Exercise During Pregnancy...The Best Tips and Links for Making It Happen

To You:
Exercise...
It has the potential to help us feel more comfortable during pregnancy, to have shorter and less painful deliveries, and to help our babies be healthier now and in the future.  I know that as I have exercised during my pregnancies, I have had more energy, more restful sleep, and fewer aches and pains.  It helps my body adjust well to the frequent changes, and I have felt more physically and mentally prepared for delivery.  The list of benefits of prenatal exercise is long and motivational.
However, we pregnant Mamas probably don't need to be convinced that it is good for us.  We know that.  Instead, the challenge is making it happen when we are sick or tired or busy.  Did that say "or" back there?  I meant "and" of course!

Here are a few helpful tips and links for making exercise happen during pregnancy.

• Keep it Short
• You don't have to work out for an hour to benefit yourself and your baby.  Even 10-20 minutes of exercise will yield helpful results.  Not only are short workouts more manageable for your schedule, but it's also easier to get motivated for a short workout when you are sick and/or tired.  Shorten your workouts to make sure they happen.
• Just Move
• Get your blood pumping anyway you can.  You might take the stairs, crawl on the floor with another child, take a turn being "It" at the park, or simply do a few leg lifts as you cry to your favorite chick flick.  The more you move, the more you will feel like moving.  Plus, those little lifestyle movements have benefits all of their own!
• Work Out at Home
• Exercising at home saves time and money.  Plan to exercise right before you normally shower so you don't have to get ready twice.  There are a TON of videos on YouTube if you are not up for making up your own workout.  Jessica Smith has long been one of my favorite online fitness instructors.  She has something for whatever difficulty, type, or time of exercise I am up for that particular day.  She is fun without being cheesy.  Here is a prenatal cardio workout from Jessica Smith.

• Strengthen
• Strength training is a wonderful way to keep your body working after you finish your exercise.  Increased muscle mass increases your metabolism and has many other positive benefits.  During pregnancy, strength training can help your baby and body better handle the stresses of pregnancy and delivery.  This is a great article about the ins and outs, benefits, and safety of strength training during pregnancy.  Good form is always vital.  Start with lower weight and increase as you feel comfortable.  Do not hold your breath.  Here is a good quick strength workout.

• Stretch
• Stretching can be the perfect workout when you are tired or sick.  It is therapeutic for  your muscles and mind.  Many of those achy problem areas especially later in pregnancy (like the lower back) can be worked out and relieved through a good stretching routine.  I find that fluid stretches (moving slowly through different stretches) as opposed to static stretches (holding in one position) tend to feel better and do more good for me.  Yoga is a well-recognized plus for pregnant women.  Here is the first in a really good series of pregnancy yoga videos.  The episodes are short and feel great!

• Make it Social
• If you are having a hard time getting motivated, invite a friend to join you.  You can go to the gym together, walk together, or workout to a video together.  Having someone to talk to increases the enjoyment in the moment, and having someone waiting for you is often the kick we need to get out the door.  During one first trimester of pregnancy, I was able to workout in the mornings before my hubby left for work only because I had a friend waiting for me there.
• Involve the Little Ones
• Alone time is precious and exercising may not be how you want to spend it each day.  If you have other kids home, involve them in your exercise routine.  They will enjoy doing what you do and will also benefit from the exercise.  It is a fun way to spend a part of your day together.  I try to do a lot of different fitness activities with my kids, including online workout videos.  Not surprisingly, my kids favorite videos have other kids in them.  :) This is one workout video they like, although I play my own music to go along with it.

