This morning I attended my second prenatal yoga class - and it is amazing. First of all, everyone is pregnant! I know this seems obvious, but being pregnant all by yourself can be a little lonely, and attending an exercise class with other pregnant people makes you feel normal and less... awkward, especially when you're doing squats.
Secondly, the instructor, Edie, is Grandma-aged (of course, she looks like she's 35, but...) and does this out of the goodness of her heart rather than for the money. We use a yoga center's space, but we pay Edie directly. And it's a very minimal amount.
Thirdly, Edie teaches us labor and delivery techniques, breathing exercises, basic yoga, all rolled into one. This class might be more worthwhile than the childbirth prep class Dave and I took for five weeks in Jan-Feb through the hospital.
Fourthly, Edie asks people for specific physical pains/discomforts and then targets the class directly - for instance, today a woman said she was having sharp pains from her sciatic nerve (something that plagued me two weeks ago and is excruciatingly difficult to stretch out), and Edie changed some of our routine and incorporated positions to take off the pressure on our sciatic nerve. Beautiful!
I *heart* prenatal yoga. Hooray that the class exists and isn't financially out of our league!
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2 comments:
Congrats on your pregnancy and glad you're enjoying yoga during it. I teach yoga myself so I've been mainly practicing on my own with the help of prenatal yoga DVDs and sequences I've created myself. I agree though that going to a prenatal yoga class is much more about being around all the other buddha bellies and talking to others going through the same journey. I went to a few live classes myself and really enjoyed it, but I've slacked off the last few weeks since the studio isn't super convenient to my house.
I'm actually due exactly a month after you so I'm excited to check back with your blog to warn me of what's to come.
Great blog, Sarah! I'm so glad I stumbled across it.
Thanks for posting this tip. I am lucky to have a yoga studio in my neighborhood and was planning to give its prenatal classes a shot. It's encouraging to hear about your experiences.
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