I attended my first pre-natal yoga class last week (at the end of one of my "grrrrRRRRRrrrrrr" days- see previous post on that here). Not sure if it was my Ashtanga background or my "grrrrrRRRRRrrrrr" attitude, but I don't think it is my cup of tea. I did love and appreciate being in the midst of many pregnant ladies, all at different points in their pregnancy. However, I felt like we did maybe 30 minutes of actual exercises and had around 60 minutes of talking/relaxation, which didn't fly with this "grrrrRRRRRrrrr" Type A lady. For $17/class I think I can just incorporate some of those poses into my own home practice.
I was also FREEZING in the studio space! I think I may have been in the minority on that one, as halfway through the class, when we were again gently swaying our hips in circles, another (much more pregnant than me) lady told the teacher she felt hot. The air was immediately turned down even further. As my skin bristled with goosebumps and my muscles clenched up those around me might have heard a "grrrrRRRRRRrrrrr" rumble deep down in my throat.
One of the coolest things (pun intended) at class was recognizing a lady on the mat across from me. We'd been eying one another at the beginning of class in the "I think I know you but I'm not quite sure" kind of way. Sure enough, we share a dear mutual friend, and have seen one another several times at this friends' gatherings. Once I realized who she was, I was immediately ELATED to see her there- as I knew she too hadn't had an easy road with getting pregnant.
When we chatted after class, one of the first things out of her mouth was "I love your blog!" I was dumbfounded- then amazed- then humbled. Our mutual friend had apparently shared my blog link with her awhile back, and she told me how helpful reading my fertility journey had been to her.
Dear Readers, that is one of the main reasons why I started this blog. When I was at the beginning of our "unexplained infertility" saga, I found several blogs written by women who had struggled for years to conceive. It was incredible to find a community of women who understood what I was going through and actually wrote honestly about it. I especially loved hearing the tales of families who eventually did conceive- it gave me SO much hope. To hear that I had provided that sense of hope and community for someone else just melted.my.heart.
So yeah, I paid $17 for a yoga class that I didn't really groove on- but what I got out of it in way of that connection was absolutely priceless.
So, I didn't like my first prenatal yoga class either, but I liked all the stretching and felt like it would be good for birth. I kept going and I must admit I quite like it now and look forward to it every week. There's nothing in the class that I couldn't do at home with a prenatal yoga video but I LOVE being around all the other preggos, feels like a "red tent" =) I totally hear you on the not good for getting any pent up aggression or anger out as there is very little sweating, but again I just love all the stretching, feels like I'm really doing something to prepare to get this baby out!
ReplyDelete