What yoga is really about

"The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.”

~ T.K.V. Desikachar

Ready to go and share some 

#motherAndLittleOneYoga

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaYogaSeries

#babywearingYoga

#yoga

#hkYoga

#yogaLove

Nature III

Today let yourself be surrounded by Nature. Let it's roots ground you... it's winds help you to let go... it's waters heal you... it's fire transform you...

Today be with Mother Nature. 

Why? Cause mothers stick together. We are stronger like this.

Mothers gathering together with #ommmmmmamma #ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries 

Toddler days

Very often, after a session of running around in circles, occasional creaming, changing his mind every minute, asking for lap lap lap (and more lap!)...

... some trowing of toys and a final tantrum explosion #tumtum comes to my breast and just...

Falls 

Asleep 

Yes, most of toddler's "misbehaving" is actually spelled: t.i.r.e.d.n.e.s.s.

Here we go (I also need a nap!)

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

Traditions - Halloween

Are you joining Halloween celebrations?

What traditions do you follow with your children? 

Have you thought of this? On how the festivals you honor and the celebrations you join shape your child's beliefs and even her or his take on what a "celebration" means?

What does "party" mean to YOU? what about "gathering"; "ritual"; "honoring"; "festival"; "celebration"..?

Do you #createNewFamilyTraditions based on your own cultural background or home country? Do you join traditions from the places you visit when you travel? 

Do you give a context to these events to your child? 

Do you let them "choose" what speaks to them? Or do you just go thru the motions of getting a random Halloween costume; making a Christmas tree; light a Chinese lantern; burn incense to Ganesh... 

Remember what you choose to honor will bring a LIGHT to your life and will brighten what you believe in... This is how real, experience based beliefs and rituals takes root, grow, and bloom... Remember... And happy celebrations.

The Moon II

Big, round, full, what a Moon! 

Is it already shining up in your sky?

Are you a Moon worshiper? (Just like me... ;-))

We women are so connected to the Moon that even if we don't know, we don't care, we don't want to hear about it, every particle of our being celebrates, re-borns, hides away in seclusion and brightly gets out in the open (attracting like a magnet the life filled ones)... with every Moon, and it's cycles.

Yes, just like the tides, the crops and the sky, WE, WILD daughters of the Earth, live with the Moon.

And what do you do? How do you feel? Is it your body giving you the signs that just let you guess "oh must be a full moon tonight"? Are your emotions your sky map? Or do you follow a specific "Moon practice"? Do you join Red tent meetings or meditation circles?

Do you cut your hair on the crescent moon and do you create manifestation rituals on the Dark Moon, or fast during the eclipse?

And what about your children? Do you feel it affects them? Maybe the sleep, the energy? For sure the creativity!

Was your child born on a full Moon? Or did you feel your waters moved by it's powers? 

The Moon and creation, pregnancy, birth, naming ceremonies, initiation rituals... are meaningful partners. And every month we are given an opportunity to honor this Magic.

Moons and babies...

Did you know the Chinese term for full moon also means "full month"? In China it is custom to hold a celebration party when a baby turns one month old. How beautiful! This coincides with the end of the new mum's confinement period, so this is the first time the extended family and friends meet the new baby.

Inspiring traditions!

With the FULL MOON our nervous systems become more sensitive so you might fell like you just want to be with yourself, nourish your soul and spend time alone to go deeper inside. Although being a mum rarely gives us any time by ourselves (no, not even in the bathroom!) bare in mind that the full moon affects us all, so try to engage in family activities (if you must) that can also help your children to connect to their emotions.

Ommmmmmamma activities short list for these days:

WRITE in your #moonjournal (don't have one yet? Start today! Keep one for your child too!)

GROUND yourself (walking barefoot outside is great!)

SELF-CARE (love your day, love your life. Do something you love just for your own pleasure)

CLEANSING (add sea salt to your bath and let it wash away any negativity).

You might feel emotional and restless tonight, and it will not help that your child might be feeling... Just the same way... Yes, I know how overwhelming it can be. Be gentle with yourself, if you can go outside and soak in the full moon rays, and don't forget, the best way to channel the strong emotional times is to Be CREATIVE!

#ommmmmmammaMoonSeries

#ommmmmmamma

My pregnancy - week 12

(Or... Why do I call my son "tumtum")

My body shows hardly any change but I feel very... Pregnant. 

All my energy changed, my mind, my breath, (my tired legs!) all speak of you.

