30 Day Yoga Challenge: Day 1, Day 2

Day 1

I got up when my son woke up and decided to get on my mat right away. Before my son J was born, I enjoyed doing yoga first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, what I didn't plan on was the fact that J likes lots of attention in the morning. I ambitiously thought that he'd enjoy some tummy time on a towel next to my mat. That worked for maybe one minute. After that, he fussed quite a bit. I ended up getting through the video doing a combination of pausing to snuggle him, and doing some of the poses (pigeon, seated twist, butterfly) while holding him in my arms. I put him down when he seemed asleep, and as soon as he began to fuss again, I picked him back up.

My hips are extremely tight and I have very little core strength left, but it felt so good to finally breathe and stretch (even if it was broken up and a bit unfocused).

Lessons learned: wait until the baby is down for his nap, even if that means you don't get to work out at your "usual" time.

Day 2

Well, I *tried* to learn from yesterday's lesson, but sometimes I just need to get something done and J won't nap on cue. Luckily, he was pretty happy hanging out next to me. I did some full planks in today's practice which I haven't done in months. I checked myself for abdominal splitting (diastasis recti) and while there is a small separation, it's nothing to worry about. Today's practice focused on the chest and shoulders. Since I've only walked for exercise over the past 6 weeks, my shoulders were definitely burning!

With J being a bit calmer, it gave me a chance to actually breathe. This week I've been taking on a few shifts at my job (I work from home). It's really challenging right now to schedule myself to work for a certain period of time and keep J happy for the time I'm on the clock. I'm not sure how it's all going to play out, but a few deep breaths are really helpful when my brain is spinning in circles with worry.

(Re)Beginning Yoga

The last several weeks I've been focused on a whole lot of "other" stuff, namely preparing for my son's birth, having him, and then beginning a brand new phase of my life: motherhood. It's been a wild ride so far, starting with his delivery. I had a very long labor that ended up in an emergency c-section (if you get a choice in the matter, I'd advise either being in unmedicated labor for a long time OR having a c-section, but definitely not both).

Due to having my internal organs held in with superglue for the first few weeks after delivery, I decided that it would be a good idea to not push myself physically until I hit 6 weeks postpartum. (My midwife recommended it too, which made me feel a lot less guilty and lazy!). In the meantime, I've been taking our son for walks in his stroller and in the Ergo baby carrier. (I waited until I knew my incision was completely closed before I started wearing him.)

My 6 weeks is up on Wednesday, and I'm easing back into yoga with something fun: Do You Yoga's 30 Day Yoga Challenge on Youtube. I participated last October, and it's a great "intro to yoga." What's more, it is fantastic for promoting a beginner's mindset. To me, that means being open to new experiences and enthusiastic about the "try," not so much about the result.

Promoting this attitude towards yoga will hopefully bleed over into other areas of my life, like (big surprise) parenting! Instead of constantly worrying about my lack of perfection, maybe I should just focus on how adorable my son's chubby cheeks are. I want to celebrate his baby smiles and relish the moments when he tries to talk to me, instead of panicking about whether I'm stimulating his brain too much or not enough.

I'll write a minimum of one update per week, and hopefully I'll throw in some pictures too. Get ready for some gorgeous, well-composed shots that show off my messy house and poochy belly!

Do you want to go back to basics, in yoga or elsewhere? Anybody up to join me for 30 days of yoga?