No one will judge you if you spend the entire class in the child's pose.
Sometimes when you're pregnant, you want to go where everyone knows your name. The prenatal yoga class is the local bar for pregnant women: it's a place to gather, share, reflect, and sweat a little too. At the very least, you'll get an hour of relaxing experience. Or, if you're like me, you'll end up in a hospital room and discover, in the most random way possible, that in the bed next to you is a woman from the same yoga room as you. Here are 10 truths about prenatal yoga classes that only those who have tried to do the Dog Pose decently during 27 weeks of pregnancy will understand.
- You will love the women who are about to give birth.
There's no shame in starting prenatal yoga at 6 weeks pregnant. It's a good place to go when you're tired of trying to keep your pregnancy up to date in the first trimester or if you just want to say to someone, "I'm pregnant and I can't take this gag just for the smell of meat anymore, but does anyone else feel like I?" Watch and rejoice at the sea of women nodding their heads. But what if you show up to class when you're about to give birth? Well, get ready to have a new status in your room. Most classes start with everyone talking about how many weeks they've been pregnant, and women who are 36 to 41 weeks are regarded with awe and awe. They are the Khaleesis of the prenatal yoga world, worthy of your worship and praise. Congratulate them, because they have found the strength to go to class with their swollen ankles, tendons and pelvic bones.
- Nobody cares if you stand still for the entire class.
Remember when you were sweating a lot and decided to just turn over on your side? Well, it's time to put that in the past, as well as those sushi dinners and the brand-new stomach. For the most part, prenatal yoga focuses on relaxation, opening up and paying attention to your body taking care of itself and preparing for birth. No one is going to glare at you if you just turn to the child's pose and stay in it until the end of class. In fact, it's even encouraged. The lack of judgment and pretense means that if you want to catch up on sleep before the baby is born, right in the middle of class, you will be understood and supported with a big “namaste”. Sweet dreams!
- But if you want to be different, go ahead.
Maybe you're in those days of decaf coffee and high hormones and suddenly you're the pregnant, female version of The Rock. If you want to expend energy before returning home, you should be careful about all the postures your teacher suggests. Do squats to open and strengthen the pelvic floor? No problems. Standing in the warrior pose like it's a challenge, even if it feels like your body is about to collapse from the extra weight of the human inside your belly? You can. And if someone who isn't pregnant says your prenatal yoga class is going to be easy, kindly remind them that the simplest movement is much more difficult when you seem to have a cinder block sitting on top of your bladder; block that also has the amazing magical ability to kick your ribs at will.
- Dropping gauze is no problem
Being pregnant and preparing for the baby's birth takes you to a completely new anatomical world, with bodily functions that you once thought were gross. Things like mucus, defecating in the bedroom, and the passage of the placenta producing an unplanned fart don't seem like a good deal. Pregnancy means giving up control of your body, so every woman is understanding of the fact that you just can't handle it. Prenatal yoga is a safe space to literally get it all out.
- Pelvic exercises and eye contact are a strange mix
In between gentle breaths, sharing and lying on the giant pillows, your teacher will ask you to squeeze the walls of your pelvic floor as if you were trying to hold back the pee. Suddenly, all the women around her are frowning, as if they're having the worst two minutes of their lives. Try tapping your head while using your other hand to rub your stomach. Now imagine doing that with your vagina. Voila. You just did a Kegel. He can hurt. Doctors often prescribe this type of exercise because it can help you resolve pelvic floor problems (such as the peeing-while-laughing dilemma that some women experience after childbirth). But, man, you feel really weird, especially looking at another woman when the two of you are squeezing the pee maker.
- It's so cool when you're surrounded by other women who made it
Prenatal yoga is more than just an exercise class. It's a sanctuary where pregnant women can take refuge with other exhausted women who are riding the same physical and emotional roller coaster that these months are. Some days you just have to say, "My acid reflux is killing me, I'm in pain and people aren't giving me a seat on the subway." And there will be several more nods of understanding.
- there will be tears
Crying in yoga class is nothing new — many of us have tears on our faces when we lie down in savasana (corpse pose) at the end of class. Usually, though, we snap back to reality when the teacher turns on the lights. And tears come regularly when we put together the non-judgmental vibe of class mixed with the general burnout of pregnancy, the massive life change looming, and your hormones raveting inside your body. You may be crying from stress at work or from a bad night's sleep. Maybe he's shedding tears of amusement that he secretly ate a piece of unpasteurized cheese the night before and it went down so well that it was the most wonderful thing he's ever eaten. Whatever the reason, he is welcome.
- The bathroom line is the most polite of them all
“Please skip the line. You are more advanced than I am. I'm only 12 weeks, I can handle it.”
"No, no! You go first, sometimes you need to pee so much in the first trimester. I insist."
"Okay, so let's see if anyone else in the room wants to pee, because then she goes ahead."
"Excelent idea."
- Accessories are your new best friends.
In a conventional yoga class, you may have already worn a belt or gloves, and some people looked at you like you were a coward. But here in the land of prenatal yoga, you basically have to build a fortress out of pillows and lie on top of it. Accessories are encouraged and you'll quickly discover that most postures look much better when you use the pillows. Even the simplest savasana can become luxurious respite when you're swaddled in freshly laundered pillows, blankets, and pillowcases. You can get so zen that you forget that your mobile app said your baby is already the size of a melon. But then this melon decides to take a spin in your uterus and you immediately remember.
- You don't always need to change your pants
Breaking news: leggings are the most beautiful pants in the world. Imagine the beautiful lycra leggings mixed with a high waist that goes all the way to the bra line, leaving everything in place. You will wear this beauty every day for almost 10 months because they are versatile, comfortable and beautiful. And the best part is that they can easily become yoga pants. Just put on a sports bra and you're good to go. In addition, you can also use it to go out! When class is over, wash your armpits and dry with paper, apply a little lipstick and you're ready for a night of clubbing.
Pregnancy is a beautiful time in life, but also very difficult. Prenatal yoga classes help both in preparing the body for the long-awaited birth and in making friends, relaxing, laughing or simply finding someone who understands everything you are going through. Between laughter and tears, every effort is worth it when the belly is not small.
Written by Amanda Magliaro Prieto of the Eu Sem Fronteiras team
