Yoga & mindfulness inspiration for moms including Prenatal Yoga, Postnatal Yoga, Mom & Baby, Yoga Inspiration for Moms - online & in Charleston SC

Now Enrolling:
Peaceful, Present, and Prepared Birth

My (Almost) Two-Year-Old Taught Me Pranayama

I once heard David Swenson say that smoking would be a pretty healthy habit if it weren’t for all the smoke. I mean, think about it. Smokers take breaks, go outside, and for a few minutes focus on breathing. This was during a workshop I took with him several years ago, and I remember thinking to myself how completely funny it would be to start taking “smoke breaks” a few times a day–without the cigarettes, of course. When, I remembered that right outside of my office building there would be actual smokers taking real smoke breaks and the idea quickly lost all of its appeal.

I was reminded of this yesterday when I found myself at home, working up to the very last second on a writing deadline. I’m a work-from-home mom, so my strategy during these times is to keep my daughter engaged in activities so I can type-type-type… I decided I’d take my computer to the backyard to let her play while I worked. The problem with this set up, of course, is that there are too many distractions (and, as I’ve mentioned, I’m already a procrastinator–I’m learning to accept that!), so when my daughter came running up to me with a purple tube of bubbles in her hand and those sweet, hopeful eyes and said, “Bubbles, Mommy? BUBBLES!?” I thought, What the heck? I can finish this article later.  

Photo by Flickr user Stephen Dann

She watched wide-eyed as I carefully dipped the wand in the soap. I pulled it out, making sure an iridescent film covered the little circle opening. I filled my lungs. Then, slowly, carefully, and with control I breathed out one smooth breath.

“BUBBLES!! I catch them, Mommy! LOOK! A BIG one!”

Bubbles never disappoint. And it’s hard not to be completely blown away (pun intended) by witnessing toddler’s unwavering excitement at the simplest things in life. (Deadline, schmedline… Do you see all those colors?!)

After a few minutes, I realized this feeling wasn’t much different that those few moments at the beginning of every yoga session when I sit quietly to check in and notice my breath. In. Out. In. Out. Blowing bubbles is pranayama. It’s a smoke break without the smoke.

I had skipped my practice yesterday–Deadline!!–but, thanks to my daughter, I was able to squeeze in a little pranayama, practice contentment, and remember that what really matters in life isn’t necessarily what we accomplish, but how we experience it.

3 Surprising Reasons Every Baby Mama Needs a Yoga Mat (or 3!)

There are many reasons a new mom needs a good yoga mat–the most obvious (and most important!) one being that when that little cherub of yours is sleeping soundly, you’re going to need something you can do in the house to maintain your sanity (and laundry isn’t going to be much help, trust me!). It’s also a great idea to let your little one see that you take care of yourself. In the almost two years my daughter has been in this world, I’ve found there a few other practical uses for yoga mats than actually practicing yoga when you have a baby. I’ll share them below.

1. Extra padding for tummy time or learning to crawl.  
I refused to buy those ugly, squishy foam puzzle pieces and padded my floor with three yoga mats lined up in a row instead. I didn’t move them for several months. It worked beautifully, and it was awesome to practice on, too. (See below.)
2. Photo backdrop. (Capture all of your little one’s immobile moments without fussing with a wrinkly blanket!)
3. Giant diaper changing pad. Now that my daughter is almost two, she’s almost too long for a normal changing pad on the floor. She also screams “NOOOOO, Mommy!” and runs the other direction when I mention the D word. For some reason, she will actually lay relatively still on one of my yoga mats for long enough to make the change. Right now, anyway. (I should knock on wood.) 
Bonus: A rolled up mat makes an excellent (though heavy) telescope.

Review: Vernice Vita Yoga Mat

For months, I’ve been giving my yoga students a cue to press their hands into their mats so that, if it the mat were made of memory foam, it would show a complete imprint of every finger.  Like this!

