Prenatal Yoga

I signed up for prenatal yoga classes through my hospital. Yesterday was the first class, and I am so glad that I signed up for it. The last yoga class that I went to was at the Y a couple of years ago. There was a pregnant woman in the class, and it made me feel so hollow and sad being there with her. I went to one of the classes and didn't return.

I used to do yoga before then through a gym I belonged to. I loved that class, since it was a mix of yoga, tai-chi and pilates. I went every week, and it helped keep my mood stable. I love holistic methods of keeping my mood, mind and body balanced, and so, when I finally found a prenatal class that was close by, not expensive, and not held in the middle of the damned day, I signed up.

There are only five other women in the class and the instructor, who is awesome. She's a doula, a child-birth instructor, an assistant midwife and a lactation consultant. She has this aura about her that is so comforting and grounded. The other women in the class are either a week before or a week behind me, so we are all pretty much on the same page, except for the one who is at 20 weeks. They are all different levels, shapes and sizes, so I don't feel intimated by any "yogis" which...if you've ever been around them...they can be pretty intimidating.

The class is focused on opening up our joints to prepare for birth, as well as to learn breathing techniques and positions that are ideal for birth as well.

I didn't realize how much my center of gravity changed either. It was funny, because we all did better balancing on our right sides rather than our left. The instructor said that it will probably change every week as our babies move around, and we get bigger. I was the crappiest tree in my tree pose that required me to balance on my left leg, but I nailed it when we shifted to my right leg.

I get five more weeks of this class, which will take me to the middle of my third trimester. I can't believe that time is flying by so quickly.

I am doing horribly at taking weekly pictures, but here's one from last week (24w5d). I forget if I posted it or not.