Hot Yoga Pregnancy: The Hothouse Cucumber

I am at Week 26 in my hot yoga pregnancy.

It's been a few weeks since my last blog post - sitting down to write this post tonight felt very appropriate:

I checked my app and am happy to report my baby is now the size of an English Hothouse Cucumber.

When I think of a hothouse, I think of hot yoga.  Oh how I love hot yoga during my pregnancy.  The baby does too... I get extra thank-you kicks when I am laying down in my final savasana.  

This baby loves all yoga.   A few weeks ago I was away in Costa Rica for a little "baby moon" with the hubby: a health and wellness healing retreat which was completely amazing.

 

When we arrived they handed us a schedule of activities for each day which detailed our daily yoga classes.  

The yoga room was beautiful with huge windows that overlooked lush green grass, trees, and rolling hills.  It was beautiful to sink into our yoga surroundings.  

The classes were Vinayasa but it was a nice change, especially being in such a different environment.  

Our teacher was lovely and gave me some great variations to do with the baby.  She introduced me to a yoga bolster and showed me different restorative poses I could with it while pregnant. Some poses I can do at home to help alleviate any back pain...but I haven't had back pain so far but I am up for anything to make sure that doesn't enter this pregnancy!  

We had a great trip and met  Carlos... who blessed our baby and told my husband and I we would be great parents.  We now affectionately call the unborn babe "Carlos"!  That will not be the baby's name forever but for now it seems like the perfect nickname

I am happy to be home and back in our little hot and sweaty studio.  

It definitely feels like home, that's for sure!  I was in desperate need of a hot yoga class Wednesday night.  I got to the studio and immediately started to feel my body reset with every single pose.  

It was a great night to be there and what never ceases to amaze me is how my body literally tells me it's time for yoga.  I wasn't feeling pain but was feeling a little stiff in my back.

I woke up this morning and felt rejuvenated.  I am traveling for work right now and hoping that I make it home in time for Friday night 5:15pm.  Me and Carlos need another hot yoga session in our home base.

Week 21: It's Official: Baby is a Yogi

At Week 17, my baby was a turnip who grew into a Red Bell Pepper at Week 18, then became an Heirloom Tomato at Week 19  - and that was a really a fun week:

An ultrasound confirmed on camera that my little Heirloom Tomato is in fact a Yoga Baby!

There was little tomato, doing backbends on camera and flipping all over the place. It took a long time to get the measurements because the baby was moving around so much. I told them we do a lot of yoga together. Sunday after the ultrasound was my 30th birthday; 20 weeks pregnant (at week 20, baby was a banana) AND my two year anniversary practicing hot yoga. Three hot milestones in one day. 20 weeks is halfway through my pregnancy. I am excited and nervous; my pregnancy has already been a fast journey and I plan on cherishing these next 20 weeks before my life changes forever....

Now at week 21, I have Carrot Baby - but I am convinced my iPhone App measures the baby against non-organic produce; the organic carrots in my fridge from my local CSA are in no way bigger than a banana. When it comes to produce (unlike growing babies) bigger isn't always sweeter.

I am not quite sure that carrot baby is kicking yet which usually happens around weeks 18-22... I am sure it will be any day now, especially since my little yogi baby likes to do backflips in my belly.  

The great news is that I have been feeling fantastic.  My diet has consisted of mostly raw foods and a lot of fresh juice.  I am convinced this has helped my energy level and how well I have been feeling overall.  

My body is feeling amazing. I have no pain in my back nor do I feel pain anywhere that pregnant women typically do.  I attribute this to my hot yoga practice. 

And so I'll be there in the hot yoga room, until the day little carrot baby comes to greet us in his/her final state. (Hot yoga is known to help post-partum as well so I'll be there afterwards, too). Stay tuned for more veggie updates.

Week 17: Turnip Yoga Baby

This week the avocado yoga baby has grown, turning my little fruit baby into a little veggie baby: a turnip.

The newest development is that little turnip yoga baby can definitely hear sound. Avocado Baby heard faint sound but Turnip is in full hearing.  I am actually surprised that at week 17 babies already hear sound!

I am convinced that this baby will come out of the womb ready to teach a hot yoga class. 

For the next 23 weeks, my little produce yoga baby will be hearing me teach hot yoga classes twice per week as well as hearing my fellow teachers teach to me a few times per week.  So turnip's first words just might be Pranayama.  

Another funny development: in addition to being able to hear sound, turnip baby can clearly hear dogs bark.  I have two very loud, very little, and very crazy dogs and I have been wondering what is going to happen when the turnip becomes our new roommate. I know the dogs are going to bark and I felt that wouldn't bode well for baby's sleep times.  

