Last October Dustin and I found out that we were pregnant with our little lady :) At this point I had already had a daily practice. So many of the wonderful teachers that I practice under helped contribute to my continuation and modification of my yoga while pregnant. Not only did it help me stay healthy and active, but it also helped alleviate pain and really prepare me for when it was time to give birth to my daughter. I can say hands down the knowledge and body awareness alone that comes from practicing yoga made a huge difference. Being conscious of my pelvic and abdominal muscles in addition to the strength and flexibility that is gained in a yoga practice helped me more than I can say.
From the moment I found out I was pregnant I made it a point to change my diet even more and keep active in my yoga practice. I removed all soda, coffee, caffeine, nitrates, and all preservatives from my diet beyond what I already had in just my every day diet like hfcs. I drank 150+ ounces of water a day and ate a ton of fruit. It was no longer about what I wanted, but what my body needed to support and nourish my daughter's growth. I wanted to give her the best possible environment to grow in. I also began prenatal yoga. Prenatal yoga is wonderful! It really helped with pelvic awareness, which is so important. As my belly began to grow I began to modify my poses to safer modifications. My teachers were amazing in helping me find the correct modifications and helping keep me safe. At about 7-8 months doing a vinyasa wasn't very doable for me with the beach ball sized belly I was rocking. At that point I started attending yin and yoga nidra classes. WOW. What the yin did for my body while pregnant is amazing. I loved when the ladies concentrated on hips <3 And when Amber did two Pink Floyd Yin classes. Pure heaven. Yoga nidra was also amazing. I was able to go really deep in this class and really find some rest. As I entered my 8th month, finding fitful rest was soo hard! As I neared the end of my pregnancy I did a lot of cat/cow, and balasana to help open up the hips and get little lady to drop more. Sleeping swan alone did wonders for my sciatic!
I am now 1 week and 3 days postpartum. My Dr. told me not to do any activity for 6 weeks and I will listen to her. I had a 2nd degree tear and that is still healing. My Dr.'s husband is also an avid yoga teacher in Phoenix (Alex Austen) and I have faith in her telling me wait the full 6 weeks. Once the 6 weeks are up and I have had my postpartum appointment I fully plan to get back into my yoga practice. I miss the sweat and push in yoga. I can't wait to start moving my body again! And hopefully do some mommy and me with Ella :) I am looking SUPER forward to being able to do sun salutations lol, I really do miss them!! (Margie I will so be at your Autumn 108!!)
So if you are ever curious about adding prenatal yoga to your life while pregnant I would highly highly recommend it!!
