A Weekly Newsletter for Heart of Houston Birth and Wellness Friends and Families
Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
Happy Monday friends! How was your weekend? Hopefully you were able to enjoy the spring sunshine and warmer temperatures. I'd like to thank the HOH families that joined us at the Hermann Park Kite Festival yesterday. We had a great time attempting to get our kites in the sky without trampling too many people on blankets. I was so concerned with slathering sunscreen on all our non melanated babies that I ended up with a sunburn! Good thing our pool is still pretty cold so the kids and I could cool off once we got home. Mary Love and her boys stopped in for a dip later in the day and we sat on my patio with grins on our faces. There's just something about sunshine, good people and moving our bodies in playful ways that just brings joy to my soul. I mean, how often do you run around like a crazy person trying to catch the wind? The work of parenting is not easy, what is easy is getting swept up in the stressors of day to day life and forgetting the power of the simple things that bring us the most joy. We have a couple of cool events coming up to help you find your playful side again.
"Just dance the sh*t out of it!"
While I have zero rhythm to speak of, I sure love to dance. As a parent, I love any excuse to dance with my kiddos. One of the core memories of early parenthood is of twirling with my toddler to Shakira's Try Everything at our first family dance class at Frame Dance. I'd never attended a dance class before. Having watched Center Stage and Dirty Dancing more times than I'd like to admit, my expectations were turned on their head when I walked in the door. I was surprised to find dancers of all ages with different body types and abilities. As a family, we all fell in love. Lydia Hance, the director of Frame Dance has managed to create a space accessible to everyday people, with or without dance experiance. I was intimidated by the thought of taking a dance class with a toddler but it turns out that these classes taught us how to incorporate the playfulness of dance in our everyday routines. Frame Dance is this season's artists in residence at Contemporary Art Museum Houston CAMHLAB and will showcase Family Mantra, "an installation-based participatory performance that explores generational psychological shifts in the Houston community. The dance group will create an interactive environment with marbles, toy tops, pathways on the floor, pipe cleaner dolls to manipulate, and puppets within the space at Montrose Collective. The Frame Dance MultiGen Ensemble—an all ages/all abilities group—will activate the space as well as their professional dance company." Did you catch that? It's a weekly playdate for grown ups, kids and EVERYBODY. This event will run from the end of this week with a special performance at the end of May. We hope you'll join in the free family dance classes every Saturday in April and the free play every Sunday.
Momma Strong Event at HOH
Y'all, Mary and I have been hoping to get the folks at Momma Strong in our space since we opened our doors! I've been sharing the gospel of Momma Strong and their pregnancy and postpartum programs for years. Many of my doula clients are lifetime members. If you haven't heard about this online personal training program yet let me give you the scoop. It's awesome. It's awesome because Courtney Wyckoff, the program's founder, makes you feel like you're working out with a friend with the same daily struggles as your own. Most workouts are 15 minutes long, designed to keep you coming back instead of burning out. Toddler climbing on you when you lay on the mat? Check! Kids fighting in the background just as your cool down begins? You know it! Showing up for your workout in pj's even though it's the LAST thing you want you do? Abso-freakin-lutely. Courtney recently wrote an article for Romper entitled In Praise of the Good Enough Workout, "When I do small amounts of exercise on a daily-ish basis, I gain sustainable access to the things that eventually add up to true health and true wellness. I feel my blood flow. I feel my mood shift. I feel my glutes wake up. I make an effort, for a brief moment, to bring my focus to just this one tiny but heroic task." We can't wait for you all to meet Courtney at this event hosted by HOH. Register on our event page to secure your spot. Spaces are limited!
Meet Lydia Hance of Frame Dance
1. Who are you?
Hi! I am Lydia Hance and I am the Founder and Creative Director of Frame Dance, a dance studio and company located in the South Hampton neighborhood. I am a choreographer, teacher, curator, wife, and mama to Micah (5) and Willa (2).
2. How do you serve/help the pregnant/ postpartum/young family communities?
I am passionate about facilitating the power and joy of movement with new parents and their babies. I teach family dance classes that are designed for families (of origin and/or choice) with lots of open-ended prompts that build interpersonal and intergenerational bonds through creative movement.
3. How did you get into this line of work?
When I became a mom, I wanted to find a way to bring my children into my work, so I started a babywearing dance class. But what happened is that dance provided me a way to enter THEIR world and understand their “work” of childhood in profound ways. It was one of the biggest most beautiful blessings of parenthood. I want to share that!
4. What you wish everyone knew about your area of expertise?
Every body is a dancing body. I want everyone to know that they already have exactly what they need to dance. By living--by breathing--you are moving. That is dance. Everything else is built on that breath! Dance creates bonds in families that last a lifetime.
5. What is most rewarding about your work?
Being able to witness people finding new understanding of their bodies: the big, bold, beautiful capacity that they have to connect with themselves and others through movement. Sometimes I pinch myself that this is my work.
6. Tell us about something (or someone) you love.
Other than dance? I love walking; with my children, by myself. There is something so healing about being outside, feeling the air, and slowing down to notice what is around me. It’s my time to breathe, pray, and find focus and perspective. It’s sometimes hard to do this consistently in Houston, but I just take long walks in the Spring, and short ones in August. Just like dance, it’s not how long you do it, it that you do it.
New location updates!
We have floors!! Buuuuut no move in date yet. We're at the end of our third trimester and having to practice what we preach: Savor the wait and know this baby will let us know when they are ready.
Upcoming Events
Our calendar will look much fuller when we get into our new space!
Postpartum Support Group & Latch Clinic: Wednesday 3/30 10am-12pm on Zoom.
Postpartum Support Group on Zoom: Thursday 3/31 9:30-11:30 HOH zoom meeting room
Pregnancy Group Core Class: Stages of Labor Sunday 4/3 in person. The doulas of Premier Doulas of Houston will join us! 2pm Review the stages and phases of labor and how to support the birthing person each step of the way. Partners/support persons are encouraged to attend.
Pregnancy Group Core Class: New Member Orientation & Where to Begin Sunday 4/23 2-4pm on Zoom. This class is for new HOH clients and Whole Heart Collective Members. We'll cover all the benefits and content included in your membership and share tips on preparing for the 4th trimester right now.
Ongoing Events
Postpartum Support Group: Every Wednesday from 10-12ish and Thursday 9:30-11:30. Zoom link has been sent to all HOH clients and Whole Heart Collective members. Email Jessica if you need more information.
Queer Parent Circle: Second Sunday of every month 3:30-5pm Open to the public!
Birthworkers Circle: Second Sunday of every month starting Jan 2022 time 11am-1:30pm
Various Childbirth Education Curriculums starting soon: Rebel Birth weekly series or weekend intensive,and Bradley Method with Anne Zwicky. Birthing from within.
That's all for now! Have a great week everyone.
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