Posts In: encouragement

There are so many messages that our society sends women about their bodies and how they should look and perhaps one of the most vulnerable times to hear these messages is when you’ve just had a baby. Case in point, just recently a reviewer on Yoga One’s yelp page wrote about leaving class because the teacher was out of shape and therefore couldn’t be an experienced teacher. The reviewer had never been to the studio before. That teacher happens to have over a decade of experience and a beautiful six month old.

Help us share real stories like this one and support all individuals in their journey to lead happier and healthier lives. We want to hear your experiences with body image and/or postpartum recovery in the comments or by email (info@yogaonesandiego.com). If you’ve taken class at Yoga One, please consider posting your feedback online, Facebook, Yelp, Google, etc., we’d love to hear your thoughts! 

Part three in a series of reflections on pregnancy, childbirth and yoga from Missy DiDonato. Be sure to read her prenatal article and a just-after postpartum article.

guest post by Missy DiDonato

One year later (damn, already?!) I can say this about postpartum recovery and overall wellness – it’s not for sissies! 

Before giving birth, I had expected that my body would go back to what I still considered “normal.” I wouldn’t have the aches and pains I’d experienced during pregnancy and I assumed that with some time and effort, I would eventually be the same size and weight as before. But I was naïve to how long it would actually take and I had to adjust my expectations.

I had a cesarean and they cut my stomach muscles to deliver my baby. Abrupt, I know, but I needed to say those words to myself in order to process the experience. The initial weeks of recovery and healing from the c-section were easier than I anticipated and I was able to get back on my mat practicing yoga after just six weeks. I took it slow and thought that by allowing myself enough time to heal, my body would go back to the way it was pre-baby. But a year later, I’m still struggling with both the expectation and physical experience of “getting my body back.”

My biggest setback physically is the ongoing work of mending and strengthening my abdominal muscles. Their lack of stability often causes acute low back pain. I’m constantly reminding myself to get up after sitting for too long (an epidemic really, among anyone who sits too long at their desk or in a car.) I’ve had a couple of debilitating moments where I had to seek medical treatment with acupuncture and massage. This, coupled with proper yoga asanas to strengthen my ab muscles and stretch my hips and hamstrings, has kept the pain at bay. But sometimes I feel as though this pain will be a consistent reminder of what my body miraculously performed.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel bad about my body. It’s given me a healthy baby girl and for that, I am forever grateful. I do get bummed when I realize my belly is no longer the adorable object of affection.

Just as my body had to make space for the experience of carrying a life, my postprtum body needed time to adjust to a new version of life with different activities, patterns and eating habits. It’s been a challenge to fit healthy eating into a much busier day to day life. Making time for workouts and time for me often falls by the wayside simply because I miss her. So we take more walks and do yoga in the park. 

My priority is Olive and I remind myself that I have to be physically and spiritually strong to care for her like she deserves. My physical appearance is no longer my top concern, but the health of my body matters.

If I could say one thing to new moms, it’s that adjusting to your new schedule will be difficult, but remember that you gave birth, and that’s not for sissies! You got this!

 

Missy DiDonato
Guest Writer

Missy began practicing yoga at home when she was fourteen, following along to a DVD in her living room. She has since completed two separate 200 hour Yoga Teacher Trainings with UCSD and Yoga One. Missy loves helping others find their own yogic path and students of all levels appreciate her warm and friendly teaching style.

Cool. Jimi Hendrix, the Fonz and Nam Chantepie. The type of guy that upon first impression oozes a style, a charm, a persona… and the best part? The more you get to know him, the cooler you realize he is. Come take his Level 2 Vinyasa Flow on Thursday evenings at 6pm. Check out our full class schedule here.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga? 

Hatha Yoga. I like taking the time to really get into the pose and experience the alignment, muscular engagement and extension. Although I do enjoy flowing through a fun and interesting sequence, my home practice is more about exploring individual poses and the slow, deliberate transitions between them.

2. What first attracted you to yoga when you began your practice? 

I was living a rather sedentary life, and had just ended a toxic six year relationship. Never having taken a single class before, I looked to yoga to help me transition back into the gym and get back into shape. What I actually got out of my first three months was a clearer head, a lighter heart, a freer spirit and a 30-pound lighter body, and I forgot all about the gym. Yoga lifted me up and showed me so many things I never expected or knew I could find on and off my mat.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now? 

Handstand. I’ve been committed to a daily handstand practice for almost a year. Only within the last 2 months have I finally found a sense of weightlessness and engagement in my handstands.

4. What pose is still the most challenging? 

Ustrasana (or camel pose) has always been a challenge for me. I have a nagging shoulder impingement that keeps me from fully drawing my shoulders back, so it is difficult for me to feel ease or opening in this pose. I almost always modify with my hands on my hips and squeezing a block between my thighs.

