06 April 2008

ommmmm

so I FINALLY made it to my first prenatal yoga class early saturday morning (conflicting with my much anticipated and cherished time to sleep in.) just because pregnant women are not out until the wee hours drinkin' and livin' it up doesn't mean we're awake at the crack of dawn. grrrrr.

I figured I'd be one of just a few students. man, was I wrong! the class was packed with all sorts of assorted shapes and sizes! there are a lot of pregnant women in new haven! where are they hiding during regular hours? we had to introduce ourselves, say how far along we are and talk about any pains/complaints.

"hi. my name is "p" and I am 19 weeks. no matter how hard I try, I cannot sleep on my side at night. I'm very grumpy." ooooh! my yogamates loved that! there was a lot of agreement and of nodding heads. good answer.

back in the day I used to practice yoga in nyc. I got pretty good at it (headstands and all) for someone NOT so very flexible. I would would leave class with the most amazing posture and a shitload of energy. I felt great. my fond memories made me excited to take this prenatal class. I longed to feel that good again.

this class was slightly different. it was HARD! and SWEATY! I had no sense of balance and my muscles could not have been any tighter. put it this way, I had great difficulty shaving my legs earlier that morning. I simply cannot bend over never mind all those elaborate stretches. it sucked. I'm tall and you have further to go than those who are "closer to the ground." at times I got a little light headed. the teacher told us to go into the child's pose to relax when your body is feeling stressed. well, that child's pose is no picnic either. is class over yet? one crazy stretch we had to partner up with someone. of course I got the woman who was coughing away with a terrible cold -- just what I wanted and needed. AND she complained about the constant gas she was having. nice. I declined (very gently) to continue. "thanks but no thanks."

I made it through class and with just 1 pee. woohoo! all that bending and pressure on my bladder -- good lord. the whole experience was nothing like I recall. moving around and pretending to exercise is pretty awkward now with a protruding belly. I actually felt like I was doing more damage than good. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. THEN I heard my name. it was b's attending's (boss's) very pregnant wife calling me. we had met at that infamous party where I blacked out and puked. remember? I was just coming off of a failed IVF cycle and all that toddler talk pushed me over the edge (and into more wine.) "oh, hi." (think back. who is she? who is she? who is she?!) she was kind enough to REintroduce herself. "yes, yes! nice to see you... again." I think.

I made it home. I was exhausted, shaky and completely out of sorts. my posture sucked. I slept for 3 hours straight and still felt like crap.

I'm so looking forward to doing this again next week.

ommm shanti peace, peace, peace.

4 comments:

AwkwardMoments said...

oh i wanted to do that! glad you enjoyed yourself

Aunt Becky said...

That sounds just awesome. I'm so glad that you had a good time.

Joy said...

haha.. Thanks for the review. I've been considering finding a prenatal yoga class locally.
I USED to be very flexible, but not so much anymore. And I'm definitely not well-balanced (take that however you choose.)

But just bending and stretching to do housework leaves me in PAIN. I put the comforter back in the duvet this afternoon and had a contraction. (Braxton Hicks, but it still alarmed me.)

If laying in bed with the covers over my head wouldn't make me hurt WORSE, I swear I'd hide until September.

A Yoga Mama is a Rama Mama said...

Stumbled upon your blog through a Google Alert I have set to pregnancy and yoga - very funny stuff. Congratulations on your pregnancy; I hope you do try doing more yoga because it's really helped me through my pregnancy so far (33 weeks and counting!). You should check out my blog for ideas on poses and prenatal yoga DVDs. Plus I bitch a lot about my pregnancy as well!

Namaste,
YM
http://ramamama.blogspot.com/