I chose guy friends until I got pregnant.

Before I was pregnant I had many guy friends.  We talked about sports, art and music. We drank beer and ate hot dogs.  There was no drama which comes with girl friends.  There was no cattiness nor jealousy.  A guy friend was just as fun to go shopping with.  He knew what looked good on a woman.  A guy friend was up for a skiing trip without worrying about having the right outfit.  He listened to my ramblings and responded with logic. He  laughed it off and carried on with whatever we were doing.  A guy friend meant that we would just have fun without picking everything apart.  A guy friend did not raid my closet without returning my clothes.  He did not steal my boyfriends.  He did not gossip behind my back.  He did not get offended if I had a different opinion on something.  And we never showed up to a party wearing the same dress.

It all changed when I was expecting. When I got pregnant I ditched beer and hot dogs.  I drank lemon water and ate hummus instead.  I marveled in my changing body.  I loved to feel my baby kick.  I picked out colours for the nursery.  I cooed over cute little baby outfits.  I no longer went skiing. I did yoga.  I was no longer rational.  I was emotional.  I no longer related to men in the same way.  I related to women in a brand new way.  It was a sisterhood like I've never experienced before. There was a silent understanding of what's it like to wake up at 3 am craving pickles and jam.  Exhaustion with a coma like fatigue? Yes that's normal.  How about nausea from morning 'till night? Yes that's common.  Would my guy friends understand? Probably. Would they relate? Not so much.

I embraced this new found relationship like scorched earth embraces rain.  I relished it.  I found joy in it.  I knew it was monumental and that it would change me forever.  Caressing my growing belly I realized that there was nothing sweeter then being around this powerful life giving energy.  My belly grew and I grew in ways I haven't anticipated.  I went from hanging out with guy friends at the university to a mature pregnant mother. My professional life shifted as well.  I no longer desired to teach regular flow yoga laced with masculine energy.  I yearned to teach prenatal yoga, which was softer and full of feminine energy.  I dove into hours of study and eventually got certified as a Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Teacher.

I still see my guy friends now married with children.  They are all outstanding partners who have walked the path of pregnancy along side of their women.  As families we get together, make delicious dinners or have picnics in the summer.  Do I connect better with the women in my life? Absolutely.  We are linked with the invisible thread of motherhood.  We support one another.  We grow together.  We love our children.  I learned  how to surround myself with strong, capable and empowered women. Be it an expecting mother, mother with a child or simply a woman who is overcoming fertility challenges.  We are still  all connected.

I celebrate the power that is female energy.   It's after all where all life comes from.

                                  My prenatal yoga class at the Yoga Center of Burlington. 

                                                                       Winter 2010

                                 My Mom and Baby yoga class at the Yoga Center of Burlington.

                                                                       Summer 2010