Newsletter
sending...welcome to MommyMoves!
At MommyMoves™ our mission is to provide top-quality Pre & PostNatal fitness programming to new & expectant mothers.Our programs have been developed by Leah Esplen, a Registered Kinesiologist, Fitness Instructor and certified Pre & PostNatal Instructor
All postnatal classes focus on interaction between mother and child, while providing a fun and safe fitness experience. The goals of our prenatal classes are to maintain and possibly gently increase fitness levels in preparation for labour & delivery and the demands of motherhood.
5 Calorie-free Ways to Beat the Heat
The summer came late to the West Coast this year but it is now in full swing. While the idea of ‘popping a cold one’ may sound appealing during the heat of summer, it’s just not an option for pregnant women. Even non-alcoholic beverages contain unnecessary calories or artificial sweeteners. So how can the expectant mother (or anyone for that matter) beat the heat this summer?
Here are our favourite calorie-free tricks:
1. Put your hands and feet in cool water. It may sound like a funny tip, but a pregnant woman’s circulation can increase by up to 50%! In the latter stages of pregnancy the tone of the muscles around the blood vessels relax and vasodilation occurs so more blood flows to the skin. The cool water lowers the temperature of the blood in the hands and feet and this cooler blood returns to your core. But that’s not all – the water pressure reduces the edema (swelling that doesn’t go away) in your hands and feet.
2. Drink cool water or home-made unsweetened iced tea. Cooler drinks are absorbed more quickly than those at room temperature and tea (especially green and white tea) contains an antioxidant called catechins.
3. Buy a spray fan and use it liberally! Have you seen these things? They have a hand trigger so you can spray yourself and then the fan will cool you off even more. Lovely!
4. Use a cool pack or frozen veggies on your torso or the back of your knees. Again, the blood will cool and return to your core, reducing your core temperature.
5. Go to a MommyMoves® PreNatal Aquafit class. Okay, I’m being a bit biased – any low to moderate intensity prenatal aquafit class will do. Aquafit will cool you down, decrease your edema (swelling), help prevent/manage gestational diabetes, strengthen muscles and joints and ease your low back pain. If you are feeling like a tank then this is the place for you. In the water you feel light and graceful. Seriously! And don’t be afraid to ask to see an instructor’s qualifications before signing up for a class.
Have a great rest of your summer and may this glorious weather last a wee bit longer!
Yoga – PreNatal & otherwise
When I first met Alma Vaugeois at an Enterprising Moms Network function last year, I noticed her gentle and calm demeanor. Anyone who knows me can tell you I am a ‘slightly’ energetic and perhaps ‘somewhat’ forthright person, so her soothing presence drew me in and we started chatting about our personal and business lives.
Alma is a Registered Clinical Counselor, Yoga Instructor and Energy Healer. As a counselor, she often recommends yoga (although she doesn’t demand that it be with her) as an emotional release and way to build strength and stamina. I loved the marriage of the two practices and so when an opportunity to bid on a set of her yoga classes at a silent auction came up, I grabbed it and won! I didn’t do anything with it due to time constraints but I always intended on using it. A few months later I was at the launch party for the Langley EMN and I won a door prize – a gift certificate for a Heart Resonance Healing Session with…Alma! I guess someone somewhere was sending me a message.
I listened to the message and booked my yoga sessions with Alma at her home studio, Alma Mayi Yoga Studio in South Surrey. The studio is in her basement and as a result it feels very homey and comfortable. The other participants were very friendly and we all had a short chat before we got started. In contrast to other studios I’ve been to, I felt that the environment was intimate and when I was spoken to I didn’t feel like I was being interviewed.
Alma’s teaching style was very gentle and she slowly led me into the various postures. We alternated between standing, seated and lying postures so my wrists didn’t get sore at any time. She occasionally uses touch to encourage you into the proper position and will educate you on why the changes are necessary.
Overall, I found the class to be an excellent beginner or special population class and I highly recommend her as a yoga instructor. It is so nice to practice yoga in a non-competitive environment and still feel like you got something out of it!
To contact Alma for an individual, couple or family yoga session or counseling: almavaugeois@shaw.ca or 604-538-2232