 
Many say this is too soon to feel pregnant but I do not hear them... I feel you... Inside.
It's my first pregnancy, and I dream of you. 
Yesterday I was lying in bed, both my hands resting on my tummy, feeling so excited to feel it grow, to feel you grow. 
Yesterday I was lying in bed and for the first time I am sure I felt you. 
I felt bubbles inside, like butterflies when you fall inlove but... Different.  
I felt movement inside, like if a little fish was swimming around but... Different.
I felt a heartbeat inside, like if I could feel mine but... Different...
I heard your fast, gentle "tumtum" "tumtum" "tumtum" for the first time and even felt it against my hand!

From now on I will be calling you tumtum, cause my Love for your heart... has started.

How about you? How was your 12th week of pregnancy?

(This first image is an old picture of me and my son doing yoga together.

You might not see it, but we are...)

#ommmmmmammaYogaSeries

#ommmmmmammaDoulaSeries

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

(This text was first written by #ommmmmmamma for #sacredPregnancy)

Spiritual practice

When we go to temples in Hong Kong my son asks for the money to put in the donations box and immediately looks for the incense sticks to burn. In India he loves to apply tikka (the sacred powder or ashes you get from the poojas) in my third eye. And in Portugal he has spontaneously kneeled at Fatima sanctuary. It is not a surprise, children are more connected to source and more attuned with a... sacred way to see things. 

I never sat to tell my son about any Gods or Spirits. I never taught him how to worship (and believe it requires no teaching at all), but I just allowed him to... Follow what speaks to him. Sometimes he joins me singing Om in my meditations. Most times he does caress the trees and salutes the animals. He is often curious and asks about the little temples or altars we find in our walks and other times he... does it his way.

What about you? What spiritual practices your child loves? Which ones you share with them? And what magic you create together...?

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

The Moon

tumtum has been extra sensitive last couple of days, I have heard other mums around us reporting the same and I say the Moon is to blame. 

Do you follow the moon and trust Her cycles to give insight and guidance to your moods and needs? Have you thought of extending this to your learning of your child's inner world? The moon is a powerful influence in our lives, and babies and children - as they are more pure and in tune with nature - feel all of it very deeply. 

#ommmmmmamma practices that can help you through this? 

Create a moon journal.

Grab a notebook - you can invite your son to decorate it with you and make it worth it of unique moon magic - and every moon phase write down your emotional story, make a record (through words or art) of what happens with you and your child, how you feel, what you do, what cravings you have, what moods and victories you experience. 

If you are new to this practice I suggest you start with one of the phases - like the New Moon, or the Full Moon - and slowly build up to fill all of your sky map. I can guess you need only a few months to be able to visit your journal and make sense out of your emotional records. 

Enjoy

Moon

Magic

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

#ommmmmmammaMoonSeries

Sharing some wisdom on the Moon and it's precious cycles with the little sage (an inspiring page I follow!):

http://www.thelittlesage.com/following-the-rhythms-of-lunar-cycles/

Focus

Today focus on what is important to you.

I find this a great technique, when everything seams to fall apart, many sleepless nights (is it teething?) and tantrum filled days... I give myself some moments in the beginning of my day to set my intention and decide: "What am I going to FOCUS on today?'" and I even have this line written in my bathroom tiles, just above the shower head! It helps me to remember ;-)

What about you? What techniques do you use to guide your day?

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

Honor nap times

Honor nap times

Like crazy! 

Honor this like crazy.

It happens often that a huge frustration meltdown bursts just when I want to "do something"; "go somewhere"; "get something done"... Does it happen to you?  And have you asked yourself why? 

We get so busy with this need of "achieving" that we don't see the ones around us.

I forget to answer to my sons needs, I ignore his signs and postpone listening to him... 

And very simply - this can't be done. 

For me most of the "motherhood frustration" comes from this illusion that "after I get this done I will solve that". 

It does not work. 

And before you jump saying that "children are little dictators" and just "can't have it their way all the time", think, why is it that he or she might be so intransigent with his needs...?

Your child knows very little about what "self-restraint" is. To control a thought, a desire, a word... He doesn't know how to do it, and more than this - they do not understand WHY should they do such thing! Cause if you need something, please speak up, right? 

Right... Haven't you been yourself re-learning this...?

So listen to your master, look at him, connect, accept the limitations this little body has... Listen to his needs for cuddles, for food, for... Rest.

Honor time for rest.

Because with me, every time everything seams to fall apart, just a few seconds after, when I accept to have him with me, when I give in to doing what I know works best - connect - I just look at him and see a Tired being, that grabs my breast to just...

Fall

Asleep 

In a matter of seconds, it all makes sense again. Off we go - I need a nap myself.

