Get your flow on!

I'm teaching a Basic Vinyasa (flow) yoga class on Monday nights (5:30-6:30) at Elation Centre in Ottawa. If you want to give Vinyasa yoga a try, here's your chance! Learn to breathe and move dynamically in a supportive environment, get healthy, and have fun.

www.elationcentre.com

Smile, and the world smiles with you

Smiling is underrated. Did you know that you can actually change your mood or your current experience pretty instantaneously by smiling? Even fake smiling works! This is very powerful. If you don’t believe me, try it. And then check out this link for more reasons to smile: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm

Here are 3 things that never fail to make me smile (and sometimes laugh out loud):

1. My kids

Nothing makes me smile more than my two boys. I love having conversations with them, watching them play together, and cuddling with them. My 5-year-old still says the cutest things, often getting words mixed up. He regularly calls out to me in the middle of the night to tell me his arm is wrinkly. “You mean tingly?” I ask him every time. Then I have to rub his arm and kiss his forehead until his arm feels less wrinkly.

Recently, the two boys were playing ball hockey in the driveway. The 5-year-old was all tricked out in his goalie gear and getting frustrated because he wasn’t blocking enough of his 8-year-old brother’s shots. So the 8-year-old instructs his little brother: “Just say, ‘I am going to stop this shot’. It will give you confidence. That’s what I do and it works!” That gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling and put a big smile on my face. The child has been listening to me after all!

Lately they’ve been asking lots of questions about where babies come from so on the advice of a friend, I finally brought home a book called “It’s Not the Stork”. I love this book but it is not for the faint-hearted parent. It is very direct, detailed, and factual. Which I suppose is why, after I read the part about the man’s penis inserting into the woman’s vagina, my elder son exclaimed in disgust, “AHHHHHH! Are you SURE this is a kids’ book, Mom??” Clearly he thought this was a classic case of TMI. Interestingly, the 5-year-old didn’t bat an eye.

2. My crazy family

I love my family. They are generous, open, loving, and a little insane (in a good way). Last month, my parents hosted a family BBQ to celebrate the Easter holiday. Eight adults, six teenagers, and six kids ranging in age from 1 to 9 years gathered inside the house, on the deck, and in the backyard.

It was loud, fun, unbelievable chaos. My father grilled up about 5 hundred hamburgers, chicken burgers, hot dogs, and sausages. My mother made a big pot of baked beans and German potato salad (including bacon-free versions for me) and took care of all of us as she always does. Wine, beer, and chocolate milk flowed freely.

And then my father decided to give all of his old ball caps away. No one knows why, but all of a sudden he had a big pile of hats and he was handing them out to all the kids. My 8-year-old son ended up with a Thunder Bay Senators hat, which my father insisted is an antique because the Ottawa Senators farm team hasn’t been based there in years. My 5-year-old son was thrilled with his bright yellow Jamaica cap, which Dad acquired just this past January when we were all in Ocho Rios for my sister’s wedding.

I was just trying to puzzle out why Dad didn’t want to keep the brand-new cap for himself when Aunt Susan (who is only 7 years older than me, lots of fun, and more like a cousin than an aunt) started hollering, “Hey Tom! When are you going to start giving out money?”

3. A good song at just the right moment

Have you ever heard the song, “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce? Every time I hear it, I crack up. And sing along. That’s not hard to do since the only lyrics are “Barbra Streisand”, repeated over and over. I love that the subject of a 1970s-sounding disco track is a legendary award-winning singing and acting icon and diva. Plus, the tune is totally catchy. You need to hear it to know what I’m talking about, but I guarantee that once you do, you will smile and sing along too. And chair dance in your car.

For extra enjoyment, check out the official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu_zwdmz0hE&feature=fvst.

10 tips for healthy breasts

It is estimated that 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, and 1 in 28 will die of it. Those are pretty scary statistics.

But breast health experts and educators say there are ways to minimize your risk of developing breast cancer. Just this past weekend I attended a workshop at Elation Centre in Ottawa called "Love Your Body". As part of the workshop, we learned a 15-minute yoga sequence designed to promote breast health. We were also given nutritional information and tips for maintaining healthy breasts, including spending several hours of bra-free time each day at home to free the breasts. The workshop leaders, Donna and Sylvie, have both studied with a naturopathic doctor and breast health educator named Dr. Sat Dharam Kaur and highly recommend her Web site (http://www.mammalive.net/) as a great resource for information about breast health. Check out Dr. Kaur's "10 Tips for Breast Health":

http://www.mammalive.net/blog/10-tips-breast-health