Mom, how do you get fit when you have a million responsibilities to tend to?

Busy Mom...I get it!

For 20 years, I was a stay at home mom. I taught fitness classes and did a little personal training while my kids were in school, but I was a stay at home mom. I did all the cooking, the cleaning, the chauffeuring, the grocery runs, the late night tending to sick babies, the early morning carpools...you name it. To add to the pressure of being a stay at home mom, I was a military spouse.

We moved our kids across state lines 6 different times before settling in Ohio. We would move into a new town, and within weeks, my husband would get orders and have to go to work. I would be left alone, with 2 young kids, in a new place, where I didn't know how to get anywhere, nor did I know anyone. It was rough. I was always stressed out. But I pushed along, because that is what I believed a strong woman was supposed to do. This was my part of the mission. Until one day, while stationed in Oklahoma, I was late picking up my 12 year old son from football practice, and I experienced a full blown anxiety attack. I started crying in the car, because I was late picking up my kid from practice. It was crazy. I felt crazy. I couldn't comprehend what was happening to me.

It wasn't until years later when I understood what caused that anxiety attack. After Oklahoma, we were stationed in Ohio. This is where Ayurveda found me. I wasn't looking for it. I didn't even know what it was. But I learned about how the elements, which are everywhere and in everything, affect our health. I also learned that health is so much more than what happens in the gym. Health is what is happening to us on an emotional, intellectual, and even on a spiritual level. I learned about the elements and the doshas.

This changed my whole perspective on everything! I learned how vata dosha, and the elements associated with vata were affecting me. The constant movement, left me feeling unsafe and ungrounded, leading to insomnia, vertigo, loss of focus, and ultimately an anxiety attack in the middle of a parking lot at a football practice.

I knew right away that what I had been teaching in the gym, was incomplete. There had to be a way for me to spread this message to my clients, members, and to women who were tired, overworked, stressed out, and who felt guilty for being human. This is when I began to integrate the ancient practice of Ayurveda with the modern science of fitness.

This is also when I began to give myself a little slack for not being a perfect mom. This is when I started admitting to myself, and out loud to others, that I was Tired! And that it was okay to be tired. I was not being lazy or less productive by saying that I was near the end of my rope. In all honesty, no one really cared. I was just another mom who was complaining about being tired. It's almost cliché for a mom to say she's tired. I got looks from people that read, "quit your whining."

Well...here's where I'm going with this...to all of the mom's out there, "How do you get fit when you have a million things to do?"

1. You give yourself some slack.

2. You move and exercise when you can, and you forgive yourself when you can't.

3. You do your best to find a group of supportive and like minded women, even if it's just online.

4. You don't beat yourself up if you gain a few extra lbs. It's okay! A little added weight is actually healthy for someone with a vata imbalance.

5. You hire help. This can be someone to clean your house on occasion. This can be using a pre made meal service. I used Sunbasket. It was expensive, but worth my sanity. Use a health coach, or fitness trainer who is compassionate and understanding of the immense responsibility mom's have. And lastly, embrace every crazy moment of motherhood. It is fleeting. And you will miss it when they grow up.

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Get your exercise in when you can. Sometimes you will need to motivate yourself to get up off the couch. Go for a walk around your neighborhood. Go online and stream a quick routine that you can knock out in your garage, or your living room. And understand that stress causes weight gain. Lack of sleep causes weight gain. If you are currently in a situation where you cannot change the stress, or the amount of sleep you get, then be patient. Keep exercising and eating real food. When your situation changes, so will the weight.

Life is full of fluctuations, ebbs and flows. I encourage my clients to ride these waves rather than fight them. By learning to recognize the elements and the associated doshas, we can better understand how they may knock us off balance. We can also learn how to use the elements to help bring us back into healthy alignments. Exercise is just one tool of attaining health. It is not the only tool, it is not even the most important tool. And how we look, has nothing to do with how healthy we are on the inside. We exercise to be able to fully enjoy the waves. We want to live every moment of our crazy lives with a full embrace. We can't do this if we're constantly worried about our weight. There is enough pressure on us moms without adding to it.

My heartfelt advice to all of the moms out there is, live as big as you can. When you get derailed, which you will, don't fret, just come back as soon as you can.

Much love and namaste lovelies.

Sabrina White

Health & Fitness Coach

To learn more about Ayurveda, ask me about my online Intro to Ayurveda Workshop