Sarah's Women Only Crossfit and Mum and Baby Bootcamp!

Good Morning!

Here's what's coming up this summer - I've got to fit it all in before this baby comes!  I'm due October 20th for those of you that I haven't seen for a few months!  We're excited…and nervous... and I'm not real keen on the idea of a minivan!  Mostly excited though.

Women's Only Crossfit

Women's Only Crossfit is currently running Mondays at 7:30pm and caps at 10 women.  I will give first priority to the women currently in the class. The summer session will run for 10 weeks starting July 7th excluding the holiday Mondays.  SO, July 7, 14, 21, 28, Aug 11, 18, 25, Sept 8, 15, 22.

A NEW Women's Only class will be starting Wednesdays at 10:30am for 10 weeks starting June 18th.  The dates will be June 18, 25, July 9, 16, 23, 30, Aug 6, 13, 20, 27.

Cost for the women's only 10 week sessions are $153 plus tax = $172.89.  If you are doing both the Monday night class and the Wednesday morning class, you'll save 10% so total $311.20 for the 20 classes.

Crossfit classes include mobility, strength and conditioning, so a typical class would look like foam rolling and warmup, then heavy strength - deadliest, squats, bench press, push press, then  a W.O.D (workout of the day), which is conditioning using a combination of weights and body weight movements, running, rowing, skipping, burpees for time.

Mom and Baby fit

Mom and Baby fit has been a ton of fun this year, and so far we have managed to miss the rain every week!

Summer session will be 8 weeks and will run July 8, 15, 22, 29 and August 5, 12, 19, 26.  Cost is $80 for the 8 weeks.  $70 if you refer a friend, and $70 if you are coming from the Spring session.  Class capped at 20 people.  Priority given to those currently in the Spring session.  Payment is due June 12 - after that I will open the class up to new people, you can bring payment to the current classes or send by Email Money Transfer.

Doula what?

AND, since this seems to be a catch all update newlettery type thing, I should also mention that I completed my doula training last December and am excited to be attending my first birth in July.  My first 2 births are at a student rate of $375, so if you know of someone who is looking for a doula who has had an unmedicated (twin) birth, and needs support, I would be so grateful if you would pass along my name!  I am available for births in June, August and September 2014 and then starting up again in February 2015.

Email Sarah at sdhutchison@hotmail.com to register or enquire!

Hope you are well,

Sarah

How to Parent Really Well and Get Your Ass Handed to You

"How" to parent is a mystery to me. "Parenting" as a verb is contrite. I have never understood why being a parent is so brutally hard until I took a long hard look at myself.  I knew it was hard. So overwhelmingly hard on so many days. What I couldn't pinpoint was the why.  I followed the rules, tried different "methods" and listened to my Mama voice and yet I still wondered if I had "done" it right each and every day. There are those nights you lie awake wondering if you will ever get your child to forgive you and how you can reverse the damage you have done to them. Then you look at your own stuff and discover you -YOU- are the reason parenting is so hard. Yep, it was me all along.

The way we view the title, the verb, the "job" - PARENT- dictates the way we will be with our children. What does your definition of PARENT look like? You see all of the facebook memes about how you are your child's parent, not their friend and that then allows you to do x, y and z. There are the ultimatums written by women to young girls essentially slut shaming them and warning them against relationships with their boys. Historically, we are all meant to dread the teenage years and wait for our children to rebel and spin right out of control.  We are to hope they don't get pregnant while in high school and pray that they go on to post secondary education and not get caught up in the hazing in Frosh week. From a societal perspective, we need to "control" our children, govern over them and make sure they don't do the stupid things we did so they will have a better education, better job and better chances than we did. Crap, it is a lot of responsibility.  If that is how you want to look at it.

Working with parents every day I am astounded at how deeply our own conditioning is engrained. We do what our own parents did to a certain extent or we do the polar opposite and hope for the best. The modeling we were subjected to is embedded within us and we either continue to perpetuate the parenting we experienced or we make big changes so our children don't feel the way we did growing up.  If we feel comfortable with our own childhood experiences we move forward. If we don't, we can flounder. If we don't want to model what was modeled for us then how do we move forward with parenting? If we were hit as children and don't want to hit our own children yet yell at them instead are we really changing anything?  Yelling, screaming, the silent treatment, sending the child away to their rooms - all of these treatments can be extremely damaging. Just because we are not doing exactly the same thing that was done to us do not mean we are not causing harm to our own children. So what are we to do?

What if we were to drop our title - Parent  - and consider this..... I am an imperfect grown up human raising a small human? What if we drop the story we have constructed around what a "Parent" is and focus on forging a loving relationship with this small human(s) in our charge? Now before you think that control needs to be exercised over children consider this: control is a form of power. Power does not have leverage as children grow into adults. To control something, someone, the situation - means that we can't trust and must exert power and control over to manage it. I am asking you to do this...trust your children.  John Holt says:

Trust children-

Nothing could be more simple or more difficult. Difficult, because to trust children, we must trust ourselves. And most of us were taught as children that we could not be trusted.

