I like to move it, move it.
After pregnancy, many people set a goal of getting back into pre-pregnancy pants. I recently suggested to some girl friends that we should find a term to describe when you fit back into your pre-pregnancy pants.. and then return to fitting into your postpartum pants.
One friend responded, “There is a name for that. It’s called WINTER.” 🤣🤣🤣
I think we spend too much time pretending that the journey into and out of pregnancy is somehow linear when for most people it is far more of a spiral or labyrinth. But that’s a topic for another day :) Back to winter!
As a former east coaster, where February and March are very gray, I’m so grateful to live in Colorado’s sunshine during winter! I’m a huge fan of winter and cold weather AND this last week of warmth was a welcome reminder that spring is truly coming. The warm weather and light in the mornings has motivated me to get my body moving this month.
So, I’ve decided to hold myself to an impromptu #movementmarch trying to move my body every day through the month of March. It won’t be perfect. In fact, I already can’t remember if I did any movement last Friday (ahem, March 1st for those of you who don’t know what day it is on any give day.) But I’ll do my best.
Because fitness doesn’t start in a single day. It’s showing up over and over again. Because movement is great for our mental health - and we all need a boost to finish out winter! Because research shows that doing movement we love is an even better path to health and happiness than doing any one particular kind of fitness training that we think we should do. With this happiness in mind, you’ll find me walking outside a lot of days. Let me know if you get moving too.
I’ll be holding myself accountable on our @mountainmamamassage instagram in stories with the hashtag #movementmarch and I hope you will send back some notes and photos with you getting out walking, hiking, trying out a class or just doing some planks in your living room ;) Remember, something is better than nothing. And if you have a consistent routine all ready, that’s great! My routine is more variable as a mama in winter with shifts in my daycare schedule, family illnesses, travel, and even times where it’s easier or harder to workout from home depending on my kiddos mood. Be kind to yourself if you are creating something new!
If you are pregnant, keep on reading because coming up, I’m going to highlight some amazing group fitness and movement classes for pregnancy. Boulder and the surrounding area has WAY more workout classes than I could ever start to sort through for all of us who are not pregnant. So just know - if you are not currently pregnant there are SO many options to get moving this month from hiking to strength training to gyms and fitness classes to yoga. Pick something you love and give it a try!
But if you are pregnant, it can feel a little more challenging to find ways to move that feel really good in your body. In my experience as a prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher and perinatal massage therapist I have found that many pregnant people need daily movement to feel their best and adapt to the changes of pregnancy. Something as simple as 5 minutes of yoga before bed can have a huge impact on tension, sleep, and general mood.
My personal favorite when I was trying to conceive, pregnant, and postpartum was Bloom Method and Studio Bloom online. I loved the prenatal cues, the specific strengthening for pregnancy and birth, and the attention to the core. Plus their app is really easy to use. I was pregnant during the latter pandemic so there just weren’t as many indoor fitness classes available and it worked for me to head to my living room and do a quick workout. I highly recommend this workout if you are not local to Boulder and the surrounding towns, if you are crunched for time, find it easier to workout at home (early mornings, toddler naps times, etc), or are experiencing pelvic pain or prolapse.*
But now we have so many more in person options! Here a few local highlights**:
Prenatal Yoga
cultivates strength, flexibility, body awareness and community all at once! We are fortunate to have some amazing prenatal local to Boulder and the surrounding area.
Radiance Power Yoga in Boulder - with doula Janine Mason. Special shout out as this was my favorite weekly in person class during my pregnancy.
Louisville Community Yoga in Louisville - with Sarah Hieb
Una Vida in Niwot - with Allie Geer and Stephanie Domingue
Soul Tree Yoga in Lafayette - with Sarah Hieb
The Lashley Street Station in Longmont - with Jessica Fawcett
Boulder Birth and Holistic Health Classroom in Boulder - with Anne Spear
Prenatal Fitness
focuses on building strength and staying stable throughout pregnancy
Strong Mama - amazing strength and fitness for prenatal and postpartum mamas with Noelle Pierrat inside Mecha in Boulder
Strong-Mamas- Fitness and Strong-Mamas-to-Be at the South Boulder Rec Center with Janelle Mistarz
Pre and Postnatal Aqua Fitness Monday evenings at the North Boulder Rec Center
FitforMom North Metro Denver - indoor and outdoor fitness classes for prenatal and postpartum mamas
Hiking
what better way to take advantage of our beautiful outdoors! These groups are focused on postpartum parents, but welcome prenatal folks too.
Hiking Baby Brigade - peer led hiking group organized through facebook for new parents and expecting too.
Strong Mamas with Noelle Pierrat monthly hiking meetup + support circle
I’m sure that I’m missing some here! Reach out. Fill me in. And send your favorite classes my way please :)
If you need more resources to support your years of trying to conceive, pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenthood check out our resources page full of local and global family supports.
*I get no kickbacks. They don’t sponsor me. I just really like them.
** Same spiel. I have no financial relationship for mentioning these classes. I simply think it can be powerful to be in a room full of pregnant folks staying fit and connecting about what a wild and amazing thing pregnancy and postpartum can be.
