October 22, 2024 • 44 mins
Discover the transformative power of yoga and meditation with Desi Bartlett, as she shares her journey from Chicago to becoming a leading expert in prenatal yoga. Desi has created a wealth of resources for moms at all stages. Learn how yoga and fitness prepare the body for motherhood and enhance well-being through the parenting journey. Desi also shares how meditation can bring calm and better sleep, even amidst the chaos. Desi’s guidance covers the basics, emphasizing strength, flexibility, and mental health.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nika Lawrie (00:06):
Welcome to the Inspired with Nika Laurie
podcast.
Desi Bartlett, welcome to theshow.
I'm so grateful to have youhere today.
Desi Bartlett (00:18):
Thank you so much .
I'm so happy to be here.
It's always a joy to shareinformation about feeling great
from the inside out, especiallywith moms all over the world.
Nika Lawrie (00:28):
Absolutely.
I'm really excited to have youhere.
I think this is actually asubject that I don't tend to
talk about a lot.
We're going to talk about yogaand meditation, which is ironic
because I think it's such apowerful.
Both are powerful tools that Iuse all the time in my own life
and I really recommend.
I just haven't really had aguest or an expert come on and
(00:49):
talk about it, so I'm reallyexcited to have you share your
knowledge on this subject today.
Before we get into that, though, can you just tell me a little
bit about who you are, what'syour backstory and how did you
kind of get into this health andwellness world and how?
Desi Bartlett (01:03):
did you kind of get into this health and
wellness world?
Yeah for sure.
So I'm originally from downtownChicago and my mother was a
hippie and she was a disciple ofGoswami Kriyananda at the
Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago.
So I was given the gift ofmeditation and my first mantra
at the age of six years old.
I later went on to pursuefitness when I was at ASU and I
(01:29):
went on to get my degree inkinesiology, my master's degree
in corporate fitness, and fromthere I moved to Mexico, which
is sort of another long story,but I'm half Mexican and I
really wanted to go and connectwith my roots.
And while I was there, thisamazing man came from Mexico
City and he said can I teach atyour studio?
And I said sure, what's yourname?
And he said Tona Tiu.
(01:50):
He's a yoga teacher.
His name meant sun god.
I'm like, of course it is.
So, yes, but when I, when Ipracticed with him, it was like
there was this core memory of mychildhood and meditation and
the connection came right backand I realized that I can be and
(02:11):
I am very much a bridge betweenyoga and fitness and I bring
both of those components intoeverything that I do, whether
it's my career or my journey asa mom, that's beautiful.
Nika Lawrie (02:23):
So one of the things that you sort of focus on
a little bit is yoga andmeditation, really supporting
women around times of pregnancy.
How did you really kind of moveinto that area, that space?
Desi Bartlett (02:38):
So when I was pregnant, I was living in LA and
I was teaching yoga and Istarted going to the prenatal
yoga classes and not to putanyone down but I couldn't find
the right fit for me.
I felt like Goldilocks, likethis one is too easy, this one
is too hard, this one they don'tsay the name or the word baby
at all.
(02:58):
That's weird, right, totally.
And so I realized that, withall of the tools and education
that I have, that it was timefor me to step up, and so I just
went really deep intomeditation and focused on my
breath and my alignment and mybody and I communed with the
baby inside and I asked him,like, does this feel good to you
(03:20):
?
And so that was how I startedteaching prenatal.
Good to you.
And so that was how I startedteaching prenatal, and from
there I just fell in love withit.
And I'm a little bit of ascience nerd, a lot of a science
nerd, and I get a little myopic.
And so I went on to create twoDVDs for prenatal yoga, one in
English, otro en espanol.
And then I wrote a book calledyour Strong, sexy Pregnancy,
(03:48):
wrote a book called your Strong,sexy Pregnancy, a yoga and
fitness guide, and I feel calledto help other teachers learn
this format as well.
This has not been around verylong, and so we've only seen,
for example, prenatal yogacertification since the year
2004.
Nika Lawrie (04:00):
So yeah, it's only 20 years old and I'm so happy to
be on the forefront of thismovement.
That's so cool.
I mean I think, oh, wow, buttalk to me about how can it
(04:24):
impact women, one leading up topregnancy, not just during
pregnancy, but how can it helpreally prepare the body for
pregnancy and then get into whatthat looks like a little bit
during pregnancy too.
Desi Bartlett (04:36):
So it can absolutely help in terms of
musculoskeletal strength.
You know, we want to beflexible, we want to be strong,
we want to make sure that youconnect to your core musculature
as well as your pelvic floormuscles, because those two are
connected at the pelvic floor.
And then we have a structurebehind abdominis rectus called
(04:58):
TVA.
I don't want to get tootechnical, but think of a corset
for your abs, right?
So we've got this corset aroundthe sides and then, at the
bottom, the pelvic floor, whichis like the hammock for our
organs.
Now, most of us don't thinkabout this as we're moving
through the day, so what I'dlike to do is just help women
start to connect to these areasand start to invite in a baby.
(05:21):
If you feel like you're readyin your mind, in your heart and
in your body, you can start toenvision a little bit more love
and a little bit more light,prana and chi and attract that
into your body, into your bodyand your mind Once we get into
actual pregnancy.
Now we also want to really,really focus on the breath.
(05:41):
As you know I know you're a momwhen we're pregnant it's hard
to breathe right, especiallythird trimester.
You know, baby's growing andpressing up against the rib cage
, which puts a little pressureon the lungs.
In addition to all of thosefluids we're like were like I
(06:10):
felt like R2D2.
Nika Lawrie (06:11):
I mean, I felt like a balloon and I had sciatica
for like half the pregnancy andmy feet were swollen all the
time.
Desi Bartlett (06:15):
It was crazy.
Yeah, there's so many changesin the body and so to be able to
navigate those changes withgrace and strength, yoga can be
such a powerful tool.
So, for example, swollen feetand ankles we have legs up the
wall pose to help with edema.
If you have sciatica, we havevery specific techniques that we
(06:35):
can work with so that we don'tstrain your lower back, because
the lower back is so sensitive.
It's compressed because thebaby's growing forward, which
makes sense.
So creating some space in thelower back and breathing into
our bodies is so important.
Oh, absolutely.
Nika Lawrie (06:51):
I think sometimes women might have a little bit of
a fear doing exercise or yogawhen pregnant, worried that
they're going to hurt their babyor the fetus.
What are some of your thoughtsaround that and how do we
address that?
Maybe misnomer.
Desi Bartlett (07:09):
So exercise can be such a wonderful gift to both
you and your baby.
Not only is it going to helpyou through the pregnancy to
carry the weight of the babythat's growing inside, but then
when you're a new mama, you knowyou're going to be walking
around with five, six, seven,eight, nine.
My baby was, my second baby was10 pounds.
So you need some physicalstrength, plus the car seat,
(07:34):
which is like another 25 pounds.
You need some physical strengthand where I see the fear coming
in usually is around, like yourabs, right.
Obviously, we're not going to doanything to compress what I
call the baby's house.
So no, like forward flexion.
But can we work in such a waythat we're stabilizing all of
(07:55):
that musculature so that yourposture is good, so that you can
avoid lower back pain?
Absolutely, can you work theextremities?
Can you work the arms and thelegs, of course?
So you want to be really,really receptive to the feedback
of your body and if you'redoing, let's say, like a lot of
cardio or something like that,if you need to nap longer than
(08:18):
the time that you spentexercising, you've done too much
.
Nika Lawrie (08:21):
Okay, good to know what about.
So, as we, you know, after wegive birth I think this is where
yoga played a huge role in mylife was getting like just
getting my body back to and Idon't want to say like
pre-pregnancy body, because Ithink that's a misnomer too.
I think after you've had babies, your body has really changed
(08:42):
and it's really, in its own wayway, a very beautiful thing how
it changes.
But getting my body back towhere I felt strong and healthy
and yoga played a big role inthat.
What are some of the techniquesthat we can do to kind of
rebuild some of our muscle tone,support you know our skeletal
structure as well and kind ofmaking sure that strength
(09:03):
Because so much of that changesduring pregnancy so many of our
you know, our ligaments and ourtendons and everything
stretching and moving andchanging, and so what are some
of the things that we can dorelating to yoga that really
help after post-pregnancy?
Desi Bartlett (09:18):
So I love, love, love teaching mommy and me yoga,
and I love to bring the babyinto the practice.
So what I see with a lot of newmamas is they get a little bit
stressed because it's like, ohmy gosh, when am I going to
exercise?
I have to figure out if thebaby's going to nap and maybe I
have to hire a babysitter, andthen do I need a personal
trainer?
And it spins out of control.
(09:40):
So, instead of all that, let'sfind a time that works for you
and your baby.
Let's find a beautiful, quietspace, clear of, like, a lot of
clutter or anything like that.
Put a blanket at the front ofyour mat, lay your baby down and
when you move through differentcore recovery movements, such
(10:01):
as, let's say, modified plank,you're looking down at that
beautiful baby.
