Why 11.11.11 Is a BIG Deal!

Are you wondering what all the hoopla is about for the date 11.11.11?  Other than the fact that it is Penelope's second birthday?  :)  


It is an auspicious day to say the least.


According to Numerology, 11 is a Master Number, representing the fulfillment of the soul's striving and mastery of a type rarely seen on earth.  It reflects the transformation of the physical into the Divine.


According to Yogi Bahn, it is also the day the Age of Aquarian begins.  You know, the age people started talking and singing in the 60's.  Well, it will be here soon.  Just fyi, the Age of Aquarius is also know as the Age of Information, when information is available to all, in turn aiding in healing and transformation. 


11.11.11 is an opportunity to really feel the Divine Spirit alive within you and in your life.  An opportunity to connect to it more easily.  There will be a massive influx of Light on this day, and many people will be meditating and doing yoga simultaneously.


I am pretty excited about it!


If you would like to participate, here are some websites that are doing global meditations:


One Breath, One World


Era Of Peace from 11:00-11:11a


If you are local, Abundance Wellness Center will be hosting some free yoga classes as a way to celebrate.




Here are some ideas about how to make your day more special, sacred and connect to this energy and light:


1. Meditate or go to a Yoga class.  If you have never meditated before, try this one.  Super easy.  If Meditating is not your thing, go to church and spend some time in prayer.


2.  Be mindful as you go about your day. Note every action and thought, try not to be on auto-pilot.


3.  Be self reflective.  Look back over the last couple of months or even the past year.  Think about the times you were your Best Self and the times you were not your Best Self.


4.  Make an intention to connect deeper with Divine/Spirit and your Authentic Self (the REAL you, beneath all your fake social masks that you have built up over your life, to help you cope with trauma from your childhood or from any period in your life). 


5. Make an intention to have all your actions come from the Light of God/Universe.  I think the term "What Would Jesus Do?" is so lame and misrepresented (but stemmed from a good place), but maybe come up with your own Heart's Question/Deepest Question.  


I hope you all have a wonderful Spirit-filled day on 11.11.11!! I am so looking forward to spending this day with my daughter as we celebrate her birthday, I am not sure what we are going to do, but it will be a day filled with Love and Light.


What are your plans/intentions?





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Yoga Mama's Way to Reduce Frustration

It's been a frustrating couple of days with Penelope being so sick. She has had two colds before this, but this Roseola really threw her for a loop and she was miserable for almost a week.  Constantly crying and cranky and wanting to be held and wanting to nurse all the time.  It reminded me of a colicky newborn who just cried. all. day. long.

By the end of the week, I was at the end of my rope, and several times I had to do some serious deep breathing to keep from screaming at her.  The urge to scream was so strong!  

On top of that, Peter and I are still at each other's throat's these days. So instead of having a doting partner, once she is asleep, to help restore me after a long day.  I have another battle to fight.

So Monday night, I dove into a bottle of red wine and a box of cookies.  That got me through the evening and Tuesday I was adamant about starting fresh and remembering and implementing healthier ways to reduce my frustration.

I remembered something my energy healer/therapist told me about before I even met Peter.  She told me to rip up newspapers or paper grocery bags as a way to process and release anger and frustration.

What triggered the memory, is I had just gone to the grocery store and forgot my cloth bags so I had 10 brown paper grocery bags in the kitchen.

So I took them all down and put on the floor of the kitchen.  I told Penelope we were going to play a game and that it was going to help Mama with her anger. I told her that I have lots of frustration pent up and that I needed to get it out!!

Then I started ripping the bags as loudly and dramatically I as I could!!

I was even grunting and was sighing heavily, to entertain Penelope and in an effort to get more of the pent up negative energy out.  Penelope helped and joined in too.  Mostly, she watched me very intently.

When I ripped every last bag, I rubbed my hands together and then shook them over the pile.  I told her that we are going to shake, shake shake our anger out!  There is a song she loves, called Shake, Shake Shake your sillies out, so she thought this part was awesome.

Then we did a couple of deep breaths and Om's and cleaned up our mess.  It made me feel better and I was happy to have used this opportunity to teach Penelope how to deal with her emotions.  I want her to know that its ok to be mad, but that it needs a constructive outlet so it doesn't get taken out on somebody else.

I still needed to do some yoga, and I was thankfully able to go to a yoga class that night.

It reminded me of my two favorite yoga poses for when I am about to loose it and need to calm down.

Child's Pose and Reclined Bound Angle Pose.  Both are what I consider "close circuit" poses.  What I mean by close circuit, is that your body becomes a sort of circle or loop, and the energy meridians have an opportunity to reboot, rebalance and realign your parasympathetic nervous system.

