The Four Gates - a portal to enhancing relaxation

The Four Gates

Tui Na is pediatric chinese massage.  From this tradition comes the 'Four Gates'  - a massage practice to enhance relaxation, relieve pain, soothe nervousness, and calm sleeplessness.  Anyone saying YES YES PLEASE! when they think of their kids?

Massage is an easy way to connect with your kiddo, relax yourself and them, and create health and wellness for the entire family.  I suggest making it an everyday practice with babies and as often as you can with your kids as they get older.

When including regular massage and relaxation with your little ones consider adding this to your repertoire...the four gates.   Rubbing the soft point between the thumb and the index finger (see below)

and then between the toe and second toe webbing.  Gently press and/or rub in small gentle circles.  During massage you can use any organic oils you use in your kitchen (except chili oils!).  Coconut oil is cooling, olive and apricot oils are nourishing, and sesame oil is recommended for everyone (except those with sesame allergies).

As you massage these points come to your breath - inhaling and exhaling long and slow.  Focusing your attention and breath on the movement of the ribs - opening on the inhale and relaxing on the exhale.  Breathe audibly so your child has the opportunity to pace their breath with yours - teaching each other to relax.

After massage the four gates gently rub from your child's head down the body to the toes.  Place your hands on their heart center and let them know when you have completed the massage.  

And then it happens.....

You 'do' yoga.  You have practiced for awhile - maybe years.  You practiced during pregnancy and now bring the munchkin with you to class.  The practice of yoga can offer relief from physical body tension and fatigue. Did you know how much motherhood would shift your physical body AFTER the baby was born?  Yoga offers the chance to get to know the NEW you.  It creates the opening for a shift.  A shift - notice the shift.  Consciously bring the breath into the body.  Allow the body to accept and embrace the prana - the life force.  Sometimes it happens in yoga.  You can focus on you!  Even if it is briefly.  And when you do the most amazing things happen.

You nourish your soul through the physical practice of yoga.  You take care of your SELF.  You breathe life in and out as you move.  You refine your efforts - Sthira.  You recognize and encourage the ease - Sukha.
All the while your baby is near bathed in the energy of your Sukha and Sthira - your effort and your ease.  The constant is the breath.  Even through effort and we all know effort, we can find the ease with the breath. On the mat and off the mat.  Creating a resonance for your child to also learn. Through your yoga practice you teach your child the balance between effort and ease.  You pave the path for their future with this balance.

And then it happens in class one day.  You are in tree pose and your LO comes toddling over, looks at you, glances around the room, and decides from the spot deep within of effort and ease - I CAN DO THAT TOO!  You are standing next to another being creating balance between effort and ease - and you are both in tree pose.  A smile crosses your face, you might feel a rush of energy.  Bask in the connection, in the balance.  Feed yourself and your child!

Namaste.

And then it Happens....

Pausing

Pausing

Almost every time I sit to eat I take time, a breath, say a prayer.  Give thanks.  I pause.  Awakening the sacred within the moment.  Becoming more conscious, I begin to recognize the importance of the stillness - however long.  Do you ever find yourself at the end of the day, exhausted, wrung out, barely able to catch your breath?  Wondering where the day went?

This is why I connect back to the prana, the sacred life in food. I take the opportunity to create ritual within the everyday pedestrian act of eating.   I have made a pact with myself and in essence the lifeforce I am renewing myself with - the food, to pause, recognize my amazing body, how fortunate I am, and proceed in gratitude.

Taking this brief time will boost digestive functioning, increase nutritional absorption, strengthen the immune system,  activate creativity.  By acknowledging the sacred in my everyday life I am healthier, happier, and I have more confidence in myself.

Creating a space dedicated to honoring these sacred elements in life.  A table with flowers, affirmations, a candle, incense, photos, mementos.  Just a place where I pause, breathe, allow the beauty of life to inspire me, uplift me.  A place where I remind myself how awesome I am and how much I love my life! Inviting loved ones to join me, sharing a blessing, a breath, a moment.

From the food I eat to the way I drive down the road.  From the internal self talk to the exquisite feeling of water running over the body.  I pause * I pause * I bow *  Building this sacredness from the inside out.

Belly Breathe

Belly Breathe...that's how you do it.

A friend posted this video on her facebook page and I LOVE it!

Conscious breathing changes EVERYTHING.  I teach kids all different styles of pranayama and they respond positively.  Not only that - they do it on their own!  At school, at home and with friends.
I guess this whole yoga with kids thing - including conscious breathing - is going mainstream when Sesame Street includes the techniques in their show :)  Awesome.  If kids learn to breathe with awareness...when they are mad or sad, we can change the world.  When kids learn to slow their breath down and relax we can  teach them to create a sanctuary within - regardless of what is happening around them.

