May the coming season help you to find your own light in the darkness.

So what are you guys doing for xmas?

Our xmas plans are pretty....simple.

Tomorrow night I have a cookie exchange(making buckeyes for this and going to make enough for Ihor to bring to his friends xmas party as well) and Ihor has a military friends xmas party..we are going to try to hit both...and then next week. Beyond that, we're playing it by ear. Probably spend a lot of good time playing video games and crafting for Junior (YEAY!!!!!).

Ihor had minor surgery on Tuesday. He had the giant scar on the back of his head excised. The anesthesia was great while it lasted but he's been nauseous since on and off....add a little bit of a headache and NO THANKYOU! Poor guy.

Before:


After:


Hope everyone is well.

Hey guys, I just started a goth/industrial LDS group on Facebook. Please join! The more people we have, the greater the possibility you'll find a new friend. Search for the group "Gothic/Industrial Latter-day Saints."

Metalheads, emo kids, etc. also encouraged to join.

Dear Yogins & Yoginis!
Couldn't somebody of you help me? I translate a yoga lecture from Russian into English for an English version of our site. And I need several native speakers of English to check if my translation is understandable for you.
The theme is “Five main principles of a way of life of Yogins and Yoginis handed us down the highest yoga knowledge. Introduction”.
I have 18 pages of this lecture but you may read as many as you have time for, may be one or two.
If you want to help me please answer here and I’ll send you this lecture.
Thanking you in anticipation!

I have had baby daydreams for YEARS. Specifically...the birthing part. Which I guess, is strange from what I hear from my lady friends. I've had plenty of kid day dreams in my life...quite a lot, in fact, and this is normal according to my friends but the idea that I've spent years daydreaming about the actual BIRTHING...is a little freakish...apparently.

Its never a hospital birth, its usually at home somewhere. It's usually fairly quick (less than 10 hours in my head) and very quiet.

So I've continued to foster these daydreams/wishes and direct them more specifically than I had pre-pregnancy in the hopes that all this visualization with help this be a wonderful experience.

I've come to terms with the fact that we will be having Junior at a hospital ... and that the only one I have control over will be me. So...I can not control how the nursing staff/OB will be but I can make my needs/requirements known ... and trust in Ihor and our Doula to be my advocate if I am unable.

It's strangely free-ing to come to this conclusion b/c then it takes the pressure off of me to need to control things and gives me permission to just let all that garbage go and relax.

This week, Ihor and I will be spending time at the busy busy mall in the middle of the xmas rush, where we will practice our relaxation techniques in the middle of the freaking crazy-ass chaotic mall. All it requires is that I can sit down with my eyes closed. I can do my breathing quietly and so no one will know...it will just look like a lady with disproportionately skinny arms and a huge beer gut closing her eyes in the middle of the food court. heh. The idea is that if I can tune it all out...and practice in that environment, then the Labor & Delivery floor will be EASY to relax in!

I have been able to successfully turn on the relaxation in a super tense atmosphere, already. Last week at my OB appointment, my heart rate was through the roof and my bp must have also been insane. I was *SO* nervous that I was making myself DIZZY just sitting in the waiting room. I figured that it was as good a place as any to practice one of the techniques I've learned with hypnobirthing to calm myself. In close proximity to 6 other women of various ages, I closed my eyes and began the process...all to myself...walking myself through all of the body parts to relax, reciting these in my head. I felt a billion times better in no time and by the time I got into the doctors office...and my vitals taken, my BP was 109/72!

I'm still not completely thrilled with my OB though he came highly recommended. He only touches me to shake my hand which is just WEIRD when you think of the fact that this guy is going to become very familiar with my girl parts...just strange.

So there's the update. I keep claiming I'll take a belly pic and I will...I have..but it didn't look like anything...so I'll do one this week...promise!

sorry for lack of posts. I've been busy. Ron left earlier ths week, leaviing me internetless for a few dayss. But now I'm armed with clear and it workis so far. I'm also on full drug s again. I. Am. So. Freaking. Tired.

Today was saad around here. Roy, Ron's former roommate died of pnemonia in the hospitaal. What is bad is his wiife is stilll here. Alive. She's mourning a lot. They reall lovd eaxh other, even in their old, failing bodies.

I am grateful foir th3e gospel and my knowledge that Roy and his wife willl be reunited again in death. I wish I couldd tell her thst.

Oh, if youuuu missed this on FB, totally watchi it; it rock1

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.

Hi there,

this is a question generally aimed towards the Ashtangis among the community. I've basically been reading information (from various sources) about the primary sequence, and I've noticed that in some, they tell you to take a vinyasa between each of the shoulder stand postures, as well as Mathsyasana and Uttana Padasana (I only really know sanskrit but I think these are called the fish postures?!?!).

