Issue 7: Snack Time
Balancing bones, balancing lives
We’re introducing something new here at The Soft Spot. After the teeth-grinding, shoulder-tightening, and jaw-clenching of this past week, we needed a moment to return to our bodies and we thought you might too. Here’s Ashley kicking off our latest series:
As a Pilates instructor and Licensed Massage Therapist, my day consists of guiding people through manual therapy and movement to better understand where their bones are in space and how to effectively accept load (i.e. physical stress) through said bones. As a parent, you may be questioning whether you have a body at all, let alone how you take care of it amidst the never-ending chaos of child rearing.
Enter our Movement Snacks series! These short videos are meant to be accessible and approachable - something you can easily do in 5 to 10 minutes during nap time, lunch at work, or before bed. The series is about increasing awareness of how our bodies exist in space, not necessarily “working out.” These ideas can better inform how you move throughout your life and ultimately, support your greater fitness and lifestyle goals. Let’s face it, my current goal is to help my low back survive picking up my toddler 1,000 times a day.
This week’s movement session will set you up for future sessions, painting a broader picture of how all of these movements work together to create a more balanced structure. Enjoy, feel yourself, and happy moving!
-Ashley
Movement Snack #1: Pelvic Awareness and TVA Engagement
What We’re Reading
[Ashley] - In light of the recent election, my coping mechanism has been a renewed sense of purpose toward advocating for early childhood education and universal childcare. Many families and childcare centers find themselves in an impossible situation, managing rising costs and a severe lack of funding. The podcast No One Is Coming to Save Us has countless episodes on how beneficial early childhood care is for children. Our kids deserve better.
[Genevieve] - If you catch me at daycare pickup, then you know I’m on an “extended” breastfeeding journey with my toddler. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have moments of uncertainty, second-guessing myself, and even some blips of shame when nursing in public. The recent Motherly post 3 beautiful things I didn’t expect when breastfeeding my toddlers by Kelsey Haywood Lucas is a salve for me this week, soothing my low-frequency worries and reminding me that, even if I weren’t a hostage to my child’s nursing demands, perhaps I would still choose this journey willingly. As Kelsey finds there is humor and opportunities for education, I too am finding there is so much more to breastfeeding a toddler than what can be observed from the outside.
[Maddie] - Post-election, time travel’s been on my mind. While I can’t swap out this timeline for another one, I’ll certainly read about others messing with space and time.1 Kailane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time is just enough of a genre grab bag (sci fi, romance, historical adventure, thriller) to keep me awake while I’m feeding the baby at 3am.
Our Picks
[Ashley] - In the spirit of Movement Snacks, this OPTP pinky ball is life. I’ll bring it into play in future videos, but you can place it in any troublesome spots that are sore or tight and let it do its magic. Roll it along the muscle or just sit it on a trigger point - you can’t go wrong!
[Genevieve] - I’m going to let you in on a secret to surviving Upstate winter: a dish I affectionately call Baby Daddy Cassoulet that can be made in under an hour. My co-parent and I are good friends, but more importantly, he is a great cook and I am not. On winter weekends when he visits from Brooklyn, he makes us a gigantic dish of warm, bean-and-meat-filled cassoulet that feeds my daughter and me with leftovers all week long. He says he bases it on Molly Stevens’ Lazy Chicken-and-Sausage Cassoulet with some adjustments, like adding an abundance of cannellini beans for our legume-obsessed toddler. And “throwing in whatever pork you might have - bacon, ham, breakfast sausage even (or smokey chicken sausage).” Winter survival from our modern family!
[Maddie] - When breastfeeding, you’re meant to alternate which side you offer first to keep your milk supply balanced. I’m hopeless at remembering, especially during those 3am nursing sessions, so I’ve taken to swapping a ring between hands as a reminder.2 The ring’s on my left index finger? I start the baby on the left. I use a simple gold band I had lying around, but any band would do.
Working Together
We’re processing the election results in a whole slew of ways, one of which is giving to groups supporting those who will likely be impacted by the incoming administration. We’re starting here, and we’ll share more organizations in weeks to come. Please share your favorites in the comments.
In the Neighborhood
We live in the Mid-Hudson Valley and we’re keeping tabs on these (mostly family-friendly) events near us. If there’s another event you’d like us to share, send it our way!
Saturdays until December 14 - Saturday Morning Family Performance Series, Rhinebeck
Sundays until March - Long runs with Return Run Club, Hudson
Friday, November 15 and Friday, November 22 - Clay with Baby at Cone Zero Ceramics, Catskill
Friday, November 15 to Sunday, December 29 - The Polar Express on Catskill Mountain Railroad, Kingston
Saturday, November 16 - Woodstock Library Toy Swap, Woodstock
Thursday, November 21 - Oona Wine Friendsgiving, Brooklyn
Weekends starting November 23 - Cannonball Factory Holiday Market, Hudson
Saturday, November 23 to Sunday, November 24 - Hudson Valley Hullabaloo Holiday Market, Kingston
BEFORE November 24 - Get thee to Gaskins before they close forever, Germantown
Starting Thursday, November 28 - The Wonderland of Lights, Rhinebeck
Friday, November 29 to Sunday, December 1 - Basilica Farm & Flea Market, Hudson
Saturday, November 30 - 39th Annual Parade of Lights, Pine Plains
Saturday, November 30 to Sunday, December 1 - Samascott's Garden Market Craft Fair, Kinderhook
Friday, December 6 and Friday, December 13 - Wreath + Sip at Cooper’s Daughter, Claverack ^
Saturday, December 7 - Winter Walk, Hudson
Saturday, December 7 - Hawthorne Valley Yuletide Fair, Ghent
Friday, December 13 - Saturday, December 14 - Caroling to the Cows at Churchtown Dairy, Churchtown
Saturday, December 14 - Sunday, December 15 - Craft Feast at Stissing House, Pine Plains
^ = for adults
As we find our rhythm, please reply with what you want to see in our emails. We have toddlers, we’re used to tough feedback.
If I remember About Time correctly, I can’t time travel to the past anyway, as it would mean that my children would be different children entirely.
I first tried this with a hair band, but I kept losing track after I’d use it to pull my hair up!
Local donation suggestion: https://www.rwcwesthill.com/