When I see all the bellies, I know I’ve found the right place. I’ve come to attend my first prenatal yoga class, and having never studied yoga before, I’m a bit nervous. No, I’m very nervous, because not only have I never attended a yoga class before, I’m stiff, I mean, I groan when I reach down to tie my shoes. And I’ve always had a hard time sitting still.
But I want to stay in shape, as much as I can, as I will inevitably gain weight over the next six months. I keep hearing about how great yoga is at toning the body and that it’s supposed to help your mind become calm and peaceful - and I know I’m going to need that when they wheel me into the delivery room. So here I am, surrounded by 5 other pregnant women who are talking excitedly with one another about all the itty-bitty clothes they’ve picked out, and the nursery rooms they’re painting and so on.
I’m tempted to sit in the back of the classroom, next to door, so I can sneak out if I decide the class is too much for me. But no such luck – that spot has already been taken! So I unroll my “stickie” mat and choose a spot towards the middle of the room. The instructor has already introduced herself to me, asked me how far along I am in my pregnancy and told me to grab some blankets and a mat from the shelf.
We start with a seated breathing meditation. It’s simple enough; the instructor talks us through it, gently keeping our focus on our breath. The teacher has us “warm-up our spines” with some side stretches and twists. Wow! It becomes very apparent to me that my belly and back have become tight over the past few months.
Then the teacher has us stand up and practice a couple of postures that develop strength in our legs. She also has us practice postures that help with back pain and others that help with swelling in the legs. All along, we are encouraged to breathe slowly and deeply and to keep our focus on our bodies. It slowly dawns on me that I never really take time to just focus my mind on my body. Even when I’ve worked out in the past, I usually did it in front of a TV or while talking to someone else.
The teacher encourages us to be present in our lives, especially at this special time. My pregnancy has already progressed rapidly; I feel like this past month just flew by. And I don’t want to be distracted. I want to be present for my baby, to acknowledge my baby now, before he or she is even born. It’s weird. My baby is starting to feel more real to me.
Next, we come back to the floor and move through some “hip-openers”. We prop our backs up on the blankets and come in to a posture called, ironically, “happy baby pose”. This pose looks suspiciously like the pose women are in when you watch them deliver babies in movies. I guess it makes good sense to start to practice it now, especially since I can feel some tightness in my hips.
Time to rest……ahhhhh……We tuck blankets under our upper backs, heads and knees, and once we’re all snuggled-in the teacher begins to softly speak and guide us through a soothing relaxation. Focusing my mind on my body has made me more aware of the subtle activities of my body. I can feel my heartbeat. My breath is much more relaxed than it was at the beginning of the class. Soon, I’m smiling.
We sit up and place one hand over our hearts and one hand on our bellies. We send our babies our love, and make a commitment to being the best parents we can possibly be. My smile has widened. With class ended, I go out in to hallway and chat with the other moms. My smiling continues and I realize that I’m gushing about all the details of my pregnancy. The other moms smile and nod back at me.
What initially drove me to attend the class? I guess vanity. I was hoping to find a form of exercise that would keep me trim. But now I realize that I’m not just doing this for me. I want to my body to be healthy for my baby, I want my mind to be healthy too so that my baby will have a mom who is kind and peaceful and happy.
I can’t wait to take class again next week!