Grrr...okay I tried to write this out as a paragraph but I'm getting myself tongue tied, so I feel the best way to describe it would be in the actual sequence. Here's what I thought you had to do...

....
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Vinyasa
Paschimottanasana
Vinyasa
Salamba Sarvangasana
Halasana
Karna Pidasana
Urdhva Padmasana
etc.

However several sources are suggesting that I do the following...

...
Urdhva Dhanurasana
Vinyasa
Pacshimottanasana
Vinyasa
Salamba Sarvangasana
Vinyasa
Halasana
Vinyasa
Karna Pidasana
Vinyasa
etc.

So can I ask, at what point do you do your final vinyasa?! Do you continue doing them up until Shavasana!? or stop when the finishing sequence starts? Is there any specific place you're supposed to stop?!

Help! Thanks!

Have any of you tried Spynga? It's supposed to be a fusion of yoga and spinning.

This place is opening soon right near my workplace, and it really looks interesting; http://www.buddhafulspin.com/blog.html

I love cycling, and very much miss being able to bike back and forth to work - right now, because of the distance and the weather, it's just not feasible. As a result, I feel like a lump in many ways. I've never done spinning before, so I don't know how comparable it is. I've also never done yoga, but always wanted to try it. I'm curious to hear others' experiences before I try it out myself.

Yesterday was the 30 week appointment with the OB. I'm measuring 1 week ahead...which means either my good northern european genes are making sure baby has plenty of room or Junior is growing just fine.

I am up 17 lbs which is fantastic! Now that we are well into the 3rd trimester ... I have found that I am sleeping far better than I had been...and its a wonderful thing. Its a wonderful thing to be able to get comfortable with just ONE regular pillow...REJOICE! The giant pregnancy pillow was creating a little fortress around me and keeping Ihor and I from being able to snuggle...but now, that is no more! And I can reach for him in the night and actually make contact! I'm all about the mindless caressing in the middle of the night(gentle rubbing of the back or arms...very innocent...but I just do this)...whoever sleeps in bed with me has to be okay with that b/c I do this in my sleep. Rocko and Google love it...Ihor has learned to love it..Junior..oh sweetie, I'm sorry if I drive you crazy!!

We went to our last hypnobirthing class last night and stayed until MIDNIGHT....the class ended at 11 but we stayed to talk to Debbie, our instructor. I will be going through this class again, with Debbie...b/c there was so much information and though I've read the hypnobirthing book 3 times now, I want to make sure the important parts are totally embedded in my head...and now, there's even more reason for this. In January, I would like to go to the ShotShow with Ihor. Granted, this is 3-4 weeks before my "estimated" due date...(which is malarchy, btw)...and I'm convinced that Junior will come Feb 12th....being in Las Vegas at 9 months pregnant might be a little problematic..so Ihor and I are getting ready to have Junior no matter where we are. Babbling, I know.

Wouldn't it be incredible if Junior was born at the ShotShow:) We'll see how I feel but I really would like to go. Las Vegas is only 6 hours from home..practically in our neighborhood:)

Also, Ihor has been talking about a HOMEBIRTH!. OMG....Mr. "We need a doctor and an OR, just in case! I don't want to loose you!!!"....has turned into "We can rent a birthing tub? Lets have a home birth!"....lol. So all of our hypnobirthing classes have really done a good job at giving Ihor the confidence in our abilities to just go with our bodies and trust in them to do what they need to do and it doesnt help that I am putting together a birthing kit (complete with K clamps!) ... just in case Junior comes before we anticipate him to. Last night Ihor and I were talking about what we'll need in the kit...and how we should have one in each car and one in the house...LOL. I just can't tell you how exciting this is to have a guy that is not freaking out but rather wants to be prepared just in case we have a quick unanticipated home birth.

Also, one of the gals in our hypnobirthing class had her baby on Friday! No Epidural/No Pitocin/No medical intervention needed at all! Her water broke while sleeping and she rolled over to tell her husband...they calmly just gut out of bed b/c her contractions began immediately...and they got into the car...they asked eachother if they were nervous and they both said "not at all"...they got to the hospital..and checked in and the staff was surprised with how calm they were to the point that they didnt believe she was in active labour (but she was)...4 hours later(4 hours from when she woke up her husband) and 5 pushes, she had her baby with minimal discomfort..and 2 hours later she was in her regular clothes to accompany her husband and new baby girl (Sylvie) to the nursery for the metabolic tests and such...And this was the couple that wasn't quite sure about the hypnobirthing thing!! Talk about a confidence builder for hte rest of us...they forgot all their meditation scripts but they knew the gist and were able to make up their own and it worked out great. AWESOME!