This week I’m publishing a series of posts on women’s experience of exercise during and after pregnancy. There have been a series of high profile sportswomen continuing to train and compete in recent months. But what about regular active women? This week I’ll interview a runner, swimmer, triathlete and yoga teacher.
Erin Taylor, Founder and Head Coach at Jasyoga, 18 months postpartum
Before pregnancy I did 60-90 min yoga per day, meditated twice a day, and ran 5-6 days a week (~25 miles/week).
I was not able to run through my pregnancy. Since I was already a runner I assumed I’d be able to carry on so I was surprised and disappointed that my body didn’t respond well to it. It felt like crap so I gave it up by the end of my first trimester and shifted my focus to swimming, which felt great. I was able to continue yoga although my practice became more and more gentle/restorative. I attribute my positive mindset throughout and ultimately a really magic birth experience to daily meditation.
Post-baby I didn’t resume anything other than gentle yoga until I was six weeks postpartum. General advice out there is that you can resume your usual exercise after six weeks, however this is an incredibly arbitrary number and doesn’t take into account what kind of birth you had and how much sleep/support/etc. you are getting in those early days. I totally bought into this “I have to get back into after six weeks” mentality and really suffered because of it. It was like one step forward, two steps back.
In retrospect, I was too hard on myself about exercising both pre- and post-baby and wish I had relaxed about it way more and given myself a break. It all goes so fast. My focus now is to relax and enjoy my baby.
It has only recently become easier and that’s because my baby has only just started sleeping through the night and napping like a champ. It’s also easier because I only run when 1) I really feel like it and 2) I actually have the energy to do it. Since I’ve adopted this more relaxed attitude to running, I enjoy it way more than I did when I forced myself to do it.
It all goes so fast so don’t waste time beating yourself up about working out. Your fitness will be waiting for you when you’re ready to reclaim it – really ready.
There’s loads of crap out there about “getting your body back” which I think is super negative and puts way too much pressure on moms. What you don’t hear is this: It takes at least 18-months for your body to return to its pre-pregnancy state. That’s a year and a half!
The two most important things postpartum are rest and nutrition, but few talk about that. Instead women are judging themselves based on their workouts and what they see other women doing on social media, and that is really unhealthy. I was guilty of this myself and won’t be making the same mistake when I have my next baby.
I lost my baby weight way too fast because I was doing way too much and as a result I felt destroyed. Women were asking: How did you get back in shape so fast? Which was really upsetting because I wasn’t fit, I was frazzled. And I needed help. Women should be asking each other how they are, rather than commenting on how they look.
Every woman’s experience is so different and so it’s really important you don’t compare yourself to anyone else, especially pro athletes. If you’re up for training and competing at a high level (like really honestly up for it) good for you, get it! But if you’re pushing yourself to work out just because you see other pregnant women or new moms doing it so you feel inadequate somehow for not keeping up, you’re not doing yourself any favours.
Overall I think women are super unrealistic and way too hard on themselves. Remember this, mamas: you just made a human so you are already crushing it.
Check out Erin’s series of videos on yoga for buggy running and her blog. You can also read her words about prenatal yoga.
Each woman and pregnancy is different. Speak to your own healthcare professionals about what might be right for you and if at any point something doesn’t feel right, stop and seek advice.