Now, if we want to make it evenmore active and add, like a
little push-up situation ormodified chaturanga, you can
kiss the baby every time youcome down.
I also like to make a lot offaces, so I'll let my eyes get
really big or sounds.
(10:21):
Just make it fun, and then itbecomes interactive and then
it's something that isnormalized for your child as
well.
So what they're like?
Oh yeah, mom's practicing yoga.
When they become a little bitolder, they might even jump in,
because they've seen thesemovements since they were an
infant.
Nika Lawrie (10:39):
Yeah, I, you know it's fine.
I was actually going throughsome old videos that I have in
my phone and I found thesevideos of my daughter when she
was probably I don't know shewas probably like two, maybe two
and a half in them, and it was.
It was a video of a yogainstructor on the TV and I was
following along and then she wasin between me and the TV doing
(11:02):
those yoga moves as well and itwas so cute and she was super
into it and I just you know shelearned it as I was practicing
it, learning it as well.
So I love that integration ofit.
Desi Bartlett (11:13):
And I love that little ones like your beautiful
daughter start to look at youand go oh yeah, I want to try
that too.
Or look at the TV and I want totry that too.
And it's that modeling ofhealth and wellness that's going
to get them intrigued.
Additionally, as they start tomove through their own
milestones like head and neckcontrol things like Cobra or Up
(11:33):
Dog.
You see, babies do that all thetime Happy baby pose when they
hold their feet.
It's literally named afterbabies when they're laying down,
tickling their own toes, whenthey discover their feet and
they're like, oh wow, I got afoot, so they're naturally yogis
.
Nika Lawrie (11:49):
That modeling for our kids, you know, not just
with fitness, but you know,before the show you and I were
talking a little bit about ourlove for quality food and really
teaching our kids to eat welland I think that modeling piece
instead of trying to find, likeyou were saying, find the time
to do the exercise on your own,without the kids and incorporate
(12:10):
them into that activity.
Incorporate them into the yogaor cooking healthy meals or
whatever it is modeling that foryour kids is so key.
Desi Bartlett (12:19):
And to your point , nika.
So I've got a 10-year-old and a16-year-old and my 10-year-old
has gotten so deep into foodquality.
We were at the store the otherday and I found this cinnamon
sugar butter thing and he's like, oh mom, that has estrogen, you
shouldn't eat that.
And I'm like you're right.
Nika Lawrie (12:42):
My daughter won't touch receipts because I've
taught her a lot of the receiptshave um, bpa in them, um, and
so I've I've taught her aboutall these different uh toxics or
toxins that are um potentiallygoing to harm her throughout
life, and so she, once she seesa receipt, she has to touch it.
She, you know, pins it with herfingers, or and she's like, oh,
(13:02):
don't make me touch it.
She, you know, pins it with herfingers and she's like, oh,
don't make me touch it.
And so it's really cute howmuch they learn just from us
from those kinds of interactions.
Desi Bartlett (13:10):
Yeah, and they're .
They're also our teachers.
You know when, especially whenthey're little, they teach us to
stay present and in the moment,and all of the lessons from
yoga are carried with thatlittle baby.
It's a big soul and a littlebody, Absolutely.
Nika Lawrie (13:25):
Definitely so.
As we're healing, like healingfrom delivery, how can we also
incorporate some meditation intoour lives and how does that
help us kind of heal from,almost like the trauma that is
giving birth?
Desi Bartlett (13:42):
Yeah.
So I really highly encouragemamas to meditate when they're
feeding their babies.
So whether you're nursing orbottle feeding, however you're
nourishing your baby, you canclose your eyes and you can have
your baby close to your heart.
So your baby's listening tothat really familiar heartbeat.
It's rhythmic, and you can dropinto that same awareness of the
(14:04):
heartbeat.
As you drop into the awarenessof the heartbeat, just ask
yourself how am I, how do I feeltoday?
And then ask yourself, how doyou want to feel?
And if there's any disconnectbetween the two, perhaps you ask
your higher self like what's mypath right now?
How can I move from A to B?
(14:26):
And just let the answers revealthemselves in your body and
your mind, because they will,especially if we turn off social
media and the news andeverybody else's opinions.
There's some tremendousmarketing professionals in the
world right now and they do areally good job of telling us
what we need.
Unfortunately, yes,unfortunately, but you know
(14:49):
better than anyone what you need.
It's simply a matter of gettingreally quiet and really still
and tapping into your heartbeatand really truly asking what do
I need?
What is the next right step?
Nika Lawrie (15:03):
Yeah, one of the things that I've really loved
about both meditation and yogais, as I've incorporated those
things into my life, one it'sreally like you've mentioned.
It's really helped me just calmall the anxiety and the stress
and those kind of things, and Ithink that's so key, especially
as a new mom just trying tofigure out how to keep this
(15:24):
little creature alive.
They just hand it to you in thehospital and send you on your
way, and there's no instructionbooklet, right, and so it's this
kind of crazy thing and reallyreducing the stress that comes
(15:45):
with parenting that would keepme up at night.
How does it actually play arole?
How does yoga and meditationreally help us sleep better in
the evenings?
Desi Bartlett (15:54):
So I'll give you a story.
When my older son was a baby,he was a breath holder, and what
that means is he would hold hisbreath until he would pass out.
And so the first time thishappened I remember it like it
was yesterday it was at thechanging table, and if you've
ever seen a baby who gets reallyangry when they're getting
their diaper changed and they'relike no, no, no, he held his
(16:18):
breath and he lost consciousnessand I was so scared to give him
CPR even though I know CPRbecause I didn't want to hurt
his little ribs and lungs, so Icalled 911.
He regained consciousness inabout two minutes.
He's a breath holder.
This is somewhat common thebaby's nervous system is not
(16:46):
fully developed yet.
I said, what can I do?
And they're like well, try toavoid stressful situations, okay
.
So it's real simple, yeah.
But then I realized I'm like,oh wait, I I have these tools
from yoga, one of which isujjayi pranayama, which is just
a really fancy way of sayingdiaphragmatic breathing.
(17:07):
So as we breathe and we movethe diaphragm, we inhale, we
fill the belly and the chestwith oxygen, with prana, with
chi, and then, as we exhale andwe let go of what the body no
longer needs, we tap into arhythm of balance.
So I would lay him on my chestand I would teach him, not with
words, but modeling the breathin and out, in and out.
(17:31):
And I really, truly believethat if you can start to find
windows throughout your day whenyou can have that rhythmic
breath, you are going to sleepbetter.
We all walk around holding ourbreath shoulders up.
Sometimes we kind of talk likethis because we're so stressed,
crunched over in our computer.
Yeah, yeah, exactly, and there'sjust too much going on and
(17:55):
we're we're hunching forwardbecause of our digital and
technical technological lives,which are a blessing, but also
sometimes we're a little out ofbalance with how much we enjoy
them.
Right, yeah, so it's.
It's really following therhythm of of our ancestors.
When you wake up in the morning, get some sunshine in your eyes
, take in the breath and mothernature, look at the beauty of
(18:17):
the world around you, connectwith other moms and community,
and for me, that's all yoga.
It isn't just asana, it isn'tjust the poses on a mat, it's
the beauty of living in unionwith all that is.
Nika Lawrie (18:33):
Absolutely.
That's beautiful when we'retrying to start to incorporate
this stuff into our lives.
Take just a brand new beginner,somebody who's never done yoga
before.
How do we start to approachthis?
Because yoga a lot of people, Ithink, think it's a very easy
exercise, but there can be somepretty challenging moves and
(18:56):
when you're first starting offyou definitely have to kind of
learn that balance piece to it.
So how do we start to integratethis into our daily routines in
a safe and healthy manner?
Desi Bartlett (19:09):
So we all have different ways of learning.
You know, some folks are moreauditory, some are more visual,
some are more kinesthetic.
So if you know that you need tolike really be in a class or be
with a professional, find alocal community class and check
it out.
If you're someone who'scomfortable, like you and I are,
with the screen and can kind offollow along, I have a huge
(19:32):
library and it's my pleasure andmy honor and my joy to share
yoga.
And I'll share with you, nika,something that's kind of funny
and you've lived in LA so Ithink you'll understand this.
Sometimes yoga teachers get alittle like oh, you're teaching
beginners because they want to,like you know, stand on their
head and do all the things.
Yeah, and I'm like I want toteach the beginner and I want to
(19:56):
teach the pregnant woman and Iwant to teach the people that
need more instruction, because Ihave the tools to do it and I
feel confident to do it.
I've been doing it for 30 years.
I've written two books, so Iinvite anyone who's listening
join me on desibodymindcom.
I'll give you a discount code,all the things, but just start.
20 minutes a day, I'm notasking for an hour, I'm not
(20:20):
asking for, you know, seven daysa week, but if you can join me
like four days a week, 20minutes a day, it's a really
good place to start, to juststart to connect your body and
your breath together again.
