Yoga Mama

Exercise is really hard.

It was really hard before I was pregnant, but since gaining 20 extra pounds and having my lungs shoved into a tiny corner of my rib cage to make more room for babies… it’s nearly impossible.
Even walking short distances makes my whole body ache and leaves me winded.
In fact, sometimes even sitting still leaves me aching and out of breath.

But I have found a form of “exercise” I really love: prenatal yoga.
The great thing about prenatal yoga is that it doesn’t require lots of physical exertion, it’s mostly stretching and deep breathing.
Although even standing with my arms above my head for some stretches makes me dizzy, so I have to sit down and drink water before standing up again.

The prenatal video I found that I love is on intsaplay on Netflix, for those of you who may be pregnant… or just bored. It's called Crunch: Yoga Mama

I love it because it includes things like stretching and breathing, but about half of the time the instructor says things like, “Press your palms together over your heart and think about the love you have for your baby,” and then you sit cross-legged and think about your baby for five minutes.
Then she’ll say “Breath deep, remembering that each breathe not only nourishes your body, but also your baby.”
The first time I watched the video I cried through about half of it. Hormones, I think, are to blame, but mostly she would say things about loving my baby and breathing for my baby and I would start sobbing.

Really.

I’m an unbelievably pathetic pregnant woman most of the time.
But if you’re pregnant and looking for some exercise that isn’t torture, or have a big beer belly that you wish was a baby…
prenatal yoga is the way to go.


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