Downward facing Mama

When I found out I was pregnant I made myself a little bucket list of things to do to be healthy and strong for my precious new package.  One of the most important things on my list:  exercise.  But wait, I hadn’t worked out in over 10 years.

When I was younger I used to work out almost every day – somewhat obsessively.  I’d take classes, run, row, cycle, you name it.  I was a cardio machine.  Literally!  So when I thought about exercising with baby I figured ok I’ll just join a gym, take a step class and it will be great because I used to take classes all of the time!  Ok well ya, this is not how the body works.  I went into complete shock, could not keep up and didn’t remember half the moves so was looking like a total dumbbell who couldn’t breathe.  I had to pull the plug ¾ of the way through the class because my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to stop…which would have been an issue for my bambino.

The next day I looked into something a little less strenuous:  Yoga.  I’ve taken a handful of yoga classes in my life and the reason I could never stick to it is because of:

A. The humming and chanting - it’s just not my thing.  I do not believe that yoga is going to bring peace on earth so it’s a tough act for me to follow.  

B. I found it wildly boring.

C.  The classes are usually just too long.

I wanted to take a prenatal class and the yoga studio near my apartment offered them but they were only during the day.  Bummer of that was is I was working full time and could not make any of the times the classes were offered.  So I kept checking the schedule and found a class at 7:15am with a gal named Liz.  45 minutes.  Hmmm.  This sounded perfect…and guess what?  It was!  Perfect amount of time to do yoga, LIMITED chanting!! And this teacher, Liz was unreal.  She took a great interest in my bump and connected me with the prenatal instructor with whom I took one private class so she could teach me Liz’s routine with all pregnant safe moves.  I took the class 3 times a week until a couple weeks prior to LM being born and felt absolutely fabulous. I truly believe that the dedication I gave to this exercise assisted in my 25 minute labor.  I could be wrong - but I like to believe my hard work paid off.

I recommend this yoga studio highly if it’s in your hood!  And if not, try to find one that is.  It's incredibly rewarding - pregnant or not!

Jivamukti Yoga

841 Broadway
New York, 10003
(212) 353-0214