Pre-natal yoga, part I

I may have mentioned I negotiated approval to run 14 miles a week from my previous doctor.

The beauty of switching doctors midway through pregnancy is that you can pick and choose how you apply input. Every doctor is different, some more relaxed than others. I think 14 miles is the best I'm going to get so no need to push it and ask the new doc.

In spite of the allocation of miles, I still need to find a couple other workout options. For one, I burn through my miles by Thursday. I have a good muscle pump class on Fridays, but have started looking for prenatal classes. Inevitably I'm not going to be able to run forever and yoga is supposed to be so great, especially for those expecting.

Unfortunately, prenatal classes aren't really easy to come by - I guess odds aren't working in my favor that there is a large population of people interested in yoga and pregnant at the same time. I searched all the area studios and didn't find much. A couple mid-day classes during the week, a Tuesday night session I haven't been able to make yet. In other words, not much.

So I was delighted to stumble upon a studio right down the street one day on the way to the grocery that was set to begin classes Sat/Sun this weekend. Perfect!

I checked out the scene on Saturday and am left feeling like I need to keep searching. To start, I was the only person in the class. I was outnumbered by the instructors, who staffed up not knowing how many people to expect. This meant great personal attention. It was also a bit awkward.

Admittedly I'm also still trying to wrap my arms around the yoga concept. I don't sit still very well so laying down and focusing on my breathing for 10 minutes (twice in one class) is a challenge. Although I do think I had kind of a 'breakthrough' in that I figured out to some degree what this actually means. More on that another day.

I really like Bikram yoga, but likely because it is so hot and you're sweating almost immediately upon entering so it feels like you're actually doing something. That type of heat isn't allowed during pregnancy, regardless of which doc you ask. This class left me wondering after 1:45 minutes if I'd have been better off staying in bed.

So the next question is whether this odd session of laying, breathing and a couple poses, is in fact what prenatal yoga is all about or if there are different interpretations. I have since found a few more local options, including a prenatal pilates class that I'll try once I'm back from Miami.

Until then, I'll be lacing up. See you on the pavement.