This post will address practicing while pregnant.  I had been practicing second series when I got pregnant.  I had read all I could about practicing while pregnant, but there was not much about practicing second series while pregnant.  I found a teacher who had given birth to two beautiful children and had also been practicing second and, even advanced series. She helped me modify my practice as I got further and further along in my pregnancy.  At first, there wasn’t much to change.  My belly didn’t start growing much until the 5th month.  I did not modify much until the 6th month.  (I was still coming up from Karandavasana at 5 1/2 months.)  The first thing I had to really modify were the deep twists- Pasasana and Ardha Matsyendrasana. I was also advised to stop jumping back, but I still did, sometimes.  The next thing to modify were backbends.  Not all pregnant women need to do this, but I was starting to feel pain right below my navel. Almost like my muscles were separating. So I still practiced Ustrasana but stopped deep backbending- so no more Kapo or deep backbends at the end of practice.  After 6 months, I began to practice only first series. I was really nice to re-discover first series.  My hips started to open more and poses like Baddhakonasana and Supta Padangustasana were fantastic to practice. I also believe they helped me during labor and delivery but I will address that in the next post.  Stay tuned!

It’s just been so much fun to have her.  And I am also getting to practice quite regularly.  I’ve finished the teacher training program at my studio (did the bulk of it while I was pregnant) and am currently assisting with the Mysore program.  I love adjusting and getting to know and understand people’s bodies.

As for my own practice, it’s come back pretty quickly.  I’m practicing all of second series again.  I am hoping to start to explore 3rd series when my teacher comes to give a workshop at our studio this October.  Or if not then, hopefully soon. I did manage to injure my right hamstring a few weeks ago.  I’m still practicing and it really only bothers me in the Sun Salutations. Surprisingly, it doesn’t really bother me in Eka Pada or Dwi Pada.  I think it’s that my leg is bent and the angle of my leg, and the fact that those poses are largely hip opening poses.  Well, time for bed.  Mae eats a few times a night still and I’d like to get up for practice tomorrow.  Good night!

So, as you probably imagine, the pregnancy and birth experience changes one’s body quite substantially. I gave birth about 2 1/2 months ago and my practice is just beginning to be where I left off. I started practicing about 2 weeks after the baby was born. I started with first series and practiced that for about a month.  Then I added back some second series poses.  It’s surprising how quickly things come back.  Backbends were pretty quick.  Karandavasana was also pretty quick, which really surprised me. Right now, I’m practicing second series through Karandavasana, which is pretty much what I was practicing when I got pregnant.  I plan to stay here for awhile and just continue to strengthen the practice.

Here are a few pictures of the baby

other news- i started a yoga teacher prep program at my studio. it’s been fun and i have learned so much. i am currently assisting in a pre-natal class. this has helped me understand what to modify in my own practice.

this is the cycle i go through almost every year.  this week it’s hovering around 50.  i can’t complain, but i’m just so ready for warm weather and flowers.  

as i write this, i think about my practice.  a couple weeks ago i was finally coming up from karandavasana… as i keep a consistent practice, i’m feeling legs further down my back in dwi pada and i’m also feeling my back really start to open up in kapotasana.  practice is feeling great these days- focused… and the energy in the room has been amazing.  i’m considering starting to add back the rest of the 2nd series poses next week.  i’ll do a couple poses at a time.  very slowly- and being mindful of how each new pose affects the rest of my practice.  

all is coming…

fast forward two weeks. i’ve been practicing more consistentaly- which seems to be key.  eka pada and dwi pada are getting deeper.  i’m finally almost coming up from karandavasana.  so i think i’ll keep it here for a couple more weeks before slowly adding in the last few poses.

after letting go, i’ve realized there is a peace and a contentment that came with it.  i feel my practice getting stronger.  my wrists hurt less.  i have fewer injuries in general.

