Proga (Prego Yoga)

I have always imagined my pregnant self in a certain way: I will glow, and not get too fat, and will write poetry to the baby, and will do prenatal yoga. It's hard to say how things are going on my checklist. BUT, last Thursday I did try prenatal yoga, which I will now call Proga, because it's my blog- and I can.

I was looking at yoga studio websites in Olympia and found a doula who also teaches proga, and I thought: Eureka! The class testimonials promised to help you connect with your baby. So I went.

The class was one and a half hours long, which I thought might be way too long. However, it was the perfect amount of time. It's from 7:00-8:30 p.m. (kind of late) in downtown Olympia. There were probably about 15 pregos there of all different sizes, ages, and stages in pregnancy. At the start, we all settled down in the studios on our mats and introduced ourselves. We were supposed to say how many weeks we were and what we hoped to get out of the class or what we were experiencing in our pregnancies.

There were ladies who were 9 weeks and one who was 39 (one more to go for her!). I said that day was my 19th week, and that I just really hoped to bond with the baby. I want to feel like I am carrying a little person... instead of just feeling fat and rotund. -To which everyone chuckled, indicating we have ALL been there!

Introductions over, we got down to business. At first I was feeling smug (I was the smallest woman there) and competitive (look! I can hold my poses longer than they can). Before I snapped out of it. Damn, if I don't have a hard time possessing my new role in life right now. Grow a baby, grow a baby. It doesn't matter how big your thighs are right now or how athletic you perceive yourself to be. I'm working on it.

Anyhoo, once I was in the moment and going through the paces, I did feel the baby move more precisely than I have yet. Either that or it was moving more energetically than it has so far. Either way... it was a treat. And our instructor, Kristin Rubis, had these wonderful affirmations for us to think about:

• This is the time your baby was meant to join your family. -Good reminder for me, especially. Deployment!!!!
• Your body knows how to deliver a baby.
• Your baby knows exactly how to be born.

When I left the studio that night, it was just barely drizzling outside, and you could smell the ozone. I walked to the car with the lightest of steps and a tear or two in my eyes. For the very first time, I felt like I really was designed to have this baby (not a blob in my gut), right now, and that I am enough.

I am now a proga believer, and if you call my house on Thursday evenings, you'll reach the voice mail. I've got a date with the baby.