What to Buy Wednesday - Prenatal Massage & Yoga

OK, OK...some of you just rolled your eyes at my suggestion for this week. But trust me, if you are a friend or partner to a pregnant woman, she will love you for gifting her with a prenatal massage and/or prenatal yoga classes.

If you are in Chicago, I highly recommend Corrine Peterson. She use to run the prenatal classes at Sweet Pea's Studio (studio RIP, massages still available) and that's where I met her when I was preggers.

First, the yoga -- In Corrine's prenatal yoga, which I started taking maybe in my 3rd month, I learned so much about what my body was going thru it was scary. You'd think that a women's health activist would know, but ya just don't know. Class included not just learning yoga (I've never taken a yoga class without being pregnant...I know, I really should.), but we spent a few minutes in each class listening to Corrine talk about the physical changes as well as sharing some of our thoughts, fears, and questions.

It was part Sweet Pea and part Corrine, but I felt so safe and protected. Considering all the drama that was happening with my life (FT grad student, FT work, FT worrying about my dying mom) it meant so much.

Second, the massage -- The day after my mother died, I called teh studio to schedule a massage. I had been putting it off, but I knew that if there was a time to "pamper" myself, it was now. I didn't get Corrine, but Jenny was awesome. And yes, dear readers it was my first full body massage as well.

Now, my pregnancy itself was pretty darn awesome. I felt better than ever (thanks to my strict gestational diabetes diet) and I looked pretty darn good too. But I was still tired and felt awkward with the strange alien thing inside me. So that massage felt good in so many ways! If I could have, I would have kicked myself for not getting one sooner. If you haven't been pregnant, you have NO idea how sore you body gets. Thank you hormones for masking most of it!

While prenatal yoga and massages get a bad rap because well, they are so out of the reach of most women, they are a luxury that is well worth it. Especially if she's not having a happy-glowing pregnancy. If you're going to spoil your BFF with one thing during her pregnancy, this is it.

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