• Watch Your Posture
• Good posture can prevent many of pregnancy's pains that make us want to lay in bed or gracefully splay on the couch in all our glory for hours on end.  Again, feeling better leads to more activity...what a cycle!  For me, simply thinking about lifting the chest up while relaxing the shoulders back pulls things into better alignment.  Pillows between the legs and around the mid-section help with sleeping posture as well.
• Warm-Up Slowly
• I find I can do a lot more than I thought after a good, slow warm-up.  The round ligaments (the ones hugging your belly down into the pelvis that hurt when you sneeze:) especially respond well to warming up.  If you are running, doing another high intensity workout, or exercising for a longer amount of time, consider a warm-up of walk, jog, light stretch through any achy areas, jog.  Your muscles should be good and ready to go!
• Be Safe
• Always talk with your doctor before starting an exercise routine.  Avoid exercises lying flat on your back after 20 weeks.  ALWAYS BREATHE!  (Intentional breathing is one of your best delivery tools too!)  Stay hydrated.  Follow common safety guidelines

Lastly, Listen to Your Body.  Pregnancy is the ideal time to connect with your body and the new baby growing inside. Pay attention to how different movements (or the lack thereof!) make you feel.  Take time to relax and see how things are going with yourself.  If you are really tired, make it a lighter stretching or yoga day.  If you have some of that energy back, (yeah for second trimester!) let yourself work it...a really good sweat can be super therapeutic!  Trust that nobody knows your body or pregnancy better than you do.

Do you have any prenatal exercise tips or questions to share?  I hope the benefits of exercise can fill your life before, during, and after pregnancy.  As you find that motivation to move, know that it is doing good for you and your unborn baby!  Good luck!

Love, Marielle

Running on Empty?

To You:

We've all been there.  You are sure you love your life, but you just don't know if you can take another day of this. You feel like you are running a marathon that never ends and never awards a winner.  The laundry is not done, the dishes are in the sink, your To-Do list is long and getting longer, the school Halloween party you're supposed to plan is quickly approaching, and wait, did the kids even eat dinner tonight?  You are sure your doctor would cringe at your blood pressure.  You are a manic stress case.

We've also all been here.  For some reason, everything is harder than it should be.  You go to work or get through the day and at the end wonder, "What have I accomplished today?"  Life seems dull, like an old faded newspaper rather than the adventure magazine you thought you signed up for.  You know you chose your life, but you think, "Did I really?  Why again?"  You are in a funk.

Although these two descriptions seem to be on opposite ends of a spectrum, I have come to see them both as results of emotionally running on empty.  I have found that in my life, when I enter these realms of stress or discontent it is either the cause or the effect of my forgetting what life is really all about.  I am disconnected from what really matters.  That disconnect makes life's tasks seem overwhelming or unimportant.  Some of us feel like we spend the majority of our lives feeling either stressed or down.  Others tend to go there once in a while, but like the Hotel California, once we are there, feel that we can never leave.  The state of our lives is a result of our upbringing, our personality, our life choices, our genetics, our breakfast choice, our local weather, our...
 Regardless, I believe that wherever we stand now, we have choices to make and those choices can help bring us to a better place.  A place of a little bit more calm, peace, and contentment.  I have seen people raise 8 active children and seem to remain calm–at least a lot of the time.  :)  I have seen others meet life's deepest difficulties with a smile.  It is possible.  In various circles this way of living is called centered, grounded, resilient, or close to the Spirit.  There are some tips (dare I say habits?) that I have learned from people I admire that live this way and from my own life.  There is no one magic bullet, so here is an arsenal of ideas, in no particular order, to help relieve stress and reconnect.

