Talking Well: Chatting to member Jess on Pilates, Eating, and New Motherhood.

Every now and again we want to bring you stories from the community and the people who inspire us. Last week I caught up with Jess, a new mum, naturopathy student and regular in our online studio. She was kind enough to share her experience with Pilates, lockdowns, healthy eating, and her transition into motherhood.

**This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

BWC: So, Jess, thank you for meeting with me… how long have you been doing online pilates classes?

J: I started probably in April last year while pregnant... I thought it was a good exercise to do, and Tegan was able to tailor classes, which was good especially in the first trimester you get a lot of aches and pains so it’s nice to have lower impact. It’s so good because Tegan always knows who in the class she needs to modify things for, and I think that’s so important, you know just having that attention to detail and caring in that way.

BWC: Had you tried pilates before coming to Big Wellbeing Co.?

J: No, I’d never done pilates before. I’d done a lot of yoga but never pilates. I kind of expected it to be kind of similar to yoga, which it is in some ways but it’s a lot more muscle work and stuff like that, which I find really good, so it’s a lot more of a workout. Especially the core work, like the core work is really amazing.

BWC: I guess that was good preparation for pregnancy too.

J: Yeah that’s the thing, it’s funny how quickly I was able to bounce back after pregnancy to be able to do all the core work again and I think it’s because I paid so much attention to it during pregnancy when we were doing that kind of work… obviously I had things tailor made for me because you have to be careful with that.

BWC: What led you to the Big Wellbeing Co. platform?

J: When everyone was in lockdown it was so good to have exercise classes from home, and I think particularly last year when we went into the second lockdown in Melbourne- or fifth lockdown, whichever lockdown it was- it was really good to have that structure of having the timetabled classes. It was something healthy to focus on. There was a lot of negativity going around the world and Tegan was always really positive and it was really nice to see her every day.

BWC: Did you find it difficult adjusting to online classes?

J: No, I used to do a lot of yoga on YouTube anyway and I think the best part about it is that if you’ve booked into the class you’re more accountable to go. There’s someone there talking you through it and Tegan’s always there at the end for a chat, so I think that really is such a big benefit over just doing YouTube classes.

BWC: Now that things have opened back up in Melbourne do you think you’ll keep doing the online classes?

J: Yeah definitely. It sort of suits me, especially having the baby. It's so much easier just to be able to do it from home rather than having to go somewhere and come back again, it just takes more time. So for me at the moment it is a lot easier to just do it from home.

BWC: So can you tell me a little about your experience with the Pilates and Good Food Program?

J: Ohh I loved that, it was so good. That was at the start of this year…when things were kicking off with COVID and everything here and it was so nice to have this really healthy and positive program to focus on, and just nourishing my body and feeling really good in that way, even if there was a lot of chaos going on. And it was great to have new recipes because I think a lot of people just get into the habit of making the same thing and then you’re just like ‘I don’t know what to make tonight’. And my baby started eating solids a few months ago, so he would try some things from it or I could tailor it to things that would be suitable to him so he tried a lot of new things too. I got a lot out of that program, it was perfect timing.

BWC: What really worked for you in the program?

J: I liked having a big range of new recipes to try, that was really good and I really liked having the BINGO. I thought that was really cool because it was nice finding things that I had done or even getting motivated to do other things. I thought that was really really helpful.

BWC: Do you normally meal prep or plan?

J: Kind of. It’s different now that I’ve got a baby, I sort of make meals for a few days I suppose so I don’t have to do as much. I’m cooking more for him and then I’ll just eat what’s leftover so I think having the structured meal plan was quite helpful to me, to make sure I’m getting what I need as well.

BWC: Do you find it difficult to exercise or eat well being a new mum?

J: I definitely find it more difficult than I did before motherhood, I feel like I had a lot more time for myself but now… It’s been really good doing pilates because I can just put him in his little bouncer and he’ll just jump up and down in the background and I’ll do my pilates for as long as I can… The express classes are really good because he can just stay settled for that time.

It definitely has changed the way I eat, especially because now he eats as much as me so he’ll try to eat a lot of my food too. I was very very conscious of healthy eating before him, and probably my greatest passion in being a mother is making him really healthy meals, but I’m probably missing out a bit now because I’m more focused on him. But I try to go for a walk every day, that’s my main exercise, and Pilates. It’s definitely different to what I was doing before, so I think for me Tegan’s Pilates came around at the perfect time, like just when I needed to transition to that kind of exercise.

BWC: Do you have any tips you’d like to share that you’ve learned along the way on your journey into motherhood?

J: That’s a big one! I think for me especially, eating well is paramount because I’m still breastfeeding a year on, so it’s really important. You can’t feed someone else when you’re not eating well so I keep a check on that. And just doing practices to keep calm as well.

I think taking that time for mental health, just a little bit of time each day which is really hard for new mums to find, but I think you kind of make the most of it when it’s really limited.

And don’t worry about drinking coffee, just keep drinking it! It’s about not putting so much pressure on yourself to be a certain way, which is really hard because there’s so much mum guilt, particularly with instagram you see these picture perfect mothers and it’s so unattainable. I think it’s just giving yourself space to make mistakes and not putting too much pressure on yourself to be a ‘perfect mother’.

BWC: Thanks Jess. Just one more question for you, can you tell me a little bit about your naturopathy studies?

J: Yep, so I am in my last year but I've still got my clinic hours left to do. This year as well I’m also training to become a doula, that’s a birthworker. So I’m hoping to combine naturopathy and birthworking. Especially after giving birth and being pregnant I’m just really passionate about birth and new motherhood and postpartum.

Thank you so much for sharing with us Jess! <3

__________________________________

Ready to join us on the mat from home? Get started anywhere you have a device and an internet connection.

Learn more www.bigwellbeingco.com.au/aboutpilates