| I am not a Yoga teacher. I’ve only attended
about 3 Yoga classes although
my gym offers Yoga classes. So,
why am I writing about Yoga when
I know nothing about it? I am
curious – that’s my nature. And
through the years, this curiosity
has helped me develop a career
as a freelance graphic designer
and writer. And it is through
a very weird type of Yoga (my
own type, or whatever I thought
was Yoga at that point in time)
that helped me swim ashore when
I was teetering between drowning
in the sea of depression after
giving birth to my sons.
Both times, I was hit badly and
constantly turned to the bottle
for a solution. The bottle never
will be a solution and yet, I
hoped it would be.
Yoga and the soon-to-be-mother
There’s all this hype about Yoga
that I didn’t fully understand
before – what’s all this clamor
about Yoga for pregnancy?? What’s
the big deal? You have a big belly,
retch half the time, have a sudden
liking for pickle and have to
wear your husband’s clothing...
you need Yoga to help you deal
with all that?
But of course, I only began the
understand the benefits of Yoga
as a mother when I started going
for the classes, read about them
in books, magazines and websites.
This amazing method can help mothers
regain their physical strength
and sends them into a journey
of self-discovery and improvement.
Instead of helping you deal with
others, in Yoga, everything starts
from within. Therefore, to solve
a problem, you have to go inside.
And inside a mother, it’s always
a battle zone…and it’s tumultuous
half the time. Pizza or no pizza?
Sex or no sex tonight? What kind
of mother will I be? Will I sprain
my own child’s fingers when I
try to put his/her clothes on?
With the kind of bizarre thinking
(and hormones) going on inside
our mind and our body, mothers
often have a difficulty finding
peace. Your doctor will tell you
time and time again that although
nutrition is important, finding
peace, quiet and calm in yourself
and in your life is just important
for an expectant mother.
Yoga for the regular mother
Considering the fact that Yoga
can help bring calm into calamity,
it’s obviously a good choice for
you to try out Yoga if you’re
thinking of starting an exercise
program. Better yet, join a gym…which
is what I did. I used to scoff
at people who join gyms and judging
from the loud dance music, I remember
thinking to myself… “Yikes…gym
is just a sorry excuse for a disco.
Instead of serving peanuts, they
serve fruit mixes. Instead of
alcohol, they serve bottled water.
But everyone’s trying to get into
a social thing in the gym. It’s
a social club!”
And as a mother, I don’t have
the time to join a social club.
But I was wrong. As soon as I
gave the 10-day free classes trial,
I was hooked. No makeup, no dressup
(oh, the younger gym-goers still
dress up to the nines and apply
mascara for gym) and no pretense.
I go to the gym and attend the
Yoga class to sweat – to end up
looking ugly but feeling damn
good!
Mothers can open up their minds
and free up their hearts after
Yoga
Yoga has this tranquilizing effect
on people that can hardly be explained
with words. It has to be felt.
It’s like you’re striking those
poses, stretching those muscles
and bending over backwards…and
all this while, your mind is opening
up and all impure thoughts are
just flying out of it.
Yoga can be like ‘taking out the
trash’.
And this can be good for the whole
family, especially the kids, as
well. After a session of uninterrupted
Yoga, you’ll feel renewed. Even
a grumpy, sleeping, tired and
beaten-out mother will have more
energy to spend time with the
kids. Instead of feeling disgruntled
and trapped, a mother can use
Yoga to actually find an opening,
a release that helps relax, not
only the body, but the mind as
well.
I don’t know about you…but I am
going for more classes because
I have seen the benefits. Yoga
can do a whole lot for the ordinary
non-married kidless people….imagine
what it can do for a mother.
Marsha Maung is a freelance graphic
designer and copy writer who works
from home. She designs apparel
and premium items at http://www.allmomstuff.com
and is the author of "Raising
little magicians", and the
popular "The Lance in freelancing".
More information can be found
at http://www.marshamaung.com
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