5. If you were an animal, you would be: Probably a monkey. Mostly because I’m a goofball and love inverting!

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: peaceful centered space to grow from

7. What might your students be surprised to learn about you? 

When I was three years old, my mom and I tried to escape from Vietnam. We were caught three times and sent to prison each time. So technically, my students are being taught by a multiple offending ex-con. 🙂

8. Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new students? 

My first week of yoga, I had the honor of taking a class with Yoga One instructor Amy Freeman. Towards the end, I was really struggling and almost gave up on yoga altogether while unsuccessfully trying urdhva dhanurasana (full wheel pose).

Amy came up to me, gave me blocks to modify my pose and said, “It’s ok, you’re doing great. Think of where you’ll be a year from now.” Those words have stuck with me. Those are the words I think about every time I move into camel pose.

Yoga is not about achieving the perfect expression of the poses, it’s about incremental improvements and the humility to take a step back whenever your body needs it.

by Laura McCorry

How are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions? If you’re breezing through them, chances are you didn’t aim high enough and if you’ve already stumbled, it’s okay. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and begin again.

Motivation isn’t a delicate butterfly on a clear spring day that either rests on your shoulder or flits away out of reach. Motivation is a skill and like every other skill, it’s something you can practice and improve upon. Here are some tips to increase motivation and productivity, maybe one will give you the extra oomph you need to meet your goals:

• Honestly assess your goals to make sure they’re challenging but not unrealistic.
• Write down concrete steps along the way to achieving your goal rather than vague aspirations. For example, walk the dog four times a week, eat a new vegetable weekly, do yoga for at least 10 minutes a day.
• Make a list (not too long) and cross off items as you accomplish them.
• Pick an activity and a corresponding reward for the end of the day so you can increase your stamina for delayed gratification
• Choose rewards that support your well-being and are in line with your goals (make plans to see a friend or indulge in a leisure activity you enjoy but for which you don’t usually make time.)
• Tell a friend about your goals. Have them call you at a certain time and ask if you were successful that day/week/month.
• Set a timer and see what you can accomplish before it goes off (try the pomodoro technique for increased productivity.)
• Limit distractions. Put your phone down in another room. Block your internet. Hire a babysitter for an hour. Whatever you need to do to work on a goal with focus. 
• Keep a journal and reflect on everything you accomplished that day, you’ll feel productive and be more inspired to pursue your goals. 
• Give yourself a pep talk in the mirror!
• If you miss a day, call it a day off and let it go. Get right back to your goals the next day.
• Encourage someone else to keep striving towards their goals.
• When the going gets tough, take a two minute break to dance wildly in your kitchen.
• Practice gratitude daily. When you write down or say out loud specific things in your life for which you’re grateful, you increase your overall level of gratitude and happiness.
• Have compassion for yourself if you don’t make your goal. Tomorrow is a new day, take a deep breath and begin again.
• Celebrate when you reach a milestone (a goal that takes less than a year but longer than two weeks to accomplish)

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Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

by Laura McCorry

You are not fixed. 

Sometimes change is so slow as to be imperceptible. Your cells are always dying and new ones are born to take their place. Every day your hair grows a bit longer. Every day some small new part is incorporated into the whole of you.

All it takes to change your direction in life is one new thought. One different action. One word of love. All that came before brought you to this moment, right now. But the past shouldn’t be given a seat at the table of today.

Have the small acts and thoughts of this hour brought you into alignment with what you know to be true about yourself? If you have strayed from your path, this is when you need to have the most compassion for yourself and the most courage to forget what came before and begin again.

Never be afraid to speak your truth. People will try to hold onto the old idea of you because it is familiar. Don’t be tempted to go along with them.

Listen to the voice inside that speaks your dreams. Give yourself permission to shout who you are to the world. Consistent acts in the same direction add up over time. Small steps matter. You are not fixed – you are free.

Laura McCorry
Contributing Writer

Yoga and Laura had an on-again-off-again relationship from 2004 until 2009 when they decided to move in together and there’s been no looking back since. Passionate about both yoga and writing, Laura loves to introduce others to the joys and benefits of yoga and healthy living.

Contact: laura@yogaonesandiego.com

Those of you who practice yoga regularly can probably think of 50+ reasons why you go to class but it never hurts to have some extra motivation handy. What would you add to this list?

10. You just can’t answer that email from your boss right now. You just can’t. 

9. You get to cross something off your to-do list that makes the rest of your list feel more manageable.

8. You secretly worry what your mat would say about you if it could talk. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhVSCkxhVWI

7. You’ll leave the house and see other adult humans. They might even hug you.

6. The yoga DVD you bought is currently serving as a coaster on your coffee table.

5. You had a terrible day and yoga is the light at the end of the tunnel making you feel like it’s all going to be ok.

4. You had an amazing day and you know that post-class bliss will put you over the top in the best way imaginable.

3. Because you promised yourself and those are the most important promises to keep.

2. You believe yoga pants should be worn to yoga class more often than lounging on your couch.

1. Because yoga brings out the more loving and understanding superhero version of you!