed to happen in a more natural setting without force or control. I knew my child would not be born in a hospital.

I dissolved myself in the wisdom of those who came before me, reading the writings of Laura Shanley and discourses of fellow home birthers. I soon realized not only would my babe be born out of hospital, there would be no doctor or midwife present. In an effort to feel powerful and deepen my understanding of the fact that I was not sick, and therefore did not require medical attention, I did not continue with prenatal visits. Instead, I fed us both a vegetarian diet and drank an herbal pregnancy tea to strength my uterus. I took walks to expose us to fresh air and practiced yoga to encourage my hips and pelvis to open and ease my softening muscles. I took vitamins occasionally and ate some DHA. I meditated and brought attention to the baby in special moments when we were alone, but did not go crazy allowing myself to take on the role of a "pregnant" girl.  

During my pregnancy I took great pleasure in NOT treating myself like a pregnant woman. Rather, I treated myself like myself. I involved myself in any and all activities that brought me joy. I practiced yoga until the day of birth, doing headstands until I was ready to burst. With little Gooby growing bigger inside of me I climbed and hiked through trails to waterfalls in a Kentucky winter wonderland at 8 months pregnant. I went to music shows and danced and danced and danced. I swam and played and enjoyed life. I wanted the growing life inside of me to have an understanding of what would be involved with being on the outside by doing all the things I would want to do if it was not on the inside.

I held true to my belief that this was what was best for us both to be as healthy and fulfilled as possible even when constantly questioned by others who just could not understand. Even those who believed in alternative approaches were sometimes hesitant after hearing of my lack of planning and denial of medical care, warning me not to let this endeavor be that of ego. To me, this was the furthest from ego as it could be. I didn't do those things to claim I could. I did them because I knew I could, and by doing so would be giving the evolving life inside of me the best I could. I believe that is all we can do, is our best. With constant awareness and practice I strive to do so. Every part of my experience that I allowed to flow freely through me rather than try to grasp and control and understand was a beautiful opening experience. 

When Ocean decided it was time, he took his time. My body prepared for his entrance slowly, early labor started 24 hours before he arrived. I had been having practice rushes for a few days before hand and had barely slept. I still wasn't sure where I wanted to birth him, and so I waited. I walked and talked and meditated allowing the process to happen. I let fear dissolve if it arose and focused on my breath. As February third continued ticking away I began to realize that Ocean would be born right where I was, in his grandmother's home. We filled the jacuzzi and waited. We didn't check for dilation until around 2 hours before his birth. By this time I was exhausted and wanted to know if I had much longer to go. My legs were shaking, the rushes more and more intense. Knowing I was dilating helped me to see the light at the end of the tunnel that had begun to seem more and more like a mirage with each rush. As I reflect back, this was also when things got more psychedelic. I began to feel as if I was hallucinating, my whole body vibrating at such an intense frequency that I could barely stay here. I felt as if I was breaking away into individual waves of vibration with no sense of their ability to be reconnected. It was amazing.

At around 9:13 Ocean was born into the hot tub. I did not even look to see the sex, we all knew it was a boy just by seeing his face. No obstetrician, no midwife, no drugs, no episiotomy, no perineal tears, no medical intervention of any kind. Nothing stood between Ocean's right to be instantly united with his mother. This baby literally swam out, opened his eyes, gave a few cries and settled into life. We waited about an hour to cut the cord, while Ocean and I got a feel for our separate selves. After the cord was cut, we drained the jacuzzi, refilled it and let the baby float.

That night we were joined by a welcoming committee that included Becka and Lucy, the mother and daughter who's own home birth I was a part of. The next few days we spent just enjoying each other, feeding, and loving. The grandmothers each had a hand in collecting, cleaning, and cutting the placenta for ingestion. That's right folks, I ate the placenta. This one thing I believe played a crucial role in what allowed me to be hiking in the woods less than 72 hours after birth. I will post a separate blog on that topic.

After living this, I want to share with everyone what we are capable of. I do not think everyone should have an unassisted birth, nor do I look down at those who believe they require a ton of medical intervention. I just want to help women be informed of the choices they have and possibly help to empower that one woman who is sitting on the fence, confused or scared because they lack the support they wish necessary to have the birth they and their child deserve. Life knows how to create itself. You did not have to think about how to get pregnant, your cells linked with those of another and did what they were created to do. It continued to grow without intervention from a doctor, or help from a concerned relative. It continued to bloom and could not be stopped. Babies know how to be born, they are building up for this time from the moment they are conceived. Every moment of their existence they become more capable of this process. To allow them to make their entry in their own time, with their own methods is the best birthday gift we could ever give them.

Ocean at 14 weeks

Ocean is a very calm, inquisitive little fellow. He wanted to hold his head high from the minute he experienced gravity. His whole demeanor is that of a being who is not afraid of life, just attuned to being life. He happily and hungrily nurses. He communicates in more ways than I sometimes believe. It is awesome to watch him grow and fulfilling to know that every moment he is building himself up from a strong foundation that encouraged him to be a part of every process of his existence.