20 Tips to Refill Emotional Reserves in a Busy Life 

1. Exercise
• Run, swim, walk, bike, play badminton, sweat with Richard Simmons: it doesn't matter what it is, the positive effects of exercise are indisputable.  Moving releases chemicals in your body that are helpful for mood, brain function, and overall health.  Some of my very best thinking time is running time.  You don't have to be an Olympic athlete either.  I shoot for at least 20 minutes three times a week with an active lifestyle...this balance means it actually happens in my busy life!
2. Laugh
• You can watch a favorite comedy, but better yet, find the comedy in your own life.  Angry lecture is always an option, but laughing at the applesauce that was squirted everywhere while your back was turned certainly eases the tension.  One of my kids will instantly snap out of a rage if somebody makes him laugh.
3. Exercise while you laugh
• This is one of my favorites.  Try doing push-ups or lunges to the likes of Jim Gaffigan or Brian Regan.  It's hard to find a better use of time.  :)
4. Eat a Nutritious Meal
• Maybe it's a smoothie, a salad, or a gourmet sandwich.  Make something you can feel good about eating and feel good after eating.  Try my kids' favorite "Cheater Green Drink" compliments of my aunt.
• Blend 2 cups cold water and a couple handfuls of greens (kale, spinach, anything). Add about a cup of frozen fruit (strawberries, mixed berries), and a squeeze of lemon or a scoop of vanilla yogurt.  Blend well.  Kids always like to drink it with a straw!
5. Find something beautiful in the world
• Take a moment and find it.  A facial expression, a flower, the sun streaming through the clouds.  Just stop and take it in.  A wise 90-year-old friend told me yesterday that his mom used to tell him, "The world is really a beautiful place.  People just don't realize it."
6. Unplug
• It is wonderful to be connected via social media and there is a lot of good entertainment out there.  Sometimes though, all that "connectedness" keeps us from really connecting with the people and beauties around us.  Unplug for an hour or two or a day.  How long can you hack it?
7. Get up early
• I'm a night person.  Getting up early is not easy, yet when I do it is amazing how much gets done.  Sometimes an early start is all I need to feel on top of life again.  That early morning quiet time is also incredibly enlightening time.  Many of the most inspired people I know regularly get up early.  
8. Go to bed early
• Repeat:  I am a night person.  However, I usually feel like I can do anything if I am well rested.  If going to bed early is not a habit (yet–me), try going to bed early once in a while.  Drop it all and just go to sleep.  Most everything really can wait for tomorrow believe it or not.
9. Meditate
• Pray, do yoga, reflect in bed before you go to sleep.  Quiet pondering can work wonders.
10. Read something inspirational
• If you believe in scripture, start there.  Read something written by an author with high ideals.  Try the classics Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, Tuesdays with Morrie, or Chicken Soup for the Soul.  If you don't feel like you have time to read, try getting in a few minutes at a time while you brush your teeth.
11. Visit your checklist
• I remember talking with my mom on the phone after my third child was born.  In jest, I remarked how I could do it all and felt like the best mom...when my checklist was short.  Eureka!  Remember there is a season for everything.  You really do not have to do it all.
12. Breathe!
• Stop.  Breathe.  Breathe deeper.  Now repeat.  Aaaahh. 
13. Have a real conversation
• Get beyond the weather.  Ask about childhood memories, what the other person is learning in life, what they wish they'd done differently.  Really connect through meaningful conversation.
14. Write in your journal
• Writing is therapeutic.  (Sorry for inviting all of you to my therapy sessions.)  You learn a lot when you have to put thoughts, emotions, or experiences into words.
15. Read your journal
• You are amazing.  Step back and learn something from yourself.  Remember what you once knew.
16. Refuse to multitask
• Our kids and spouses probably get it the worst, but anyone can fall prey to our multitasking.  Simply refuse to do it.  If you need to work, help the kids be busy with a puzzle and tell them you'll play when the timer rings.  That is infinitely better than pretending to listen.  If you are with someone else, don't check your phone every five minutes.  Put it down and be there.
17. Hug someone
• Yep.  Just hug them.  Quick or long, hugging is healthy.
18. Serve someone
• There is no greater way to connect with people and remember what is most important than through service.  Whether it is in your family or your community, give something of yourself.  Write a card, cook a meal, make a visit, listen to a co-worker or go to Africa.  Be purposeful in the things you already do that are service.
19. Garden
• Get your hands dirty.  Connect with nature.  Weeding is one of those beautiful tasks that allows you to see the results immediately!  If gardening isn't your thing, scrub a floor.  
20. Watch the sky
• Being emotionally stable requires a balance of knowing how amazing you are and also having the humility to recognize you can't do it all alone.  Watch a thunderstorm.  Examine the stars.  Find shapes in the clouds.  Feeling of the expanse above engenders an awe that is both humbling and inspiring.

What else do you do to relieve stress, reconnect, and refill emotional reserves?  We all have our moments of unrest and truthfully life might be boring without them.  But to whatever extent you want to be more calm and more connected, I hope these ideas help.

Love, Marielle