We are alone in this together.

Parenthood. A state of never actually being alone but at the same time feeling so alone. 

Early parenthood can be especially isolating. No matter what life held before children arrived, the focus of one’s life shifts onto caring for a completely dependent small human. Baby feeding and care become all consuming in the early days, weeks and months. Months of sleep deprivation challenges the ability to connect with others in familiar pre-baby ways. Shifts in work and/or career often lead to changes in friend and peer relationships. 

And, oh, the identity shifts! 

No matter how much one desires parenthood, it always rocks one’s world in unanticipated ways. Because how could we know? How could we even imagine the level of tired we can sustain until we have to? How could we imagine all of our previous identities falling away as this amazing little being sucks up every bit of us?

Human beings are a social species that relies on cooperation to survive and thrive. And we thrive the best when we are in the company of others. One of my favorite songs, Morton’s Fork by the band Typhoon, says, “We are alone in this together.” One’s own struggles, joys, pains can never fully share with another being. In many ways, we are alone. Yet we all are living this life. And we are better together. Community. People who walk alongside each other. 

And this. This is why I teach postpartum yoga.

New parents in postpartum yoga classes are surrounded by people at a similar stage in their life journey whose struggles and joys are relatable, who know the experience of receiving unsolicited advice on every minute detail of child rearing, who are working through a shifting identity and changing life rhythms. These classes are so much more than asana. In fact, the asana often takes a back seat to everything else. We start to explore the yoga of parenthood on and off the yoga mat. 

The good news is the early days don’t last forever. Most primary caregivers report feeling less isolated a year into parenthood. But a year is a long time and new parents need community and support through ALL of it. 

If you are interested in learning more about supporting postpartum students through yoga, join me for a training!