Mom N Tot Yoga...now enrolling!!

Mom N Tot Yoga NOW ENROLLING

Experience this new class format, it's a yoga workout for both parent and child. Increase self confidence, connection and more as you exercise together!

8 Week Session, Wednesday's at 9 am starting July 8

Cost: $80 by June 15 ($60 if you have kids Mat), $100 after June 16 ($80 if you have the kids Mat), (Special pricing for families that will have 2 or more children participating.)

Yoga for Kids? Jonna Byars, PhD. says "our adult lives have become so rushed and over scheduled that we rarely stop and take a breath. And we often think children do not suffer from stress related symptoms. After all they do not work, pay bill, etc, so what could they possibly worry about? But even young children have worries and stress." So yes Yoga is great for kids and it is even better because it is a workout for any adult to do with a child.

StrollerFit's program is for children 3 and up and mom, dad, grandma, any adult.

Over the past decade the child hood obesity rate has doubled in children 2-5 and tripled for children 6-11. A shocking cause is lack of activity. Research has found that instilling a love of activity at a young age, children are more likely to stay at a normal weight throughout life. To help children manage their stress and fight obesity we must find a way to exercise that works to who being, including physical body, mind, heart and soul, and Yoga does this.

So again we ask, why yoga for kids? Research has found the following:

1. Children experience many of the same physical benefits as adults do from practicing yoga. Yoga strenghtens and exercises them. It makes them flexible, coordinated, balanced and less likely to suffer injury.

2. Yoga for kids enhances self-awareness. This helps the child focus.

3. Yoga for kids enhances imagination and empathy. When they stretch like a dog, balance like flamingo, breath like a bunny, or stand tall like a tree, and are asked to imagine what it would be like to be one of these forms, not only do children use their imagination, but they also develop understanding for life.

4. Yoga teaches children to move their bodies in a competitive environment. Yoga is not about being right or wrong, it is about bringing awareness to ones life. And children can work together to help each other reach their goals.

5. Yoga teaches children self-discipline. As part of the practice of Yoga, kids need to low down, hold posses, breathe or think in a certain way. Yoga encourages children to master themselves rather than waiting for an adult to control them.

6. Yoga for kids can be away to strengthen a family. Yoga is an exercise that children, parents and even grandparents can do together. As children participate with their families in Yoga they feel closer.

Through Yoga children can learn ways to relax and get control of stresses in their lives.

I am very excited to Bring StrollerFit's Mom and Tot Yoga to the Blackstone valley for children 3 and up. Mom, Dad, Grandparents, and caregivers will reap the benefits that the children will reap from this program.

I am piggy backing this class with Mommymuscle sculpt. Mom and Tot Yoga Wednesday's at 9 AM, Mommymuscle Sculpt at 9:30 AM.

Changes

I was all set today to write about the great day I had. I got to BU in the hopes of helping the Aquatic Director with a 3 year old child who went under last week while the instructor turned his back for a moment and missed the incident. I met Michael and we talked and I got him in the water and to float on his front and back. This all happened while my current Water safety Instructor looked on. I love when things go they way I hope. It was great to know I helped a child and he will not be an adult who is afraid of the water, his mother thought after last week he would never go in, he had refused to even go in the bath tub all week.

Then I came home to Joey who spent the day with Gen, a friend who use to lifeguard for me. Joey had slept for 14 and 1/2 hours last night so I was not sure how he would be for Gen, but it turns out, that he was great for her and he napped for 2 hours.

We had a great chicken and Zucchini dinner with Robyn, Emily and Carissa. I made a peanut butter dessert, which tasted great but came out poorly because I did not read the directions, all in all it was still yummy!

Joey, Julianna and I read books and to bed the kids went. I then did a Restore the Core Power Workout, it is killer, but I am getting better at the moves.

I just read that Danielle a StrollerFit mom finished another 5k today. I am glad she has been bitten by the bug. I hope she will join us for the tufts 10k in October

Restore the Core Craziness and the rest of the day

Today at Restore the Core is was crazy. Lauren the Sitter had Joey, Carlos, Jose, Tyler and Sean all ranging from 22m to 3 years old. They were loud and crazy, to the point where I kept losing track of what I was doing. Thank god for Robyn and Emily who kept reminding me.

But the boys were well behaved and had a ball. Lauren said Sean was the best of the boys, which made Heather Happy.