Nika Lawrie (20:33):
Yeah, I know my first like real.
I mean I had done some kind ofyoga things at home, just
stretching and stuff, but myfirst real introduction to it
was I actually had a teacherwhen I was in school.
It was a class I took and Iremember that I mean it was a
very beginner's class and havingthat instruction from someone
(20:56):
you know, like you, reallyshowing you know the simple
steps, how to move through it,how to do the postures correctly
and making sure that you knowwe're aligning our bodies
correctly, was so, so powerful.
I love that you have all thesevideos available because I think
having that you know the visualexample of how to move the body
(21:18):
is really really key to startincorporating this into your
life this information.
Desi Bartlett (21:39):
I'm here for it Because I really truly believe
that when we come together aswomen and lift one another with
our gifts and our tools likeyou're doing right here right
now, and like you do sobeautifully on Insta with your
education about food and what'shappening in the food industry
when we each share ourindividual gifts, we lift one
another up.
When we each share ourindividual gifts, we lift one
(21:59):
another up and I feel like,especially during the pandemic,
the idea of community was alittle bit lost, like we had it
a little bit kind of sort ofvirtually, but now we can really
appreciate like, oh my gosh, weneed each other we do.
Nika Lawrie (22:13):
It's so huge that that interpersonal connection,
um, you know, there's probablyseven or eight factors that most
people in kind of the healthand wellness um area or space
really think play a role in ouroverall health.
And you know, a big part ofthat is kind of that um, uh,
physical, spiritual connection,which I think yoga, meditation
(22:35):
is so good at doing, but butanother part of that is that
community and having thoserelationships, that
interpersonal connection, is ahuge part of creating overall
health.
So I totally agree.
I think it's really, reallypowerful.
Desi Bartlett (22:49):
Yeah, and also to your point when it comes to
stress and the sympatheticnervous system and the cortisol
and all the things that happenas a result.
Sometimes, if someone justgives us a hug, it's like we
have a whole different cascadeof chemicals released in our
bodies that can help us to justkind of go.
Oh it's okay.
Nika Lawrie (23:11):
Yeah, it was one of the things my daughter and I do
every day is we always do mamababy hugs and at least once a
day we just we find each otherand we're just like I need a
mama hug or I need a baby hug,and we just hold each other and
you know, and she's she's ninenow and we still do it every day
Cause it's just it brings thatum, there's just nothing like it
(23:31):
.
You know, it's that the motherbaby connection.
There's nothing like in theworld.
But to just to have thatfeeling of warmth and you can
feel the, you know, the hormonesall over in your body really
making you feel good, so it's soso important.
Desi Bartlett (23:47):
I love that.
That's very sweet yeah.
Nika Lawrie (23:50):
So what are some things about yoga that would be
surprising, that can bebeneficial for you, that most
people wouldn't know or hadn'tthought of.
Desi Bartlett (24:00):
So there's really five components of fitness.
There's muscular strength howmuch can you lift muscular
endurance, how many times canyou lift it?
Flexibility, nutrition andcardiovascular endurance.
So it's surprising to mostpeople that yoga can help you
with four of these right.
Nutrition is kind of a separatetopic, but it's interwoven.
(24:23):
So when we're holding, let'ssay, like a plank or a side
plank or something like that, itrequires a tremendous amount of
strength and it helps so muchwith joint stabilization.
And so what I see is peoplethink like, oh, I'm not flexible
, I can't go to yoga, and I'mlike, oh, my goodness gracious,
you are the one that needs to goto yoga?
Nika Lawrie (24:45):
Yeah, exactly.
Desi Bartlett (24:46):
You come to yoga to enjoy flexibility, for sure,
but strength is there and it'syours for the taking.
And there was an ancient Indianmaster who said the pose begins
the moment that we want to exitthe pose.
So that brings in the mentalaspect of it.
As soon as we're like, oh mygosh, I want to give up, our
(25:06):
body usually has at least 20%more endurance and strength.
Trust our bodies and go oh wait, it's just my mind telling me
stories.
Then we get even stronger andmore fit.
So I would just tell folks youknow, you don't have to be
flexible to come to yoga.
You will be stronger than youmight have thought.
Nika Lawrie (25:28):
And the coolest part for me, especially in the
beginning was recognizing like,whoa, this is doing things to my
(25:49):
mind.
That's making me, like so muchmore aware of my inner strength.
I'll just use doing a plank,for example is you know, planks
they're hard right.
That it's a serious kind ofwhen you start shaking and
you're like, oh my gosh, I can'ttake it anymore.
One of the things that I alwaysdo is, when I hit that shaking
point, I take a really deepbreath and I just try to breathe
through it and I usually canhold for another 10 or 20
(26:13):
seconds, you know, and then letgo.
But it's definitely it can pushyou past that.
What you thought was yourbreaking point will push you a
little bit farther.
But that incorporates into,like this overall strength that
you have of.
You know, if I just breathethrough it, you've learned this
kind of almost like a resiliencetechnique.
Like if I breathe through it, Ican calm myself down to do
(26:37):
something that might be reallyscary or really intimidating or
hard, and so you can incorporatethose pieces into other aspects
of your life.
Desi Bartlett (26:44):
Absolutely, and we have different ways that we
breathe in different situations.
So, for example, think about,like, if you're at the top of a
roller coaster, but thensometimes we bring that stress
into an office meeting or whenwe're stuck in the carpool line
Like I gotta go, and so I lovethat you simply enjoyed a deep
(27:08):
breath in your plank, becauseit's that exhalation that's
going to start to stimulate thatrest and relax response.
Start to stimulate that likerest and relax response.
So if we can find thewherewithal to kind of go, oh
yeah, just one more deep breath,we'll get there.
Nika Lawrie (27:24):
Absolutely.
Yeah, you've worked with somereally famous celebrities and
different people in all walks oflife.
What are your favorite aspectsof newcomers coming in and
learning the skills?
And the reason I'm asking is Ireally want to take away the
intimidation part of going intoa yoga studio or deciding to
(27:48):
watch your videos for the firsttime.
I know sometimes it's hard forpeople to just make that first
step, to get off the couch, andthey're like, okay, I'm going to
start incorporating this intomy life.
What are some of your favoriteaspects and what are some of,
maybe, recommendations you haveto reduce that scary feeling to
really start incorporating thisinto your life?
(28:09):
I hope that made sense.
The question it does.
It does.
Desi Bartlett (28:12):
So one of the things that I really enjoy about
working with celebrities andpregnant mamas in Hollywood
which I still do is that theyhave their own sphere of
influence, and so when otherpeople see them you know, maybe
on Insta or Facebook or whateverenjoying just a simple sun
salutation, a lot of folks go ohwait, maybe I can do that.
(28:35):
It's just lifting up your armsand touching your legs, okay,
cool.
And so I find it to be such ablessing that this gift of the
lineage is carried through eachmama, whether she has a large
sphere of influence or if she'sin a smaller community.
We all can benefit from this.
(28:56):
And when it comes to, like,taking away the intimidation
factor, I would just reallyencourage you to, you know,
inhale your arms up overhead.
I'm just going to do it.
Inhale your arms up overheadand then lean to one side and
lean to the other and just kindof notice what changed.
Something changed in the last 10seconds.
Was it your posture?
(29:17):
Was it the way that you'rebreathing?
Did you open up a little bit?
And it's that.
It's that like, moment bymoment, awareness of wow, this
is, this is really medicine.
Movement is medicine, and itcan help to prevent so much of
what we see right now in termsof lifestyle diseases.
So if you really want to godown that whole rabbit hole of
(29:40):
preventing diabetes and all ofthe things, yes, yes, but maybe
just start with the one bigbreath and the arms up and how
do you feel?
Nika Lawrie (29:50):
Yeah, I love that.
It's so funny because I'llalways say food is medicine.
Right, what we're nourishingour body with is really really
key to our overall health.
But I've never, ever heardanyone say movement is medicine,
which is so ironic, becauseit's so.
I mean, it goes hand in handwith food as medicine.
So I love that.
That's great.
I'm probably going to use thatin the future too.
Desi Bartlett (30:13):
Right yeah, everything that we take in,
everything that we do, has aneffect on the body, right?
So whether it's food orsunshine, or a hug or movement,
it's going to have some effect.
So just start to noticethroughout the day what effect
does this have?
If I reach for that diet soda,do I feel good for maybe three
minutes?
And then half an hour later,how do I feel?
(30:33):
Or the next day, how do I feelIf I hug my daughter?
How do I feel?
It's just this, moment bymoment, awareness of what is the
impact of this action.
Nika Lawrie (30:47):
Yeah, One of the motivating things that I always
say to myself and I hope I getit correct when I say it is
short-term gain, long-term pain,Short-term pain, long-term gain
.
So meaning short-term gainmight be the dopamine burst that
you get from drinking the soda,but the long-term pain is
(31:09):
potentially diabetes and otherchronic health issues.
