Prenatal Yoga-2nd Trimester Pics

(All photos copyright Cara Brostrom Photography)

A few weeks ago I met up with the talented Cara at JP Centre Yoga to shoot our next installment of my photo journey of this pregnancy! I'm going to be working on a project (maybe an e-book of sorts) about my experience with Prenatal Yoga and Pregnancy in general…so stay tuned for that in the year to come. 

In the meantime, I've been enjoying feeling a bit better in this trimester. Though, I must say that it all doesn't really feel that awesome for me in general. I like to be honest about my experiences and so, as profound, beautiful, and special that this time is…it's also really hard for me physically. Spiritually and mentally, I love this time! The honor, wonder, and joy to experience another life inside your own body is just beyond words. I look forward to the birth and honestly would take giving birth over having to gestate for 9-10 months any day! Truly. I just feel totally different and "off" than my non-pregnant state of physical being. I'm always curious and envious about the women who proclaim that they "love" being pregnant and feel amazing! Is it true that that happens? I take great care of myself but still end up with a slower pace, fast weight gain (oh the body image stuff that can come up), and overall feeling of nausea and strain on my body that I'm not used to. With that, I've heard that all these symptoms can mean a strong pregnancy. And for that I'm grateful. Taking it one day at a time now.  Just about 3 months to go. 

With this, I'm still moving through the grief with my whole family over the loss of my brother's daughter-to-be. A few weeks ago when my sister-in-law was at 4 months along, their little girl's heart stopped beating. It was her 2nd pregnancy as well. We were excited to be going through it at the same time. It shook the family and I actually found out about it just after filming this photoshoot. It sent me into lots of hard feelings and questions of the "why" and the wondering. So many women go through loss in this way during the childbearing years. It's astounding when this topic is brought up, just how many women speak up to their experience. And it's all of you that I know who have gone through something like this, that keep me so full of awe and gratitude for my own experience. Nothing else matters in the scheme of things but loving myself up during this time and bowing to each of you, bowing to Spirit, and to this miraculous process. 

So, I honor all of you in this month of May ahead (especially, you, Melissa) as we celebrate Mother's Day. May you know how supported and respected you are. May you know the beauty and grace that you are through all of our births and losses as women on this journey. Om Shanti, Peace, Shanti. 

*Wearing my Sweaty Betty Harem style pants (so comfy and great for pregnancy), and Liz Lange for Target Maternity tank top

Poem to all of my Sweet Sisters-to Women everywhere

For the final day of our Art of Attention Advanced Teacher Training with Elena Brower, we were asked to write, perform, feel into something that we wanted to share.
This was my contribution...inspired by my own experiences, by ALL of the amazing women in that training, plus ALL of the courageous and beautiful women everywhere. Especially to my own mama.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we are honest within, may we relish the quiet.
These transitions are our honor as women.
They bring us to the edge to recognize our fear but our greatness even more.
She says, How can I be bold and still remain myself?
This is part of the challenge, but to that I say--
Breathe It Out.

There will always be those who mistake your compassion for weakness,
your sensitivity for coldness,
your open vulnerability for cowardice,
or your love for competition.
Often it will be your mistake...
To that I say--
Breathe It Out.

Some days you'll put yourself last.
You'll feel foreign in your own skin.
You'll confuse your beauty for ego...or let the past take over the current flow.
To that I say--
Breathe It Out.

For WE are the magical ones.
The ones who feel the wind and can sense its mission.
Who can see inside and accept our truths.
Who can birth and raise boys to love and change the course of how women are received. 
Who can remain vulnerable and open at the same time, in the same space.

Vanda says, To be sensitive is to be alive.
This is our path to freedom. This is what it's about.
May we map ourselves and take it back. 
So be it.
And let's
Breathe. It. Out.


~Thank you, Elena, and my dear sisters along this path to pay closer attention to ourselves and to each other. 

Prenatal Yoga- Take 2!

Yes, it's true. I'm now just about 4 months pregnant with baby #2! 

We are very excited to welcome this little one into our family this coming summer. For now, it's been a bit of a rough winter to get through the first trimester of fatigue, lots of up and down nausea, and just overall blah. I had been hoping this time around things would be different in that way, but it wasn't so. 
I continue to keep pushing through and try to be gentle with myself during this precious time. This is why I am starting to taper my public teaching schedule already. I need time for myself to be in this moment, to spend more time with my family, to reflect on the advanced training I just received in NY with Elena, to work on my writing projects, and to get organized for this baby. It feels right to take a break now and I am fortunate enough to get to do so. 

It's been a hard winter. Lots of snow, super cold temps, and the blahs of the first trimester have prevented me from usual upbeat energy to get out and about, to practice lots of yoga, and to enjoy the winter season. Instead I've spent many a days on the couch…and again I'm letting it be what it is/was. I feel like never before have I been SO excited for Spring than this year! I need the flowers, the green, the warmer breezes, the sun, and the ability to get out and walk about/play with Isak. 
It was a great idea to host and teach a Women's Winter Yin Series at my home because I had something to look forward to, to honor this season, and to connect with other women during a time where I have been vulnerable. 

