I think many moms will agree that there’s no better Mother’s Day gift than a massage or spa package. I know that’s what I want, especially after working and chasing two small children around all week, every week. Fortunately, there are a number of places in Marin for busy moms to relax and take some time out to be pampered. Go ahead, you’re worth it…

 

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Marin Mommies is pleased to present a guest article by Vijaya Jhothi, owner of Safronya Retreat spa in San Rafael, which specializes in the ancient healing art of Ayurveda, and Kara Lukowski, CAS (certified Ayurvedic Practitioner). In honor of Mother's Day, they explore the relationship between mothers, the earth, Ayurveda. Check out their Mother's Day specials, too. We'll be listing more Mother's Day specials from spas around Marin and the North Bay.

As mother’s day is approaching, it is timely to reflect on how Ayurveda honors mothers, and how it relates to the elements of nature, particularly the earth element. Intrinsically, all mothers inherit a quality similar to earth, in that they are rooted in stability, a grounded solidity, and from her core mom gives birth to new branches of life which she feeds from her breast, protects with her love, and nourishes with her soul. Just like the earth we see around us, supporting and holding us, mother is the sustainer—the glue that keeps it all together. Sometimes, with our hurried and scattered lives we need reminders to feel our feet on the ground and connect to this rich earth, either by calling home to talk to mom or just going barefoot in the grass.  And that is where Ayurveda is a tremendously generous science that us helps balance these elements (also water, fire, air, and ether) when our bodies and minds need them.
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Breastfeeding my children was one of the best choices that I made as a mother. I have been nursing my 2 children a total of 4 years. When I had my first child, I almost gave up breastfeeding after the first few weeks of his birth. My son had a hard time latching on and never got enough food. I recently came across an article in Parents Magazine called 23 Great Nursing Tips from Moms that offers some valuable you-can-do-it. I wish I had read this article when I was beginning my nursing endeavor. Some of the tips that I most identified include:

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Since we're all making our New Year's resolutions, we thought it would be a great time to publish a guest post by Marin fitness expert Michele Vaughan. There's one tip here for each week of the year! Michele Vaughan has been in the fitness industry since 1980. She has a Masters of Science in Physical Education and Dance. Michele has the highest certifications of NSCA as a CSCS and ACSM Advanced Personal Trainer along with ACE group exercise, personal training, lifestyle and weight management. She has a certification in Pilates with the Stott Method, a certification in Yoga for Fitness Professionals and a certification as a Spinning Instructor. Michele is the President of The Balance Workout, Marin's premiere fitness studio. 

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Mom's Night Out Book Review

Tuesday, November 6th at Book Passage in Corte Madera
6:30 pm

Ticket Donation:  $30

Join the Storks at Book Passage for delicious wine and appetizers, followed by the fabulous Elaine Petrocelli, Book Passage President and local celebrity book expert. Elaine will entertain us with a stirring book review of the best new books for moms and children of all ages. The gifting continues with fantastic raffle prizes generously donated by Marin’s local businesses. 100% of the event proceeds will go directly to benefit the MGH Lactation Center and New Infant Care.   Click here to register for this darling event!

We're happy to present another post by a guest contributor. This time we welcome Marin County therapist and mom Dr. Mical Falk.

All mothers know too well the feeling of guilt. For some, guilt feelings start during pregnancy. For others guilt sets in as a result of the birth taking a different course then what the woman had hoped. And yet, for many others an unsuccessful nursing elicits intense feelings of guilt. And the list goes on: Mothers feel guilty about their baby’s sleep patterns, about their thoughts and feelings while waking up at night being sleep deprived, for feeling bored entertaining their child every day, for not spending enough time with their kid, for not being the mother they thought they’ll be, for working, for wanting alone time, for being too strict or too lenient in disciplining their child, and so on.

Young children’s innocence, dependency and vulnerability increase feelings of guilt when a mother feels she might have hurt her child. However, today, more than ever before, many mothers perceive almost everything they do, or do not do as potentially damaging to their kid/s, making mothers vulnerable to excessive guilt and self-blame.

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Here's a quick tip for expecting moms from our friends at Barefoot & Pregnant spa in Sausalito:

Congratulations!  You are pregnant!  While you may have sworn off the cocktails, and (I trust) given cigarettes and second-hand smoke an extremely wide berth, chocolate in all its forms and flavors is a minor vice that’s very much tolerated by the pregnancy police. You can now give your addiction free rein with this wonderfully indulgent, deliciously aromatic chocolate facial mask. The combination of cocoa powder and cream really can refresh a tired complexion.
 
Oh The Decadence!
Yummy chocolate mask for normal skin
 
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons cottage cheese
3 teaspoons avocado
1/2 cup honey
3 teaspoons oatmeal powder

Mix all ingredients together and smooth onto face. Relax for ten minutes, then wash the mask off with warm water (or if pregnancy has given you a taste for obscure food combinations, simply lick it off).
 
Stacy Denney
Stacy is the author of “Spa Mama” and “Fit Mama” (Chronicle Books) and the owner of Barefoot & Pregnant® at Casa Madrona in Sausalito, the first spa nationwide to focus on pre and postnatal women.  Barefoot & Pregnant provides a place of community where women can come to connect, relax and rejuvenate.  Through its spas and expanding Web presence, Barefoot & Pregnant meets the unique needs of mothers and mothers-to-be with spa services, education and support, rapidly growing online resources and retail therapy.
 

Like many mommies in Marin, I had my first child in my late 30’s. When I was younger I just didn’t feel ready for motherhood, and didn’t feel the urge to have children. I enjoyed traveling, I worked on my career, and of course I hadn’t yet met my Prince charming. Once I got married and settled down, I started to feel that maternal clock ticking and finally felt the need to be a mother. When I got pregnant with my first child, I knew immediately that I wanted to breast-feed my baby.

So I was really interested when the National Institutes of Health announced the results of a new study that indicates that women who breast-feed their babies, even if in the high-risk group of older moms, gain substantial anti-cancer benefits by doing so. It’s long been known that women who have children early in life have a lower risk of breast cancer than women who don’t, but apparently the benefits of breast-feeding can actually cancel out the negative effects of delaying childbirth to past the age of 25, which is the average age when women have their first child in the US.

There was a great report on NPR’s Morning Edition yesterday about the subject; check it out here. I was of course immediately interested, because Marin is an area with a notoriously high rate of breast cancer, and my aunt had it herself (she’s fine now…), so to some degree it runs in my family. The NPR report also mentioned an interesting online calculator from the National Cancer Institute that allows you to estimate your risk for breast cancer. It may be a little anxiety-producing, bet you can check it out here.