I had no idea that a yoga mat made of memory foam actually exists, so when I came upon Vernice Vita memory foam mat I had to try it out! Practicing on the Vernice Vita  mat is like practicing on a cloud. It’s cushy, squishy, and supportive in a way I’ve never quite experienced from any other surface. I’ve been practicing with the half inch”Cadillac Mat” for a few weeks now, and you know what my favorite part about it is? It made me realize that when I’m in Downward Facing Dog, I actually wasn’t in the habit of pressing every finger down–even though I thought I was. It’s ah-ha moments like this that can completely change the way you approach the practice. I live for these epiphanies, so I will forever be grateful for the experience.

Pros

  • It’s like practicing on a cloud–a fluffy, cushy, luxurious, supportive, amazing cloud.
  • You can actually lift your hands and feet to SEE if your weight is distributed evenly, which is not only really cool, but useful to check out your alignment, too.
  • Since your hands and feet make an imprint on the mat, it’s almost impossible to slip. 
  • It provides amazing support for knees, elbows, hips, and other bony body parts that sometimes can be painful on a thinner yoga mat.
  • I’ve never seen anyone else using this mat in a studio, which makes me feel special and love it that much more. 
Cons 
  • I didn’t love this mat for arm balances. I prefer harder surfaces for arm balancing.
  • I have light colored animals in my house, and this bad boy collected (and showed) every stray hair and piece of white lint in my entire house. 

If you’re thinking of buying a new mat, I recommend the Vernice Vita Cadillac mat if you like extra cushion or practice a style of yoga that is therapeutic, alignment focused, restorative or yin.

BONUS!: SpoiledYogi readers can save $10 on the purchase of any Vernice Vita Yoga mats by adding the discount code SPOILEDYOGI. (Just in case you haven’t bought yourself a little something to put under the tree yet!)

A Post-Thanksgiving Yoga Practice

Today, in yoga studios and gyms across the country students everywhere will hear the same message. It’s time to work off that second helping of mashed potatoes, the pumpkin pie, the turkey leg. We have to un-do all the indulgences by working harder to burn through calories, twist a little deeper to push that toxic sludge through our bodies and fight that holiday bulge! While I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with using your yoga practice as a tool to get healthy, aid in digestion, and even ward off unhealthy food cravings (if it is done in a healthy, mindful way, of course), I’m advocating something a little different in my yoga class tonight.

Image via Flickr user Ben Dalton

Instead of being our own harshest critic when it comes to the foods we put into our bodies during the holidays, I’m advocating for acceptance and love. Instead of beating ourselves up over that second helping of mashed potatoes, let’s let ourselves be thankful for the opportunity to celebrate abundance and joy. Instead of being ashamed of the calories and afraid of what that might do to our health (or worse, to our outward appearance), let’s trust in the body’s wisdom to take the nutrients it needs and discard what it doesn’t so we can come into balance once again naturally WITHOUT harmful force or negative thinking. Instead of pushing ourselves harder, let’s strive to treat ourselves with kindness and compassionate, knowing that an indulgence (especially an indulgence that we share with our loved ones) might not be the best fuel for our bodies, but it just might be the best fuel for our spirits.

Sending love to my girl Anna Guest-Jelley for helping me to realize the how harmful the “burn through the calories” message can be for people the masses of people who struggle with body image issues everywhere.

Yoga Buns?

Maybe we should be flattered that Hardee’s is trying to use the legendary “yoga buns” to sell their artery clogging hamburgers…

Nope. I’m offended. (Of course, I’m obviously not the demographic Hardee’s is targeting here.)

Let me quickly sum up my reaction to this.

Yoga class full of only thin women with bad alignment?..  Not great for the “yoga is for everyone” movement.

Objectifying women. Yuck.

Burgers. Yuck.

Hardee’s. Yuck.

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

My Holiday Wish List

Every year I get inundated with emails from marketers hawking yoga gear for consideration in my holiday gift guide. I’m not opposed to yoga gear. I have several quality, environmentally friendly yoga mats, practical bags that help me schlepp my mat to the studio, and a beautiful collection of yoga tops and yoga pants. I have blocks, straps, bolsters, and eye pillows. I have those socks with the sticky rubber on the bottom and a special yoga towel to absorb sweat in hot classes (it should be noted that I am not a fan of hot classes so I’ve only used this towel a couple of times). And, yes, I have more yoga books, magazines, and DVDs than I can count. While I love all of my yoga “things,” I just don’t need any more.