Short-term pain, which would bemaybe strength training or
doing a tough yoga pose orworking out in some manner right
.
Short-term pain for long-termgain, where you have this strong
, healthy body that's there tosupport you throughout your
whole life.
Desi Bartlett (31:29):
Exactly, it's an investment.
It's an investment in yourselfand in your health.
And when we speak to I'm justgoing to speak in business terms
for a moment the ROI, you know,the return on investment, is
your health.
Yeah, and we're living longerthan ever.
So I turned 53 this year and Ihope I have at least 40, 50
(31:49):
years ahead of me.
Yeah, so if I continue tostrength train and enjoy yoga
and share my passion with theworld, then that's going to have
long-term gain, absolutely.
Nika Lawrie (32:00):
Yeah, and for a lot of women I see.
You know, we go through thishuge kind of life shift around
30 to 40, right Like ourhormones start to change, our
bodies have really changed,especially if we've had children
.
Our metabolism really starts tochange.
And one of the things myhusband always talks about
(32:20):
living on top of a peak, sothinking of like a mountain.
And if we live at the top ofthe peak, we're trying to
balance very carefully to keepour strength and our health in
the best spot it can be, andwe're trying not to tip over one
side or the other.
And I think this is reallyimportant for women as we start
to age, because as we're aginginto our late 30s, 40s and 50s,
(32:46):
it can be easier and easier totip over to one side or the
other, and once we start to tip,it's harder and harder to get
back up the hill right.
It's like climbing up themountain, and so I love thinking
about starting to incorporatethese activities like yoga and
meditation and good nutritioninto our lives as early as
possible, so it becomes habitand routine, opposed to us
(33:09):
trying to climb back up thatmountain after we've fallen off.
Desi Bartlett (33:13):
Same is true during pregnancy.
Yeah, if you can start to moveyour body before you get
pregnant and continue throughoutthe pregnancy, you're going to
feel so much better afterwards.
And it's related to easierdelivery, higher APGAR scores,
which are the baby's ability tosort of adapt to the outside
(33:37):
world.
So I love your husband'sanalogy of the mountain.
We do.
We have that point where it'slike okay, which way am I going?
And to your point, around theage of 35 is when we're starting
to see more and more womenbegin perimenopause which used
to be a little bit later, butthat's a whole separate topic.
(33:57):
But perimenopause, which usedto be a little bit later, but
that's a whole separate topic.
But perimenopause is that time,that transition leading up to
menopause.
And so we see the decline inestrogen, which can lead to
issues with bone density, and westart to see osteopenia and
osteoporosis.
How do we combat that?
Lifting weights, moving yourbody, holding the weight of your
body in space, like you do withyour plank.
(34:19):
So, again, it's what you do andwhat I do as medicine.
Nika Lawrie (34:26):
Absolutely.
I think it's so key too.
Women often and when I saywomen I'm very generalizing here
, but a lot of times you'll hearwomen being really worried
about strength training, or youknow they they don't want to
bulk up, they don't want to looklike big body builders and the
the reality is like you have tobe on steroids.
Desi Bartlett (34:48):
Basically to you know, be get, get that I was
going to say do you know howmuch you would have to do?
Like, I've been strengthtraining for 30 years and I,
like I work hard to get somemuscle mass, yeah, and fight for
it.
Nika Lawrie (35:08):
Right, yeah and but .
But the other piece of that islike that muscle mass that
you're building and supportingand caring for is so key to our
overall metabolic health.
It's, you know, it plays such amassive role in our ability to
process food as energy in ourbody, and so I think
understanding how yoga andstrength training plays a role
(35:29):
in overall health is reallyreally huge.
Desi Bartlett (35:32):
Amen.
And so what I like to do isbegin with one word what is the
intention for today?
So, for example, is it strength, is it flexibility, is it
clarity?
There's our one word.
We start meditation and set theclear intention.
From there we segue to yoga.
We warm up your body, we startto create a little bit more
(35:52):
range of motion, connection tothe breath.
From there I take you over tosome easy, easy-ish weight work.
We do some resistance training,mostly using the weight of your
own body.
We should be able to lift theweight of our bodies in space.
Nika Lawrie (36:09):
Yeah, definitely so , Desi.
I have two more questions foryou, but before I get to those,
I want to ask we've talked a lotabout yoga and just kind of the
physical side of that, but arethere any other health areas
that you would really suggestalongside kind of nutrition?
Was one of them really thinkingabout as we incorporate yoga
(36:30):
into our lives?
Are there other parts that arereally supportive alongside that
yoga piece?
Desi Bartlett (36:36):
Yeah.
So my best friend is anaturopath and we lead an annual
retreat together in Mexico andwhat she does is she reads your
blood panel so she can tell you.
You know what's happening interms of like micronutrients,
and are you deficient in iron ormagnesium or calcium or
whatever it is that your bodyneeds.
(36:56):
When we start to look atnutrition and what's happening
on the inside, in addition tothe musculoskeletal system, as
well as the endocrine system,the hormones, it paints a whole
picture.
And I found, unfortunately, Iwent to a doctor a couple of
years ago and I said can we do ablood panel?
(37:16):
And she said, no, I'm like,excuse me, yeah, she's like you
don't really need it and I'mlike, well, but I want it.
Yeah, and long story short, Italked her into it and she said
okay, but don't tell anyone.
I'm like whatever.
Please, please, please, be yourown advocate and get the whole
(37:37):
story of what's going on in theinside.
I cannot look at you and tellyou on a cellular level, this is
what you need in terms of likefat, protein and carbohydrate.
I can give you a general ideaof what your macros should be,
but what if your body doesn't dowell with eggs, you know.
So we really need to addressthe fact that we're all
(37:58):
individuals and this is not onesize fits all.
Nika Lawrie (38:02):
Oh, without question, One of the most useful
things I've ever done in mylife is get blood work done,
because it's told me, you know,it's helped me understand the
bigger picture of where myhealth is and how I can make
little changes to improve.
You know this thing or thatthing Like, for example, you
know I had blood work done awhile ago and I had low omega
(38:26):
threes, and omega threes are so,so, vitally important for your
health, and so, oh, I can either, you know, incorporate more of
omega three heavy foods likesalmon or something, or I can
take a supplement to helpsupport that, and when you do
that, you have more energy, youthink better, you have less
brain fog there's so manyfactors.
Or it's like understanding whenyou have an allergy to
(38:48):
something and that's causinginflammation in your life, and
then that can cause a whole hostof issues too.
So I totally, totally agree.
Desi Bartlett (38:58):
Yeah, it's.
It's time for us to um sort ofmature as a society and take
responsibility for our ownhealth.
Nika Lawrie (39:07):
Yeah, I love that for sure.
So, Desi um, before I get tothe last question, where can the
listeners find you?
How can they connect?
How can they find your video?
Um, when can the listeners findyou?
How can they connect?
Desi Bartlett (39:20):
How can they find your video library?
All of the good things.
So my website is the best wayto reach me.
It's desibodymindcom, all oneword, and that's also the video
platform.
If you're interested in joiningthe monthly program, you can
use the code podcast and it'llgive you a discount, but it's
really, really affordable.
I purposely did that, because Iwant this to be accessible to
(39:41):
everyone.
You can also find my books onmy website, as well as other
yoga and fitness products, andI'm super, super active on
Instagram.
My handle ismothersintolivingfit.
Nika Lawrie (39:54):
Awesome.
I will make sure everything'sin the show notes as well, just
to make sure it's easy aspossible for everybody to find
you.
So with that, my last questionis something I ask every guest
what is something that you'veeither experienced or learned,
that's inspired you, that you'dlike to share with others?
Desi Bartlett (40:13):
To end almost every sentence with the words
for now, especially if you're amom, oh, my goodness, that's a
good one Baby's not sleeping fornow.
This is an interesting seasonwith my 16 year old, because
he's driving now and I'mpressing the imaginary brake
with my foot and I'm scared.
(40:33):
For now it's going to getbetter and better, so whatever
it is that you're moving through, just remember that everything
passes.
Nika Lawrie (40:45):
I love that.
One of the things I teach mydaughter is like she'll say well
, I'm not good at math, and Ialways tell her to add yet onto
the end of it.
So, same kind of thing I'm notgood at math yet I'm still
learning it Right, and so, or Ihaven't figured out how to do X,
y, z yet, and so, yeah, it's sothat positive mindset, that
(41:06):
growth mindset, is so, so key.
Amen.
Yeah Well, desi, thank you soso much.
I want to recognize you andjust say thank you for sharing
the information today on theshow, but also for all the
countless women that I'm sureyou've helped and taught over
the years.
Getting this information outthere is so important and it can
really be life-changing forwomen and for people.
(41:29):
So I just wanted to recognizeyou and say thank you for it.
So appreciate it.
Desi Bartlett (41:34):
Thank you so much for that, nika, and thank you
for all that you're doing.
