I Heart Swimming BIG Time

I love to swim. I am a fish. Always have been. I will whore myself out for a pool, invite myself to pool parties where I will be one of the few actually swimming. Swimming in the ocean or pool just makes me super happy. Always has, and I assume always will. One day I would love to have my own pool so I can swim throughout the day as I see fit. Want my kid (s?) to grow up swimming too. We belonged to a pool in Nashville where I pretty much would stay all day during the summer. Swimming and playing tennis and eating slushies. Good old fashioned summer fun. Then every summer we would also go to my great grandmother’s beach house where I would spend ALL day going back and forth between the ocean and the pool. I have been on a pool search since I got pregnant. The baby sickness slowed me down for a while and I wasn’t doing much extra exercise at all. But now that I am feeling good I am swimming. I joined the Santa Monica College pool which has me ecstatic. It is awesome! If you are a S.M. resident you get a super deal of 20 swims for $40. But you can also just pay as you go. The lap pool is huge and seemingly lanes are pretty open. I went during lunch time today which was busy but I easily found a lane. Swam for 30 minutes. Felt amazing. Could have gone longer but I seem to have pulled a groin muscle. Yesterday was my first day swimming but I think Monday I overstretched my groin doing yoga and now I have it a bit overworked. But swimming during pregnancy is something that I hope to continue to do until I give birth, in the birthing pool. It is great as you get bigger and as the relaxin opens up all of your joints. Swimming is low impact but works you out and really gets into all of your muscle groups, stretches and lengthens them. The breast stroke is awesome to do b/c it contracts and works the back muscles while opening up and stretching the chest and arms. The front of your belly gets a great stretch too without feeling uncomfortable or too much. And as I get bigger I know that the buoyancy will feel wonderful. I am still not too huge so the side stroke and front crawl felt great too. Felt good to work out my side and back muscles. But obviously just listen to your own body and see what works. The paddle boards are also great for the legs. There is also something scientific that happens when a preggo gets into the pool. When you submerge yourself into the water, the pressure affects the swollen tissue filled with fluid (edema) by sucking it back into the cells which reduces the swelling. So the more you swim, the idea is the less swelling you will have. I feel a lot less swollen after swimming. It is awesome! Plus you feel like yourself b/c you are floating and weightless. I always feel like a kid when I swim. As of now, I am rocking the bikini. Feels better than a huge tent one piece. I am just letting the belly hang out. It’s actually kind of funny b/c in my normal body I loathe wearing a two piece, but am actually loving it right now. Feel super sexy and like I don’t give a F***. So to everyone out there, take advantage of summer and get some fun swimming exercise. And for those preggos out there, give it a try and treat yourself if available to you. You will not regret it.

xoxox, McLean

Organic/ Non-Organic Lists

This list I have taken from the Mind, Body, Green website. They post it regularly and I always seem to forget all of the details, so thought I’d repost it. Obviously we would all love to buy organic produce straight off of the farm but most of us to do not have the time, money, or interest. But for some people its a non-negotiable part of their budget. I do get annoyed when people get all victimy and blame the fact that they do not buy fresh veggies or fruits on the fact that they do not have a ton of money. If you go to the markets, it is plain to see that not everyone is rolling in the dough. I mean it is expensive, I get that. BELIEVE me I get that. And I get annoyed too!!! But also its about priorities. I chose to buy good food with my money. That is what is important to me and my husband. Especially now with the baby growing. We do not eat out a lot, never go to bars, do not drink alcohol, or buy cigarettes, I rarely shop, I do not get my nails done or color my hair. I buy mostly organic, thats my “vice” but one that is well worth it. In LA we are lucky because there are so many markets around in pretty much every neighborhood (except for the “hood”). But it takes effort and time to go to the farmer’s markets and sort through the stalls to find the best foods for the best prices. And it takes upkeep. In other words, you can only buy what you will use up quickly as the food has no preservatives and thus a short self life. When I am being good about going to the markets exclusively, I end up having to go at least twice to buy new veg and fruit. However, I fully believe in supporting your local farmers markets. Its one way we can say F-you to the food corporations that seduce us with their processed packaged goods. It’s a way to take back some control over what you put in your body and who you want to give your hard earned money to. It is also a great way to show your kids where real food comes from. Okay enough from me. Jeeeez. Here is a list of the dirty and the clean. Try to buyorganic from the dirty list. You can get away with buying conventional from the clean list if need be. Organic all the time is the best but hey we gotta pick our battles…

xoxox, McLean

The Dirty Dozen:
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes (imported)
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

And on the flip side, here’s the “Clean 15” list of produce with the lowest amount of  pesticides. If you’d like to save some money on produce and not opt for organic, this list is a good place to start.

The Clean 15:
1. Onions
2. Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe (domestic)
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

