from Spilt Milk, “Guest Post at Feministe: Feminist Mothers” It’s one thing to be handed a cookie for breeding. It’s entirely another thing to be handed actual, concrete assistance, understanding, and genuine respect for one’s mothering and sadly the latter is too rarely in evidence at a societal level. Importantly, there are many parents who [...]
I encourage you to go read Anne Cushman’s stunning essay “Mothering as Meditation Practice” (that link takes you to a PDF of the article; it was originally published in Tricycle in 2001). An excerpt from near the beginning: It was about that time that I decided that what I had embarked on was an intensive meditation [...]
I’ve spent a lot of my life terrified, not so much of dying, but of the fact of mortality. Finitude. Loss. I’m guessing that’s not super-uncommon, although I gather that lots of people flit cheerfully about until they hit high school, or college, or until they lose a grandparent, or a parent, or someone their [...]
Sarah Napthali’s book Buddhism for Mothers appeared in my life at a good time, a time when I was finally ready to reconnect with meditation and expansive stillness. Its development is not especially deep, but the resonance of its ideas certainly can be. So, if you decide to read it, I’d suggest doing so a [...]
Welcome to First the Egg, a collection of practical information, links, and cultural criticism. This site is a feminist intervention in our rigidly-gendered culture of childbirth and parenting. It aims to provide a nonsexist space for people who want to learn, reflect, commiserate, or laugh about being pregnant, giving birth, and helping children grow up whole and happy.
Feel free to contact me with ideas or questions at
prenatal yoga: information/links (+ my get-strong-again plan)
I’ve been practicing yoga and meditation on and off since I was about twelve, when my friends’ mother taught me some breathing basics and poses–emphasis on the on and off. When I do yoga regularly, I get strong and supple, more in my body and less anxious, and I love it. When I’m in a [...]