Write on Yoga

A Lesson in Motherhood from Pelvis-Tailbone Mechanics

2012-05-20T21:55:00.000-04:00

Sit in Dandasana (aka staff pose). Go ahead, sit your butt down on the ground, mama.

Press out through all four corners of the feet as if you were standing on solid ground. Now stretch your sit bones (aka ischial tuberosities or butt bones) in the opposite direction of your heels.

Maintaining the push through the heels and the pull of the sit bones, tip your tailbone down toward the floor.

So you’re stretching your sit bones back, and you’re pushing your tailbone down, and from that ever-so-subtle push and pull, feel the energy shoot straight up your spine, opening your chest and lifting the top of your head towards the ceiling.

As you relax your shoulder blades down your back and rest your palms on the ground on either side of your hips, open your heart to the pull of career, the push of marriage, and thrill of loving that baby…or is that the blur of sleep deprivation? Welcome to motherhood with its competing, seemingly impossible demands.

Somehow, it works. And, you know what? It feels good.

The Yoga of Baby-Wearing (aka using a baby carrier)

2012-05-16T23:03:00.000-04:00

As yogis, we strive for a long spine, open chest, and relaxed shoulders. As moms, we work to cultivate a healthy emotional and physical bond with our babies, which for many of us involves wearing (aka carrying) our infants and young toddlers.

What’s in it for Baby and Mama

Research shows that babies who receive extra carrying (beyond that which is required for feeding and normal response to crying) cry 43% less on average, and 51% less specifically in evening hours, than babies who do not receive extra carrying. They also spend more time in a state of quite alertness—an optimal mode for learning about the world around them.

Baby wearing has benefits for mom, too. Wearing baby gives you hands-free time to be active while baby sleeps, nurses, or rests contentedly. Research even shows that baby wearing may help with postpartum depression due to the decreased interaction effort it takes to keep baby content when he’s in a carrier.

But as yogis, how do we maintain that long spine, open chest, and relaxed shoulders when we have a sack of potatoes strapped to us? As a yoga mom, my number-one recommendation is to invest in a good, ergonomic baby carrier.

Finding the Right Carrier

The carrier that works best for you and your baby may change as your baby grows. When Cam was first born, the Moby Wrap was my go-to carrier. From about 2 to 4 months, I enjoyed the Baby Bjorn, which entertained my active baby in the front-facing position. From 4 to 6 months I got by with the Moby and a simple sling. At 6 months, I splurged on an Ergo, and it’s been worth every penny. Cam is just over one year old and we’re still loving it.

So how do you find and wear your ideal fit? Consider this:

Maximize spinal integrity. The ideal carrier should distribute weight evenly and symmetrically.
Choose the right fabric. Stretchy fabric (for example, the Moby Wrap) can be fabulous for swaddling a newborn snuggly against your body. Once your baby gets heavier, a woven fabric gives mom’s shoulders more support.
Find the optimal height. Wearing your baby too high or too low will cause lower back and neck pain.
Wear your baby tight. Wearing your baby too loosely will cause shoulder pain.

For a more detailed, big bad baby carrier review, check out The Feminist Breeder.

Wearing Your Young Toddler

Now that Cam is one year old, people are starting to comment that I need to stop carrying my baby in order to avoid injuring my back and neck. But carrying Cam in the Ergo is so much easier than schlepping him around on my hip. And honestly, we both love it. In the evenings when I whip out the Ergo for our evening walk with the dogs, Cam waves his hands and pants as if I’m offering his favorite food. As a working mom, I share his enthusiasm. After a long day at the office, I can’t wait to reconnect with my little man and feel him wrapped around my torso.

I must confess, though, motherhood has taken its toll—especially on my back-bending abilities. My posture has suffered under the continual baby wearing and cuddling. So my number-one asana recommendation for yoga moms is this:

It’s not easy to find time for asana in the first year of motherhood, but surely we can all find time to lie horizontal for just 5 minutes. God knows we deserve at least that much.

Teaching Yoga Mamas: Challenges and Rewards

2012-05-12T21:37:00.000-04:00

Three women came to my prenatal yoga class today. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have a regular, weekly teaching gig. Truth be told, I’m kind of shy, and teaching a class isn’t easy for me. I thought my yoga teaching would be confined to the written word, but here I am, teaching in a real live studio and loving it so far. And I think I might be kind of good at it.