As I was sharing with youearlier, I dove deep into your
social media and each messagehad so much power, and I
encourage everyone listeningright now to follow you there as
well, because there's so manygood lessons.
Nika Lawrie (41:50):
So thank you for what you do.
Same for yours too, thank you,I really appreciate it.
Welcome to the Inspired with Nika Laurie
podcast.
Desi Bartlett, welcome to theshow.
I'm so grateful to have youhere today.
Desi Bartlett (00:18):
Thank you so much .
I'm so happy to be here.
It's always a joy to shareinformation about feeling great
from the inside out, especiallywith moms all over the world.
Nika Lawrie (00:28):
Absolutely.
I'm really excited to have youhere.
I think this is actually asubject that I don't tend to
talk about a lot.
We're going to talk about yogaand meditation, which is ironic
because I think it's such apowerful.
Both are powerful tools that Iuse all the time in my own life
and I really recommend.
I just haven't really had aguest or an expert come on and
(00:49):
talk about it, so I'm reallyexcited to have you share your
knowledge on this subject today.
Before we get into that, though, can you just tell me a little
bit about who you are, what'syour backstory and how did you
kind of get into this health andwellness world and how?
Desi Bartlett (01:03):
did you kind of get into this health and
wellness world?
Yeah for sure.
So I'm originally from downtownChicago and my mother was a
hippie and she was a disciple ofGoswami Kriyananda at the
Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago.
So I was given the gift ofmeditation and my first mantra
at the age of six years old.
I later went on to pursuefitness when I was at ASU and I
(01:29):
went on to get my degree inkinesiology, my master's degree
in corporate fitness, and fromthere I moved to Mexico, which
is sort of another long story,but I'm half Mexican and I
really wanted to go and connectwith my roots.
And while I was there, thisamazing man came from Mexico
City and he said can I teach atyour studio?
And I said sure, what's yourname?
And he said Tona Tiu.
(01:50):
He's a yoga teacher.
His name meant sun god.
I'm like, of course it is.
So, yes, but when I, when Ipracticed with him, it was like
there was this core memory of mychildhood and meditation and
the connection came right backand I realized that I can be and
(02:11):
I am very much a bridge betweenyoga and fitness and I bring
both of those components intoeverything that I do, whether
it's my career or my journey asa mom, that's beautiful.
Nika Lawrie (02:23):
So one of the things that you sort of focus on
a little bit is yoga andmeditation, really supporting
women around times of pregnancy.
How did you really kind of moveinto that area, that space?
Desi Bartlett (02:38):
So when I was pregnant, I was living in LA and
I was teaching yoga and Istarted going to the prenatal
yoga classes and not to putanyone down but I couldn't find
the right fit for me.
I felt like Goldilocks, likethis one is too easy, this one
is too hard, this one they don'tsay the name or the word baby
at all.
(02:58):
That's weird, right, totally.
And so I realized that, withall of the tools and education
that I have, that it was timefor me to step up, and so I just
went really deep intomeditation and focused on my
breath and my alignment and mybody and I communed with the
baby inside and I asked him,like, does this feel good to you
(03:20):
?
And so that was how I startedteaching prenatal.
Good to you.
And so that was how I startedteaching prenatal, and from
there I just fell in love withit.
And I'm a little bit of ascience nerd, a lot of a science
nerd, and I get a little myopic.
And so I went on to create twoDVDs for prenatal yoga, one in
English, otro en espanol.
And then I wrote a book calledyour Strong, sexy Pregnancy,
(03:48):
wrote a book called your Strong,sexy Pregnancy, a yoga and
fitness guide, and I feel calledto help other teachers learn
this format as well.
This has not been around verylong, and so we've only seen,
for example, prenatal yogacertification since the year
2004.
Nika Lawrie (04:00):
So yeah, it's only 20 years old and I'm so happy to
be on the forefront of thismovement.
That's so cool.
I mean I think, oh, wow, buttalk to me about how can it
(04:24):
impact women, one leading up topregnancy, not just during
pregnancy, but how can it helpreally prepare the body for
pregnancy and then get into whatthat looks like a little bit
during pregnancy too.
Desi Bartlett (04:36):
So it can absolutely help in terms of
musculoskeletal strength.
You know, we want to beflexible, we want to be strong,
we want to make sure that youconnect to your core musculature
as well as your pelvic floormuscles, because those two are
connected at the pelvic floor.
And then we have a structurebehind abdominis rectus called
(04:58):
TVA.
I don't want to get tootechnical, but think of a corset
for your abs, right?
So we've got this corset aroundthe sides and then, at the
bottom, the pelvic floor, whichis like the hammock for our
organs.
Now, most of us don't thinkabout this as we're moving
through the day, so what I'dlike to do is just help women
start to connect to these areasand start to invite in a baby.
(05:21):
If you feel like you're readyin your mind, in your heart and
in your body, you can start toenvision a little bit more love
and a little bit more light,prana and chi and attract that
into your body, into your bodyand your mind Once we get into
actual pregnancy.
Now we also want to really,really focus on the breath.
(05:41):
As you know I know you're a momwhen we're pregnant it's hard
to breathe right, especiallythird trimester.
You know, baby's growing andpressing up against the rib cage
, which puts a little pressureon the lungs.
In addition to all of thosefluids we're like were like I
(06:10):
felt like R2D2.
Nika Lawrie (06:11):
I mean, I felt like a balloon and I had sciatica
for like half the pregnancy andmy feet were swollen all the
time.
Desi Bartlett (06:15):
It was crazy.
Yeah, there's so many changesin the body and so to be able to
navigate those changes withgrace and strength, yoga can be
such a powerful tool.
So, for example, swollen feetand ankles we have legs up the
wall pose to help with edema.
If you have sciatica, we havevery specific techniques that we
(06:35):
can work with so that we don'tstrain your lower back, because
the lower back is so sensitive.
It's compressed because thebaby's growing forward, which
makes sense.
So creating some space in thelower back and breathing into
our bodies is so important.
Oh, absolutely.
Nika Lawrie (06:51):
I think sometimes women might have a little bit of
a fear doing exercise or yogawhen pregnant, worried that
they're going to hurt their babyor the fetus.
What are some of your thoughtsaround that and how do we
address that?
Maybe misnomer.
Desi Bartlett (07:09):
So exercise can be such a wonderful gift to both
you and your baby.
Not only is it going to helpyou through the pregnancy to
carry the weight of the babythat's growing inside, but then
when you're a new mama, you knowyou're going to be walking
around with five, six, seven,eight, nine.
My baby was, my second baby was10 pounds.
So you need some physicalstrength, plus the car seat,
(07:34):
which is like another 25 pounds.
You need some physical strengthand where I see the fear coming
in usually is around, like yourabs, right.
Obviously, we're not going to doanything to compress what I
call the baby's house.
So no, like forward flexion.
But can we work in such a waythat we're stabilizing all of
(07:55):
that musculature so that yourposture is good, so that you can
avoid lower back pain?
Absolutely, can you work theextremities?
Can you work the arms and thelegs, of course?
So you want to be really,really receptive to the feedback
of your body and if you'redoing, let's say, like a lot of
cardio or something like that,if you need to nap longer than
(08:18):
the time that you spentexercising, you've done too much
.
Nika Lawrie (08:21):
Okay, good to know what about.
So, as we, you know, after wegive birth I think this is where
yoga played a huge role in mylife was getting like just
getting my body back to and Idon't want to say like
pre-pregnancy body, because Ithink that's a misnomer too.
I think after you've had babies, your body has really changed
(08:42):
and it's really, in its own wayway, a very beautiful thing how
it changes.
But getting my body back towhere I felt strong and healthy
and yoga played a big role inthat.
What are some of the techniquesthat we can do to kind of
rebuild some of our muscle tone,support you know our skeletal
structure as well and kind ofmaking sure that strength
(09:03):
Because so much of that changesduring pregnancy so many of our
you know, our ligaments and ourtendons and everything
stretching and moving andchanging, and so what are some
of the things that we can dorelating to yoga that really
help after post-pregnancy?
Desi Bartlett (09:18):
So I love, love, love teaching mommy and me yoga,
and I love to bring the babyinto the practice.
So what I see with a lot of newmamas is they get a little bit
stressed because it's like, ohmy gosh, when am I going to
exercise?
I have to figure out if thebaby's going to nap and maybe I
have to hire a babysitter, andthen do I need a personal
trainer?
And it spins out of control.
(09:40):
So, instead of all that, let'sfind a time that works for you
and your baby.
Let's find a beautiful, quietspace, clear of, like, a lot of
clutter or anything like that.
Put a blanket at the front ofyour mat, lay your baby down and
when you move through differentcore recovery movements, such
(10:01):
as, let's say, modified plank,you're looking down at that
beautiful baby.
Now, if we want to make it evenmore active and add, like a
little push-up situation ormodified chaturanga, you can
kiss the baby every time youcome down.
I also like to make a lot offaces, so I'll let my eyes get
really big or sounds.
