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Ommmmmm

During my first pregnancy with Jolie, I decided to give prenatal yoga a try. For one, I was feeling fairly stagnant having given up my daily pre-work gym work-out due to the absolute inability to get up early anymore. Plus, I had Lazy Pregnant Woman Syndrome, a disabling condition involving unrestrained eating and poor exercise habits. It was a severe case.

I've never been a yoga person. I wish I were. I tried a class or two in college and just did not get into the whole thing. I largely favored cardio-pumped aerobic exercise to the mellow, touchy-feely yoga vibe. As you may recall, I was a step aerobics instructor for some time (do people even do that anymore?): I was used to working out to serious techno rhythms and strange, manufactured synthesizer sounds.

So, yoga was a departure for me and I decided to start easy, in the comforts of my own home.

I bought a couple of videos, Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rea and Rocki's Prenatal Yoga that seemed to have good reviews online. I liked doing these in general, but my utter lack of discipline and tendency to just stop the video when tired or bored negated any serious benefit, I think. I also had none of the typical yoga props, like blocks, and would use a blanket instead of a proper yoga mat. It was yoga, slummin'-style.

Meanwhile, I looked into yoga studios offering Prenatal Yoga classes near me and found a couple of different options that had classes I could actually make (on the weekend or at night) and tried both of these out.

The two were very different. And in the honor of Taco Bell, a pregnancy fave, I will refer to the first as "Mild", the other, "Hot".

Mild Prenatal Yoga was more spiritual, more emphasis on stretching and flexibility than actual exertion. The class and studio were large and I totally bonded with one of the other pregnant women, and not because we were the two largest women in the world there! I liked the routine of going. It was a relaxing, cleansing feeling. Kind of like a colonic. (Just kidding. I've never had a colonic nor will I ever.)

Hot Prenatal Yoga was hard. The studio was much smaller and the routine (or whatever you call it) made me sweat like a cow. I was out of breath with some of those poses. Super-challenging. Maybe too challenging. Plus, I was still under the steely grip of Lazy Pregnant Woman Syndrome and sometimes I wasn't up for more sweating and fatigue. Been there! Done that!

This time around, I don't think I'll be attending classes. Having a toddler to contend with and my schedule makes it hard to carve out a time to escape for regular classes, and besides, I am still exercising regularly with my piece of home exercise equipment, a miracle in of itself.

I'd recommend prenatal yoga to those who want to engage their bodies, for the community aspect of classes, and to help relax and focus. Not for a regular cardiovascular work-out or weight-gain control.

_{Disney Family does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Call your doctor regarding any medical condition. Never disregard your doctor's advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Disney Family site.}