Category: Diary of a busy mum

February 20, 2013 Suzie

The New Year Resolution – 6 weeks on.

January 6th 2013

I feel awesome. I have just completed a four day Ashtanga Intensive Yoga block; 8 very intense hours that pushed my body further than I thought possible. For those of you who only associate Yoga with gentle stretching and meditation – this couldn’t be further from the truth.

I’ve been doing Yoga classes weekly for about a year. They are the perfect exercise fit for me. I leave most classes feeling
re-energised, relaxed – and just the right amount of sore. I’ve often promised myself that I’ll do a yoga DVD at home Yoga2during the week as well, but this rarely happens. My will-power is not the best, so I need an instructor pushing me. It’s too difficult for me to attend more than one class a week, although I really wish I could. So when I saw an add at the Yoga studio offering the four day intensive course, promising too; ‘start the year with a strong Yoga focus. Strengthen and tone the body. Shed the Christmas kilos,’ I thought it sounded amazing. It was perfect timing as my husband was on holidays so could stay with the kids.

The first morning my alarm went off at 5am (for the 6am start) and despite the uncivilized hour, I felt pumped up; excited for the challenge ahead. During the 15 minute warm-up, I found myself thinking this was going to be a breeze. But then the Ashtanga practice began – Oh my God! Ashtanga style yoga is typically a 90 minute continuous dynamic flow of Yoga postures. There are no rests for throbbing muscles, it’s go, go, go. 10 minutes in and I thought I’d pass out soon. But then all of a sudden I got a kind of rush, I felt strong enough to do anything. My mind switched back and forth between these two feelings throughout the 90 minutes. And then, just when I thought my wobbling legs would fail me, it was over and time for the well deserved meditation. I almost floated out of the room.

But then my alarm went off the next morning… And the next. My relatively un-fit body was truly struggling with such intense working. My legs and stomach were particularly sore. But during each class, I continued to get those bursts of energy, those moments of strength. By the fourth day I wasn’t sure I’d make it. But the afternoon before I’d treated myself to a new Yoga outfit (I’ve never had one before). And this may be shallow, but that outfit was enough to get my sore body out the door for that last session.

I can’t describe the euphoria I felt during the final meditation. I felt so empowered by what I’d achieved. What I’d noticed in the mirror after only four days was quite unbelievable – everything was tighter and for the first time in years, my love handles fairly smooth. I vowed that I would continue to practice Yoga every day for the rest of the year. With results like these I’d be insane not to.

February 12th 2013

Well, six weeks on and I wouldn’t say I’ve failed, but I haven’t been completely successful either. The first week, I kept my promise, completing a Yoga DVD at home every day and managing to attend two classes. But then I got sick and only managed one class the following week. Then the kids got sick; no yoga at all for that week… Same old story. But this time I don’t feel as though I’ve failed. I’m still proud of what my body managed to get through and I now know for a fact that hard work pays off; I’ve seen and felt the results. I’m much better at fitting in some sporadic exercise when I can – some simple leg strengthening postures while watching the kids in the bath, or a few abdominal moves during the adds of an evening TV show. I loved pushing my body to the limit for the first time and am going to continue to find challenges for myself. I’ve enrolled in a ‘Yogalates’ course for March and can’t wait. Exercise for me has to be enjoyable, challenging and for now flexible enough to fit in to a busy lifestyle. Luckily, I’ve found this in Yoga.

August 30, 2011 Suzie

This photo shows what my three year old daughter managed to do in the two minutes it took for me to go to the toilet – making the disastrous mistake of leaving her alone with the ‘craft box’.  My adorable little tornado creates messes like this on a regular basis – like for all mums, tidying up is a never ending task. Then there are the other million jobs we have to do; so how in the world do you get the rest that is so highly recommended during pregnancy?

During my first pregnancy I definitely got the chance to put my feet up a bit more than this time around. Although I was working fulltime, I could come home and have a nap before even thinking about anything else. But anyone with a toddler knows having a nap during the day is impossible (unless your little one still takes them!) Any book on pregnancy will explain the benefits of getting enough sleep / rest during your pregnancy. It allows you to ease symptoms such as swelling and nausea and some even say prepares you for a calmer and more efficient labour. But how do we get that rest when there is so much else to do?

I don’t have the perfect answer to this question, but I have discovered something that helps. You need to be a little selfish! The natural instinct of a mum is to do everything for your child first and yourself second. And of course this is the way it’s supposed to be. But I think sometimes it causes us to forget about ourselves altogether. I’ve made a conscious decision in the last month or so to make sure I get to put my feet up at least once a day – whether it’s while cuddling my daughter on the couch while she watches her favourite cartoon or lying in the bath once she’s gone to sleep. The housework can wait – my rest time comes first! I’m also learning to rely on help from others more often, instead of trying to do everything myself. I have a yoga class once a week that I will not miss no matter what because it completely regenerates me. A couple of weeks ago, I knew my husband felt sick and probably would have rathered me stay home instead of him babysitting. But I didn’t even give him the chance to ask, I gave him a quick kiss and raced out the door – I figured that if I could soldier on through 15 weeks of morning sickness, he could last for two hours!

Rest is very important and I can feel the difference it is making now that I’m ensuring I get some everyday. I feel calmer and not so anxious to ‘get everything done’. I grab whatever time I can to relax and I’ll accomplish my million and one other tasks when I get around to them. J

August 1, 2011 Suzie

Hi everyone 🙂
My name is Karyn and I’m very excited Suzie has asked me to share some of my experiences with trying to stay healthy while pregnant on her website!

I’m 27 weeks pregnant with my second baby. I had my beautiful daughter three and a half years ago when I was 26 and that was a much easier pregnancy; I was able to stay fairly fit throughout it. I had plenty of time to go for walks and do aqua-natal classes (like aqua aerobics). I didn’t suffer many pregnancy symptoms at all. This time round though – where do I begin! I had morning sickness that lasted all day until I was about 17 weeks. Then, just as that was disappearing, I got sciatica (where the sciatic nerve in the back pinches, sending pain down the back, bottom and leg) ouch! I have so many varicose veins that I look and feel as though my legs have been run over by a truck! And I’ve put on probably double the amount of weight as I did in my first pregnancy.

However, I have found something that has been helping me so much – pre-natal yoga / meditation. I was doing a yoga DVD a couple of times a week early on in my pregnancy, but once the sciatica set in it was way too painful. So I basically stopped all types of exercise for about 6 weeks and I think that’s when the weight began to pile on a bit. After a visit to my obstetrician, he assured me I wouldn’t continue to have sciatica the entire pregnancy and it should begin to subside at around 21 or 22 weeks. I was going to physio once a week and this helped a little. But at 22 weeks when it got worse instead of better, I decided to stop complaining and do something about it. I called the Hills Yoga Centre and booked in for their pre-natal yoga classes. I can’t even begin to explain what a help these classes have been. The poses stretch out every sore muscle in my body and leave me feeling energised. My sciatica has gone completely (which may also be a result of progressing in the pregnancy and my ligaments settling down – but I’m sure the yoga has helped as well).  Each hour session finishes with 10 minutes of deep breathing and meditation practice which leaves me feeling as though I am floating on clouds. My varicose veins, although still painful, have improved a little as well.

Honestly, 6 weeks ago I told my husband that if he wanted anymore children we would have to adopt because I didn’t want to ever be pregnant again – now though, I am feeling so good and enjoying lots of kicks from baby – I think I could do it again!!