Q: What is worse than swim suit shopping?
A: Maternity swim suit shopping.
Q: What is worse than maternity swim suit shopping?
A: Post-natal swim suit shopping!

As you may already know, or might easily guess, having a baby definitely changes your body in many ways…most (all???) of which are rather unflattering! And no matter how in shape I was after Landri (and hope to be after Rex), it was obvious that my body was never going to be the same no matter what. Add on another baby, and not having youth on my side (turning the big 3-5 in a few months, eek!), and I imagine that things will be the same this time around, if not worse! I’m not going to lie. It’s so hard! I still have about 30 lbs until I get to my pre-pregnancy weight which is REALLY daunting. I’ve been stuck where I’m at for about 7 weeks… which is also frustrating. I feel like I’ve been working pretty hard and making healthy choices, especially considering my new reality, but apparently the leeway that I often times give myself has been too much. I needed something new and different to help me get unstuck! And then I stumbled upon a great article that I think has given me hope and a fresh perspective and outlook.

I’m totally stealing the title of today’s blog from this article from Mind Body Green. It describes what a Sadhana is and how to do one. Basically, it’s the “practice in pursuit of a goal.” You can read the full article here: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13478/want-to-change-your-life-try-a-sadhana.html. I instantly had a dozen or so ideas of things that I wish I could do or want to do. Of course I wanted to make some grand enormous Sadhana encapsulating all of them, a year in length, but reality kicked in and rational Megan decided that would obviously only set me up for failure and that I should start small. Ultimately I decided that the chaos that has come with two kids has been overwhelming me at times and that the one thing in my life that always helped me combat chaos and being overwhelmed was missing: YOGA. It has always centered me and kept me grounded and refreshed, and since Rex is still too young for the child center at my gym, I have been unable to practice. Yes, I have stepped on my mat a couple of times here, but I have never been able to get my home practice to fully emulate a real yoga class (and definitely not regularly). And with the two kids, it’s nearly impossible now it seems – someone little always needs me! So I decided to set a very tiny yoga goal for my Sadhana in order to force myself to commit that time to myself to re-energize my being. Today is only the third day of my 10 day Sadhana – where I have committed to do 10 sun salutations every day; 5 of which are upon rising in the morning while the house is still quiet and asleep, and the remaining 5 before retiring to bed, again, when the house is still quiet and asleep (except for the dulcet sounds of ESPN – shout out to Scott Lehnhoff, LOL). Like the author of the article, I started journaling and I have really enjoyed it. I feel more aware of my day, my actions, and my choices. I will have to keep you guys posted on this journey as I go… I’ve been keeping a list of all of the things I’d love to try incorporating into my life and plan on doing rotating 10 day Sadhanas. I figure if some of the things stick some of the time and become a part of my healthy lifestyle, that would just be a plus! If you feel stuck in a rut, maybe try a Sadhana! Some ideas could be as simple as to drink a certain amount of water everyday, or as challenging as not to eat any packaged food.

So back to the whole unsightly post-partum body image discussion… My mother reminded me of the obvious and most important piece of it all…As hard as it is to not be able to fit into my bikini or favorite jeans right now, I must always remember that this body, new curves and all, gave me two of the most precious gifts on earth, and for that, the extra jello is and always will be worth every single ounce and more. 😉

PS. Pro Mom Tip: As much as it sucks to go spend money on clothes that you hope won’t fit you for very long, it definitely will help you feel better if you go get some new stuff that fits. Trying to squeeze into your pre-pregnancy clothes before you’re back down to that size will just serve to frustrate you and honestly won’t look good. You’ll be amazed at how much better you will LOOK and FEEL if you have some stuff that FITS your current size.

PPS.  I just discovered the power of a spiralizer (think: veggie garden) and hope to post on that next!

Until next time… consider trying a Sadhana!