My biggest challenge is going to be designing a class each week that addresses the needs of women in early, mid, and late pregnancy. With just three students in class today, I had one in each stage. On top of that, pregnancy is different for every woman. Even if I had three students in the exact same week of pregnancy, they could all need something different from the practice on any given day.

If you think about it though, it’s just an exaggerated form of teaching a regular yoga class. Any room full of people is bound to contain a variety of body types, physical discomforts, and practice background and preferences. In prenatal yoga, you have all that stuff going on times about ten. And the rewards of teaching prenatal yoga are at least twice that of a regular class. I mean, technically I had six students today, right?

So I don’t know if anyone is still reading this blog, given the extra-long hiatus I spent adapting to motherhood. If you’re still out there, I’d like to know what’s the most memorable thing you’ve ever learned or experienced from a yoga teacher? Was it a pose, an adjustment, a meditation, a chant, a sound track, a scent? I’d love your input to help with future teaching material.

How to Build a Class from the Ground Up

2012-05-05T22:19:00.000-04:00

I taught a kick-ass class to myself today. No one showed up. Apparently, the class has been struggling for quite some time ever since the regular teacher moved. I tell ya what though, whenever that first group of students shows up, I'll have one well-prepared, tried and tested class planned.

There are worse things that could happen to a mom of a one-year-old than to show up to teach a yoga class and find an empty studio and an hour-and-a-half of free time. I don't remember the last time I had a 90 minute, uninterrupted asana practice. And you know what? I've felt guilty about that.

As I find my enthusiasm for asana bubbling to life again, I realize all that guilt was so unnecessary. Motherhood should be its own branch of yoga. We endure sleep deprivation, hormonal fluctuations, and out-of-our-minds crazy love for our children while striving to maintain some semblance of a balanced life and sense of self. It's a beautiful, transformative practice that demands utmost commitment and promises invaluable rewards.

My love of motherhood is what gives me optimism and enthusiasm for my nonexistent prenatal class. The space is there, and I know mamas will come. I am a nurturer by nature and am so excited to create and foster a new community that will help mamas and their babies thrive.

Prental Yoga, Here I Come!

2012-05-03T22:49:00.001-04:00

This Saturday I am making my foray back into the yoga world. I'll be teaching prenatal yoga at Boundless Yoga Studio in Washington, DC. I hear the class needs built from the ground up, and honestly, I'm afraid no one will show up for my first class. Nevertheless, I am optimistic.

I've had a good break from the yoga world. For the past two years I've focused on making and raising my baby boy. My life, rather than a regular asana routine, has become my yoga practice. I've become detached from current events in the yoga industry (hello, John Friend?!), and my particular yoga stumbling blocks, for example my tendency to strive for perfection and praise, have mellowed.

As a result of my two-year hiatus, I feel full of common sense and enthusiasm for jumping back into the yoga life. I can't wait to combine my love of pregnancy, birth, and babies, with yoga and to create a community around those loves.

I'm Not Pregnant Anymore

2011-10-15T09:14:00.000-04:00

Hello, long lost readers. I've been "32 and 33 weeks pregnant" for quite some time, so I thought I'd break the silence and let you know I had my baby boy. Meet my new little 5-month-old teacher Cameron Matthew.

Asana practice has been spotty, but being a mom has introduced a new dimension to yoga practice. It tethers me to the present. I may start the day planning on a morning nap, time to sit, a long walk, or a thoughtful post. But that sitting practice may turn into a nursing session when the morning nap ends early. The long walk often turns into a stroll around the block when Cam just isn't feeling it. And that thoughtful post usually ends up as more thoughts than actual blog post.

I've also rediscovered the joy of teaching. On Saturday mornings, I've been leading an informal prenatal yoga class at a neighbor's house. I've so enjoyed tweaking the pace of class to match the group's needs and introducing poses that hit the spot for what ails their pregnant bodies.

My favorite part of being a mom is watching Cam learn new things. We've started a mommy-son yoga practice with the help of Itsy Bitsy Yoga for infants and toddlers. The good morning series is his favorite, and he loves a good aerial headstand.