Then it was off to BU to teach (I need a bed there, I will be there 13 days straight when all is said and done and this does not include the 3 weekends earlier this month or the 5 day class I did before memorial day weekend. Joey had a ball he swam twice, once in the big 13 foot pool. He is a fish. Both times he was blue and did not want to get out. This was after spending over an hour last Thursday with Scott, Stan, Carlos and Jose at BU's pool. My son is a fish.

After I was done with class we met Wendy at the Earth Day Concert at the Hatchell. We walked, from BU which was great, I got an extra workout in since I am not making many of my classes currently. Thank you to my instructors who make 6 weeks of working possible so I can be home with the kids the rest of the year. I am glad that StrollerFit 2 nights a week at Louisa Lake is coming along so I can get in 3 good workouts a week, 2 StrollerFit and one Restore the Core.

Joey has been asleep for hours and so is Julianna, it was a busy day so I am finishing this and going to use my mommy muscle bar before bed, maybe. I will get back to you on that.

One last thing. I just got StrollerFit on 200 shirts for a local 5K for a donation I made, what great advertising and I am setting up a both at the race. Unfortunately, it is the weekend I am away fro my brothers wedding, but I am adding the Palmer Family 5K to the events to participate in next summer!

Kids Race

How could I forget, Joey, Kacey and Ella ran in the kids fun Run yesterday at the Red Hook Brewery 5K. It was cute, Ella ran after the bunny, Kacey ran to me and Joey made daddy carry him. I think the day was great. Next year more StrollerFit moms will join us and let there kids run the race. I will post my pictures later

Red Hook Brewery 5K

Today Joey, Julianna and I finished in our first 5K together, Scott ran too, but way ahead of us. It was the 12th annual Red Hook Brewery 5K, run 3 .1 miles and then have a free beer. I gave mine away, Scott says it was the best beer he ever had, could that have to do with running first? Last year I ran with Joey, this year I beat my time by 3 minutes and had 2 kids in the stroller.

Now we are preparing for the other 5k's we are doing and the Tufts 10k with our StrollerFit moms. I hope for the Tufts 10k all the moms run with the Strollers ao we can share the experience of training and racing with the kids.

classes at RBI's

due to the trash at Linwood all Northbridge StrollerFit classes are moving to RBI's in the back. This way the kids will stop picking up trash!!

Louisa Lake

We have started Strollerfit at Lake at night. I have added a second night and made the time later and the group keeps growing to my amazement. I thought 6 would be late, now we are doing 2 nights at 6:45 with more moms coming out with there babies. I am excited and hope this class grows. Now I need to find an indoor location for bad weather and the fall in Milford to keep this class going.

Another reason to do Restore the Core

I received this from Ruth, one of the women in my Restore the Core Class

Why Functional Fitness Is So Important

When following an exercise plan, a common mistake that people make is focusing on cardio workouts but neglecting core and strength exercises. Unfortunately, weak core muscles and poor flexibility increase a person's chances of getting hurt. Even those who do conventional weight lifting may be vulnerable to injury, since this type of exercise tends to isolate muscle groups and train them in a manner that is not naturally functional. In other words, the workout does not mimic everyday activities, and it usually neglects the core muscles.

As a result, an increasing number of people are heading to their doctors with complaints characteristic of boomeritis: Lower back pain; rotator-cuff pain; hip, knee, wrist, ankle, and neck pain; tennis elbow; Achilles tendonitis; and shin splints are the most common ailments cited. The good news is that almost all of these are preventable.

In his South Beach Supercharged Fitness Program, Dr. Arthur Agatston, leading preventive cardiologist and author of The South Beach Diet Supercharged, places as much importance on core-strengthening exercises as he does on cardio conditioning. Here's why:

Functional core-strengthening exercises are similar to movements you execute in your daily life, and they require you to use several muscle groups in one fluid movement. A quality core-strengthening program will develop the muscles in the back, abdomen, pelvis, and hips, and promote stability, strength, and flexibility. For these reasons they are essential for preventing injury and therefore maintaining a healthy weight.

It's important to know that even if you're diligent about cardio workouts, you still need something more to further improve muscle tone and bone density. That's why, in addition to the cardio conditioning provided in the Interval Walking plan, the South Beach Supercharged Fitness Program emphasizes functional fitness in the program's Total Body Workout, which is designed to strengthen your core and peripheral muscles. This will help you maintain strength, good posture, and balance.

