Honouring Your Body
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| Thank you to my fantastic friend Jen at Snow Pea Portraits for the great photo above! http://www.snowpeaportraits.com/ |
When I saw that little plus sign back in the fall, I was scared of what it meant for my body. I carry my babies big, and I make big babies. I have gained about 50 lbs with each baby, and on my small 5'3" frame, that's a lot of pounds. I was determined to make it through this pregnancy active and strong. I dedicated myself to doing yoga a couple of times a week, and decided to stay as active as I could. Unfortunately, this past winter and fall has been a brutal sickness season for us. Virus after virus came to visit us in our home, and it seemed that we were never healthy for more than a week. When we were healthy, it was brutally cold outside. I could feel my determination at staying active slipping away.
This past 2 months, I joined momstown Edmonton's Fit Mamas Challenge. Now, you may think that is an odd thing for a pregnant mama to do, but I needed something to keep me accountable. My personal resolve was slipping away as my belly grew bigger and bigger. So, when the challenge was announced, I decided I was going to do it. I did it last year, and it was such an amazing experience. I knew that I would not be able to do everything, but that I could modify that which I could not do. We are in our last week of the challenge, and it has felt so great to be able to move my body and feel the blood pumping. It has reminded me a little bit of how I felt running. I loved it so much, I returned for a second class for one of our classes! We also have an at home/online feature this year with a fabulous trainer. I started out doing the at home workouts regularly. But as the weeks have gone on, my body has started to feel the aches and pains of pregnancy more. And, I am so tired. I am so tired that it feels like my muscles can barely move. Pregnancy insomnia has its tentacles firmly entrenched in my nights. So, instead of opening up my home workout many of these past weeks, we have gone swimming or for walks. I have closed my eyes and rested my body when I have been able to. If there is anything I have learned in the last year and a half, it's that you need to listen to your body and honour it. This is never more important than in pregnancy. It seems a simple thing to do, but until the past couple of years, I have never put that much importance on honouring and listening to my body. I'd think I was listening to my body by giving into cravings, or continuing so many unhealthy habits. But after doing yoga this past year, I have learned that my body is smart. It knows what it is doing if I only listen to it properly. And if we only take the time to truly listen to it and honour its requests, we will feel so much better.
So my goal is to continue to take the time when I need it. Trust that my body knows what it needs. One only needs to take the time to listen to what the body truly is asking for in order to honour it. With 13ish weeks left of pregnancy and 2 active boys at home, I think it's going to be increasingly important for me!
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