Yoga at 32 and 33 Weeks Pregnant

2011-03-07T20:19:00.000-05:00

At 32 weeks, I dropped the ball with my weekly videos. I went to New York City with my husband for our last pre-baby getaway. When I returned Sunday evening, swollen and tired from the bus ride home, I decided my weekly yoga video was not a battle I needed to fight. Maybe I'm lazy. Maybe I lack discipline. Maybe I hit a milestone by not pushing myself beyond my energy reserves. Whatever the case, it is what is.

I was too imperfect to blog about my fall from perfectionism last weekend and thought I'd pick up the slack at 33 weeks. But again, it's just not happening. My back is revolting and I'd rather be doing soft, cushy poses from Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood than the ambitious poses I picked for my weekly videos.

My prenatal yoga teacher says motherhood is all about lowering your standards. That's what I'm practicing in these last few weeks of pregnancy.

Yoga at 31 Weeks Pregnant

2011-02-21T20:15:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 31 Weeks: Life threw me a curve ball this week. My house got broken into. All they took was a laptop and iPod, but that laptop had all my weekly pregnant yoga pictures on it. I'm hoping I can get them back from my YouTube videos somehow. That's a lot of hard work to lose! At the end of the week, my moms came into town. They cleaned my house and cooked and froze meals for the next few weeks. Now I'm set to waddle with ease through my upcoming week.

Practice at 31 Weeks: After an extra busy week at work and home, I've been practicing sitting on my butt this weekend. It's been amazing to open myself up to the gift of being cared for while my moms are in town. My therapist recommended that I practice opening myself up to help and good things especially in these last few weeks of pregnancy. She even suggested I do a heart opening asana sequence. Now that dinner is taken care of for every night this week, I may just get around to that practice.

Yoga at 30 Weeks Pregnant

2011-02-13T21:11:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 30 Weeks: This week I finally let life go on at normal pace without me. Instead of forcing myself to keep up my usual routine at the gym, I took nights off here and there and came home to nap or do a gentle asana practice. It's odd for me to slow down so much, but it's paying off. When Friday rolled around this week, I was still on my feet and avoided descending into the moody, blubbering mess I was at the same time the week before.

Practice at 30 Weeks: I felt the first hint of lower back pain this week. I thought I would avoid that side effect of pregnancy because of my exercise and asana routine. Honestly though, my asana practice has not been routine. So, I took time out this afternoon to light some incense and do an hour side-lengthening practice. If I can just remember how good those feel, I'll be more motivated to get off my butt and practice more often. I think I could spend all day every day in this last trimester pampering myself with nutritious meals, cat naps, asana, meditation, and exercise.

Yoga at 29 Weeks Pregnant

2011-02-07T20:42:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 29 Weeks: I've had a bad attitude all week. My poor husband has had to listen to my complaints about physical discomforts and heavy workload. By Sunday, I realized that it just makes me feel worse when I whine. So, I've resolved to foster a positive outlook from now through the rest of the pregnancy. Sunday I took a long walk with a neighbor, spent time knitting and listening to Tara Brach, and watched the Super Bowl with my husband instead of rushing to get a jump start on the week and finish my yoga video. By the time I went to bed, I felt so much more relaxed.

Practice at 29 Weeks: We started learning about the first stage of labor in Bradley class this week. It was intimidating and scary, but somehow inspiring, too. Making it through labor requires total surrender and relaxation—physically, emotionally, and mentally. Now that I have an idea of what I'm preparing for, I'm that much more thankful I do yoga and already have a baseline practice that has made me familiar with how to let go. It's also huge motivation to practice, practice, practice.

Yoga at 28 Weeks Pregnant

2011-01-30T21:57:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 28 Weeks: I've finally come to the realization that I'm pregnant—really pregnant. Over the past week, I've struggled to maintain my usual activities and productivity. Up until now, I've been super pregnant woman. I work out, do asana, keep up with the house work, socialize, and am even learning how to run a communications department. But I'm slowing down. I can't do it all. The more I struggle with that reality, the more exhausted I become. The more okay I become with it, the more at peace I feel.