Photo via Flickr

Here are some things I’d really like for the holiday to help my yoga practice.

1. More hours in the day. That’s right. I’d like to ask Santa for more time to practice. Maybe he could just arrange for my daughter to sleep in past 6 in the morning so I could squeeze in an hour or so of yoga before she wakes up, then I’d be set for the rest of the day. Santa is magical right? I believe he can make this happen…

2. Yoga clothes and a yoga mat that repels dog hair. I know I said I don’t need more yoga “stuff,” so if someone could just invent a non-toxic, organic, environmentally friendly spray I could douse everything I own with, that would be perfect. It drives me nuts that all of my yoga stuff seems to attract my animals’ light-colored fur. I think I’d practice more if I didn’t get fur up my nose every time I take a break in Child’s Pose.

3. A personal chef. I feel great when I eat healthy foods, and the more I practice yoga the more I want fresh, natural whole foods. But, I’ll be honest, I often have to make a choice between practicing asana and meditating or taking the time to grocery shop, chop fresh vegetables, soak beans, and prepare the best foods for myself and my family. I just haven’t figured out how to do it all. Having a personal chef to take care of the food (I’m not a great cook, anyway) so I can focus on spending time with my family and practicing yoga would make me a very happy woman.

Of course, coming into a ton of money so I could work only when I feel inspired would take care of that too… but I’m trying not to be greedy (aparigraha is one of the yamas, you know).

4. More yoga experiences. I’d love to go on a yoga retreat some time. Who actually can afford to take these? Anyone? Well, someone must because it seems like tons of yoga teachers offer yearly retreats to places like Hawaii, Mexico, Bali, and India. I’d be content with more weekend workshops in my own town with my teachers. 2014 will be my year. I can feel it!

5. More yoga students. I’m putting this out there, not because I’d like to make more money as a yoga teacher to support my desires for yoga retreats and personal chefs (though that would be great!), but because as a yoga teacher, there’s nothing in the world that inspires me more than watching students learn and grow. It’s motivation to keep learning and growing myself. I’d like more of that, please.

What’s on your list?

Got Holiday Stress? It’s Nothing You Can’t Handle.

I recently stumbled upon this video of a TED Talk by Kelly McGonigal, a yoga teacher I admire a ton who also happens to be a psychologist, author, and a all-around brilliant human being. I had to share because, well, tis the season for stress and, frankly, it’s really easy to fall into victim mode. As Kelly says in her talk, it doesn’t have to be this way. By changing our relationship to stress we can actually begin to undo some of the negative side effects of it. She explains it WAY better than I can, so go ahead, take a few minutes and watch. You will be glad you did.
 

Hosting a Vegetarian for Thanksgiving? A Few Friendly Tips

Image source.

Here’s a little reminder for all of the well-meaning folks hosting a big, old traditional Thanksgiving dinner at their houses later this week: Vegetarians don’t eat turkey.  I know it seems obvious, but I’m reminding you of this because I’ve been to many a Thanksgiving dinner where the host, who has slaved over a hot stove all day long, places a heap of stuffing on my plate with a smile. I hate asking if there are bits of turkey in it, or if it was prepared INSIDE of the beautiful bird, sacrificed in the name of tradition, but I must. “Oh… I forgot. But there’s just a LITTLE BIT in there! Can you just eat around it?” Probably not without gagging…

