Savasana with props

Man, this sciatica thing is really ticking me off. After I woke up this morning and did my meditation, I did the yoga postures I posted about yesterday to relieve my sciatica and seemed to feel better. Then I went to an 11 a.m. hatha yoga flow class back at Darling Yoga to take full advantage of my two weeks of unlimited classes. I told the teacher beforehand I'm pregnant so that she could guide me in case I was doing something not good for my body or the baby. During class, I tried to be mindful not to go farther than I should in a pose so I wouldn't aggravate my sciatica. I really enjoyed the light feeling of the class and the openness I felt.

As I was settling into savasana at the end, the instructor came over and completely propped me up: an eye pillow under my neck, folded blankets under both arms, soles of my feet together and knees out in a diamond shape, blankets under both knees and sandbags across the top of each thigh by the groin. She then threw a blanket over me; I felt like a baby, all swaddled up and thoroughly enjoyed savasana.

As I walked out to my car, feeling lighthearted, I noticed the pain in my foot.... grrrrrrrr! When I arrived home and began to clean the house with the hubby, my back was completely bothered! GRRRRRRR! What am I doing wrong? I need to concentrate on the affirmations in yesterdays post to relieve the sciatica.

I've been trying to lay low, but my husband christened his newly finished basement with a poker party tonight and since it started over dinner time, I offered to make a sandwich ring to feed the brood. Just took a hot shower and am trying to relax before hitting the hay. Bad thing is I can hear EVERYTHING from the basement through this old house so I've developed quite a headache. We may have to plan these "boy's nights" when I'm out of town!

Sciatica is a pain in the ass

In one of my many bathroom trips during the night yesterday (Oh the joy of pregnancy!), I felt a shooting pain of sciatica on the right side of my sacrum shooting down my leg .... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I thought! I really hoped I was going to avoid the dreaded sciatica that plagues so many expectant mothers. Yesterday I actually felt an odd pain in my left foot so I don't know if it's related. However, now I'm feeling both.

I looked up sciatica in the book You can Heal your Life by Louise L. Hay, which lists a variety of ailments, what is causing them and how to treat them with affirmations. Probable cause of sciatica is "being hypocritical. Fear of money and of the future." Whoa - that's crazy! With my husband's recent job loss, I'm sure fear of money and the future is creeping into my subconscious, although I know we'll be perfectly fine. My husband asked me what the "hypocritical" part is about. The only thing I could come up with is that I'm being hypocritical telling him to be positive and apparently my sciatica is telling me I'm not!

Anyhow, the books' recommended affirmations for sciatica:

"I move into my greater good. My good is everywhere, and I am secure and safe."

This morning I pulled out a Yoga Journal magazine workout for sciatica I clipped called "Easy rider" from Aug. 2006. The original article includes a a great workout for sciatica relief. I did it this morning, but the postures don't seem to be included in the online version. Doing it did seem to help a bit. Guess I'll just need to keep doing it for a while.

"Coping with Sciatica" had more suggestions for poses that can alleviate sciatica, and I also discovered another YJ practice for sciatica. However I'm not sure if all the postures are appropriate for pregnant women, such as the twists.

Besides yoga, herbs like St. John's wort may be helpful. Tumeric may be as well for "its anti-inflammatory effects are most likely due to its active ingredient, curcumin, which gives turmeric its yellow color and may be as effective as cortisone in fighting acute inflammation" according to "Sciatica Strategies" article on YJ.

If you have other suggestions for dealing with sciatica, please let me know. My ass will thank you! ;)

Live prenatal yoga class virgin

To be a virgin in a live prenatal yoga class is an oxymoron, isn't it? Nonetheless, tonight I attended my first live class with other mommies to be and am so glad I did. I found two prenatal yoga classes a week online at a local studio called Darling Yoga, plus the studio has a newcomers' special of unlimited classes for $20 so I thought it was worth checking out.

Attending a live prenatal yoga class is a wonderful thing to do, especially if you're new to yoga because the instructor can give specific modifications for your trimester. But even more importantly, you can learn a lot from the other expectant mothers and possibly find a support system you can rely on during your nine months and perhaps beyond.

Our instructor started the class going around the room and having everyone say our names, the baby's name if chosen, how far along we are and anything else we wanted to share. Everyone had their baby's name picked out except for me. Granted we aren't finding out the sex of the baby so it adds a wrench to solidifying a name, but even the other mom in the class who wasn't finding out her baby's gender had picked out a name! I'm already a negligent mama! Lock me up and throw away the key.

Despite the guilt of not having my unborn child's name decided, the class was very uplifting, and I felt great afterwards. Learned some new moves I can use at home like putting a 10-pound sandbag on top of the soles of my feet when in legs-up-the-wall pose, which is good for preventing varicose veins.

I will act NOW

"I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again. I will walk where failures fear to walk. I will work when failures seek rest. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labour of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person."

~ Og Mandino

I subscribe to receive free, inspirational quotation in my inbox via www.desktop-quotes.com/email.htm. They are usually really good, like the one above.

I WILL ACT NOW!

Halfway there!

Can't believe I've been pregnant for 20 weeks. Reassuring yet frightening to know I’m halfway through my pregnancy.

Every week I receive an e-mail from babycenter.com updating me about my pregnancy and how the baby is developing. It always seems to compare the baby’s growing size to some type of food, especially fruit. This week, I'm apparently carrying around a banana in my uterus... I’ll never look at produce the same way again!

Seems like just the other day it was only the size of a kumquat, whatever the heck that is.

Ideas on how to connect to your baby

I'm such a nerd - I LOVE the library! Some of my meditation and pregnancy books I reserved online were available for pick up yesterday. One was Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives by Deepak Chopra, which is a "holistic guide to pregnancy and childbirth." So far, I've read the first chapter, and it explained a lot abou the development of the fetus, but more deeply than other books. Such as babies can smell in the womb and exhibit preference for smells and tastes exposed to in the womb - my baby is going to like some spicy food!

I really enjoyed this excerpt from the book:

"Throughout your pregnancy your body is your unborn baby's universe. You are the rivers, sunlight, earth, atmosphere, and sky for this being growing within you. your baby's body, mind and soul are intimately intertwined with your own. Together you express the flow of life."

So far there are also suggested exercises and suggestions on how to connect with your baby such as journaling, touching your belly throughout the day and send loving thoughts to your baby. One that really sounded cool, and I wish I would've read this before the ground froze, is to plant a tree or flowering bush to symbolize the growth of your baby in the womb. Once the child is bigger, you can take care of it together.