Practice at 28 Weeks: My weekly series of poses for these videos are becoming a bit challenging—especially the inversions. But I have to admit, I'm still getting a kick out of being able to do the inversions in my third trimester. My real yoga practice is managing my very pregnant emotions and learning to let go. Everything is changing, and my practice is to go with the flow.

Yoga at 27 Weeks Pregnant

2011-01-23T21:01:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 27 Weeks: Let's just say I'm impressed with myself for getting my video posted this week. I'm busy. I'm tired. It's time to get my priorities in order. It's also time to start asking for help and delegating tasks—at work and at home.

Practice at 27 Weeks: I feel the need to get serious about meditation and relaxation. I haven't done much of it in the past week because of how busy I've been with work. But this is the perfect opportunity to practice relaxation and mindfulness in the presence of activity and stress. If I can do it now, I can do it during labor.

Yoga at 26 Weeks Pregnant

2011-01-17T19:53:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 26 Weeks: I took the pictures on time, but I'm late posting this week. There's a lot I want to do in these last 3 months of pregnancy, and I'm learning to let some of them go. Over my 3-day weekend, I fit in my fair share of naps and even let myself go on the dance floor at a Saturday night party. My excitement about meeting baby boy is beginning to outweigh my anxiety over having everything in place before he gets here.

Practice at 26 Weeks: I'm loving Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood. I spent more than 90 minutes going through one of the sequences on Saturday. This is the first week it took more than once to kick up into handstand. The basketball around my middle is definitely adding some challenges to practice. At the same time, my practice is helping me cope with the everyday emotional and physical challenges of pregnancy.

Yoga at 25 Weeks Pregnant

2011-01-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 25 Weeks: 16 pounds, baby—that's no joke. I knew I'd gain weight on this journey, but the reality of 16 pounds, the majority of it in my pelvis, is staggering. Carrying a bag of groceries home from the gym, onto the metro, and through the half-mile walk home is exhausting. And one morning, I went upstairs to get my iPod off my corner shelf, and accidentally fell into a roll on the bed before I reached my goal. Wow, I'm pregnant.

Practice at 25 Weeks: My first birth education class gave me a fabulous insight into practice. I'm doing the Bradley method, which asks us to practice relaxation for a minimum of 10 minutes per day. The point isn't to relax for 20 minutes as you're falling asleep. Instead, we're supposed to relax at a time when we normally wouldn't, for example, when I get home from work and have to get started cooking dinner or in the middle of the afternoon when my e-mail is screaming at me to attend to it. Obviously, the point is to learn how to relax in spite of stress and discomfort in preparation for labor and birth. But what great practice is that for daily life?

Yoga at 24 Weeks Pregnant

2011-01-02T18:29:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 24 Weeks: As my belly stretches to the point that I have to prop it up with my hands occasionally, I'm flipping into "let's do this" mode. My in-laws helped me start furnishing and organizing the baby room this week (note the changing background in my weekly videos). I'm also signed up to start Bradley birth education classes next Sunday. This baby is real and growing. Last Friday morning, my husband felt him kick for the first time!

Practice at 24 Weeks: It's a necessity to practice side-lengthening poses—this baby needs more space, and I need less pain. I also plan to tackle a pelvis-widening sequence this week to relieve my achy hips. Even though the spare bedroom is turning into a baby room, I'm still practicing yoga in the room. Parenting will be a huge addition to my practice, so it seems appropriate.

Yoga at 23 Weeks Pregnant

2010-12-26T21:03:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 23 Weeks: My husband was in Kansas City this week visiting a sick relative, so I spent Christmas with my cousin in Fredericksburg, VA, who was 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant. We sat on the floor drinking mother-to-be-tea, swapped knitting tips, and fished through her cloth diaper collection. It's the first Christmas we've spent together since we were teens. When I returned home that evening, I had a leisurely flip through my Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood book (it finally arrived!) while my baby did goldfish flip flops in my tummy. I woke up to an email from my Aunt letting me know that my cousin had finally gone into labor. At 4:42 pm, she was blessed with a successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and a healthy baby girl!

