This month Athletes for Yoga released two new video series for mamas: The Yoga for Mamas Collection and The Yoga for Stroller Running Collection (okay, that one’s for dadas, too). As a new mom — my baby (toddler?!) is 18 months — these collections are especially close to my heart.

The biggest challenge I’ve faced this last year and a half has magnified the biggest challenge I’ve always faced in sport and life: finding balance. It can be particularly difficult to find space for yourself when you have young children, and when time does present itself it can be hard to know what to do. So my goal with both our new collections is to help busy athlete moms find more balance and feel more ease in the time that is available.

One of my most important mom learnings has been that when you find kid-free moments — whether it’s two minutes or 20 — you have to put yourself first. The to-do list might feel paralyzing but if you wait until you’ve done all the things to do something for yourself, it will never happen. That’s why I have this rule for myself: When baby sleeps, meditate and/or do some yoga first, then triage other things... Prioritizing those moments for myself helps me to more clearly discern what needs to happen next rather than feeling overwhelmed and being ruled by reactivity. And that’s why The Yoga for Mamas Collection videos address common momming imbalances specifically and don’t waste any time (they're all under 13 minutes).

The challenge is similar when you’re running with your stroller. You have a quick window to run and no time to waste. Even though you feel the stroller run strain, you might feel like it's impossible to run and do yoga — until now.

After I finally recovered from the early days of momming, stroller running destroyed me all over again. I was getting all kinds of aches and pains I’d never experienced as a runner. I felt like the problem was that I didn’t have time to do the pre-hab and Resets I was accustomed to, when the real problem was I wasn’t using the time that was available to create more balance.

The pre- and post-stroller running videos are basically the exact things I do before and after I run with my tot. I came up with these quick routines in my desperation to stop feeling like crap during and after my runs. Most important, they’re doable even with a moody child onboard. Just make sure you bring all the things.

Related: Turns out filming yoga for stroller running videos is even harder than stroller running. Watch the blooper video below and you’ll know why there’s no baby in the stroller videos!

While balance remains my biggest challenge, and my biggest mission, I’ve realized that being clear on your priorities helps to close the gap, especially when it comes to motherhood. And prioritizing moments to settle back into yourself and ease some of the imbalances that accompany the strain of motherhood ultimately help you to do your best momming.

I’d love to hear how you find balance as a mama, and how you use these videos. Share your journey with #athletesforyogamama!

STYLE NOTES

As always, I'm honored to be outfitted by Oiselle, a company founded and run by a woman and mother of two. The styles featured in these two video collections are from Oiselle's Spring '17 collection and can be shopped at oiselle.com or in your local run specialty store.

And you can snag Athletes for Yoga and Hit Reset shirts as well as the Athletes for Yoga onesie in the Athletes for Yoga Shop.

Behind the Scenes: Athletes for Yoga Mama