I have officially begun my maternity leave! After 36 weeks of pregnancy, maintaining my practice became increasingly difficult. I made the decision to start my maternity leave early so I could conserve my energy while I finish growing this baby and prepare for the next phase of my life journey.
Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing tips and lessons I learned from my pregnancy and preparing for my maternity leave. This week, I am excited to share my experience as an intuitive coach and the challenges I faced in managing my energy levels during pregnancy. Join me on my journey through pregnancy as an intuitive coach!
Energy Level Challenges
During my pregnancy, I encountered several challenges in managing my energy levels. I learned that each person’s pregnancy experience is unique and unpredictable, and that it’s crucial to prioritize taking care of one’s own energy and needs. It was difficult to anticipate what to expect, and I often felt unprepared for the changes I was going through.
From the very beginning of my pregnancy, each day was different and unpredictable. Some days, I woke up feeling full of energy and ready to tackle the day ahead. Other days, I felt run down and exhausted, struggling to complete even the most basic tasks. As a result, planning my days became very challenging. There were times when I had plans that I was too tired to follow through on, and times when I really wanted to do something that my body just wouldn’t allow me to do.
As an intuitive coach, I’ve learned and taught about the importance of prioritizing your own healing. No one can give from an empty cup, and one reason I love Reiki is that it provides tools to keep my energy in balance. I’m so grateful that I had already established self-care and energy management routines before my pregnancy. Managing my energy levels was already a significant aspect of my practice. However, during pregnancy, this became even more challenging. Building a human being takes a tremendous amount of energy; according to research, it’s equivalent to running a 40-week marathon!
“Pregnancy is the longest-duration, highest-energy-expenditure thing that humans can do. Mothers probably aren’t surprised by this,” said Herman Pontzer.
As someone who holds space for others in the capacity that I do, I am constantly aware of the importance of taking care of my own energy. It can be challenging to balance my role as a healer with my own self-care needs, especially during pregnancy when managing my energy levels became even more crucial. I frequently struggled to find enough energy to maintain my practice and care for myself, but I knew that it was essential to prioritize my own needs in order to be able to show up fully for my clients.
As my pregnancy progressed and my body changed, meeting my basic needs for sleep, food, and exercise became more and more challenging. I found that I needed more sleep than usual, but was often unable to sleep well due to discomfort and difficulty getting comfortable. Similarly, I needed to eat more to nourish myself and my growing baby, but I often experienced nausea and digestive issues that made it difficult to eat enough. Finally, exercise was important for maintaining my energy levels and overall health, but as my belly grew and my body changed, many activities became more difficult or uncomfortable.
Despite these challenges, I knew that meeting my basic needs was essential for balancing my energy and taking care of myself and my baby. I had to get creative and find new ways to prioritize my needs, such as taking naps whenever possible, eating small, frequent meals throughout the day, and experimenting with different forms of exercise that felt good for my changing body. It wasn’t always easy, but I found that when I was able to meet my basic needs, I felt better and had more energy to face the challenges of pregnancy.
It’s unfortunate that the challenges of pregnancy are often not openly discussed. Prior to becoming pregnant, most people who talked to me about pregnancy only had positive things to say. They would describe how wonderful it was and how much they loved being pregnant, including the popular food cravings and precious moments. However, what people don’t often discuss are the struggles of pregnancy, at least not until you’ve officially “joined the club” and are already experiencing them.
After becoming pregnant, I quickly realized that there were many challenges that people don’t talk about. This may be due to the culture we live in, which sometimes adopts a “don’t talk about it” attitude towards difficult topics. Unfortunately, this often results in loneliness, which I’ll discuss in a later post. When we don’t talk about our struggles, it creates imbalances in our energy that are hard to overcome because we lose the opportunity to learn from others what balancing our energy really means.
Despite the challenges, I remained committed to managing my energy levels and prioritizing my needs. I discovered that meeting my basic needs made me feel better and gave me more energy to tackle the demands of pregnancy. Although it was not always easy, I found that with creativity, persistence, and a supportive community, managing my energy levels during pregnancy was possible.
In next week’s newsletter, I will delve deeper into the strategies I used to manage my energy levels while building a family and maintaining a successful practice as an intuitive coach. As you may know, balancing one’s personal and professional life can be quite challenging, and it is not uncommon to feel overwhelmed or burned out. However, it is crucial to prioritize taking care of your own energy and needs first. This is especially important no matter what phase of life you’re in or what your passion is.
Remember, by investing in yourself, you will be better equipped to give your best to others, whether it be your family, clients, or community. So stay tuned for next week’s newsletter, where I’ll be sharing some valuable insights and tips to help you better manage your energy and achieve a more fulfilling life!
