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Friday, February 27, 2009
Y - You! O - OMG! G - Go For It! A - Ahhhhh!
As many of you know, I teach a lot of pre-natal yoga at a studio in Santa Monica called Yo Mama Yoga. Here is an article filled with tidbits that I recently wrote for a yoga magazine:
Yoga, when used in pre and post natal, can become an acronym that stands for:
Y - You!
O - OMG!
G - Go For It!
A - Ahhhhh!
You! - Take time to tune into your breath and your body. With the world spinning between your everyday life, your husband, your job, and the opinions of everyone and their mother, (not to mention his mother) take time to tune into your body, your intuition, and your true self. The little space that sits behind your heart will tell you exactly what you need to do and where you need to go. It'll help guide you to decide which baby carriage to buy and what name to choose. Those are important decisions, so take time to tune into this intuition. Yoga allows that time to focus completely on you. At Yo Mama Yoga, we do this by tuning into your breath, your body, your baby, and how you feel today.
OMG (Oh, my gosh)! - This is what so many new moms say when they hear the experiences of other moms during the introduction part of yoga class. Prenatal yoga is just as much about the community as it is about the stretching and tuning in. Where else do you run into other people who are going through exactly what you are going through? These ladies can truly empathize with your nausea, your lack of bladder control when you sneeze, or that funny waddle you seem to have adopted making you feel like Donald Duck everywhere you go. The stories you hear in prenatal yoga will make you not only say "OMG", but will make you giggle, make you grateful, and most importantly, feel not so alone.
Go For It! - Instead of complaining about the aches and pains, take the time to embrace every moment and piece of your pregnancy. Although the nausea and waddling isn't too much fun, the exercises of yoga will help you get through it. The flow of each pose will get your circulation going, allowing your body to rebalance, and make you feel better overall. In addition, classes at Yo Mama Yoga focus on strengthening certain muscles like the Kagels and the upper thighs that we often don't pay attention to, but can come in very handy during and after the birthing process. (Kagels are the tiny muscles we use to control the flow of urination). When we become aware of these muscles, and strengthen them, we can use them to either contract the birthing canal, or completely relax the canal to open it up. In addition, we strengthen the upper thighs which help to support those loose hips in the last stages of pregnancy, when the hormones create more fluid between the hip joints, causing that awkward waddle. Also, if faced with hours and hours of our legs in those stirrups (yuck!), strong upper thigh muscles can really come in handy. And who doesn't want strong leg muscles in any chapter of their lives? So, embrace your pregnancy, strengthen muscles you never knew you had, and completely go for each and every piece of this adventure.
Ahhhhh! - At the end of yoga, we take plenty of time to calm down our bodies, letting everything re-align, and making time to completely relax. When you are relaxed, the baby is relaxed. Take time to calm down your nervous system. At Yo Mama, we do a three part breathing exercise that does this and forces us to take deep breaths. We inhale in thirds, where the first third comes in through our tummy, the second third expands our ribcage, and the last third opens up our heart. Then we completely let it all go, exhale, and relax. We draw attention to these three parts by placing our right hand over our tummy (Hello, Baby!), and our left hand on our heart (Hello, Mom!). We can do this either in a seated position, or tilted down on our backs. If you are lying down, use pillows, bolsters, or blocks to keep your back at a steep angle, since pregnant moms never want to be completely on their back. We can also keep our legs in Butterfly Pose, with the soles of our feet together, allowing for a deep hip opener and inner thigh stretch at the same time. The only thing to remember is not to hold the breath at any point, since holding our breath also isn't recommended during pregnancy.
Taking time to focus on breathing deep is great for every part of you. During pregnancy, "every part of you" now includes somebody else. Traditionally, yoga is not an acronym as referenced above, but is actually an ancient word from India, meaning "union". Prenatal illustrates no better interpretation of yoga with the strong union growing everyday between mommy and baby. Take time to focus on these important people and this important union. Your baby will thank you. Maybe one of his first words will even be "yoga" and who can complain about that!
Posted by Ingrid on 02/27 at 08:17 AM
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
“Breathing” with Julia Ormond, Bill Maher, and Mr. Drummond
First, I had Julia Ormond as a student in my yoga class. I was more than honored to rub her feet with lotion during the final resting pose. She was continually grateful for the tips I gave and adjustments I made to her practice. Not only do I love her at the box office, but I almost started a fan club right there on her mat.