I know vegetarianism is a foreign concept for many people–after all, I think the most recent statistic I’ve seen said that only 10 percent of the U.S. population considers themselves to be true vegetarians. (Yes, I’m a proud, card-carrying member of the club…That was just a figure of speech, we don’t really have cards!) So, before you get all defensive and point out how you are opening your home out of the goodness of your heart, and Thanksgiving dinner is hard enough to prepare already so if we cared as much about living things as we say we do…we’d just eat what you’re serving or find some weird vegetarian hippie commune to go to instead. I get it. It’s an inconvenience. I honored that you invited me into your home and that you’re working hard to feed everyone. I know I’m the oddball, and I really feel terrible for asking you to work harder than you already have to. So don’t do anything extra if you feel that way, but please do respect my choices enough to at least LET ME KNOW which dishes you prepared with chicken stock or with bacon grease (yuck!). And could you let me know in advance if every dish you make is flavored with meat so I can bring a dish or two of my own to share?
If you do want to be accommodating to your vegetarian friends at Thanksgiving, here are a few friendly tips. 
1. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock or turkey drippings. You can make stuffing, mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes–all the traditional sides without compromising flavor or increasing your workload. Promise!
2. I know marshmallows are delicious, but unless you go to a specialty health food store to buy VEGAN marshmallows, could you just leave them off the sweet potato casserole? Marshmallows are made with gelatin, which is a fancy word for processed animal skin, ligaments, tendons, and bones (YUM!). 
3. Jell-O is also gelatin. If you use it to make your cranberry sauce, we can’t/won’t eat it. Here’s a delicious alternative. So simple… and as a bonus it’s actually made of actual food!  
4. Bacon bits might seem like a wonderful addition to salad, but we’d rather spend our time at the Thanksgiving dinner visiting with our friends and family, not picking tiny bits of pig out of our salad.
5. We already feel awkward about passing on the main course that our host worked so hard to prepare–so please don’t put us on the spot and ask us to explain why we decided to be a vegetarian in front of of everyone in the middle of the dinner. It’s kind of like asking the lone Jewish kid at a Christmas party what Santa is going to bring him for Christmas this year–it’s uncomfortable for everyone.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

It’s Not Too Late to Try SUP Yoga!
It’s officially Fall! Football is blaring from every television. The kids are back in school. Coffee, beer, muffins, and even yogurt (does anyone buy that?) are all of a sudden flavored with pumpkin spice. You might be tempted to slip on some stretchy pants, retire your bikini for the year, and let your leg hair grow out. Resist that urge.
Where I live, the tourists are gone. The people who take their boats out on the water all summer long are now at home or a nearby bar screaming at the TV (you know the football players and coaches can’t hear you, right?). This is a perfect time to hit the waterways, enjoy the mild weather, and try something active that makes you feel so much better about life than a pumpkin beer ever will. I’m talking, of course, about my newest obsession (and most definitely one of the biggest trends in yoga today) Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga (or SUP Yoga).
Here are 6 reasons to get out there and give it a go (or do it again!) while the weather is still good.
1. Perfect weather. Summer might be over, but this is when things get really lovely here in the Lowcountry. Take advantage of it. Get outside. Try something new. Watch dolphins swim by you. There’s something about being out in nature that can bring you right into the present moment–which is what yoga is all about anyway. Breathe it all in while you still can.
2. Change up your workout. You don’t have to be a yoga student (or have experience with water sports) to appreciate SUP Yoga as practice to help you get fit. You’ll learn to use your core in a whole new way, you’ll work muscles you didn’t know you had, and you’ll also have the opportunity to stretch it all out, which feels like a million bucks. And you don’t even know you’re working.
3. Have fun and gain confidence. If you’ve never been out on the water, paddleboarding looks a little daunting. But once you get your sea legs, you’ll realize that you can do it! And you’ll be able to do more yoga on the board than you think, too. Many of my students share with me that they’re sure they’ll fall overboard and make a complete fool of themselves, but I think most have been pleasantly surprised at what they’re able to accomplish during the lesson.
4. Find a new way to flow. If you’re already a yoga student, you’ll be amazed at how much concentration and core strength it takes to flow from pose to pose on a Stand Up Paddleboard. It’s a fun challenge–right up there with balancing in Handstand. You’ll love it!
5. It’s much healthier than baking. The holidays are coming, and you know what that means: Rushing around in shopping malls, annoying holiday music, and baking (or, if you’re like me, buying baked goods… pumpkin spice muffin, anyone?)
6. The practice is a beautiful reminder of one of my favorite quotes…  “You are not just a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” —  Rumi

About Spoiled Yogi

Erica Rodefer Winters is a yoga teacher who loves helping pregnant and new moms find more balance in life through yoga, meditation, self-care, and humor.

Latest Posts