(10:21):
Just make it fun, and then itbecomes interactive and then
it's something that isnormalized for your child as
well.
So what they're like?
Oh yeah, mom's practicing yoga.
When they become a little bitolder, they might even jump in,
because they've seen thesemovements since they were an
infant.
Nika Lawrie (10:39):
Yeah, I, you know it's fine.
I was actually going throughsome old videos that I have in
my phone and I found thesevideos of my daughter when she
was probably I don't know shewas probably like two, maybe two
and a half in them, and it was.
It was a video of a yogainstructor on the TV and I was
following along and then she wasin between me and the TV doing
(11:02):
those yoga moves as well and itwas so cute and she was super
into it and I just you know shelearned it as I was practicing
it, learning it as well.
So I love that integration ofit.
Desi Bartlett (11:13):
And I love that little ones like your beautiful
daughter start to look at youand go oh yeah, I want to try
that too.
Or look at the TV and I want totry that too.
And it's that modeling ofhealth and wellness that's going
to get them intrigued.
Additionally, as they start tomove through their own
milestones like head and neckcontrol things like Cobra or Up
(11:33):
Dog.
You see, babies do that all thetime Happy baby pose when they
hold their feet.
It's literally named afterbabies when they're laying down,
tickling their own toes, whenthey discover their feet and
they're like, oh wow, I got afoot, so they're naturally yogis
.
Nika Lawrie (11:49):
That modeling for our kids, you know, not just
with fitness, but you know,before the show you and I were
talking a little bit about ourlove for quality food and really
teaching our kids to eat welland I think that modeling piece
instead of trying to find, likeyou were saying, find the time
to do the exercise on your own,without the kids and incorporate
(12:10):
them into that activity.
Incorporate them into the yogaor cooking healthy meals or
whatever it is modeling that foryour kids is so key.
Desi Bartlett (12:19):
And to your point , nika.
So I've got a 10-year-old and a16-year-old and my 10-year-old
has gotten so deep into foodquality.
We were at the store the otherday and I found this cinnamon
sugar butter thing and he's like, oh mom, that has estrogen, you
shouldn't eat that.
And I'm like you're right.
Nika Lawrie (12:42):
My daughter won't touch receipts because I've
taught her a lot of the receiptshave um, bpa in them, um, and
so I've I've taught her aboutall these different uh toxics or
toxins that are um potentiallygoing to harm her throughout
life, and so she, once she seesa receipt, she has to touch it.
She, you know, pins it with herfingers, or and she's like, oh,
(13:02):
don't make me touch it.
She, you know, pins it with herfingers and she's like, oh,
don't make me touch it.
And so it's really cute howmuch they learn just from us
from those kinds of interactions.
Desi Bartlett (13:10):
Yeah, and they're .
They're also our teachers.
You know when, especially whenthey're little, they teach us to
stay present and in the moment,and all of the lessons from
yoga are carried with thatlittle baby.
It's a big soul and a littlebody, Absolutely.
Nika Lawrie (13:25):
Definitely so.
As we're healing, like healingfrom delivery, how can we also
incorporate some meditation intoour lives and how does that
help us kind of heal from,almost like the trauma that is
giving birth?
Desi Bartlett (13:42):
Yeah.
So I really highly encouragemamas to meditate when they're
feeding their babies.
So whether you're nursing orbottle feeding, however you're
nourishing your baby, you canclose your eyes and you can have
your baby close to your heart.
So your baby's listening tothat really familiar heartbeat.
It's rhythmic, and you can dropinto that same awareness of the
(14:04):
heartbeat.
As you drop into the awarenessof the heartbeat, just ask
yourself how am I, how do I feeltoday?
And then ask yourself, how doyou want to feel?
And if there's any disconnectbetween the two, perhaps you ask
your higher self like what's mypath right now?
How can I move from A to B?
(14:26):
And just let the answers revealthemselves in your body and
your mind, because they will,especially if we turn off social
media and the news andeverybody else's opinions.
There's some tremendousmarketing professionals in the
world right now and they do areally good job of telling us
what we need.
Unfortunately, yes,unfortunately, but you know
(14:49):
better than anyone what you need.
It's simply a matter of gettingreally quiet and really still
and tapping into your heartbeatand really truly asking what do
I need?
What is the next right step?
Nika Lawrie (15:03):
Yeah, one of the things that I've really loved
about both meditation and yogais, as I've incorporated those
things into my life, one it'sreally like you've mentioned.
It's really helped me just calmall the anxiety and the stress
and those kind of things, and Ithink that's so key, especially
as a new mom just trying tofigure out how to keep this
(15:24):
little creature alive.
They just hand it to you in thehospital and send you on your
way, and there's no instructionbooklet, right, and so it's this
kind of crazy thing and reallyreducing the stress that comes
(15:45):
with parenting that would keepme up at night.
How does it actually play arole?
How does yoga and meditationreally help us sleep better in
the evenings?
Desi Bartlett (15:54):
So I'll give you a story.
When my older son was a baby,he was a breath holder, and what
that means is he would hold hisbreath until he would pass out.
And so the first time thishappened I remember it like it
was yesterday it was at thechanging table, and if you've
ever seen a baby who gets reallyangry when they're getting
their diaper changed and they'relike no, no, no, he held his
(16:18):
breath and he lost consciousnessand I was so scared to give him
CPR even though I know CPRbecause I didn't want to hurt
his little ribs and lungs, so Icalled 911.
He regained consciousness inabout two minutes.
He's a breath holder.
This is somewhat common thebaby's nervous system is not
(16:46):
fully developed yet.
I said, what can I do?
And they're like well, try toavoid stressful situations, okay
.
So it's real simple, yeah.
But then I realized I'm like,oh wait, I I have these tools
from yoga, one of which isujjayi pranayama, which is just
a really fancy way of sayingdiaphragmatic breathing.
(17:07):
So as we breathe and we movethe diaphragm, we inhale, we
fill the belly and the chestwith oxygen, with prana, with
chi, and then, as we exhale andwe let go of what the body no
longer needs, we tap into arhythm of balance.
So I would lay him on my chestand I would teach him, not with
words, but modeling the breathin and out, in and out.
(17:31):
And I really, truly believethat if you can start to find
windows throughout your day whenyou can have that rhythmic
breath, you are going to sleepbetter.
We all walk around holding ourbreath shoulders up.
Sometimes we kind of talk likethis because we're so stressed,
crunched over in our computer.
Yeah, yeah, exactly, and there'sjust too much going on and
(17:55):
we're we're hunching forwardbecause of our digital and
technical technological lives,which are a blessing, but also
sometimes we're a little out ofbalance with how much we enjoy
them.
Right, yeah, so it's.
It's really following therhythm of of our ancestors.
When you wake up in the morning, get some sunshine in your eyes
, take in the breath and mothernature, look at the beauty of
(18:17):
the world around you, connectwith other moms and community,
and for me, that's all yoga.
It isn't just asana, it isn'tjust the poses on a mat, it's
the beauty of living in unionwith all that is.
Nika Lawrie (18:33):
Absolutely.
That's beautiful when we'retrying to start to incorporate
this stuff into our lives.
Take just a brand new beginner,somebody who's never done yoga
before.
How do we start to approachthis?
Because yoga a lot of people, Ithink, think it's a very easy
exercise, but there can be somepretty challenging moves and
(18:56):
when you're first starting offyou definitely have to kind of
learn that balance piece to it.
So how do we start to integratethis into our daily routines in
a safe and healthy manner?
Desi Bartlett (19:09):
So we all have different ways of learning.
You know, some folks are moreauditory, some are more visual,
some are more kinesthetic.
So if you know that you need tolike really be in a class or be
with a professional, find alocal community class and check
it out.
If you're someone who'scomfortable, like you and I are,
with the screen and can kind offollow along, I have a huge
(19:32):
library and it's my pleasure andmy honor and my joy to share
yoga.
And I'll share with you, nika,something that's kind of funny
and you've lived in LA so Ithink you'll understand this.
Sometimes yoga teachers get alittle like oh, you're teaching
beginners because they want to,like you know, stand on their
head and do all the things.
Yeah, and I'm like I want toteach the beginner and I want to
(19:56):
teach the pregnant woman and Iwant to teach the people that
need more instruction, because Ihave the tools to do it and I
feel confident to do it.
I've been doing it for 30 years.
I've written two books, so Iinvite anyone who's listening
join me on desibodymindcom.
I'll give you a discount code,all the things, but just start.
20 minutes a day, I'm notasking for an hour, I'm not
(20:20):
asking for, you know, seven daysa week, but if you can join me
like four days a week, 20minutes a day, it's a really
good place to start, to juststart to connect your body and
your breath together again.
Nika Lawrie (20:33):
Yeah, I know my first like real.
I mean I had done some kind ofyoga things at home, just
stretching and stuff, but myfirst real introduction to it
was I actually had a teacherwhen I was in school.