Practice at 23 Weeks: I'm on winter break from my prenatal yoga class, but my regular teacher was back at my flow class at the gym. I'm wondering if and when I'll have to stop attending that one. Meanwhile, I'm super excited to try out the sequences in Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood. It includes sequences for beginning and advanced students for the first, second, and third trimesters divided into poses that widen the hips and pelvis, lengthen the sides of the body, and open the chest. That's a lot to play with!

Yoga at 22 Weeks Pregnant

2010-12-19T18:52:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 22 Weeks: I'm beginning to get overwhelmed by all the stuff that's supposed to happen before my baby arrives. By 34 weeks, I need to choose a pediatrician. Since I'm blessed with a boy, I'll need to decide whether or not to have him circumcised. My husband and I have to agree on a name. I need a whole bunch of baby stuff, and don't get me started on everything that needs to happen at work before I exit stage left. Meanwhile, I'm experiencing growing pains, like round ligament pain and teeny tiny Braxton Hicks contractions that are getting my uterus in shape for labor.

Practice at 22 Weeks: My regular flow teacher at the gym was sick this week, and the substitute sucked. Prenatal yoga got snowed out. Overall, it was a bummer of a week in terms of asana. I did start a new book that I'm enjoying reading and practicing—The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. My therapist recommended it and said it may help me find the kind of discipline that comes from my self rather than the type that burns me out.

Rethinking Our Warped View of Perfection

2010-12-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

What I'm about to tell you cannot be backed up with an academic understanding of Sanskrit or guru-like wisdom. It's one of those lessons that you hear through the yoga grapevine—usually a story passed down from teacher to teacher that's intended to distract you from the discomfort of a two-minute Chair Pose (Utkatasana) or some such nonsense. But this lesson on perfection spoke to my soul, and so, I pass it on to you.

East vs. West Approach to Perfection
In the West, we have a love-hate relationship with perfection. We see it as an end goal to obtain—a 100% on a test or a perfect 10 on a figure skating routine. In Sanskrit, the word for perfection is not an end point. Instead, it implies fullness, and something that is perfect can become ever more full. Perfection is a continuous process, just as a pearl can be continuously polished, a solution constantly strives for homeostasis, and a yoga pose evolves with the yogi.

Before we go on, imagine a situation, relationship, or goal you know is coming down the pipeline and are at least a tad bit nervous about how you're going to handle it. For me, of course, it's pregnancy and motherood. Now keep yours in mind as we proceed.

Sanskrit Applied to Daily Life
As a pregnant woman, I am becoming ever more full, and therefore, ever more perfect. My life is about to become ever more perfect by filling it with a new human being, new responsibilities, and new joys.

I heard this lesson in Thursday's prenatal yoga class while spending a good few minutes in Garland Pose (Malasana). My teacher topped it off with a pep talk that went something like this:

As a pregnant woman, life is becoming ever more chaotic, ever more full of responsibilities...ever more perfect. You are growing fuller and fuller every day. You have the capacity, the ability, and the power to birth this baby and to go forward into motherhood. You can handle it. You are strong. You are perfect.

This lesson reminded me that I am whole and that I am enough. May this post make you feel as peaceful and content as I felt walking out of the yoga studio last Thursday evening.

Yoga at 21 Weeks Pregnant

2010-12-12T15:04:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 21 Weeks: The weeks seem to be going by faster in the second half of pregnancy, although overall the days are still crawling. I hear time speeds up as you get further along in your pregnancy, just like the years go by faster as you age. Isn't it amazing how time dilates and contracts? (Okay, I admit. I stole that from my yoga teacher.)

Practice at 21 Weeks: Thank god I'm back to my energetic self this week. I'm beginning to have one or two sluggish days per week, and I was worried that fatigue was setting in already. Corpse Pose (Savasana) is enticing, but I'm still enjoying the more active standing poses. I even surprised myself and did a Crane Pose (Bakasana) in my gym flow class with no problem.

Write on Yoga Gets a Facelift

2010-12-11T11:08:00.001-05:00

Notice anything different about Write on Yoga? Yes, it's been temporarily taken over by my baby-obsessed brain, but look. It's beautiful!

Although my summer design class helped me find my way around computer design applications, it did nothing to cure my lack of graphic artistic ability. So, I asked my talented coworker to take over.

