March Goals: Gentle Yoga, Low Sugar Diet, and Being Present

February has come and gone in a blur. I’m going to be 8 weeks postpartum tomorrow and I’m still struggling to wrap my head around how fast time is passing. I guess time flying is the new reality of having a newborn and a toddler to care for now. So it’s more important than ever for me to commit to the goals I set if I want to heal and improve my yoga practice post baby.

To keep my sleep deprived mind straight, here are my goals for March:

Goal #1: Practice Gentle Yoga Daily – with or without children present

There will always be a tiny human needing something from me. So, if I want to practice yoga I need to MAKE TIME. I’ve already attempted to practice with my newborn… which actually went really well!

I placed him on my belly while I did some pelvic tilts & toe touches (for Diastasis Recti) and we shared a few giggles and smiles before he got bored and started crying. The goal is to start with five minutes and gradually work my way up from there.

Goal #2: Cut Out Added Sugar, Processed Food, and Refined Carbs from My Diet

You are what you eat is a well used cliché, but it’s so true. I recently watched a documentary called Sugar Coated which really opened my eyes into how much sugar is actually in the foods we eat.

Spoiler alert: it’s in EVERYTHING.

Bread, yogurt, mayo, lunchmeat… I mean, if it’s processed it more than likely has sugar in it… which is crazy!

I once took a food and nutrition course in college in which I read a study about the effects of sugar on our brains. Did you know that the same pleasure centers that light up with cocaine use also light up when we eat sugar? It’s addicting and it’s also part of the diabetes, heart disease, and obesity epidemic in our society.

All of this to say: I’m quitting sugar.

I still plan on eating fruit, but I’m going to start avoiding all of the processed junk that sneaks the extra sugar into my diet each day.

Goal #3: Put Down My Phone, Turn Off Electronics, and Avoid Social Media During the Day.

The other day I laid a basket of toys out for my toddler to play with. It had blocks, art supplies, and toy cars with tracks you could build for them. But do you know what he chose to play with? His toy phone.

He grabbed it and sat on the end of the couch staring at the screen. I asked him if he was going to make a call and he said “no. reading. one minute!”

My heart sank.

I realized he was copying what his father and I do on a daily basis… “one minute sweetie, mommy is checking something really quick.”

A large part of yoga is learning to be present. I need to start practicing the skill of mindfulness not only on the mat, but off of it too. I’ve been robbing myself and my family of precious moments with my technology use and that’s not ok.

So I’m putting down my phone and focusing on my children, husband, and myself from now on.

Favorite quote for my March motivation:

The mind is like water. When it’s turbulent, it’s difficult to see. When it’s calm, everything becomes clear. – Buddhist saying