From the Renew PT V-steams website post:
“Vaginal steam baths, or “bajos” as they are known in Spanish or “chai-yok” as they are known in Korea is an ancient remedy for enhancement of female pelvic and uterine health. Think of this luxurious modality as a facial for your lady parts. V- Steams are natural and non-invasive; it’s just steam and natural herbs rising into your vagina. ”

From the YinOva Center V-steams blog post:
“Those who do them find the experience relaxing and they see improvements in their vaginal health. Steams are especially effective for people with a misplaced uterus which can lead to symptoms such as dark menstrual blood, cramping, periods that stop and start, as well as repeated yeast and other bacterial infections. They are also helpful for cervical dysplasia and they can enhance fertility, supporting natural cycles and increasing the efficacy of assisted reproductive techniques.”

Before bed, I lay out all of my paraphernalia on the bedside table.  Most of these things I have ripped from running magazines over the last year.  My training plan.  A picture of a woman running in a field of sunflowers.  An athletic goddess creature that I have begun to call Nike Jean.  An article about an army widow with three children who runs marathons.  A picture of our friend who died in Afghanistan.  Oh yes…I’m ready. I think.  The gift of fine weather and a healthy body is not lost on me.  Four months of training has led to one chance to spend four or five hours in the glorious sunshine with people cheering, drums banging, and legs pounding the pavement.  And I have the new shoes.  But still, I’m unprepared.

I’m unprepared for how the sight of double amputees cycling their way through our nations’ capitol will stop my heart.  I’m not prepared for how the osprey helicopters flying overhead will lift my spirits right up in the clouds.  I’m not ready to run past my husband’s co-worker, who is pushing his terminally ill daughter to the finish.  When I hit a wall at the twenty-third mile, I am unprepared for the sight of a blind soldier running up beside me with his guide.  I am not ready, even at the finish, to walk past the Iwo Jima monument and receive a medal from fresh-face second lieutenants.  The ones who look so much like my own husband, only seven years younger.

There is nothing like running 26.2 miles to bring you to your knees, but truly, there is nothing more humbling than the triumph of the human spirit to bring you to tears.  And sometimes that spirit is yours.  So for the last mile, I just cry.

——

Nancy Brown holds a masters’ degree in education and is a mother of two boys, born seventeen months apart.  During both of her pregnancies, her husband, a Marine, was deployed to the Middle East.  After one vacuum delivery and a c-section, she has found health and healing for body and mind in long distance running.  Born in the same hospital, she and Charlotte Blake have been friends since Day One.

Register here: http://www.thepregnantnewyorker.com/events/event.html

* I know I should be eating healthy but, I’m not.
* I know I should be working out more but I don’t have the energy.
* I know I should be stretching after I run but I always just skip it.

Recognizing one’s potential is great! I like that. However, the word “should” is one I like to omit from phrases such as these. Sometimes the thinking, “I should be doing something else besides this” can actually hold us back.

What if we took the “should” out of the stated goal? That way we are left with one simple word–BE. Respecting our day-to-day decisions is the difference between simply being and living in fear of our daily selves.

Instead of worrying about the should, let us focus on the BE.
What will allow us to be the happiest, healthiest, and most at-ease person?
What needs to change so that we do not feel we are waging war on our being?
When it comes to health, I encourage you to live in a way you do not fear but instead, fully respect. What does that mean for you? It could mean cutting out that late night snack, adding in another workout per week, beginning to work out all together, really taking the time to stretch after your run, asking for guidance, changing your diet, or adding in some meditation, alternative therapy, or yoga into your week. Whatever it is for you, this season of transition is one of the most ideal times to make any needed changes, large or small.

“Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life…, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

Belly Basics 101 at Birthday Presence

Thursday, December 1
6:30 – 8:30pm

Anyone who attends this event will receive $25 off childbirth class sign-up and/or $50 off doula services at Birth Day Presence.
FREE!

http://birthdaypresence.net
(917) 751-6579
580 Broadway, Suite 304 (btwn Prince and Houston)

Note: The Octobert 27th event was canceled, but see you in December!