My trusty little app says the baby might be startled now, but by the time s/he arrive, he/she will be very used to hearing the dogs and be able to sleep right through the noise.  As I type this blog post, my best K-9 friend is upstairs howling at a police siren passing by.  This might be Turnip's first chance to hear a dog howl but definitely not the last.  There is a lot more where that came from, baby.  

Speaking of turnips.... I have a great turnip recipe for you 

This year, I joined Open Acres CSA. This is the first year I have joined and I am so glad I did.  Every other Saturday morning we walk over to the farm and pick up our bi-weekly share.  We always get a beautiful abundance on fresh veggies.  This came at a perfect time because I have so many different fresh options to feed my little turnip.  

The past few pick-ups our share has been filled with turnips.

Upon first look, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with these little vegetables.  I was given the suggestion by another CSA member to put them on the grill.  I followed his directions and they were so tasty! 

Grilled Turnips

First I marinated the turnips (peeled and sliced) in: 

Olive Oil 

Fresh Lemon Juice 

Garlic 

Scallions 

Basil 

Oregano 

I let them stay in the marinade for 20 - 30 minutes.  We then tossed them on the grill until they were cooked all the way through.  DELICIOUS.

One of my favorite things about belonging to a CSA is you get to try different veggies that I wouldn't typically buy at the market.  This week I will be venturing into okra which I am slightly nervous about.  

I don't think my little turnip will be turning into an okra and  I am not sure what next week will bring but for now, I keep chatting away and sharing the fruits of my cooking, my dogs and my hot yoga with my growing veggie baby.  

Hot Yoga Pregnancy: Today It's An Avocado

By Jaime Cahalan, Hot Yoga Teacher and Pregnant Lady

Yes, that's right. I am 16 weeks pregnant and my baby is an avocado.

 

In fact, every week my baby changes into different produce, gradually getting larger and larger on the fruit scale.

Modern technology has sure changed pregnancy.  I have an app on my phone that counts how many weeks pregnant I am, how many weeks I have left, and what size my baby is.  Each week my baby is equated to a fruit.  It started Week 5 as a blueberry and has progressed through the produce department ever since.

Every week so far has been entirely different.  Weeks 4-12 were just plain no fun!  Fatigue, strange hunger cravings (I mean, strange), and the worst nausea I have ever experienced.  Most of the time I didn't feel like myself and really had to keep reminding myself that this is normal.  

Early in my pregnancy I kept my hot yoga practice to a minimum.  I was reading so many conflicting articles about hot yoga and pregnancy, I was confused and not sure what to do.  I kept my research up and kept talking to more and more people and somewhere around week 9, I began my regular hot yogapractice again.  Aside from a few headaches, I felt fantastic.

 

Every time I finished class I felt so much better physically, mentally, and emotionally.  I quickly decided that my good feelings were transferring to the baby (or at the time, the grape), and this was only going to make for a happy grape-baby. 

Sometimes you'll see me in class with my thermometer.  Don't freak out - you're not supposed to be taking your temperature.  I just take my temperature to make sure my internal thermometer isn't rising to 100-101 degrees. 

So far, every class I have taken my temperature, it has never been higher than 99.6.  I think that's cool.

My confidence in hot yoga during pregnancy came when I read a Bikram Yogi who said, "What do pregnant women in the Sahara Desert do?!"  

Answer: they survive and their babies are healthy because their bodies are used to the hot temperatures.  

Same for any hot yogi who has a strong hot yoga practice prior to pregnancy. Our bodies are used to the heat.

 

And if women are having healthy babies in 174 degree deserts, surely I will be fine in a room that is a cool 105 degrees.

 

And so my hot yoga practice continues, along with my pregnancy.  My little avocado is off to a great start.

This morning (Saturday) I set my alarm clock for 7AM for 8am hot yoga music class.   I was so looking forward to; despite all my strange pregnancy symptoms, hot yoga is the one thing I can count on to always feel good.  

7AM rolled around, then 7:15, then 7:30; I wasn't getting up.  I reset the alarm to wake up to teach the 10:30AM class.  I drove to Riverflow Yoga a little bummed I missed my practice for the day. As I was driving, I ran through my schedule for the upcoming week making sure I could schedule in 3-4 hot yoga classes.  

I arrived at the studio and waited for the Saturday morning students to arrive. Lately that has meant 15-20 students.... this morning it was only a small group of regulars so I suggested a hot yoga music class.  This meant I got to practice and the avocado got to start week 16 with some hot, juicy yoga poses. Everything always turns out for the best.

The app says my little avocado can start hearing sounds this week... so maybe s/he had a 90 minute jam session with me, jiving to the music as I moved through the hot 26 series. 

Dance on, little fruit baby. There's a lot more to come.