Yoga at 31 Weeks Pregnant

Daily Life at 31 Weeks: Life threw me a curve ball this week. My house got broken into. All they took was a laptop and iPod, but that laptop had all my weekly pregnant yoga pictures on it. I'm hoping I can get them back from my YouTube videos somehow. That's a lot of hard work to lose! At the end of the week, my moms came into town. They cleaned my house and cooked and froze meals for the next few weeks. Now I'm set to waddle with ease through my upcoming week.

Practice at 31 Weeks: After an extra busy week at work and home, I've been practicing sitting on my butt this weekend. It's been amazing to open myself up to the gift of being cared for while my moms are in town. My therapist recommended that I practice opening myself up to help and good things especially in these last few weeks of pregnancy. She even suggested I do a heart opening asana sequence. Now that dinner is taken care of for every night this week, I may just get around to that practice.

Yoga at 30 Weeks Pregnant

Daily Life at 30 Weeks:  This week I finally let life go on at normal pace without me. Instead of forcing myself to keep up my usual routine at the gym, I took nights off here and there and came home to nap or do a gentle asana practice. It's odd for me to slow down so much, but it's paying off. When Friday rolled around this week, I was still on my feet and avoided descending into the moody, blubbering mess I was at the same time the week before.

Practice at 30 Weeks: I felt the first hint of lower back pain this week. I thought I would avoid that side effect of pregnancy because of my exercise and asana routine. Honestly though, my asana practice has not been routine. So, I took time out this afternoon to light some incense and do an hour side-lengthening practice. If I can just remember how good those feel, I'll be more motivated to get off my butt and practice more often. I think I could spend all day every day in this last trimester pampering myself with nutritious meals, cat naps, asana, meditation, and exercise.

Yoga at 29 Weeks Pregnant

Daily Life at 29 Weeks: I've had a bad attitude all week. My poor husband has had to listen to my complaints about physical discomforts and heavy workload. By Sunday, I realized that it just makes me feel worse when I whine. So, I've resolved to foster a positive outlook from now through the rest of the pregnancy. Sunday I took a long walk with a neighbor, spent time knitting and listening to Tara Brach, and watched the Super Bowl with my husband instead of rushing to get a jump start on the week and finish my yoga video. By the time I went to bed, I felt so much more relaxed.


Practice at 29 Weeks: We started learning about the first stage of labor in Bradley class this week. It was intimidating and scary, but somehow inspiring, too. Making it through labor requires total surrender and relaxation—physically, emotionally, and mentally. Now that I have an idea of what I'm preparing for, I'm that much more thankful I do yoga and already have a baseline practice that has made me familiar with how to let go. It's also huge motivation to practice, practice, practice.