Resonating with you?  Did you feel trusted as a child? Do you trust your own children? What if we believed that our children could be trusted? What if, right from conception, we trusted our children? What if we believed our babies were conscious, aware and worthy of respect?  What if we respected every aspect of our children from the time we first held them in our arms? We can. It starts with us. We have to heal our beliefs, our wounds, our toxic mind thoughts. We need to understand our triggers...you know, that "button" we believe our children push. That "last nerve" they get on.  It's not them. It is all about you. Yes, you. You are your own stumbling block.

As parents we are our own self-imposed obstacles. We don't understand why we get so upset with parenting until we really learn how to self-reflect. We need to lean into our stories, strive for healthy improvements (cause there is absolutely no perfection in parenting!) and find out how to be our authentic selves. It is heavy work. It is conscious day to day work. It is not impossible. We are not alone. We need each other in this journey, this relationship building endeavour with these little humans. I am so grateful for my best friends in this journey. They are more than happy to be in the arena of parenting with me as I get my ass handed to me. They keep me real and I can talk to them and let them know when I feel vulnerable. Their empathic hearts bring me back from the edge - sometimes on a daily basis.

You will birth your baby and fall in love. You will be so freaking exhausted. Yes you will. You will announce some days that babies suck. the.life.right.out.of.you. And we will agree with you. Every single word.  Your babies will grow and get ready to develop into brilliant toddlers, inquisitive preschoolers, knowledge hungry school age children and those crazy teenagers that scare the crap out of us. You will get your ass handed to you. A lot. And you know the best way to respond when you do? Work on your stuff. Really ask yourself what your "stuff" is. If you think you don't have stuff then you are either really lucky or you haven't figured out what that "stuff" is yet.  But you will.

If you want your kids to be around you when they are adults you will work on your stuff. Try to respond instead of reacting. Acknowledge your children, validate them and stop throwing out the stale meaningless "good job."  Work on your stuff so your child will feel (not know, cause feeling and knowing are two very different things and register differently in our attachment with our kids) heard, empowered, acknowledged, responded to and trusted in every interaction they have with you. You can't have a relationship based on fear and shame. For real. Say sorry when you should. Don't try to be perfect. Be willing to fail. Be willing to be loved when you fail. Find your tribe and have them walk alongside you as you grow this relationship with these little humans. There is a definite hierarchy needed in our relationship with our children. Our children look for a strong attachment with us. If they don't get it with us, chances are they will try with their peers as they grow.  Allow the natural drive to connect that children have with us to develop by clearing up your own hurts. And know that no matter what, nothing will prepare you for parenthood. You are the best way to parent really well. Work on you and the relationship will evolve into a solid attachment. Trust yourself that you are enough and you can get there.  We see it every day. It is possible. xoxo

The Grandparent Class!

Babyrearing has changed so much in a very short period of time!  From generation to generation our techniques, tools and stories about raising families has changed dramatically. What's a Grandparent to be to do?  Well, let's talk about it!  In this 2 hour class, Grandparents to be will learn all about birth practices today, infant feeding, sleeping and soothing. We will also discuss what the parents of this new baby need and how to support them as they go through this incredible life change!  We will have a question and answer period and the Grandparents to be will able to explore any other issues pertinent to the arrival of the babes!

Saturday June 28th, 1:30-3:30 pm.  FREE and parents to be may accompany the Grandparents!

To register email carol@babiesnaturally.ca

Learning to Love Your Body....a free giveaway for this class- cause we love you.

This six week class every other Monday from 7-9 pm will open your mind, body and soul to self-compassion and self-love. As women we are so vulnerable to our engrained shame issues surrounding body image and weight and this can lead to dysmorphia and negative self-talk. You will learn how to deconstruct these beliefs through safe and gentle exercises in a group of like-minded women. We will have weekly check ins between classes to communicate and stay in touch with "homework"  that has been assigned and will have concrete "learning" exercises and activities. To register email carol@babiesnaturally.ca .  Six meetings face to face and six check ins.  Unlimited one on one email support. $75 and one lucky commenter on the blog will win a free registration. All you need to do is tell us what you would like to gain from the group. With much love, Carol and Tracey xoxo

Mama and Baby Dance!

Want to get out of the house, get on your feet, and get your groove on with your baby? 

Babies Naturally is introducing a unique and new class that allows Mama to be active, socialize with other new moms, and spend quality time with their babies while having a ton of fun! Classes are for non-walking babies who are able to hold their head up on their own.  Moms are to bring their own forward facing carrier that they feel comfortable with in order to move hands free.  The class will run 45 minutes long for 6 weeks, and each week Moms and babies will learn a new dance style (think Hawaiian, Salsa, and Line Dancing!). No previous dance experience is necessary.  Our class starts Monday June 2nd from 12:30- 1:15 at our centre in Hyde Park (1124 Gainsborough Rd., Unit 10) The cost of the class is $75.00. To register email Carla at legguitar@hotmail.com and get your groove on!!