on another note- i’ve really let my food nerdy-ness run too far.  the moment i thought i couldn’t own any more cookbooks- i pick up a few more!  i recently got a copy of padma lakshmi’s book, tangy, tart, hot and sweet.  i’m a huge top chef fan, but i didn’t necessarily have high hopes for the cookbook.  i ended up loving it.  there are such great flavors and unusual ingredients.  i have many rare ingredients in my kitchen but her book has introduced me to even more.  i’m going to start a food geek blog.  well, maybe i should just stick to this one – what makes me think i can handle two blogs when i haven’t been able to handle one.  so… in addition to talking about yoga, i’m going to devote this blog to food.  glorious food!  there are two food blogs that inspire me.  well, there are many, but two that inspire the way i want to write about food. one is 101 cookbooks.  i know it’s a very popular food blog. when the author realized she had more cookbooks than any one person should – sounds familiar- she decided to start a blog and cook through her cookbook collection.  the second blog that inspires the way i would like to write is alinea at home (same author who wrote french laundry at home).  the blog follows the author as she cooks through two of the most challenging cookbooks.  (i’ve been to alinea- once- and have yet to go to french laundry).  i love the way she talks about her experiences cooking the recipes.  i guess the blogs are similar- cooking through recipes- but one is much more technical.

so i will talk about my experiences with cookbooks i have- some easier recipes, some challenging (like my charlie trotter RAW).  most vegetarian- some fish. this summer i’m getting a weekly CSA box from the well-loved angelic organics farm and will discuss cooking with those ingredients.  i will also discuss interesting food i eat out in the chicago area, and geeky food facts i run across.  so… stay tuned!

i love love.  last night mia and i hosted a valentine’s day singles’ event.  there ended up being around 70 people there near the end.  i wonder if anyone hooked up.  hope so.  regardless, it was such a blast we’re going to do it again in a few months- once the weather warms up.  we held it in a cozy party room above a local bar.  there were so many great people there.  i’ve always enjoyed setting people up- so far, i have 2 successes- married with kids.  sometimes i feel like i’m channeling jane austen’s emma.

the whole trip seems like a dream now. travel is a funny thing. you can be sitting in a small island town, watching the sunset one night and back in the icy cold the next. worlds apart.

i didn’t practice today. i started feeling sniffle-y last night and decided to sleep in. tomorrow i may do second series instead of first.

so i’m still trying to figure out exactly what muscle to flex, or engage when coming up in karandavasana. getting down, ok- hard, but ok. getting up… yeah, no clue. i feel like i engage every muscle i have and… nothing. i’m going to try playing around with shifting my weight. in jump throughs/ jump backs and in mayurasana that was the key for me, shifting my weight. so i’m thinking it might be here, too.

most recent fun thing to share- we went to belize this christmas.  it is an amazing place.  there is so much to do in a relatively small area.  we started out at the zoo.  the belize zoo is unusual in the fact that they do not take animals out of their natural habitats unless they need help.  all of their animals needed some sort of rehabilitation before returning to the wild.  they nurture animals back to health and return them to their natural surroundings, if they can.  we tood the day tour- pretty impressive, and then later we returned for the night tour.  the night tour was especailly impressive because the guide had food to feed the animals.  many of them came right up to the cage and hung out for awhile.  we saw many cats- big jaguars and smaller, house cat sized animals.

after the zoo we spent 3 days in san ignacio.  we went caving and trekking around some ruins.  the last part of our trip was spent in the cayes.  caye caulker was a beautiful little island town.  it was great, there were signs everywhere that read “go slow”.  we snorkled and swam with sharks and sting rays.  below is a pic with my new shark friend.  if you’re travelling in the near future, i highly recommend belize!

spring is my favorite season. why? because it is a time of renewal and rejuvenation. fresh- full of hope. i wonder what it will be like in a place where it is always spring. will i appreciate the idea as much? speaking of renewal and rejuvenation- i’m starting a raw detox. i know, i know- if you’ve read my blog previously that hasn’t worked out so well in the past. but the last time i tried to go raw was in the fall. not a good time for a vata person like me to try to eat all raw foods. but summer is a good opportunity to try it out. and i’m not going all raw. just mostly raw until dinner. i have this great book, The Raw Food Detox Diet. the great thing about this book is that it is for real people- like me- who want to try raw and cleanse their systems. there are 5 levels so you try a level that is comfortable for you. i’m a level 2 or 3. i’m going to try level 2 for the next couple weeks and see what happens. i’ll keep you all posted.

yoga- i skipped yoga today. well the day’s not over so i could still squeeze in a practice. i don’t know if i move too quickly or what, but the entire 2nd series has been taking me about 1 hr 15 min. my teacher encourages me not to rest too much between poses- so i think that’s part of it. i try to take 5 slow breaths in each pose. except the headstands at the end. i tend to take fewer because i’m still getting used to them. especially the 2nd and 3rd.

today is a beautiful day- well there is rain predicted later- but while it’s beautiful i’m going to walk over to this great burger joint and indulge in a decadent veggie burger before i start the raw detox tomorrow!