We all know the benefits of yoga. From better breathing and posture, to leaner muscles and extra flexibility. We hear about 90 year old yogis still going strong maintaining their daily practices and living past the ripe age of 100. Then there’s the soon to be mum’s stretching it out on a bright pink yoga mat with their bellies putting them off balance, restricting movements, and well just being in the way, but they persevere because they know of the benefits of yoga.
I’m a sporadic practicer of yoga. I’d like to do it every day and I probably could but when the alarm clocks screams at 4:50am, it’s still dark outside and the bed is warm, well, the last thing I feel like doing is getting up, getting dressed and doing yoga or anything else for that matter. I’m pregnant now so I can use the excuse of ‘I need to rest’. It’s a genuine one, but it’s not an excuse not to do a bit of exercise each and every day for my health and sanity and for the health and wellbeing for my soon to be born baby boy. 10 weeks to go. Yikes!
Priorities shift when you fall pregnant but your passions and interests don’t have to. I’ve noticed over the past six months that I’m slowly evolving as a person. I’m scared shitless of the new role I’m embarking on but at the same time I’m excited and cannot wait to meet our son in May. I’ve mellowed out more than I could have imagined, I’ve become more positive and managed to push silly negative thoughts aside. It’s become easier to stop stressing about anything beyond my control. And yoga, has become a regular activity, once a week at least.
Two things that have remained constant is my need to stay active and to write. I cannot wait to start training for a race again, to have a plan, build up my speed and distance, and take advantage of the 400m track that sits beside my current running/walking path. After this break, I’m looking forward to pushing myself harder and exploring how far my body can go which new challenges (200hr of yoga, an Ironman distance, joining a tri club, body sculpting) and old ones too (a 5k race, the half marathon, local tri’s).
My desire to write for a living has grown stronger too. I’ve been writing for 20 years now for pleasure but failed to take myself seriously. I’ve realised that if I want to set a good example for my baby, I need to follow my passion, and not give up before I’ve even tried to succeed. My fear of failure and success are intertwined. I feel like an impostor, inexperienced, lacking in sufficient knowledge. None of that is true. Just my personal delusions and demons refusing to disappear. But the more I persevere, the dimmer they become, and soon, I hope, they will be extinguished.
Yoga is good for the body and mind. I’ve found that when I start my day with yoga, I feel more energised, my posture improves when I’m spending the day in front of the computer, my mind is clearer and ready to be challenged. While the postures I can do are limited they are still effective in providing the benefits yoga offers. Thirty minutes is all I need to have a positive day, and when I add a lunchtime walk, it’s closer to perfect.
I’m 30 weeks pregnant. Many active women continue to run until they give birth. As my running has been quite irregular I feel it’s best to give my running shoes a holiday and focus on preparing my body for the marathon of labour through yoga, walking, and weights. I may decide to get on the bike trainer and cycle or go for a dip in the pool, but they are not priorities right now. I’m just going to listen to my body.
My maternity leave starts in seven weeks. I’ve managed to get the next four Wednesdays off from work which means more rest for me, a day less of sitting in front of a computer in an air-conditioned office in between a 1.5hr commute to and from work. I’m using up annual leave and study leave (gotta love exams and assignments), but it will give me an opportunity to focus on preparing for the baby, maintaining an exercise routine, finishing up with assignments and an exam, and getting to my obstetrician appointments without cutting extra hours at work.
So on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, I’m going to aim to start my day with 30 minutes of yoga without the excuses.