The core-functional exercises featured in the South Beach Supercharged Fitness Program don't require you to buy fancy equipment like balance boards and pulley-type machines or to join a gym in order to see results. In fact, you won't need more than a chair without arms or an exercise bench; a mat or thick towel to protect your back and knees during floor exercises; optional light hand weights; and an optional exercise step, also called an aerobic step or a home exercise workout step.

not sure where Ruth got the article, but it definitely hits home why we need to do Restore the Core

Mother's Day

I would like to know who decided that Mother's Day should be a specific day. Whoever that was did not have young children or a husband.

Now I can not complain, I had a lovely day, Joey swam til he was blue, the napped and then I met some of the StrollerFriends for a picnic. We had a lovely, but windy picnic at Tower Hill Botanical Garden.

But Emily said her kids were competing for the worst kids on Mother's Day Award and a few other moms said the same thing. Others complained of the things there husbands did and poor Heather who had planned a day for herself (mani, pedi, movie and shopping) has a child and hubby home with pink eye, changing her plans. And poor Cindy went to Maine only to drive home with a sick child, feeling sick herself.

So I think Mother's Day should be a random day in the year where you get the day to yourself, no kids, no husband no anything. A day where mom can go do what she wants for 8 hours alone or with another friend. I think a planned mother's day will always be compromised by obligations from the ones we love, so my gift to my strollerfriends is a day with no obligations, sometime in the future...

:Pound for Pound Challange

Way to go StrollerFit and Restore the Core moms. As a group we were in to lose 40 pounds and we did it and more. We collectively lost 45 pounds. I have decided that we should do this again for May, with a twist. Starting this week, you must weigh in and send me your starting weight and then every week send it in to me. the person who loses the highest percentage weekly will get a prize and the person who loses the highest percentage by June 10 will receive a gift certificate for a massage.

Weigh in and let me know what the starting weight is.

kids baby carriages

Since my older StrollerFit kids and even the smaller ones are trying to do the moves, I have decided that this will bring your baby carriage to StrollerFit and mini mat too. Since we let the kids out at the end, I am going to do a mini workout for the older kids with there carriages and then have them stretch on there mats with us. I think this will be great.

Camera, when I have it......verses when I don't...

Friday at StrollerFit started off crazy. We had a new mom come to class and she misunderstood about needing the Stroller. She called her husband who thought she asked for the camera not the carriage, so he brought the camera, then ran home to get the carriage. In the mean time we were waiting for a mom who was coming to her second class, but she was lost and I was directing her via cell phone.

This all worked out well. While we were waiting for the stroller and mom/baby, the kids were out having a ball. I asked Ella one of the Kids to show Evan the new little boy around. I needed the video camera for this. She was taking him and said things like "this is the ball machine, we can't touch, and this is the net we play under, and these are the balls we play with." Then she and Evan pushed Joey and her sister Kacey in the Stroller, then Joey and Kacey pushed them, it was hilarious. One time Ella tried to do a lunge while pushing the Stroller. Look what we are already teaching them.

Then we had a great workout, even though Joey was getting cranky, and while we stretched I noticed Joey and Kacey had bands around there ankles and they were trying to squat while holding hands, another moment missed on film. Of course when i have the camera, none of these things happen. I look forward to next weeks classes and what the kids will do, I am bringing the camera, but nothing will likely happen while i have it out, but when it is in the bag, not ready for use, they will do lots of cute things!!!!

Planting

Last weekend after Restore the Core, I took the kids to an earth day kids fest at Garden in the woods. Joey planted 2 pots with sunflower seeds - one for him and one for Olianna (what he now calls Julianna). We have been following the directions they gave us and yesterday he noticed they have begun to sprout. He said "Mommy look, mommy look" when I came over he said "That." I told him it was his sunflowers that he planted so for the next 10 minutes he stood and stared, like he was waiting for it to get bigger, then he walked away.

An hour later he was back at the window checking his flower. This proceeded to happen all day. Finally around dinner time, I let him water the flowers and he was so excited he got to give the flowers bubbles. He calls baths and showers bubbles, so when the watering can looked like a shower, he said "Flower bubbles" makes sense to me and was so cute.

Next week they should be ready to plant outside and I will let him dig in the dirt again, he will love that.