YogaBellies

 New YogaBellies Classes Launch in the UK

 

 Yoga and meditation are two of the most powerful ways to reduce anxiety and keep both physically and mentally healthy during unstable times. 

YogaBellies, the yoga company with instructors all over the UK have unveiled two exciting new courses to their list of fitness workshops. 

 

 YogaBellies Nurture 

This class is aimed at women who need support immediately after giving birth. Traditionally, this was a time when new mothers were supported by ‘the village’, a community of women around them such as grandmothers, aunts, friends and neighbours. But today, women tend to be left home alone with their partner and new baby – that is until their partner goes out to work too. 

Without a community, women are more likely to suffer from baby blues and post-natal depression. YogaBellies Nurture offers support when women need it most. The classes include postpartum self and infant massage techniques, rituals and philosophies, creating that much-needed ‘village.’ 

A unique blend of care and recuperation for a new mum, Nurture is not a yoga class, but a supportive environment of women where you learn to relax, bond with your baby, meet other women just like you, revive and restore. 

Find your nearest class here – https://yogabellies.com/teachers/category/nurture/

 

-       YogaBellies for Fertility 

This class is perfect for women who are trying to conceive or those who want to get their body in the best possible condition for conception. Yoga has real benefits for women trying for a baby and this course is perfect for those who are trying for the first time or are embarking on an IVF journey. The 8-week classes cover a different topic each week, focusing on stress management, nutrition, relaxation, fertility support and the power of positivity. 

Using feminine yoga principles, the class focuses on pranayama for stress and enhancing fertility, yoga asana for stress and hormone regulations and to help you build a healthy, endometrial lining. Women will also be taught how to adapt asanas as per their menstrual cycle and fertility treatment. 

Find your nearest class here - https://yogabellies.com/classes/fertility/

 

 

YogaBellies was launched in 2008 by Yoga Elder, Cheryl MacDonald when she first started teaching pregnancy yoga in her spare bedroom after her son was born and she was made redundant while on maternity leave. She wanted to help women have fun and connect with other women while practising yoga, creating a warm and supportive environment. She has since helped thousands of women, at every stage of their lives, wanting to attend regular yoga classes and those who wanted to start up their own business as a Yoga Instructor. A hugely successful franchisee model, Cheryl now mentors 100 franchisees across the UK who provide courses face to face and online. 

Founder of YogaBellies, Cheryl MacDonald says: “I want to make my classes as inclusive, accessible and fun as possible. In these really testing times, it’s important that women of all ages have a network they can reach out to, of women feeling similar things as them. 

The new Nurture and Fertility Yoga classes are a fantastic complement to our Pregnancy and Birth, Mum and Baby, Coreplay and Luna classes we hold and I’m really excited to welcome women along. You don’t have to be holier than thou to enjoy yoga, just looking for a new, healthy challenge and some fun along the way.”

 

Their other hugely popular courses include:

 

-       YogaBellies for Pregnancy & Birth – Prenatal sessions that incorporate traditional yoga asanas, self-hypnosis and deep relaxation. It integrates soothing comfort techniques for birth and unique touch therapies for mum and new baby. These 1 hour 15 minutes classes are perfect for pregnant women and new mums.

 

-       YogaBellies for Mum & Baby – Baby yoga has been scientifically proven to help with a baby’s brain development, growth, self-soothing and common ailments such as colic, reflux and poor sleep. This class incorporates baby yoga postures so they can practice with mum. Learn breath awareness and relaxation techniques which help increase energy levels and allow mum to relax with their baby. The class includes YogaBellies baby touch therapies, as well as beautiful songs, games and positive life building experiences, leaving mum and baby feeling stretched, revived and relaxed. 

 

-       YogaBellies Luna – Graceful, flowing and feminine yoga to balance hormonal fluctuations. This class offers calming, slower-paced ‘internal’ poses that are appropriate for women throughout their monthly cycle. Perfect for all women, particularly those experiencing menopausal changes and PMS, the classes help bring harmony and balance into a woman’s everyday life. 