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

Self-care

Did you also...? Learned about self care, or new ways for self care, only since you became a mother?

For me it happen like this. Before I was a mother I would regularly, and simply,

take. care. of myself. 

It was not a ritual, it was not even a routine, it was just... my "normal" me. 

Everyday I would take my time under a long shower; save some space for a daily gentle yoga stretch; choose to spend uplifting time out with friends; would regularly walk in nature, or just take the long way home enjoying the waterfront view and the taste of the salty air in my mouth... I would join yoga classes and group meditation sessions often to boost my personal practice; and I would feed my soul with good music concerts or just a good book by the pool. 

Before I became a mother I would journal by the moon... and I used to publish my writing; teach acting; perform on stage and... Just travel a lot. All my passions, would be part of each one of my days.

It all changed. 

Huge changes taught me how precious was this "normal me" time. How wise was my dedication to live for pleasure and to celebrate my passions. 

Huge changes brought huge teachings... 

Since I have become a mother I have learned how self care can happen out of the yoga mat; outside of the massage room; away from the ocean (or even away from a quick shower for a couple of days!)...

As mothers it is so important to realize how much self care is needed, yes (more than ever!), but it is crucial to accept it might have changed shape and form...

I do encourage you (and myself!) to take time to go for that massage, that swim at sunrise, that walk by the moonlight (if you can!) but also, to change your perspective... You see...

Since I become a mother I love myself more, and as I appreciate the sacredness of this new path, accepting it's challenges... I find myself stretching further, deeper... But a new kind of stretch, a stretch for the mind... To meet parts of my being I didn't know existed (or could be this flexible!).

Self-care is a choice, a focus, a mindful way of being.

And now, sometimes, self-care happens inside my head, while I nurse my baby, or carry him on my lap, and I close my eyes...

Breathing in

Deeply

The current blessings of my life.

Self care now happens when I choose to tune in inside of me. 

And I have been wondering: did it ever really happen elsewhere?

Enjoy, your #motherhoodAwakenings

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

(This text was first written by #ommmmmmamma for #theGratefulGoddess / #sacredbeginnings)

Words

"Be gentle."

"Be gentle, baby."

"Oh but be gentle, it's a friend."

"Look, it's a snail. It's ok, won't hurt you, be gentle to it."

"Please be gentle to me, I am sorry..."

Realizing this is the sentence I must often use with my son: Be gentle.

Have you thought of it? What is the word, or group of WORDS, you most repeat during your day...?

And how do they sound to you? 

And how does it affect your child?

Have you heard him or her repeating it? Maybe to his toys, in a dream, or to other kids...? 

It is when I hear my words out of my son's mouth that I become aware of the immense power they hold.

And thinking...

What I say to my son is what I want to say to he world.

Because it is through him that I mother the worlds around me... And that I mother myself... 

So what am I saying to myself, every time I speak to him?

What is there inside of me, so ready to come out?

Find your words, they hold the power of a holly mantra.

Honor your words for they hold sacred meaning.

#motherhoodMedicine

#motherhoodmantra

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

This text was first written by Ommmmmmamma for #theGratefulGoddess / #sacredbeginnings

Connect

Today CONNECT with your child.

You might feel you are connected all the time, specially if you are a #newmum, so busy (sometimes lost) with all your newborn needs; or a full time mother, with the non ending tasks of a toddler's routine... 

But I am not talking of the connection of preparing food and trying to feed your child, or bathing, dressing him, taking him out for playtime... I am talking of a deeper... a... Mindful connection. A connection that wants to change nothing and is not rushing for any specific outcome. A connection that just... Accepts what IS. And embraces it. Reaches out to feel it all, right now, even if the present moment is unpleasant. 

Connect with your child, with no request for adjustments or alterations. 

Hug your son or stare for a few minutes at your daughter's eyes. Dance with your baby or do yoga with your little one. Or just sit, and listen to it all. Today connect. And just keep in mind it requires acceptance... no judgment... dropping of all expectations.

#ommmmmmamma

#motherAndLittleOneYoga

#yoga

#hkYoga

#yogaLove

#ommmmmmammaYogaSeries

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

Use your wings

Yoga for the day:

You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?

~ Rumi 

#ommmmmmamma

#yoga

#yogaLove

Utthita Trikinasana (extended triangular pose)

Stretches and strengthens the thighs, knees, and ankles;

Stretches the hips, groins, hamstrings, and calves; shoulders, chest, and spine;

Stimulates the abdominal organs;

Helps relieve stress;

Improves digestion;

Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause;

Relieves backache, especially through second trimester of pregnancy;

Therapeutic for anxiety, flat feet, infertility, neck pain, osteoporosis, and sciatica (Yoga Journal)

And if you do it babywearing... (Can you spot tumtum tight to my chest?) it definitely deepens your connection with your child.