Belly Breathe




Sometimes this means we have to learn to breathe!  With all the stress, lack of sleep, and rushing parents do in their lives it's no surprise breathing isn't on the top of your list.  I will say - when you learn AND teach your kids conscious breathing you can shift your world.  Parents tell me about it all the time.  Just yesterday a sweet momma told me about her 11 month old daughter doing long deep breathing with her when she starts meltdown.

You can do it too!

Send me an email if you are interested and we can make a plan to get your family breathing!
Have fun, create more relaxation and make space in your life and your kiddos.

Inhale.....and exhale

Why didn't anyone tell me.....

Becoming a new mom is unbelievable.  The ups and the downs - all amplified by the flow of hormones - seem to run our lives during those first months.  Why didn't anyone tell me it would be so hard?  The thing I wonder is - would you have HEARD it?  Not because you are consternatious or anything like that - but because in our culture we have an almost unhealthy obsession with pregnancy and birth.  We take classes, we have blessing ways/showers, we go to yoga, we read books, we talk to others about the details.  Where in all of this do we prepare for the time with the baby?  We don't.  And yet it happens.  We make it through the pregnancy and the birth...hurrah!    Then suddenly, there you are - at home with your baby.  Now what?
The baby is eating, eating, eating.  You are exhausted.  Where is everyone that was so supportive during the pregnancy now?  Diapers, eating, crying, exhaustion.

Why didn't anyone tell me:
*how hard breastfeeding is
*how exhausted I am
*I would feel so alone
*I may not love my baby

These any many many other experiences of motherhood can be shocking.  With the amount of focus on pregnancy and birth it is hard to believe the postpartum period of birth - or the babymoon - is neglected.

Amongst all that you are doing to care for your baby YOU have to care for yourself.  It seems impossible to take time for yourself but you have to.  Doing ONE thing a day to nurture yourself.

*take a shower
*make a cup of tea
*talk to a friend
*go to a support group
*take a walk
*get to a yoga class
*get a manicure
*hire a postpartum doula
*talk to a professional
*get a massage

Fill your cup.  Noone survives with an empty cup.  The postpartum period is tough.  Noone can really tell you - you just have to live through it.  Get support, make connections, recognize your strength!

Flying by the seat of your pants

The intricacies of breastfeeding are astounding!  I think in our culture we lead women down a path that breastfeeding is 'natural'.  You just put the baby up there and they will know what to do.
Of course - if you know me you know I think the 4th trimester is more surprising than pregnancy or even birth.

Recently, I have been listening to new moms considering the components of their job description.
Now - you knew you would feed your kid (one way or another), change diapers, and be responsible for another being. Did you know you would also be a:

*entertainer
*protectress
*janitor
*mommy to a new baby - Daddy and the dog
*chef
*researcher
*available 24/7
*self sustainer
*activities director
*hairstylist
*nap buddy


Think about it some more - let your imagination run wild.  Acknowledge the amazing you!  Every second of the day you are resourceful.  Managing your new role without a job description and never getting an evaluation or review.....you are doing it!
Flying by the seat of your pants - as it is often known.

And as you choose conscious parenting - you become more centered in yourself.  Knowing, softening, acknowledge the beauty and strength within you as a parent.  Also 'seeing' and accepting the challenges, the struggles, the fears and anxieties.  Uniting the body and the breath with every step.

Let's add

*knowing yourself

as one of the things on your job description.  Once you step into that space - your radiance uplifts you and your family.  You connect with Spirit in a way that feeds YOU through all of this.

And speaking of feeding....more on breastfeeding in the next post.

Mamaste!

Who Am I?

As women in our society we pride ourselves on being strong, competent, and go-getters (at least some of us do). We make a plan and then make it happen. Then comes pregnancy.

This week I met with a new mom (19 weeks) who has a strong Vinyasa practice. We sat down to talk about....what do I do now? What is happening to me? Why can't I do what I used to do? What should I change? I listened to her anxieties: the extreme changes her body is going through to create a new life and the sometimes extreme adjustment it takes to get used to it.

Moms have shared with me:

• the inability to think clearly, aka "momnesia"
• soreness in places you didn't know could be sore
• anxiety
• insomnia
• fear

As yoginis we are on a constant quest for the Self. Through all experience, emotional influences, and physical challenges we search. So through this intense, amazing, and unique experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood you will continue along your path on your quest. 

The constant throughout life is breathing. 

So BREATHE NOW.

That's all. 

Give yourself and your child the gift of prana. 

Refill your cup.

To find classes with DeLora and refill your cup,
visit Hill Country Yoga.