Running, yoga, and spending time with my fellow mom friends are my favorite activities for taking care of me. I don’t get to do them as often as I used to, and that is totally fine! I’ve had to take a break from running and yoga for several months for different reasons, including the busy life with my little girls. I recently was able to build these activities back into my schedule. It feels wonderful to guide my body through movement and arrive at that bittersweet spot of my physical and mental limits. I also cherish the meditation aspect of yoga, just sitting still for a few moments, as well as the immediate moments at the end of both — the stillness of savasana, and the exhilarating exhaustion when finishing a run.

When I first got back into running after the birth of my second child, at about 5 weeks after she was born, my soul found a mantra, and I found it very inspiring and supportive to say it out loud to myself while I was pushing up a hill, or when my legs were tired. Please note that I am NOT a long-time runner! I started running from scratch about 6 years ago, and it has always been a challenging exercise for me. I don’t run until it hurts and don’t run through injuries.

For me, running is a personal challenge and makes me feel good physically and mentally. I’m in charge in that encapsulation of time; nobody else is — not my children, my husband, a boss, a medical provider, the plumber, or the dog.

This is my running mantra that I mention above:
My body remembered pregnancy
My body remembered labor
My body remembers nursing
My body remembers RUNNING
–
Note the past and present tense. Four wonderful and powerful experiences for me. I would almost yell out the RUNNING at the end (making sure I wasn’t close to people, LOL), then repeat the mantra several times, with an out of breath voice.