It was a class I took and Iremember that I mean it was a
very beginner's class and havingthat instruction from someone
(20:56):
you know, like you, reallyshowing you know the simple
steps, how to move through it,how to do the postures correctly
and making sure that you knowwe're aligning our bodies
correctly, was so, so powerful.
I love that you have all thesevideos available because I think
having that you know the visualexample of how to move the body
(21:18):
is really really key to startincorporating this into your
life this information.
Desi Bartlett (21:39):
I'm here for it Because I really truly believe
that when we come together aswomen and lift one another with
our gifts and our tools likeyou're doing right here right
now, and like you do sobeautifully on Insta with your
education about food and what'shappening in the food industry
when we each share ourindividual gifts, we lift one
another up.
When we each share ourindividual gifts, we lift one
(21:59):
another up and I feel like,especially during the pandemic,
the idea of community was alittle bit lost, like we had it
a little bit kind of sort ofvirtually, but now we can really
appreciate like, oh my gosh, weneed each other we do.
Nika Lawrie (22:13):
It's so huge that that interpersonal connection,
um, you know, there's probablyseven or eight factors that most
people in kind of the healthand wellness um area or space
really think play a role in ouroverall health.
And you know, a big part ofthat is kind of that um, uh,
physical, spiritual connection,which I think yoga, meditation
(22:35):
is so good at doing, but butanother part of that is that
community and having thoserelationships, that
interpersonal connection, is ahuge part of creating overall
health.
So I totally agree.
I think it's really, reallypowerful.
Desi Bartlett (22:49):
Yeah, and also to your point when it comes to
stress and the sympatheticnervous system and the cortisol
and all the things that happenas a result.
Sometimes, if someone justgives us a hug, it's like we
have a whole different cascadeof chemicals released in our
bodies that can help us to justkind of go.
Oh it's okay.
Nika Lawrie (23:11):
Yeah, it was one of the things my daughter and I do
every day is we always do mamababy hugs and at least once a
day we just we find each otherand we're just like I need a
mama hug or I need a baby hug,and we just hold each other and
you know, and she's she's ninenow and we still do it every day
Cause it's just it brings thatum, there's just nothing like it
(23:31):
.
You know, it's that the motherbaby connection.
There's nothing like in theworld.
But to just to have thatfeeling of warmth and you can
feel the, you know, the hormonesall over in your body really
making you feel good, so it's soso important.
Desi Bartlett (23:47):
I love that.
That's very sweet yeah.
Nika Lawrie (23:50):
So what are some things about yoga that would be
surprising, that can bebeneficial for you, that most
people wouldn't know or hadn'tthought of.
Desi Bartlett (24:00):
So there's really five components of fitness.
There's muscular strength howmuch can you lift muscular
endurance, how many times canyou lift it?
Flexibility, nutrition andcardiovascular endurance.
So it's surprising to mostpeople that yoga can help you
with four of these right.
Nutrition is kind of a separatetopic, but it's interwoven.
(24:23):
So when we're holding, let'ssay, like a plank or a side
plank or something like that, itrequires a tremendous amount of
strength and it helps so muchwith joint stabilization.
And so what I see is peoplethink like, oh, I'm not flexible
, I can't go to yoga, and I'mlike, oh, my goodness gracious,
you are the one that needs to goto yoga?
Nika Lawrie (24:45):
Yeah, exactly.
Desi Bartlett (24:46):
You come to yoga to enjoy flexibility, for sure,
but strength is there and it'syours for the taking.
And there was an ancient Indianmaster who said the pose begins
the moment that we want to exitthe pose.
So that brings in the mentalaspect of it.
As soon as we're like, oh mygosh, I want to give up, our
(25:06):
body usually has at least 20%more endurance and strength.
Trust our bodies and go oh wait, it's just my mind telling me
stories.
Then we get even stronger andmore fit.
So I would just tell folks youknow, you don't have to be
flexible to come to yoga.
You will be stronger than youmight have thought.
Nika Lawrie (25:28):
And the coolest part for me, especially in the
beginning was recognizing like,whoa, this is doing things to my
(25:49):
mind.
That's making me, like so muchmore aware of my inner strength.
I'll just use doing a plank,for example is you know, planks
they're hard right.
That it's a serious kind ofwhen you start shaking and
you're like, oh my gosh, I can'ttake it anymore.
One of the things that I alwaysdo is, when I hit that shaking
point, I take a really deepbreath and I just try to breathe
through it and I usually canhold for another 10 or 20
(26:13):
seconds, you know, and then letgo.
But it's definitely it can pushyou past that.
What you thought was yourbreaking point will push you a
little bit farther.
But that incorporates into,like this overall strength that
you have of.
You know, if I just breathethrough it, you've learned this
kind of almost like a resiliencetechnique.
Like if I breathe through it, Ican calm myself down to do
(26:37):
something that might be reallyscary or really intimidating or
hard, and so you can incorporatethose pieces into other aspects
of your life.
Desi Bartlett (26:44):
Absolutely, and we have different ways that we
breathe in different situations.
So, for example, think about,like, if you're at the top of a
roller coaster, but thensometimes we bring that stress
into an office meeting or whenwe're stuck in the carpool line
Like I gotta go, and so I lovethat you simply enjoyed a deep
(27:08):
breath in your plank, becauseit's that exhalation that's
going to start to stimulate thatrest and relax response.
Start to stimulate that likerest and relax response.
So if we can find thewherewithal to kind of go, oh
yeah, just one more deep breath,we'll get there.
Nika Lawrie (27:24):
Absolutely.
Yeah, you've worked with somereally famous celebrities and
different people in all walks oflife.
What are your favorite aspectsof newcomers coming in and
learning the skills?
And the reason I'm asking is Ireally want to take away the
intimidation part of going intoa yoga studio or deciding to
(27:48):
watch your videos for the firsttime.
I know sometimes it's hard forpeople to just make that first
step, to get off the couch, andthey're like, okay, I'm going to
start incorporating this intomy life.
What are some of your favoriteaspects and what are some of,
maybe, recommendations you haveto reduce that scary feeling to
really start incorporating thisinto your life?
(28:09):
I hope that made sense.
The question it does.
It does.
Desi Bartlett (28:12):
So one of the things that I really enjoy about
working with celebrities andpregnant mamas in Hollywood
which I still do is that theyhave their own sphere of
influence, and so when otherpeople see them you know, maybe
on Insta or Facebook or whateverenjoying just a simple sun
salutation, a lot of folks go ohwait, maybe I can do that.
(28:35):
It's just lifting up your armsand touching your legs, okay,
cool.
And so I find it to be such ablessing that this gift of the
lineage is carried through eachmama, whether she has a large
sphere of influence or if she'sin a smaller community.
We all can benefit from this.
(28:56):
And when it comes to, like,taking away the intimidation
factor, I would just reallyencourage you to, you know,
inhale your arms up overhead.
I'm just going to do it.
Inhale your arms up overheadand then lean to one side and
lean to the other and just kindof notice what changed.
Something changed in the last 10seconds.
Was it your posture?
(29:17):
Was it the way that you'rebreathing?
Did you open up a little bit?
And it's that.
It's that like, moment bymoment, awareness of wow, this
is, this is really medicine.
Movement is medicine, and itcan help to prevent so much of
what we see right now in termsof lifestyle diseases.
So if you really want to godown that whole rabbit hole of
(29:40):
preventing diabetes and all ofthe things, yes, yes, but maybe
just start with the one bigbreath and the arms up and how
do you feel?
Nika Lawrie (29:50):
Yeah, I love that.
It's so funny because I'llalways say food is medicine.
Right, what we're nourishingour body with is really really
key to our overall health.
But I've never, ever heardanyone say movement is medicine,
which is so ironic, becauseit's so.
I mean, it goes hand in handwith food as medicine.
So I love that.
That's great.
I'm probably going to use thatin the future too.
Desi Bartlett (30:13):
Right yeah, everything that we take in,
everything that we do, has aneffect on the body, right?
So whether it's food orsunshine, or a hug or movement,
it's going to have some effect.
So just start to noticethroughout the day what effect
does this have?
If I reach for that diet soda,do I feel good for maybe three
minutes?
And then half an hour later,how do I feel?
(30:33):
Or the next day, how do I feelIf I hug my daughter?
How do I feel?
It's just this, moment bymoment, awareness of what is the
impact of this action.
Nika Lawrie (30:47):
Yeah, One of the motivating things that I always
say to myself and I hope I getit correct when I say it is
short-term gain, long-term pain,Short-term pain, long-term gain
.
So meaning short-term gainmight be the dopamine burst that
you get from drinking the soda,but the long-term pain is
(31:09):
potentially diabetes and otherchronic health issues.
Short-term pain, which would bemaybe strength training or
doing a tough yoga pose orworking out in some manner right
.
Short-term pain for long-termgain, where you have this strong
, healthy body that's there tosupport you throughout your
whole life.
