So even though this life change is not directly yoga- or travel related, I just feel an urge to blog about it.
I certainly underestimated how overwhelming the change from being pregnant to becoming a mum would be. I guess because of the lack of the experience of real contractions and the process of labor (in the end, we needed to get an emergency c-section after the hospital had started inducing, 9 days past my due date), it just all happened so fast for me. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for the amazing work that they did at the hospital but I believe it will take some time to come to terms with the kind of birth experience I had. It definitely illustrated once again the contrast of birthing in a natural way and in a medical setting for me - yet, I don't know if my labor would even have started naturally...
Going back to all this teaching me patience - I thought waiting for the little man to finally arrive was the ultimate test of my patience but as it turns out, this was only the start. Once in the hospital and out of the OR, I quickly realized that every step of the way would now be testing my patience. Breastfeeding has been a real challenge for me - probably because of a number of factors: the medical interventions (both the surgery but also painkillers and all the medication that you get) that add to the stress that you impose on yourself, insecurity and lack of proper technique and just as mentioned above - the fact that it simply takes practice and above all: patience! So when we were allowed to go home and my midwife started all over with a lot more patience and ease, things were slowly starting to get better.
Another issue for me is the road to recovery from the c-section itself, never expecting that I would be getting one, I had not read up on it a whole lot but am now really wondering why some people choose to go down this path even if not medically necessary. Since it is a major procedure, it takes time to recover fully and I am not allowed to engage in my usual asana practice for a few weeks, giving the scar time to heal from the inside. Instead, I am focusing on internal work and will try to squeeze in my meditation practice starting today. It's interesting how I was always struggling with meditation more than with asana and seems like now life is giving me a period of time where all I can do is meditate and use pranayama (very gentle).
Quite a few people have asked me whether yoga helped with my birth and from a completely rational perspective I'd have to say no, since I never got to apply the breathing techniques and poses that I had gotten ready for in prenatal yoga classes but I do think that it helped me a great deal mentally. Any type of birth is about acceptance and yielding to nature, trusting that things will fall into place. Now the work I am doing is not to doubt or wonder what would have/could have happened but rather accept what did happen and acknowledge it for my experience that was good and worthy. When I look at the little boy all of it is forgotten anyway - such a precious gift to be able to hold him in my arms.
Life changes in so many ways but at the same time, I think giving birth also guides us back to the roots, back to what really matters: love, kindness, being close to your family, good food, sleep and relaxation. I strongly believe that we don't choose our kids but they choose us based on what we need in our lives. With our little man, he showed us early on that he's got his own way of looking at things and doing things and there is no way for us as parents to change that. I trust he will make the right decisions though. The next one will be: I want food now, so I better help him with that...
I certainly underestimated how overwhelming the change from being pregnant to becoming a mum would be. I guess because of the lack of the experience of real contractions and the process of labor (in the end, we needed to get an emergency c-section after the hospital had started inducing, 9 days past my due date), it just all happened so fast for me. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for the amazing work that they did at the hospital but I believe it will take some time to come to terms with the kind of birth experience I had. It definitely illustrated once again the contrast of birthing in a natural way and in a medical setting for me - yet, I don't know if my labor would even have started naturally...
Another issue for me is the road to recovery from the c-section itself, never expecting that I would be getting one, I had not read up on it a whole lot but am now really wondering why some people choose to go down this path even if not medically necessary. Since it is a major procedure, it takes time to recover fully and I am not allowed to engage in my usual asana practice for a few weeks, giving the scar time to heal from the inside. Instead, I am focusing on internal work and will try to squeeze in my meditation practice starting today. It's interesting how I was always struggling with meditation more than with asana and seems like now life is giving me a period of time where all I can do is meditate and use pranayama (very gentle).
Quite a few people have asked me whether yoga helped with my birth and from a completely rational perspective I'd have to say no, since I never got to apply the breathing techniques and poses that I had gotten ready for in prenatal yoga classes but I do think that it helped me a great deal mentally. Any type of birth is about acceptance and yielding to nature, trusting that things will fall into place. Now the work I am doing is not to doubt or wonder what would have/could have happened but rather accept what did happen and acknowledge it for my experience that was good and worthy. When I look at the little boy all of it is forgotten anyway - such a precious gift to be able to hold him in my arms.
Life changes in so many ways but at the same time, I think giving birth also guides us back to the roots, back to what really matters: love, kindness, being close to your family, good food, sleep and relaxation. I strongly believe that we don't choose our kids but they choose us based on what we need in our lives. With our little man, he showed us early on that he's got his own way of looking at things and doing things and there is no way for us as parents to change that. I trust he will make the right decisions though. The next one will be: I want food now, so I better help him with that...
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