Behold, the fabulous makeover of Write on Yoga by graphic designer extraordinaire Simone Jenifer Christian.

Yoga at 20 Weeks Pregnant

2010-12-05T18:41:00.002-05:00

Daily Life at 20 Weeks: I'm tired of being pregnant. Yes, it's a special time. Yes, I'm immensely thankful. However, I'd like to wear my normal clothes, look like a normal person, and be able to let my baby play on the floor instead of in my belly. It's early to arrive at this feeling. I'm only half way through.

Practice at 20 Weeks: After waking up with a sore throat, I skipped prenatal yoga this week. An evening of rest, fluids, and homeopathic medicine kicked whatever was threatening my immune system. I'm starting to get just a tad bit nervous about approaching labor and birth. The inevitable discomfort is making meditation look like an inviting way to ward off worry and encourage myself to relax into the process.

Yoga at 19 Weeks Pregnant

2010-11-30T22:34:00.000-05:00

This week's poses are a bit late due to holiday travels and family get-togethers, but the photos were taken last Friday at my usual weekly time.

Daily Life at 19 Weeks: This week I celebrated my first holiday as a mother-to-be. Holiday food has a whole new meaning during pregnancy. While still in the womb, babies can actually taste the foods a mother eats. My baby got his first taste of homemade cranberry sauce and Amish-made pie, and I savored those foods like never before.

Practice at 19 Weeks: I'm bumping up the frequency of my weekly practice. In addition to my prenatal class, I'm attending a flow class at the gym and doing a solid home practice on weekends. I feel the need to spend more time exploring the way my pregnant body moves, and yoga is the perfect vehicle for that.

Yoga at 18 Weeks Pregnant

2010-11-21T18:02:00.000-05:00

Daily Life at 18 Weeks: This week we found out we'll be having a little boy. Although the ultrasound tech assured me the baby is very active, I can't feel his kicks because I have an anterior (front-lying) placenta, which is acting like a cushion between my abdomen and my baby. I'm having fun planning for a boy, but also worried that he'll end up being a handful like his father. Must meditate and play Krishna Das to encourage tranquility.

Practice at 18 Weeks: I'm beginning to have more confidence in my prenatal practice. In the first trimester, I was nervous about doing backbends and anything else that made my tummy feel twingey. Now I know the baby is firmly snuggled into my uterus and not likely to go anywhere until the 40th week. This afternoon I enjoyed a more advanced, yet restful practice encouraging side extension and chest opening.

Photo Friday on Saturday: Yoga at 17 Weeks Pregnant

2010-11-13T15:44:00.001-05:00

Daily Life at 17 Weeks: Waiting is a heavy experience. Despite my efforts to remain present and savor every moment, I can't help but want to lean into the future to feel the baby move, discover the sex of the baby, see the outline of a foot pressed against my belly, and cuddle the baby for real in my arms. It's similar to the feeling that weighs me down while I wait for more freedom and more fulfillment in my career. The difference is that I know I can't do anything to make my baby develop more quickly. My job is to be pregnant, take care of myself, and keep doing what I'm doing. I'd like to think of my career along the same lines. It would be so peaceful to just do what I do and trust that my path will unfold with time.

Practice at 17 Weeks: I ordered a new book this week—Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood. I'm not so much of an Iyengar yogi, but this book contains countless propped-up poses that look oh-so-inviting to the pregnant soul. I'm waiting (on yet another thing!) and hoping it arrives in the mail today. Until then, my yoga teacher sent me home with a new modification to enjoy. Check out the pregnant version of Natarajasana (Lord of the Dance Pose).

Photo Friday on Saturday: Yoga at 16 Weeks Pregnant

2010-11-06T17:06:00.000-04:00

This week's video features the same outfit from week 4. Check out the difference!

Daily Life at 16 Weeks: I'm beginning to feel some gentle flutters and am anxiously awaiting regular, noticeable fetal movement. Although still small, my bump is real, and I'm pretty proud to show it off. To be honest, I'm a little bit tired of being pregnant. I miss red wine and foot cramps are annoying.

Practice at 16 Weeks: In class this week we focused on opening our hamstrings and talked about pregnancy as a time of abundance. I've been getting leg and foot cramps at night, so this is a practice I'll be doing more often.