Celebrate this year's international week of babywearing, share your images!

#intlbabywearingweek

#babywearingintl

#IBW2015

The way we spend our days is indeed the way we spend our lives... How many have you spent like this? Share your yoga inspirations!

#ommmmmmamma

#babywearingYoga

#yoga

#hkYoga

#yogaLove

#ommmmmmammaYogaSeries

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

Yoga for the day

Storms make trees take deeper roots.

#ommmmmmamma

#motherAndLittleOneYoga

#babywearingYoga

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

Motherhood Chakras

#Motherhoodchakras

I am safe - Muladhara or Root chakra

I am creative - Svadhisthana or Sacral 

I am strong - Manipura or Solar plexus 

I am loved - Anahata or Heart chakra 

I am expressive - Vishudha or Throat chakra 

I am connected - Ajna or Third eye

I am divine - Sahasrara or Crown chakra

Which one of these affirmations you feel empowered in your motherhood path? Which one you feel hurt... Dimmed... Broken?

We all talk a lot about the physical changes after giving birth, but I have been meaning to ask you... How was it? In the beginning, how was it in your energetic level... How do you feel motherhood affected your... chakras?

So what did it open? What did motherhood open for you or what chakras feel out of balance?

Root chakra is about our sense of safety and grounding... 

Have you thought how this Chakra is your support? Not only for yourself but during pregnancy also for your womb (and the baby inside).

And I think of all those stories of empowerment giving birth, of deep connection to the moment of opening for your baby, of orgasm even! Or... the other stories, of trauma, of loss... Or violence... How does this mark your ground chakra? Is there scar tissue - physical or metaphorical - have you come into motherhood with fear..? Did you fear for your own life giving birth to another (and how much tragic poetry lives in this!)?

Did becoming a mother brought you fears about your financial situation for example. Did your own concept of safety, comfort, grounding changed?

How about your sacral chakra, the sexual organs (the womb) and all the experiences they carry, all our stories. The emotions, the pleasure and the energy we can get from them. And the energy from the people we chose to share them with.

Did you know for Tao philosophy this part of our bodies, our sexual and reproductive organs, is the origin of all energy (and all health)? 

Did you know for women that went trough sexual abuse giving birth can be particularly... challenging?

Motherhood and Creating, these are indeed two aspects than meet in the 2nd chakra.

Criativity and sexuality go together, what does this means to you? 

Manipura, the solar plexus chakra, this means "precious gem".

Take your hand there and feel your navel area and your belly button, how does it feel? Warm? Cold? 

This chakra is very connected to pregnancy and the new sense of commitment that comes with it.

This does not mean commitment only to your child but to yourself and to the connecting between the Divine, the Mother Earth that lives in you.

Anahata chakra.

What changes you feel in your heart? How did motherhood change your capacity to Love, to love others, yes. But how did it change the way you love yourself?

Throat chakra: is your truth louder, more constant, less apologetic?

Do you find yourself singing more often (and better!)?

Ajna chakra, your third eye and all it's teachings... Is your intuition more open now? Stronger? Did it stay, just like you felt during pregnancy, stronger and more alive? 

Do you find yourself just knowing things? 

Do you act, talk and think with more flow, less self doubt, much more trust in your "gut feeling", in your own sensibility?

Or is it your crown chakra you feel stronger? Cause now you see the spiritual power of your existence and you can even feel the sacredness beyond the diaper change, the potty training, the teething nights. 

Do you see your spiritual connection to this child (children) and the meaning beyond your earthly relationship?

Kundalini energy is said to kind of climb up our bodies, from shakti to shiva, from root to crown chakra. It says there is vital, potent spiritual energy coiled up like a snake in the base of our spine, ready to move up. Who knowns, maybe that's why we have lower back pain during pregnancy, and this is what giving birth is all about.

;-)

Did you know the Baby Glow that blesses everyone of us during pregnant comes from our double chakra system?

"Double?"

Yes, the one from the mother and the one from the baby inside.

Enjoy your chakra activation sacred path new Woman.

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaMotheringSeries

(Text first written by Ommmmmmamma for #sacredBeginnings / #theGratefulGoddess )

Be sensitive

When you listen to yourself, everything comes naturally. It comes from inside, like a kind of will to do something. Try to be sensitive. That is yoga.

~ Petri Räisänen

#ommmmmmamma

#ommmmmmammaYogaSeries