During the same class, I also had Bill Maher attend with a friend of his. I was a little disappointed not to have the corners of his mouth turn even slightly upward during his practice when I cracked a few jokes while teaching. When I tried, "It's not so much fun to be a yoga instructor sometimes when you have a room full of people grimacing at you", Bill continued to grimace. Well, maybe he was just focused on his breathing.
This last November, I was blessed to have Thanksgiving Day drinks with Mr. Drummond of the American sitcom, "Different Strokes". Now he is hilarious. He entertained us all with a story of getting caught on line at Costco without an accepted credit card on him, and from out of the blue, the person behind him in line offered to put his two carts full of items on her tab. She finished by saying "There is nothing I wouldn't do for Mr. Drummond". He responded by bringing a check to her the next day with a bouquet of flowers. He is truly a gem.
It is with all this celebrity interaction around me that I remember it's our heart that leads our path and our life. Being famous is just another material trait that can often come and go. Sometimes we're being overrun with popularity, and sometimes we can't find anyone to pick up the phone when we call. Sometimes we're rich and thin, and sometimes we have more weight on us and less cash in the bank. Also, some days are a holiday, others are the usual routine.
What remains the same throughout all these ups and downs is that little bit of air we take in, and breathe out, every few seconds. What our breath does, is remind us that our true selves live deep inside our chest, in that space that we feel open up when we take an inhale. It's there, inside our heart, that we find our true intentions. It is this true self that makes us know where to take our lives and in what direction we truly need to be going. Especially when we are faced with feelings of confusion, it is important to tune in to this breath and this true self, to find out what that intuition is trying to tell us. That intuition will never go away. Feel secure that your true self will always be there whenever you go looking.
I know there will be stages in life where I may put on a few extra pounds, find less cash in the bank, or be totally bored with my old routine. It's times like that when I can tune in to that true self, and know that my breath will get me through any type of challenge. That breath will tell me exactly what I need to do, where to go, and how to move forward in a positive direction. I also know that providence doesn't give us anything we can't handle and I have faith that it's all going to be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. It is with these thoughts that I take deep breaths and look for the answer within.
During this season of change all around, I feel so very grateful for everything - my life, my family, meeting my new famous buddies, and most importantly, for my breath. Meeting these people made me realize that these famous people also have their own breath, just like mine, but it's their own breath, with their own path. What I do with mine is exactly and totally up to me. So far, my intuition has given me an amazing and fantastic ride of life. Every minute has been perfect and exactly the way it is supposed to be, even if I can't see it at the moment. I cannot wait to see what else my breath and my true self has in store for me.. In 2009, I look forward to taking time to tune into this true self, since I know it's going to be great no matter what ups and downs life may bring. Hello Breath...Bring it on!
Much love and happiness,
Ingrid
Posted by Ingrid on 02/18 at 11:14 PM
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
Dream Big
A few weeks ago I met up with a mentor to put down on paper what I would like to see happen for me in 2009. I was fortunate to have this meeting in Copenhagen, while attending the European Film Awards, and many role models around me. At the "Oscar-like" event, Judi Dench won the Lifetime Achievement Award, and I was able to meet her after the ceremony. She was centered, poised, and attentive. As a representative of British film, she has done a fine job illustrating the gifts of an accomplished actress. The Prince and Princess of Denmark were also there as our hosts. The couple looks amazing and full of health.
Needless to say, it was very fun weekend full of sketching out dreams for 2009, and truly looking where my intuition is guiding me. As I flew back to LA on Sunday, I summarize my 2009 goals as being able to spread the joy and love of Yoga for Families globally. It is with these ideas that I am moving forward in pitching the idea to global television stations and production houses for a potential childrens' series. If only half of it comes true, I will be more than overly ecstatic.
When I returned to LA, I had more than one friend who is looking to brainstorm their wishes for 2009, while keeping their goals and priorities in-line. One suggested technique, called a Vision Board, has come up a few times in recent discussions that I thought I would share with you. Here, we take a sheet of paper or a large piece of oaktag, and start jotting down people, places, and things that we would like to include and/or accomplish.
BUT, before starting, I would recommend taking a few moments to close your eyes, let all ideas of the day and previous conversations erase from your brain, and just let your mind rest for a few breaths. It is when our mind is at rest that we have our best ideas. It is also the best time for us to tune in with our true self, and see what we truly want to do, rather than be distracted by others' wishes or intentions.
