Prenatal Yoga Class at Magee Women's Hospital

$10 per class for six classes is pretty cheap. I just wish it didn't involve an hour's drive each way!

I signed up for it because I have a yearning to flock with other expectant moms, and this momma-herd instinct isn't being satisfied in Natrona Heights where I live.

There are eight in our class, and at 8 months, I'm the most pregnant! Two others are due in June, two in September, one much later, and I believe there rest fall somewhere in between.

The class itself was good. Patty, the instructor is friendly and super nice. Turns out she teaches there every night of the week. This first lesson focused on pelvic floor awareness. We practised breathing in and out in an upright spread-legged position, and feeling how our pelvic floor descended on inhaling and came up when exhaling. I don't have any pelvic floor awareness. I couldn't feel anything really :)

We also did circles while seated cross-legged, to stretch the pelvis; rocked back and forth while inhaling and exhaling; reaching left and right while spread-legged; cat-n-cow poses; one downward dog; a couple swan dives; one warrior pose; tree pose; and some hip wiggles.

Everyone seemed in a hurry to leave right after the class ended, but I stayed to chat with Patty.

I'll be early next week to hopefully do some mingling!

Pregnancy and Running, Cross Country Skiing, Cycling, Snow Shoeing, Swimming, P90X

Following a previous post on 'Exercise while Pregnant', here are my adventures (and misadventures) while pregnant so far (32 weeks and counting).

Running

I've continued to run and hope to be running up till when Peanut is born. I am careful not to fall when running in the snow on trails, and even more so on the road where it can get icy. I play it by ear - if I feel any pain when running, I switch to walking. What kind of pains?

• I have experienced sharp pains on the left or right side of my belly. I think this is round ligament pain. The round ligament extends from the front of the womb to the groin. It supports the uterus and stretches as the baby grows. This stretching causes pain sometimes, and it's normal. Exercise can also cause this pain. Heck, even laughing can cause round ligament pain. It hurts bad. Probably not as bad as giving birth, but hey what do I know (yet...). 
• I've had some pain as my uterus contracts and becomes hard. This usually happens as I transition from the warm up walk to the run. Usually if I keep running (but at a slower pace), the contraction and the pain eases after a few minutes. If it gets too intense, I switch to walking. 

Cross Country Skiing

Since hubs got me a pair of cross country skis for Christmas, I figured I would try it. Unlike downhill skiing, the risk of falling at high speed is low. We broke in my skis on the Rails to Trails starting at Freeport towards Butler. My balance wasn't great - has never been - but I managed to do a slow shuffle. As I was afraid to fall backward onto my bum, I leaned forward more. I fell forward a few times because of that. Ending up in a crouch/squat put pressure on my belly and it hurt. So after a mile, I turned around to go back. No more skiing for now!

Cycling

I've spent many hours in the saddle, but not ridden through most of the pregnancy. I went out for a short winter-slush Rails-to-Trails ride in my 5th month, and boy was it uncomfortable. Having to lean forward to hold the handle bars put pressure on my baby bulge. Also, although my balance felt OK at that time, the slippery conditions had the bike sliding around and that was not good. Pass!

Snow Shoeing

Now this I enjoy and can foresee doing all the way up to D-day. (Except D-day is going to be at the end of May, and thus, snowless). It's just like walking, except the additional weight of the snowshoes gives a wee bit more of a workout.


P90X
I did 60 days of the P90X program while in Malaysia (and got into really ab-ripping awesome shape), got sidetracked by my move to the US, and had been backslidden for close to six months when I got pregnant. Some time in Month 3, I attempted to ease back into P90X very gently, but failed. Couldn't do the pull-ups, nor most of Ab Ripper - it actually hurt my abs! I know I know, I shouldn't have even tried. I was just bored of the Pregnancy Yoga DVD and P90X is a lot more fun! Oh well. :)

Swimming
I had lofty plans to swim throughout the pregnancy but these plans were derailed by Winter. The YMCA near my home has a 'heated' pool but the temperature is still too cold for my liking. I tried my best to make it work for about a month - after an hour of swimming (about 1.5 - 2 km) I would no longer be able to stay warm despite continuous movement. Worse, I would get chilled upon exiting the water all through the shower and dressing. I went home every time, shivering and chilled to the bone. It was too physically stressful and did me more harm than good, so I stopped.

However, during my visit to the tropical paradise that is Malaysia, I enjoyed the bath-water-warm sea swims tremendously. I guess I'm just a wimp when it comes to cold. :)

80 degree bath-water-temperature seas are just my cup of tea. At 7 months, Avillion
Admiral Cove, Port Dickson, Malaysia, for a Tadonamo Trieathlon 

What physical activities did you partake of while pregnant, if any? Or did you stop exercising completely the entire duration? :)