Pregnant and Dancing
There are those who go to more extremes to try to aerial dance as long as possible through pregnancy. I gladly relaxed the "need to" to meet my body where it was at. And I needed rest. I needed grounded movement, but I liked the idea of using the ballet barre as my partner. That's what I like most about aerial dancing - I am never naked and alone on stage. I think I "need" the security blanket that a prop provides. It keeps me safe while I expose my soul. I don't know if I have the boldness to enter a stage relying on just my own two feet. Not today at any rate. For now, I enjoy my dance partners.
When I started working on the piece at 5 months pregnant, it was very athletic and true to my aerial dance side. The barre was like a trapeze half the time. But as the months went by, and my center of gravity changed, and my abs lost their strength, let me tell you; I was thankful to have the barre to hold on to. The hard moves were taken out one by one, but what was left was still lovely. It reminded me of all my roots in dance before I had the athleticism I have now. It was hard, but a good change of pace. Because let me tell you, without a belly to stop me, it's hard to keep me on the ground.
When I started working on the piece at 5 months pregnant, it was very athletic and true to my aerial dance side. The barre was like a trapeze half the time. But as the months went by, and my center of gravity changed, and my abs lost their strength, let me tell you; I was thankful to have the barre to hold on to. The hard moves were taken out one by one, but what was left was still lovely. It reminded me of all my roots in dance before I had the athleticism I have now. It was hard, but a good change of pace. Because let me tell you, without a belly to stop me, it's hard to keep me on the ground.
Pre-Natal Aerial Yoga
One thing I did do "aerial dance"-wise was to add an additional chapter to the aerial yoga manual volume 1. It includes a 10 min stretch and relaxation workout I did using the fabric. It is the most gentle moves that you can do and we took the pictures just a few days before I gave birth!
It is hard to write anything on exercise for pregnant mama's because of two big factors: (1) everyone and every body is different. a lot of what you can do during pregnancy just depends on what you were used to doing before you were pregnant. The classic advice is: "you can keep doing whatever you normally do until it is uncomfortable or hard. then, listen to your body and stop." (2) every month is different! At 3 months, I was still in the air like I wasn't pregnant, and then, slowly, I had to stop certain moves, then stop aerial work altogether, then gradually decrease what I could do on the ground... its such a vast continuum that is hard to set guidelines out there.
It is hard to write anything on exercise for pregnant mama's because of two big factors: (1) everyone and every body is different. a lot of what you can do during pregnancy just depends on what you were used to doing before you were pregnant. The classic advice is: "you can keep doing whatever you normally do until it is uncomfortable or hard. then, listen to your body and stop." (2) every month is different! At 3 months, I was still in the air like I wasn't pregnant, and then, slowly, I had to stop certain moves, then stop aerial work altogether, then gradually decrease what I could do on the ground... its such a vast continuum that is hard to set guidelines out there.
Below is a video summary of my growing belly and the subsequent little one that came around as a result. You get to see parts of the dance in the middle. If you want to view more of the dance piece, visit my youtube channel. :)
Naomi Jean Leach
Here's a more recent pic of our beautiful little girl, who is now a part of the ever-evolving journey that God has us on!