Legs Up the Wall

If you don’t know this pose, you should. It is in my opinion possibly the best yoga pose ever. Because it involves zero effort and offers amazing benefits. I learned about this pose as a youngster, as my mom was badass and did legs up the wall every night before bed, for decades. And nary a varicose vein ever landed on her legs. It works. It is so relaxing and and is actually a great way to unwind after your day. If you have been on your feet all day, then it is really important to do in order to flush the fluids out of your lower extremities. Think about it. When you stand all day your heart has to pump a lot of blood constantly down to your legs and feet. When you invert the legs above the head, you give your heart a rest. You let the blood from the legs and feet flow and settle somewhat up into the upper body. It also is a great break for your muscles, tendons and ligaments. When you get pregnant you will soon see how your body begins to hold onto more fluid. When you carry a fetus, you not only have to pump your blood but you now have to make and support the babies blood supply too. Your blood volume will DOUBLE!! How crazy is that?!!! And it happens pretty early on. That’s one of the reasons why pregnant women get dizzy and get a rapid heartbeat or out of breath easily. Your body is working overtime and triple time to make a healthy baby. I tend to be a sweller and now being pregnant I am really feeling it. I generally try to do legs up the wall everyday but now I HAVE to do it or my legs hurt. I was on my feet for 8 hours today, which is way too much when 24 weeks preggo, and therefore have legs up the wall on my brain. Been doing it for the past hour. It is great to do after exercising, if you ate too much salt the night before and are bloated, before and after you travel by plane, after a long and stressful day, and most importantly when you need a little nurturing. I even teach my 4 olds this pose and they love it. It just makes you feel good! You can do it in bed with your legs against the wall. Can prop yourself up in pillows while doing this and reading, watching tv, meditating or just unwinding. Can also do lying on the ground with your bottom pressed against the wall and legs straight up the wall above your head. Arms can be however you like but my favorite is to have them open down to the sides, palms up. To get into the pose, sit next to the wall, hips and shoulder flush against the wall. Then gently lie down onto your side, roll onto your back and bring one then two legs up the wall. Voila, there you are. 5-30 or more minutes is great. Just feel it out. Should feel good, if it doesn’t then stop. Do not do until the legs go numb. Having the legs above the head is technically an inversion just like headstand, handstand and shoulderstand. You get a lot of the benefits while not really having to do any of the work. Anxiety washes away, the breath becomes slow and even, depression lifts and the good hormones swim throughout your body. So give yourself a big treat and give it a try.

Xoxox, McLean

Trust

I went to sleep late and awoke early so am now a mix of tired and totally jacked up. Brain is jumping. My birthing class was awesome last night. Learning new stuff but mostly reviewing things I already now at least a bit about. But the cool part is how D. and I are becoming parents. Now. We are learning how to work as partners on this crazy ride. We are taking classes called The Bradley Method which I highly recommend. It is based on the principle of husband coached birth. Which is awesome because when you find an amazing partner, you see how they all they want to do during your pregnancy is protect you and the baby, but don’t really know how to do that. It can be frustrating and alienating for both of you. The classes teach you how to communicate physically and emotionally with an emphasis on natural birth and relaxation. But the tools you learn can be applied to hospital births if you so chose. It is all about knowledge and empowerment, 2 aspects that are often taken away from women. The more I am learning the more excited and somewhat angry I feel. We are fearful about birth and do not trust our bodies. I will admit that I had about a week during my pregnancy where I freaked out and was like “maybe I do want drugs and a C-section”. But that wasn’t me talking, that was fear. I had been in denial over the whole birthing part of pregnancy and then boom the reality hit. But my midwives talked me through everything and I began reading more and even looked at the vaginal birth photos which before grossed me out. It all is freaking miraculous. I feel strong now. I trust my body. And that is big. I haven’t always had love or trust for my body. This baby inside is helping to change that. If you have not seen “The Business of being Born” go rent it today. You can also stream it on Netflix for free. I had seen it before but now that I am pregnant the stakes are higher. I stayed up way too late watching it, getting fired up and wanting to rise up and help things change. It will blow your mind. Ladies, we have been sold a bill of goods. We have been made to feel that we are not strong enough. Not brave enough. Not entitled to a glorious birth experience. It has to change. And it can when each one of us reclaim our bodies. Inform yourself. It is so empowering for the baby, you and your partner. It is trust. This goes for all things really. We look outwardly to get changed, heal, healthy, more centered, etc. But each one of us holds the answers. If we can quiet the mind, move the body, eat good food, listen to our inner knowledge, we can have and do it all. 

xoxox, McLean

Yoga, even in small doses can do Wonders.

Sometimes I forget how much I love yoga. I know that sounds strange coming from a yoga teacher. But I do other things as well, so each day my focus does not revolve around yoga- practicing or teaching. Especially lately where my own practice has become subdued and exercise in general has taken a bit of a back seat. I have been so busy lately working on other things. The days start early and end late and then I collapse into bed. Yesterday I was on my feet for most of the day (which now when pregnant is A LOT). By the time night time came around my legs were swelled up to the gills (nightly thing) and my feet were soooo achey. I quickly did some household stuff, made my husband dinner (lentils, quinoa and sliced persian cucs) and then scurried upstairs to put my legs up the wall. Ahhhh relief. Its better than drugs. 30 min. there was like a dream. The pain began to subside and all tension began draining out of my pores. My anger at having just noticed how our housekeeper had scraped up my gorgeous and highly sensitive floors lessened. I mean, they are just floors right? Then keeping that boozey yogic feeling, I slid onto the floor and did some great stretching/poses- cat/cows, downdogs, lots of side stretches, standing forward folds, shoulder and neck openers, normal and supta baddha konasana, pigeon, and lots of block supported shoulder/back openers. I felt everything shift. That sense of connection and relaxation is so key in all of this and so important for the baby too. I can feel her feel happiness. Often she gets into it when I practice. Giving me little kicks. But last night she was super relaxy and just going along for the ride. Then I took a hot shower, washed and conditioned my hair and felt so happy and alive. Stretched out, calm, floating, clean. Some of my favorite things. It was yet again a lesson in doing what you can. It doesn’t have to be a sweaty hour and a half practice to be yoga, or beneficial yoga. It is all it needs to be for different times of your life, mood, day. Feel the shift. be the shift. Have a lovely day.

xoxox, McLean