This month I have decided to write about a very personal matter.
On August 30, 2011 at approximately 7pm, a dear friend of mine was struck by a car after she fell off of her bicycle in Brooklyn.  She passed away shortly thereafter.

Erica Abbott was a woman of beauty, grace, and charm.  She was a passionate dancer that I met at Purchase College when I was 18 years old.  She was gorgeous, quirky, soulful, and vivacious.  Her passing was sudden and tragic but her life was full of love.  I am reminded, because of her death, how fleeting life is and feel very compelled to share this story with you all.

Nearly a year ago, when my Personal Training and MamaMoves business were starting to thrive, Erica came to my apartment every week to help me set up and organize my current business.

One day, when Erica was sitting in my apartment helping me file papers, she told me that she was not satisfied with her dance career.  She said she did not want to look back on her life and realize that she never cultivated and nourished her art and her craft.  She shared with me that she was just simply going to start dancing again.
And so, she did.
She got into a company, went to more dance classes, and danced her gorgeous heart out.

Last week, when I was sitting next to my best friend at one of Erica’s memorials, we began sharing stories about Erica.  My friend told me that two weeks prior to Erica’s death, they both had a performance outside in Battery Park City.  After the performance, Erica looked to my friend and said, “I feel like I am satisfied with my dance career now.  I feel like I can move onto the next big thing.”

Erica saw a missing piece in her life and she went for it.  She found the contentment she was looking for.  Erica followed her dream.

I share this with you all because it is so easy to push our dreams and aspirations aside. What if Erica had never followed her heart?  What if she had not turned to my friend and shared with her that she felt complete with her dancing and her art?  What if she had let “life” get in the way?

She was a busy woman but she did follow her dream, and she did find the time to allow dance to simply be in her life.

The season is changing, autumn is coming. Is there something you know you want in your life but just haven’t made the space for?
I encourage everyone to take a moment and meditate on anything that is in the back of your minds or hearts that you know you want to dive into, even if for just a few moments a day or week.

Maybe this is the season to let it happen.

The other evening, after returning home from attending the installation of Erica’s Ghost Bike, I happened to read a passage from Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s book, Gift from the Sea, that reminded me of Erica, the lessons I have learned from her passing, and the simplicity of living in the moment and following one’s heart.
The passage reads…

One cannot dance well unless one is completely in time with the music, not leaning back to the last step or pressing forward to the next one, but poised directly on the present step as it comes.  Perfect poise on the beat is what gives good dancing its sense of ease, of timelessness, of the eternal.  It is what Blake was speaking of when he wrote:
He who bends to himself a joy
Doth the winge’d life destroy,
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity’s sunrise.

If you are ever in Williamsburg, Erica’s Ghost Bike (which many have renamed her Angel Bike) is on Powers St. and Bushwick Ave.  I am sure she would love any visitors.

Love and light to sweet Erica.

With love and gratitude,
Charlotte.

1. Sit with correct posture, shoulders over hips, feet on floor.

   

2. Close your eyes, place your hands on your belly and connect into your breath.

3. Inhale through your nose, into your belly, feeling your belly rise into your hands.

4. Exhale through your mouth bringing your navel back toward your spine by contracting your abdominals and pelvic floor muscles.

5. A fabric splint can be used while executing this exercise.

6. When first starting this exercise plan, hold the engagement for about 5 seconds while breathing naturally.

7. Rest and repeat 10 reps 3x/day.

These exercises are for education purposes only.  Do these exercises at your own risk and always consult a phycisian before beginning any new work-out plan.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Remember, every body is different when healing and recovering from having a baby.  Please join in on a post-natal Pilates class or contact me to talk more about one-on-one instruction to truly begin the proper steps toward regaining your strength and shape.

Have you lost some or most of your baby weight but can’t get rid of that extra softness around your middle?

Have you heard of abdominal separation or diastasis recti but don’t know how to check yourself or what it is?

