Hey, hey, Barrebabes!
It's me again, your favorite belly-bouncing barre teacher, who is now NINE MONTHS pregnant! Like whoa, right? I'm so pregs, I can even get a seat on the L train at rush hour. So today I have for you some potentially relevant lessons I've learned so far from being knocked up.
Pregnant Ponderings
I know I say it all the time, but I really have been pleasantly surprised by how much I've enjoyed being pregnant. Honestly, I'm not fully sure why I expected pregnancy to suck so much in the first place (maybe because of scary PSAs during the teen pregnancy "crisis" when I was in high school, or from my ballet background which seemed to indicate that having a baby would ruin both my figure and career, neither of which turned out to be anything that could be ruined as such). But instead of months of restriction, discomfort, limitation, and an unpleasant feeling of being inhabited by some mysterious squirmy alien, I've instead found new ability, special and abundant energy, and a deep sense of inner calm I've never really felt before. (I particularly enjoy the squirmy alien part, although it seems the little guy is currently trying to kick his way out through my belly button). Anyway, as I prepare to re-enter the non-pregnant world, I've been thinking a lot about how to maintain my tranquil vibes even after the auto-chill preggo hormones have subsided. Here's what I think:
1) avoiding excess is key - especially when it comes to partying. This is not to say I was a mega party girl before getting pregnant, especially not by New York standards, but I've always enjoyed hanging with friends and sometimes having an irresponsible amount of tequila. Obvi, since finding out about our little miracle, all that pretty much came to a halt, but I can't say I've minded too much. Rather, I've noticed a marked increase in energy, sense of balance, and get-after-it-ness, which I chalk up to the fact that I'm not forcing my liver, which is responsible for feelings of motivation as well as for fat & energy metabolization, to work overtime making up for late night margaritas and tipsy brunches. Now, I don't mind telling you that I enjoy a "French pregnancy" and have had a glass of wine with dinner when I've felt like it since the end of my first trimester. (This translates to about 3-4 drinks per week, tops.) But being one-and-done feels great, and of all the lessons I've learned in the past months, that's one I hope sticks. Life is just easier when you don't wake up sluggish or confused, let alone actually hungover. Added bonus: less drinking means less water weight/inflammation puffiness. I call it a win.
2) movement is embodied freedom. A heavy phrase, I know, for something that's ultimately just fun, but it really is! I've moved nearly every day throughout my pregnancy and I feel awesome because of it. The days I don't move as much, I feel certain aches and discomforts start to creep in, plus the baby loses his mind fidgeting. On the days I do move, I am calmer, taller, more energetic, and find it easier to breathe. At 9 months pregnant, I can still touch my toes, even if I can't actually see them, and can even jump, though I don't - much. And though I still train about 6 hours per week (down from a usual 10+), movement doesn't have to be an actual workout. To wit, dancing is my favorite, I credit barre class for the intact state of my butt through the past 9 months/30-odd pounds, and I absolutely love my Pilates lessons and daily walks, but even simple bouts of unstructured movement feel great: bouncing on a ball while watching movies with hubs, hip circles while I wait for the coffee to be ready, or rolling out my yoga mat when I wake up just to wiggle, stretch, and breathe. The point is that, especially if we already regularly take class most of the time, we don't necessarily have to do an epic amount of intense sweat sessions to reap the benefits of movement (although go for it, if that's your thing). Do what you love, challenge yourself when inspired to do so, and in the meantime, just enjoy doing something, however gentle or fun it might seem. In other words - it all counts.
3) rest is best - I know, I know, you've heard me say it before, but seriously, the power of prioritizing rest as a key part of well-being is unmatched by anything we can eat or not eat, how long or frequently we work out, etc. You may have heard the experts say the best rest is to go to sleep at 10pm and wake up at 6, and perhaps that's true (I honestly don't know. I've always been a night owl, except in the summers during high school when I worked on a farm at 5:30 am every day and had a curfew at night because I tended to misbehave.) However, that schedule is not very realistic for many New Yorkers, and I think it's easy to drive ourselves a little crazy trying to stick to daily recommendations that may or may not have anything to do with our actual lives. I'm lucky that, even pregnant, I maintain a siesta schedule, which is what feels best to me: I stay up late (around 1/1:30), wake up reasonably early (between 6:30 and 8, depending on the day), and nap in the afternoons, a glorious 30 minute to 1.5 hour near-daily appointment with my sofa under the skylight. I realize that's also not practical for many nine-to-fivers, so I offer this: rest isn't just about sleep, though sleep is delicious. Rest is just as much about clearing space in your schedule and life to do nothing, or at least nothing that's immediately productive. It's about putting your phone down for a few hours each day, about resisting the urge to respond to emails after 9pm, about easing up on your weekend and free time schedule. It's about taking a walk, or putting your feet up, or simply freeing yourself from feeling like you have to be "on" all the time.
Basically, I think pregnancy requires caring for yourself, being really nice to yourself, and being gentle. For me, this has meant releasing a lot of the external pressures I tend to place on myself so I can better listen to what I need. This in turn has made me both happier and even a little bit better at life than I was before (although the baby brain struggle is real, y'all). Anyway babes, I hope this is useful to you, pregs or no. And you know I can't wait to...
See you at the barre!
Annie