Child's pose is so easy, but it can be difficult for some people if they have tight hips.  In that case, you can spread your knees far apart or lift your pelvis up and put a blanket under  your bottom.  You can also  stack up blankets and put them underneath your chest and lean over them if you can't actually get your head to the floor.

You can have your arms outstretched in front for an additional shoulder stretch or down by your sides.  I think arms down by your sides is more restorative and more "closed circuit".

For Reclined Bound Angle Pose lie on your back and bring the soles of the feet together.  Your feet can be as close or as far away from your body as you want them.  You can place blankets under your back and under each knee for an even more restorative version.  Then place your hands over your stomach and clasp them together somehow that is comfortable for you.

Don't you love how I am doing yoga in the middle of a mess of toys.  You know its Mama Yoga when.

Then BREATHE.

Benefits of Baby Yoga

From the book, Itsy Bitsy Yoga, by Helen Garabedian, the Top Twelve Reasons Why Babies and Toddlers Need Yoga:

1. To help them sleep better and longer
2. To improve digestion and ease gas pain
3.To turn fussiness into happiness
4. To promote a healthy, physically fit lifestyle
5.To strengthen the parent-child bond
6. To increase neuromuscular development
7.To cultivate self-esteem and positive body image
8. To boost the immune system
9. To reduce stress and develop relaxation techniques
10. to reduce anxiety
11. To increase body awareness
12. To aid the natural development of movement from birth to walking

2 Minute Mama Yoga

Got two minutes?

Good! Do some yoga!

Full hour yoga classes are very few and far between these days. In truth, I have been to one, count em, one yoga class since I was pregnant. BUT I try and do yoga in small snippets whenever I can.


I like this little routine because its super fast and effective in relieving any tight back muscles.  It's basically a standing variation of down dog, cat/cow and cobra, which makes it a great routine if you are pregnant too!

First, start by holding on to the back of your couch, or table, or counter, or whatever the hell you want-as long as it can really hold your weight. Then bend your knees and put your weight into your heels, and move your bottom away from the couch, giving your shoulders a nice stretch, and warming up your back and legs.  Sky, the healthy doggie, likes to participate in yoga time too.

Then straighten your legs and press your chest towards the floor and your shoulder blades together. 

This is a modified Down Dog. Your feet should be hip distance apart. The more you drop your chest down, the deeper the stretch will be.  Make sure your back is flat.  You can experiment with the intensity of the stretch based on how far away your feet are from the couch.  The more you move them away, the deeper the stretch will be in your calves. 

And make sure you are breathing!  As long as you are breathing you are doing yoga, no matter what your body looks like in the pose.

The next pose is a nice side stretch and stretch for your spine, such a great stretch if you have a tendency to carry your baby on your hip. You are making a C shape, or a crescent shape, with your upper body. Stretch on one side and then the other. Use the the couch and the floor for resistance to get a deeper stretch.

Next is cat/cow. The picture above is of cat pose, its called that, because you arch your back up like a scared cat. Tuck your pelvis under and move your chin to your chest. Again, use the couch and the floor as resistance. You should feel a stretch all down your spine and in between your shoulder blades.

For cow you keep your hands on the couch (or you can put them on your knees) like you have been and bring your pelvis to the couch, so your hip bones are touching the couch. Your legs are pretty straight, but can have a bend in them if that is more comfortable for you. Your elbows are bent and your shoulders are down, rolled away from your ears. You are looking up at the ceiling. This is a great stretch to open up your chest and shoulders.

Now go do some yoga!

Baby/Tot Yoga: I Love You

This pose is a Penelope favorite. She soaks up all the eye contact and love. For babies that still don't mind being on their back, lay them down with their feet going towards your body. Take their hands and bring them into the middle of their chest. This simple action of bringing their hands to the midline of their body, helps them with crawling and clapping. And then you say Iiiiiii!




















Next, bring their arms out wide, give them a big stretch, but be gentle. Remember, the younger the baby, the slower your movements should be, so they can process what you are doing. As their arms are out wide, you say Llllloooooovvveeee!

Then bring their arms back to the midline of their chest, but cross one hand over the other and sort of rock them back and forth and say Yyyyooooouuuuu!
Do this several times. For older babies and toddlers, who don't want to lay down, you can do this with them sitting in your lap, facing out to be able to look around.

Just FYI, most of the baby yoga poses I post, I learned at my Itsy Bitsy Yoga training. The founder and creator, Helen Garabedian, has a great book and dvds that you can purchase to help your home practice. Or you can go to her website and try and find a class near you!