 

-       YogaBellies CorePlay – a dynamic yoga practise that focuses on strengthening the BAPs – the back, abs and pelvic floor. The flowing Coreplay sequence allows you to tone the muscles or ‘yang’ tissues of your body. By repeating a sequence of postures, the class aims to develop muscular strength and flexibility over time. Designed especially for women, it focuses on the areas key to their long-lasting health and happiness, helping balance their body, mind and soul. Each class style is focused on the specific physical, emotional, hormonal and spiritual needs of women – combining, yoga, inspiring music and delicious aromatherapy blends. 

 To find out more and see if there are classes by you head over to -

www.yogabellies.com 

Ace Ultra for Whites Laundry Bleach / Review.

When the boys started their new school, I knew instantly that their bright white polo shirts would come home looking like they'd spent the day being dragged through a muddy field and back again for good measure.....and they certainly didn't let me down!

After their first day, it looked like they had spent a week camping at a muddy festival rather than actually sitting in a classroom learning.

The boys just seem to look at dirt and it automatically jumps upon them, so when I was asked to try out Ace Ultra it was a no brainer and of course agreed, anything to help battle this never-ending mission I currently am on.

Ace Ultra for Whites aims to bring your dull and faded whites back to life.

It surely didn't disappoint, I was half expecting to have to put the polos all back in and try a few times, but after the first wash all the stains were gone and they were all looking bright and white, just like new!

My usual weapon for tackling stains really wouldn't have had such a good result the first time around, so I was really impressed. 

Ace Ultra also didn't smell to bleach like thanks to the floral blossom scent.

The shirts did come out feeling slightly stiff compared to normal, but once they had been in the tumble dryer they were back to feeling soft.

How I used it;

I pour the Ace in my softener compartment up to the fill line,

Ran on a cycle of 40 degrees for an hour.

***

There are full instructions on the bottle for you to follow.

Afterwards, I did run a drum clean cycle on the washing machine as I was worried the bleach may affect the dark load I was about to run, but after using Ace Ultra for a few weeks now I know that that isn't something I need to worry about and none of my dark loads has been bothered by the fact the washing machine had just used bleach in a previous load.

I have seen Ace products in my local Morrisons but have never really paid them much notice, but now Ace for whites is definitely a product that I shall be reaching for in the future when my bottle finally runs out.

Just like new!

You can buy Ace Ultra for Whites in your local Morrisons, to find out more about Ace and their products why not pop over to their website and have a look.

www.acecleanuk.co.uk

 

Evening beach trips, Mushroom Hunting and general goings on.

Thought I'd do a quick life update, rather than just a baby update.

I havent done one in a while and again I have been putting the blog to one side, with the boys all back at school and life becoming a little more of the new normal I start sharing more on the blog.

The younger three all started a brand new school at the start of September, which I was a little worried about but they have all settled in really quickly and it's like they have always been there. We received their report cards last Friday and we were both very impressed with them!

Noah has settled back into life at secondary school and is even getting the bus their and back by himself without any moaning!

Each of the boys has also gone up a belt in martial arts and now Noah is only two belts away from going for his black belt!

After Martial arts, we occasionally pop to the beach to watch the sunsets.

You really can't beat a beautiful sunset to end the day, the boys all love running around and we can just sit back and take it all in. It really is perfect if you've had a stressful day, as the sea can just wash it all away!

In a bid to cut down on our plastic I have been buying the boys fewer snacks for after school and baking treats myself!

The boys seem to enjoy this more and it gives me something to do during the day when I'm not doing my uni work or tidying up after the wild ones.

Also, our plastic waste has been reduced with fewer snacks in the house and the boys aren't missing their sweet shop bought treats.

I will probably share a whole blog post on all the backs that I have been making.

A firm favourite - Chocolate chip cookies!

With the boys back at school, we have been trying to make the most of the free time we have and the other week we popped to Norwich to try out a restaurant that I have been lusting after for months over on Instagram.

The Tipsy Vegan 

Jon told me has wasn't expecting much, but was actually blown away with how amazing everything tasted.

Watching him eat I could see all the emotions going on and it really was quite amusing! I haven't had a meal as good as that in ages, so I really enjoyed every bite and cannot wait to revisit!