The reason I energetically encourage your tuning into your needs/wants is because it is the only thing that will sustain you. If we do things out of guilt or because it's what we "should" do, we'll eventually get sick of it, or even worse, the person we are working with for the goal will soon see our true, misguided intentions. So, take a moment, just quiet the mind, and see what comes up. Don't expect anything, and just let the quietude do its job.
Then, start writing. Put down people, places, food, ideas. Don't worry about the order, where on the page it goes, or the relationships to each other. You can prioritize that later. For 2008, my list looked like this:
See Mom and Dad without constraints of limited vacation time. See them often, with focus, and with love.
Travel
Love earnestly (i.e. sign letters with the word "love" more often because you really do mean it)
Eat hot dogs (I love them)
See/Stay in touch with friends from business school, engineering school, yoga school, and work
Party
Have a cocktail or two
Hug people morre - why not? It's free!
Teach yoga...yay!
Practice yoga...ahhh!
Be financially self-sustainable...check!
Laugh and smile
Don't be intimidated by famous people or mentors
I almost didn't tell you these, since I want yours to be uniquely yours. But, you get the idea. Take a few moments to prioritize your greatest ideas and requests from higher powers. Then, put the list on the refrigerator and reference it every so often. From my experience, these things happened without my needing to consciously put them into action. They just occurred.
So, live, laugh, and love in 2009. Make sure you include those on your list. Feel free to send me yours, and I will do what I can to help it all come true. I look forward to seeing you on tv!
Love,
Ingrid
Posted by Ingrid on 02/12 at 12:06 AM
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Thursday, February 05, 2009
Get Up, Get Moving, Get Life..In Paris!
This morning I woke up in Paris craving a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino. At the time, I was strategically thinking the fastest way to get my clothes on and where the closest brasserie would be near my hotel to get my fix.
As some of you know, I'm spending January and February in Europe to work on the foreign distribution of my DVDs. I am currently working on both selling the retails rights abroad, as well as pitching a potential television series to European channels. It has been a fun ride so far, with some productive meetings and fun destinations. This week I signed a deal to have the DVDs appear on a UK fitness channel, Body in Balance. If you have any friends in the UK, they can tune into channel 225 to see both Yoga for Families and Yoga for Grandparents starting in March 2009. I was honored to have the DVDs appear alongside Shiva Rea's products, as well as Simon Low, who is the most popular instructor out of the UK. Yahoo!
The reason I am in Paris is that for two days this week, I took some time to visit my oldest friend from childhood who was in Paris on business. She is "The Nose" for Calvin Klein Fragrances, working with perfumers telling them if the fragrance is too sweet, too spicey, or what products are best for which markets. It was great to catch up with her between meetings and between working on my own business pursuits.
So, when I got up this morning, I couldn't wait for something to give me some quick energy. A coffee and carb would do the trick, but, since I knew I only had a few hours to work before my train back to London, I sat down to do finish up some tasks. Before I knew it, it was two hours later, and now I was really craving that croissant plus whatever else I could put my hands on. But, knowing that I wouldn't have time for exercise later, I decided to quickly hit the gym and do some yoga before I showered. I got on the elliptical machine for about 30 mins, and then took about 10 mins to do some yoga. It was great to tune into my body, and figure out what it needed. A few Pigeon Poses were amazing to open up my tight hips from sitting on a train the previous day, as well as some Down Dogs to stretch my hamstrings from the elliptical machine.
Most importantly, by the time I got to the street to look for something to eat, I no longer craved empty calories of carbs and short-lived caffeine, but instead was more interested in a fresh salad with yummy fruits and vegetables. And, perhaps just a glass of water or some herbal tea. With a hectic schedule the day before, I realized I hadn't had enough of those essentials, and my body was missing it just as it was missing a hamstring stretch. By getting my body moving, I was better able to tune into what my body was telling me, and I was able to better diagnose what I truly needed.
It made me realize that sometimes we just don't feel like exercising, but we always feel better afterwards. In my DVDs, I don't pressure the viewer to do anything more than what they feel like at the moment. I give everyone an opportunity to just sit back, relax, and watch the DVDs without moving. But, in the small chance that the beautiful scenery of Cancun in Yoga for Families or LA in Yoga for Grandparents, motivates you to get started, I can vouch for the fact that you'll feel a whole lot better. Moving our body and taking deep breaths allows us to better tune with your body and yourself. And if you are in tune with yourself, then the whole world is better for it. Have you ever realized that when you are in the presence of people who are "comfortable in their own skin", you feel more comfortable in yours?
Posted by Ingrid on 02/05 at 09:50 PM
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