In the last couple of months, specifically, I notice once again how individual, special, and different each pregnancy is for each woman. This was my biggest lesson when I was pregnant with Isak. To have to let go of the vision I had in my mind that I would still look (plus the big baby belly) and do the same things as before I was pregnant, especially in my yoga practice. That was really not the case for me. You all know the story. Instead, I gained upward of 45 pounds and did mostly restorative, slow hatha, and yin. No inversions, no backbends. Just wasn't what my body and baby wanted or needed at that time. This time around, it's feeling so similar. My body seems to be built to need to slow down and relax and get nice and round when I'm growing another being! My hips have already gotten much wider (it's amazing), and my belly is poking out like I'm at least 5 months pregnant instead of 4 (so goes the 2nd pregnancy I hear). My muscles are disappearing under my skin, and my energy is just not what it was. So I must embrace it! I'm going to be documenting each trimester with my friend, Cara, to show not only my body and it's transformation, but also my experience with practicing yoga through each trimester. My goal is that maybe some women out there will identify with what I have to offer in this way. I plan to write about my experience and then turn it into something I can share with you all. 

I get to teach prenatal yoga each week and practice and teach to mothers so often that it feels great to get to go through it all again and remind myself of all of our beauty and uniqueness. I am so very joyful and grateful to get to bring life into the world again! Even if it means discomfort on my part. Plus, any chance to release the control and discipline that I might be used to should be a welcome one. Even if it doesn't quite feel that welcome at times…I'm learning each day to love myself in this moment all over again. To be mindful when the negative thoughts toward myself or my body creep in, or when I get comments from others about how big my belly 'already' is. Becoming a mother requires such strength and resilience on a mental and emotional level way beyond physical strength. This is why yoga and meditation is so important during this time, and this is why I aim to be honest and open about my experiences in pregnancy and motherhood both on and off the mat. After all, when I look back at the first experience with Isak, it really did go by so fast. All of it. Pregnancy, and then the whole first year of his life. So it seems perfect now to learn from all the lessons I went through then and honor this life. It will only happen this once and then I have the rest of my life to get back to all else. 

Here's a special peek at my First Trimester shoot with Cara (when I was 12 weeks):
All photos are copyright Cara Brostrom

And this is my own little collage from when I first found out I was pregnant again,  the 2nd month, and then the 3rd. Body transformation=beautiful. 

Winter Wellness Playlist

Hi Loves~ 
I created this for the Winter Wellness Workshop that I did recently with my gal, Steph. I've been using it for regular classes and practice lately too, and well, it's simply nice for a winter day. 

1.  Amiina: Untitled 4
2.  Sigur Ros: Ofbirta
3.  Nils Frahm: Me
4.  Snatam Kaur: Ong Namo
5.  Daughter: The Woods
6.  Olafur Arnalds & Arnor Dan: For Now I am Winter
7.  Bat for Lashes: Winter Fields
8.  Daughter: Winter
9.  Olafur Arnalds: Hands Be Still
10. Olafur Arnalds (Nils Frahm Remix): For Now I am Winter
11. Nils Frahm: Si
12. Sigur Ros: Var
13. Snatam Kaur: Long Time Sun

For my Women's Winter Yin Series that I'm currently running, I've been choosing a different book for each practice and opening to a random page (oracle style) to gather the wisdom of the current moment. They have all so far been in alignment of solitude, acceptance, spirit, and inner consciousness. It's fascinating. Here's a gem from Pema Chodron's Awakening Loving-Kindness:

"Learning to be not too tight and not too loose is an individual journey through which you discover how to find your own balance: how to relax when you find yourself being too rigid; how to become more elegant and precise when you find yourself being too casual." 

Iceland Yoga & Fun Retreat Photo Album

Hi friends,  

It's been a busy, busy autumn full of amazing growth and experience for me.  Not only have I been immersed in Art of Attention Advanced Teacher Training with Elena Brower, but I took a group over to my beloved Iceland in October.  I'm feeling beyond blessed, and also ready for a slow winter ahead.  Hoping to put some thoughts to the page soon, but for now enjoy the photo journey of our family-friendly adventure!

Much gratitude and love this week and always,
Jenn

The Light.  

Favorite.  Icelandic horse, water, majestic mountain.

View of the amazing church at sunset in Reykjavik.

Robots!

Silliness from my boy and I.

Harpa Concert Hall

Dancing at Harpa.

Reykjavik knows coffee and hot chocolate.

Yes for friends coming on my adventures!

Reykjavik beauty

Hraunfoss

Some snow fall near the waterfalls

Yoga time with a mountain view.

Our fabulous group! Love them so.  

Steam/Moss/Colors!

Mountains

Moss!

View from a hike

Natural Hot Spring

Beauty and Peace

Mama/Baby Love

Stykkisholmur

My loves

Library of Water meditation

Yoga in the countryside

Soaking up the energy and filling up my Spirit!

Dinner!

Reykjavik Art

My new tattoo that I put a lot of thought into.  Means Look at the Light, with the rune for the Sun.