The baby girl shopping has well and truly started and I can already see it becoming a bit out of hand!

Everything is so pretty!

After popping out to a local cafe with my mum and trying an awesome pumpkin spiced cake I decided to try my hand at making my very own pumpkin cake!

It was even if I say so myself, one of the best cakes I've ever made!!

It tastes a lot like carrot cake, so even the boys were impressed, I couldn't find any sugar pumpkins for decoration so I had to make do with sugar carrots.

As I'm not going to the gym at the moment, due to corona and not wanting to pick up any germs I am trying to get out and walk more in a bid to hopefully not put on too much weight this pregnancy. Over lockdown, I like most people did pack on a few extra pounds but I since walking every other day I have managed to lose them and feel like I look a little better .... even with the baby bump.

Whilst on our walks I love seeing all the cows wandering around and being able to get close enough to get some good snaps of them.

Also, a new favourite thing of mine is mushroom hunting!!

I cannot get enough of these beautiful looking fungi!

I have also started my third year at the Open University - this technically is the start of my second year! I am doing it part-time so only studying one module a year making a brick uni year last two.

I am currently reading Far From The Maddening Crowd for my first unit and to say it's a bit of a challange would be to undersell it, I usually have my head stuck in a thriller novel so it is a little out of my comfort zone but none the less I am enjoying it so far.

                                              

Our homegrown produce has dwindled slightly due to the growing season, but we recently picked all our homegrown pumpkins ready for the boys to carve come Halloween!

We are all very pleased with their outcomes, we have also been give extra pumpkins from Jon's parents garden that I am hoping to use in a few autumn based recipes.

 

                                           

xxx

...It's a GIRL...

 Soooooo yesterday we had our 20-week scan...

Everything is looking great with the baby, measurements are all spot on and looking healthy...and we found out we are having a little girl. 

Completely changing our boy dynamic!

We were expecting to find out we were going to be having another boy join our clan, so we were totally thrown when we were told it was a girl. Jon pretty much cried and I was just in a state of shock.

We had come to the conclusion in our heads that I just couldn't carry a girl, due to the miscarriages.

Safe to say everyone was over the moon when we told them, and most were in the same shock we were.

I decided to buy a gender reveal balloon for the boys to pop, as they were all eager to know the gender, they said they werent too bothered by what it was going to be, though they did say they'd prefer a boy. Ru was dead set on me giving birth to a 5yr old named billy - I had to let him down gently and say that would never happen!

The balloon was a bit hard for them to pop, Noah was sticking the pin in and nothing was happening but eventually, with a big jab, the balloon popped and out flew the pink confetti ...... which of course you'd automatically guess it was a girl, but no not my boys they looked at me and asked 'so what is it?'

After finding out it was a girl, they all asked are you sure?

Then they all left as though nothing had happened and logged onto their game consoles!

Ru had made a bet with his martial arts teachers, so now he owes her sweets - something he isn't very pleased about!

My pregnancy so far;

I have finally stopped being sick, which has been a godsend as I just couldn't do anything before, now my energy levels are back and I can venture away from the bathroom. I am being seen by a consultant as well as my midwife due to being 'high risk' thanks to having a set of premature twins and a c-sections, along with my previous miscarriages, so I am getting scans every four weeks, to keep an eye on her. At my last consultant appointment which was at 16 weeks, he agree I could be allowed a home birth as everything was looking fine and I have already had a VBAC at home without any complications.

Which is great as I really have my heart set on a water birth at home. 

I've never had a water birth, I did plan one for Noah's but the pool never got put up in time due to the football being on (one of the cons of having a home birth when the footie is on)

My mum has a pool, so I won't need to rent one or buy one which is really handy.

Placenta smoothies and pills are back on the agenda, as I did this with both the twins and Ru and It's something I more than likely do again.

I'm starting to feel slight movements which I love as it keeps my mind happy that she's still alive and her heart is beating, I am still constantly worried something bad is going to happen but with every week target I hit I am put at ease. I won't be truly at ease until she is here in my arms.

Now we finally know the gender, we are able to start buying her cute little girly outfits and baby accessories and even more importantly find the perfect name for her!!

19 week bump.