Desi Bartlett (31:29):
Exactly, it's an investment.
It's an investment in yourselfand in your health.
And when we speak to I'm justgoing to speak in business terms
for a moment the ROI, you know,the return on investment, is
your health.
Yeah, and we're living longerthan ever.
So I turned 53 this year and Ihope I have at least 40, 50
(31:49):
years ahead of me.
Yeah, so if I continue tostrength train and enjoy yoga
and share my passion with theworld, then that's going to have
long-term gain, absolutely.
Nika Lawrie (32:00):
Yeah, and for a lot of women I see.
You know, we go through thishuge kind of life shift around
30 to 40, right Like ourhormones start to change, our
bodies have really changed,especially if we've had children
.
Our metabolism really starts tochange.
And one of the things myhusband always talks about
(32:20):
living on top of a peak, sothinking of like a mountain.
And if we live at the top ofthe peak, we're trying to
balance very carefully to keepour strength and our health in
the best spot it can be, andwe're trying not to tip over one
side or the other.
And I think this is reallyimportant for women as we start
to age, because as we're aginginto our late 30s, 40s and 50s,
(32:46):
it can be easier and easier totip over to one side or the
other, and once we start to tip,it's harder and harder to get
back up the hill right.
It's like climbing up themountain, and so I love thinking
about starting to incorporatethese activities like yoga and
meditation and good nutritioninto our lives as early as
possible, so it becomes habitand routine, opposed to us
(33:09):
trying to climb back up thatmountain after we've fallen off.
Desi Bartlett (33:13):
Same is true during pregnancy.
Yeah, if you can start to moveyour body before you get
pregnant and continue throughoutthe pregnancy, you're going to
feel so much better afterwards.
And it's related to easierdelivery, higher APGAR scores,
which are the baby's ability tosort of adapt to the outside
(33:37):
world.
So I love your husband'sanalogy of the mountain.
We do.
We have that point where it'slike okay, which way am I going?
And to your point, around theage of 35 is when we're starting
to see more and more womenbegin perimenopause which used
to be a little bit later, butthat's a whole separate topic.
(33:57):
But perimenopause, which usedto be a little bit later, but
that's a whole separate topic.
But perimenopause is that time,that transition leading up to
menopause.
And so we see the decline inestrogen, which can lead to
issues with bone density, and westart to see osteopenia and
osteoporosis.
How do we combat that?
Lifting weights, moving yourbody, holding the weight of your
body in space, like you do withyour plank.
(34:19):
So, again, it's what you do andwhat I do as medicine.
Nika Lawrie (34:26):
Absolutely.
I think it's so key too.
Women often and when I saywomen I'm very generalizing here
, but a lot of times you'll hearwomen being really worried
about strength training, or youknow they they don't want to
bulk up, they don't want to looklike big body builders and the
the reality is like you have tobe on steroids.
Desi Bartlett (34:48):
Basically to you know, be get, get that I was
going to say do you know howmuch you would have to do?
Like, I've been strengthtraining for 30 years and I,
like I work hard to get somemuscle mass, yeah, and fight for
it.
Nika Lawrie (35:08):
Right, yeah and but .
But the other piece of that islike that muscle mass that
you're building and supportingand caring for is so key to our
overall metabolic health.
It's, you know, it plays such amassive role in our ability to
process food as energy in ourbody, and so I think
understanding how yoga andstrength training plays a role
(35:29):
in overall health is reallyreally huge.
Desi Bartlett (35:32):
Amen.
And so what I like to do isbegin with one word what is the
intention for today?
So, for example, is it strength, is it flexibility, is it
clarity?
There's our one word.
We start meditation and set theclear intention.
From there we segue to yoga.
We warm up your body, we startto create a little bit more
(35:52):
range of motion, connection tothe breath.
From there I take you over tosome easy, easy-ish weight work.
We do some resistance training,mostly using the weight of your
own body.
We should be able to lift theweight of our bodies in space.
Nika Lawrie (36:09):
Yeah, definitely so , Desi.
I have two more questions foryou, but before I get to those,
I want to ask we've talked a lotabout yoga and just kind of the
physical side of that, but arethere any other health areas
that you would really suggestalongside kind of nutrition?
Was one of them really thinkingabout as we incorporate yoga
(36:30):
into our lives?
Are there other parts that arereally supportive alongside that
yoga piece?
Desi Bartlett (36:36):
Yeah.
So my best friend is anaturopath and we lead an annual
retreat together in Mexico andwhat she does is she reads your
blood panel so she can tell you.
You know what's happening interms of like micronutrients,
and are you deficient in iron ormagnesium or calcium or
whatever it is that your bodyneeds.
(36:56):
When we start to look atnutrition and what's happening
on the inside, in addition tothe musculoskeletal system, as
well as the endocrine system,the hormones, it paints a whole
picture.
And I found, unfortunately, Iwent to a doctor a couple of
years ago and I said can we do ablood panel?
(37:16):
And she said, no, I'm like,excuse me, yeah, she's like you
don't really need it and I'mlike, well, but I want it.
Yeah, and long story short, Italked her into it and she said
okay, but don't tell anyone.
I'm like whatever.
Please, please, please, be yourown advocate and get the whole
(37:37):
story of what's going on in theinside.
I cannot look at you and tellyou on a cellular level, this is
what you need in terms of likefat, protein and carbohydrate.
I can give you a general ideaof what your macros should be,
but what if your body doesn't dowell with eggs, you know.
So we really need to addressthe fact that we're all
(37:58):
individuals and this is not onesize fits all.
Nika Lawrie (38:02):
Oh, without question, One of the most useful
things I've ever done in mylife is get blood work done,
because it's told me, you know,it's helped me understand the
bigger picture of where myhealth is and how I can make
little changes to improve.
You know this thing or thatthing Like, for example, you
know I had blood work done awhile ago and I had low omega
(38:26):
threes, and omega threes are so,so, vitally important for your
health, and so, oh, I can either, you know, incorporate more of
omega three heavy foods likesalmon or something, or I can
take a supplement to helpsupport that, and when you do
that, you have more energy, youthink better, you have less
brain fog there's so manyfactors.
Or it's like understanding whenyou have an allergy to
(38:48):
something and that's causinginflammation in your life, and
then that can cause a whole hostof issues too.
So I totally, totally agree.
Desi Bartlett (38:58):
Yeah, it's.
It's time for us to um sort ofmature as a society and take
responsibility for our ownhealth.
Nika Lawrie (39:07):
Yeah, I love that for sure.
So, Desi um, before I get tothe last question, where can the
listeners find you?
How can they connect?
How can they find your video?
Um, when can the listeners findyou?
How can they connect?
Desi Bartlett (39:20):
How can they find your video library?
All of the good things.
So my website is the best wayto reach me.
It's desibodymindcom, all oneword, and that's also the video
platform.
If you're interested in joiningthe monthly program, you can
use the code podcast and it'llgive you a discount, but it's
really, really affordable.
I purposely did that, because Iwant this to be accessible to
(39:41):
everyone.
You can also find my books onmy website, as well as other
yoga and fitness products, andI'm super, super active on
Instagram.
My handle ismothersintolivingfit.
Nika Lawrie (39:54):
Awesome.
I will make sure everything'sin the show notes as well, just
to make sure it's easy aspossible for everybody to find
you.
So with that, my last questionis something I ask every guest
what is something that you'veeither experienced or learned,
that's inspired you, that you'dlike to share with others?
Desi Bartlett (40:13):
To end almost every sentence with the words
for now, especially if you're amom, oh, my goodness, that's a
good one Baby's not sleeping fornow.
This is an interesting seasonwith my 16 year old, because
he's driving now and I'mpressing the imaginary brake
with my foot and I'm scared.
(40:33):
For now it's going to getbetter and better, so whatever
it is that you're moving through, just remember that everything
passes.
Nika Lawrie (40:45):
I love that.
One of the things I teach mydaughter is like she'll say well
, I'm not good at math, and Ialways tell her to add yet onto
the end of it.
So, same kind of thing I'm notgood at math yet I'm still
learning it Right, and so, or Ihaven't figured out how to do X,
y, z yet, and so, yeah, it's sothat positive mindset, that
(41:06):
growth mindset, is so, so key.
Amen.
Yeah Well, desi, thank you soso much.
I want to recognize you andjust say thank you for sharing
the information today on theshow, but also for all the
countless women that I'm sureyou've helped and taught over
the years.
Getting this information outthere is so important and it can
really be life-changing forwomen and for people.
(41:29):
So I just wanted to recognizeyou and say thank you for it.
So appreciate it.
Desi Bartlett (41:34):
Thank you so much for that, nika, and thank you
for all that you're doing.
As I was sharing with youearlier, I dove deep into your
social media and each messagehad so much power, and I
encourage everyone listeningright now to follow you there as
well, because there's so manygood lessons.
Nika Lawrie (41:50):
So thank you for what you do.
Same for yours too, thank you,I really appreciate it.
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