Changing Gears

Wednesday night I went to my regular tennis drill, and after an hour and a half of lumbering around on the court, watching yet another passing shot go by and struggling to bend over to pick up balls, I decided that was my last drill. Originally I had thought I'd keep playing for the next two weeks before Christmas vacation, but after Wednesday I decided that I wasn't really doing anyone any favors by continuing to go to drills. I still have one more match scheduled for two weeks from now (part of a series I signed up for before I was pregnant), and though I'd like to play, I'll probably end up finding a sub. If my belly continues to expand at the same rate is has in the last week, two weeks from now I won't even fit into my tennis tank tops, much less the little skirt.

So, on the drive home from my last tennis drill, I decided to look up some prenatal yoga classes at a studio two of my friends had recommended. I'd been putting off trying the classes, because paying for tennis, a gym membership AND yoga classes seemed a little extravagant. Now that tennis was out the picture, however, I needed something else to do. Since my growing belly, lack of coordination and shortness of breath made running around and lunging after of balls difficult, I thought contorting my body into unachievable positions and then trying to maintain my balance in those positions sounded perfect.

Obviously I was a little skeptical of the whole yoga thing. I'd tried yoga and pilates a few times before, and though the relaxation part is certainly nice, for a person who can't touch her toes, the basic "forward fold" position is extremely difficult, much less all additional bending, sliding, lifting, twisting and knotting of limbs that you're supposed to do once in that position. But this class had been recommended, the first session was free, and I had nothing else to do yesterday evening.

As it turns out, it was really enjoyable. The bending, folding and contorting were just as difficult as I'd thought they'd be, but it was very nice to be in a room with other women who also have oversized bellies, rather than on a tennis court with 13 other very fit people who are trying to figure out if you just ate a big meal, quit going to the gym regularly (someone actually asked me that), or if something else is going on. And this morning my muscles are comfortably sore, instead of limping around like an old woman after too much lunging. Yes, I think it's time to shift gears, put the racquet away for a bit, and buy a yoga mat.