My First Trimester Practice:
(Skip below to go right into the Yoga Class Series)
The day I missed my period, acid reflux began creeping it’s way up my esophagus… and very quickly it went berserk. I couldn’t keep anything down, I had acid in my sinuses and a constant acidic taste in my mouth. I kept hearing the same advice: apple cider vinegar. But when you think your dying from acid reflux, the idea of drinking acid is beyond revolting. I FINALLY gave in (because it truly couldn’t get any worse) and mixed myself a cup of ACV. There is a scene in Twilight: Breaking Dawn (a cinematic masterpiece, don’t come for me) where the baby is draining the life out of Bella. Jacob has a sarcastic thought that the baby probably wants blood. But Edward is like “huh, that’s an idea”, so he goes and gets her a bag of blood. They’re assuming it’ll be rough for Bella to drink (because…. human blood…) but she takes a sip, leans back with a satisfied sigh, and then proceeds to drink it all. That was me as I sipped my ACV drink. It tasted delicious, like lemonade. It was exactly what my body was craving. Hear me: if you’re struggling with acid reflux:
Mix 1.5 teaspoons of Apple Cider Vinegar with 16 ounces of water (it’s a miracle elixir).
My Netipot was the single most important purchase I made during my pregnancy. I bought it during my Second Trimester but wish I had it early because it would have spared me weeks of suffering. It cleared out all of the acid from my sinuses and then cleared up my pregnancy rhinitis mucus. I plan on continuing to use it whenever I have allergies or a cold.
One more thing I wish I had done in the First Trimester: contact my doula. We didn’t reach out to a doula until the end of my Second Trimester mainly because I didn’t realize that we could have contacted her sooner. She had so much to offer us, I wish I had given myself more time to work with her.
If you want to work with a doula and you live in Northern New Jersey, I highly recommend mine: Aimee Hilario You can reach out to her via her IG: @aimeeblaze. She was awesome!
If you only read 1 book during your entire pregnancy, this is the book:
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong-and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
My pregnancy/labor bible: it gave me (and my scientist partner) straight answers to every question I didn’t even know I had and then some.
And one more book recommendation (I’m a librarian so be grateful you’re only getting 2):
Nine Golden Months: The Essential Art of Nurturing the Mother-To-Be by Heng Ou
Full disclosure- I didn’t read this one BUT I did read and love her Fertility Book (mentioned in the Fertility Collection) and her Postpartum Book (mentioned in the Postpartum Collection). The only reason I didn’t read this one is just because I forgot it existed.
FIRST TRIMESTER AFFIRMATIONS
This discomfort is temporary, it will not last forever.
Pregnancy is powerful. I allow it to empower me.
It is okay to be afraid during my pregnancy journey. I can be afraid and still have a positive pregnancy outcome.
I am deeply connected to my body and to my baby; we are in this process together.
PLAY YOUR OWN PLAYLIST AS YOU MOVE OR LISTEN TO THE WOMEN’S WISDOM PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY!
These classes are not meant to be taken in order. Take whichever class feels good, whenever it feels good.
Repeat the same one over and over, if that’s what you need.
During the First Trimester you can maintain your usual physical activity as long as you modify appropriately when needed… and if you can maintain it. I got sick almost immediately and my normal practice went down the toilet along with everything I attempted to eat. In my case, I quickly realized that pregnancy was going to require everything from my body in order to create, carry, and deliver this new life. I will forever be a tad envious of all those lucky women who make it through the First Trimester with ease, however I hope with all my heart that you get a little bit of that ease. I promise that (as long as you feel able) building and maintaining strength in the First Trimester will support the pregnancy process, set you up for delivery, and help with your recovery. As hard as it was to practice at all, I know it made all the difference.
Because so many exciting things are happening in these early weeks, you may choose to avoid all poses that involve laying on your stomach: take a cat pose in place of all cobra/ belly poses.
USE THIS TIME TO DEEPEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BODY. IF YOU EXPERIENCE DISCOMFORT OR PAIN, IMMEDIATELY MODIFY OR AVOID THE POSE.
During pregnancy you will be experiencing rapid changes. This was really hard for me (and the one constant of my entire prenatal/postpartum journey)…I’ve never been great with changes. Providing myself with a solid foundation of flexibility and strength greatly served my physical body as I met change after change over the following nine months. It became increasingly more important for me to be gentle with myself. I had to let go of what I had envisioned my First Trimester looking like (I thought I’d be able to carry on business as usual for the most part…. that was NOT the hand that I got drawn). Even if you’re feeling good, you may still find that poses feel different day to day, you may feel different day to day. Make sure to listen to cues your body is giving you. It will help you to be better able to attend to your changing needs.
As I’ve mentioned, the First Trimester was rough for me (as is pretty obvious from the crazy hair I’m sporting in the beginning of this class and the occasional acid reflux cough). But the steady, thoughtful movement of my yoga practice gave me a little bit of life. As hard as it was to get on my mat, I never regretted it… I even felt a little bit better afterwards…most of the time). Admittedly, I was super lucky in that I never experienced much aches and pains (I never had that notorious pregnancy back pain). I like to think it was my First Trimester hip and leg focus that made that small mercy possible!
I absolutely adore a delicious restorative class. I love to relax into the poses and feel my body opening, grounding, and healing. I took this class over and over; it released the all over body tension and brought me much needed peace and rest. Because of how sick I felt, I had a really hard time connecting to my body throughout my pregnancy (most of the time I wanted to crawl out of my skin). The slow movements in this class always brought me back into the process, back into the present.