Photo: Samantha McBride
With Mother’s Day celebrated this month, we are delighted to feature a guest blogger who specializes in supporting pregnant women and mothers. Pregnancy and motherhood is disorienting. It’s the perfect combination of amazingness and uncertainty. And it can feel a bit isolating at times. The mama is often reminded that she’s really the only one who truly knows all of her aches, pains, joys, fears and the tiny miracles.
If you know a pregnant woman or a new mother, you have the ability to profoundly lift her up in the simplest of ways. With the generosity of your presence. And with any simple gesture letting her know you’re thinking of her. A sharing of resources. A reminder that her ever changing body is beautiful. In this way you break through her experience of isolation, and we mother each other through these sacred transitions.
Kendall Nations of Jamberri Fit provides tangible and needed care for the bodies and hearts of pregnant women and moms. If you’re pregnant, this article will help you tap into the magic of this time while addressing the real needs of your powerhouse of a body. If you know someone who’s pregnant, it will help give you ideas on how to encourage her in the journey.
If you are a mother, we want to wish you our most heartfelt appreciation this Mother’s Day for your efforts to nurture our future Luminaries! We celebrate you. With love, Cara & Amber
Pregnancy is magic. I’m currently two-thirds of the way through creating my second child, and I still find myself marveling at the wonder involved in bringing life into this world. Similar to the way our heart beats, or oxygen flows, my body is creating a child without my input. It just knows what to do and how to do it. I love reading my weekly gestation emails that detail what’s happening this week, and my husband and I giggle at the produce analogy each week. This week, at 33 weeks, our little girl is the size of a honeydew.
While the baby is growing without my directional input, there are many aspects of my conscious mental and physical health that factor into this creation. For me to still feel like the “me” I’ve known for 34 years, pre-pregnancy Kendall, I’m constantly adjusting to the changes happening to my body. Each week I’m aware of new aches, new growth, and new cravings. Each “newness” requires a different set of nurturing. Weeks 18-20 were particularly emotional and hormonal, and I found myself leaning on my husband for support and affirmation of this process. Weeks 27 and 28 I was exhausted and craved sleep. Thankfully those were weeks that I was able to alter my schedule to get more sleep. Weeks 30 through 32 brought fresh waves of lower back pain, which I’ve been alleviating with chiropractic adjustments.
I’m aware that I’m much more health focused than I normally am. Perhaps it’s the reminder that I’m creating life and I’m dedicated to building the strongest foundation I can for this little one. Or, because of the constant change I’m really in my body. I’m more attuned to listen to the unknown, the magic that’s being created, and adjust my self-care accordingly and more frequently.
I’m aware of how uncomfortable this new and unfamiliar territory is some days and occasionally resist the change. Watching the number on the scale creep higher each week is both affirming and daunting. I understand the baby is growing and I want to support her, but it’s mentally challenging to watch certain numbers crest the scale.
I strive to incorporate movement and exercise into my daily activities, both before and during pregnancy. One of my main motivators to get moving is a study that links cardiovascular health of the child to mom’s exercise frequency during pregnancy. The inspiration that I’m doing something now that may significantly aid my child later in life is more than enough to go for a hike, or add some movement to my day. It’s so important that I founded my business Jamberri Fit specifically to help women stay active, understand their changing bodies, and support their shifting needs during pregnancy and motherhood. Jamberri Fit offers online workouts to meet the prenatal and postnatal needs of women.
Tips To Stay Active and Support Your Body In Pregnancy
In addition to my library of workout videos on Jamberri Fit, I’ve gathered a few of my favorite tips below to help you stay active, while generously supporting your body, during the magical and sometimes challenging journey of pregnancy.
1. Transform the negative.
Find the time of day when you have the least amount of energy and are dragging, and take a quick walk around the block. You’ll likely feel better and therefore more inspired to accomplish another workout later in the day, or the next morning. Jamberri Fit also offers 5 minute workouts that can be done anywhere, on any device to get you moving and transform the negative energy. A little burst of movement can help boost our energy and our spirits.
2. Listen to your body as it is today.
Ignore the voice inside whispering how you used to be able to do something before you were pregnant. Your body is changing and adapting to the pregnancy, and it doesn’t do you any justice to compare yourself to your pre-pregnancy standards. While lifting heavy weights may have felt great pre-pregnancy, adjust and modify for your lack of supporting core muscles during pregnancy and lift smaller weights in greater repetitions. 30 reps with 5 pound weights can transform muscles just like 10 reps of 30 pound weights. Allow your perspective and inner critic to be altered.
3. Modify your movements to support your changing body.
One week holding a plank may feel okay, the next week it does not. Sometimes a modification is needed– or separate pose altogether. I love providing modifications in my videos and have found this level of support to be vital to a healthy pregnancy, both mentally and physically.
4. Reach out for support.
Find a blog or website that supports your views and visions for a healthy pregnancy. I enjoy both Lori Bregman and Mama Natural for weekly check-ins. Find which of your friends have like-minded pregnancy goals and lean on them for support. Often our greatest wealth of support is immediately around us, we just have to ask.
5. Let the divine feminine shine.
This is your body doing its finest work! Focus on the archetype of the divine feminine and seek out like-minded work. Luminary offers amazing retreats, online support and resources to assist and empower you. Embrace your curves and your abundant emotions; you are powerful beyond measure!
There is much wisdom to be found in listening to our bodies, and listening to the unknown of pregnancy. Tangled in the fears and the doubt of the 40-ish weeks of pregnancy is an immense amount of raw power and magic. I hope you keep listening to this power and transforming it to your advantage.
With Love,
Kendall
P.S. If you’re reading this and have journeyed (or are journeying) through pregnancy, what has helped you adjust to and support your changing body?
Her credentials include over 20 years of yoga practice, a certification in Power Yoga, and teaching “live” yoga, barre and Pilates classes in her community. She also has a foundation in dance, with 10 years of ballet training and teaches beginning ballet to toddlers. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and is focused on building women up to feel powerful, strong, and more engaged with their lives. When not recording new workouts for Jamberri Fit, she can be found trying to sneak leaves (aka, lettuce) and other healthy offenders into her toddler’s diet, playing outside with her family, and seeking out new adventures.
Check out her wonderful work and workouts here: www.jamberrifit.com
