In a beautiful arching back bend, Latham Thomas (above) is doing some phenomenal work. Not just in this photograph (featured on her website) but also in busy women’s lives.
I am now a mother of two. Noemie is 2, and will be 3 in November and Leila-Camil is 1 who had her first birthday on Sept. 4th…B-Day (Beyonce’s birthday). I haven’t written about my experiences yet (surprisingly) but my pregnancies and birth/labor journeys with my girls were both profound and amazing. Life changing/transitioning/mind altering/delivering/exuberant/elevating…you get the picture…With the support of my husband, I had a midwife (the same one) with both pregnancies, gave birth outside of a hospital (Noemie was birthed at the Brooklyn Birthing Center and Leila-Camil in a “made in water” birthing pool at home in our Brooklyn apartment) [...] and breast fed exclusively for at least one year (recently wrapped things up with Miss Leila-Camil as she was no longer interested in mommy’s milk). It was wonderful to experience pregnancy and birth in that way. However as a busy mom (doctoral student, entrepreneur performing artist, and wife to say the least), my eating habits have not been what I want or wanted them to be. As a dancer, I have always had a high metabolism. I eat frequently. A lot of whole foods, drink a lot of water, eat wheat or whole bread and not so much red meat (mostly chicken, fish, and turkey…a flexitarian?) but that is… when I eat. I am so busy that I find I don’t eat anything until almost 11a or noon after waking up around 8a! The girls are fed, dressed, we are out for walks, I make a conference call or two, a little cleaning, maybe a few edits here and there, a few errands run, emails written, etc. It’s not that I don’t’ find myself hungry…I am on the go go go. Not to mention, I am eating well into the night while doing work. Talk about SEVERAL midnight snacks! I saw all of this to say, what about me? I have to be healthy in order to be well enough to care for my children, right? I have to set good examples through good habits, right? Through an unrelated internet search, I came across a Latham Thomas who through Tender Shoots Wellness is doing some phenomenal work. On her website she says:
“The transition into motherhood is a profound time for positive change in ones life that will not only benefit mommy-to-be, but your growing baby too.Tender Shoots Wellness offers holistic living services that meet the needs of female clients living busy city lives. We offer an array of comprehensive services addressing the particular needs of women before, during, and after pregnancy. We are inspired by tender shoots because they represent new life. Our belief is that pregnancy is a normal, healthy, and transformative event, and that women be supported and feel empowered through their pregnancy and birth experience. Our work is to nurture the tender shoots and budding life within.”
Awesome…these are the type of services and information that go hand in hand with the type of pregnancy/labor choices I made. We made for myself and our family. And even if you couldn’t have or wouldn’t have made the same birth/labor choices I made, living a natural and/or holistic and health conscious lifestyle can be approached from different ways. Positive eating habits and exercise is what’s up and it is never too late to create new habits and drop old-and-not-so-healthy poor ones. At least I don’t think so.
As a busy mommy, health conscious and holistic mommy, dancing and performing artist mommy, and a natural child birth and breast feeding advocate mommy, for some time I have wanted to fuse all of this together (and of course as a culturalist mommy) becoming a certified nutritionist, a lactation consultant, and a certified child birth educator have been the fancy for me. Having the girls has greatly shaped and impacted this interest as well as attachment parenting (we can get into that later!) and my desire to expose others to some of these choices and–self empowerment. To see work like this being done is phenomenal. Most poignant is Thomas’ advocacy throughout communities…she says:
“Tender Shoots Wellness is committed to bringing education and programing to those in need in the community. We develop workshops and classes for special populations to better serve these communities and to bring awareness to the issues these populations are facing. We are also deeply aware of environmental issues and work to develop consciousness around sustainability and green living. Current and past programing includes :
Young Women’s Empowerment Yoga classes for teens
Prenatal Yoga for Teen Mothers in the South Bronx
Wellness In the Schools: Cooking/Lecture workshop
Go Green East Harlem Nutrition workshops in Partnership with IIN
Harlem Green Foods Festival”
Now that’s what I am talking about! So, I encourage you to visit her site and be concious of what you eat because it is your mind, body, and soul! As for myself…I am going to practice what I preach and get serious about what I eat! I am going to check out Thomas’ services…this website features her home made ginger-ale recipe.