If you are or have been pregnant, chances are, you have a diastasis.  Don’t worry, this is usually when I get the blank stare so, if you don’t know what it is, you are not alone.  With that said, if you have a diastasis, you are also not alone.  A diastasis recti is extremely common among pre- and post-natal women.

What is a diastasis?

A diastasis is the separation of the outermost abdominal muscles or, the rectus abdominis.  Separation occurs because the pregnancy hormones soften connective tissue as the uterus pushes against the abdominal wall.  When these muscles separate, the connective tissue that joins them stretches sideways becoming thinner and weaker.  A diastasis is usually measured using fingers.  Some women have a one finger diastasis, other women have a five finger diastasis.  Typically, a diastasis remains in the one to five finger-wide range.  In more rare occasions, women have as much as a ten finger diastasis.

I know it is disheartening to discover you have a diastasis or to discover that this is a common post-natal issue.  Let me encourage you with some important details:

* Your diastasis can be healed with proper rehabilitation exercises.

* Healing your diastasis will help you reach your goal of flattening out your middle.

* YOU have the power to heal your diastasis and, most likely, you do not require surgery.

* With the proper rehabilitation, you can have stronger abdominals than you did before childbirth.

* Rehabilitation and conditioning can begin days after giving birth or having a cesarean section.

* You can do diastasis rehabilitating exercises anytime, anywhere, even while you are breast feeding!

* A diastasis can be healed at any time in your life.  It is never too late.

* It is important to heal your diastasis even if you plan to carry a second child.  An un-healed diastasis can cause you to carry your second child much larger causing a more uncomfortable pregnancy.

* Using a fabric splint will help support your abdominals while your diastasis is healing.

* Finally, the top life-style change while healing your diastasis is to NEVER DEPEND ON FORWARD MOTION TO LIFT YOU FROM A FLAT LYING POSITION.  This will open your diastasis even more.  This also means, no crunches, no “jack-knifing” up from bed, no sit-ups. (Don’t be discouraged, there are MANY abdominal exercises you can do while healing your diastasis).

How can you check yourself for a diastasis?

* Lie on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor.

* Place one hand behind your head, exhale, and lift your head and shoulders off the floor in a “crunch” position.

* Use one hand, fingers extended, and press it gently into the center of your abdomen.

* Move your hand down your abdomen, feeling for the left and right sides of your rectus abdominus (six pack muscles).

* At about two inches above your navel, at your navel, and two inches below, use your fingers to measure the width of your diastasis in those three abdominal locations.

So, now what?

For some of you, this information is a huge relief.  For others, it may be a challenge.  For some, it is frustrating to learn this information weeks, months, or even years after trying to get rid of that last bit of “belly softness”.  I have seen, firsthand, the power of healing a diastasis.  Committing to rehabilitating your diastasis by executing proper exercises, making small yet imperative lifestyle changes, and learning more about how exactly your body has been affected post-birth will make a difference physically and emotionally.

If you are feeling called to take the next steps around healing and feeling better about your center and body, please get in touch with me for a one-on-one conversation via email or phone.

* We will talk about the next steps toward re-gaining your shape and strength.

* I will be able to answer any questions you may have.

* We will address any new-mom issue that leaves you feeling just not “the same”.

* You will discover if setting up a one-on-one personal training session is right for you.

For now, please see our instructions for one introductory exercise to begin taking steps NOW to a happier, stronger, and flatter belly!

Words from someone who’s “been there”–

“At first I didn’t know what diastasis was.  But after having two babies in seventeen months, I knew that SOMETHING about my abdomen was not right!  I ended up just telling Charlotte, ‘I need to fix my divide!’  With some individual coaching, she taught me simple things that I could do to strengthen and heal my stomach muscles.  I am seven months postpartum now and still have some work to do, but knowing that I can recover has encouraged me that I don’t have to give up on my body after babies!”
-N.B, mom of Clark 7 mos. and Thomas 2 years.