Our newest student ambassador is not just practicing for one these days. Each day she comes in, Chanel Gardella-Polich carries her latest family member with her: she is pregnant with her third child. Her two daughters, now 5 and 2, practiced with her before they were born and their baby brother is preparing to join the crew in April. The choice whether or not to practice hot yoga during pregnancy is individual to everyone, but for Chanel, it was a decision that came naturally each time.
“I remember going to my first OB appointment with a traditional OB and her just writing it off, like, ‘Oh yeah, you can’t do that pregnant,’ and I’m like, ‘We are not a good fit. You’re not even asking me about my fitness or how it feels or why I do it or why it’s important.’ She was just like, no,” Chanel said. “So I quickly moved on to someone who explored it with me, whether it feels safe for me and how to stay cool.”
Celeste, 5, was Chanel’s first yoga baby, although much of her practice was at home because of Covid. Leona, almost 3, spent more time in the hot room. Chanel learned quickly in her first pregnancy how to modify postures to accommodate the baby and always practices by the door to help keep her temperature in check. But she could not imagine managing her life as a busy mom and mom-to-be without it.
“It brings me so much peace and joy in motherhood to just come back in land in my body for a whole hour,” she said. “I feel like I come home healed every time, and with so much more space for my kids. Sometimes it’s hard to leave them because I don’t want to miss out, but I know it’s going to be so much better for all of them if I go.”
Chanel is from Naples, Florida, but some of her extended family has also gravitated to Asheville. Her cousin Colin (their fathers are twin brothers) and his wife Tiffany are also HYA rock stars!
Read more about Chanel’s journey:
HYA: How did you come to Asheville?
Chanel: I grew up in Naples Florida, on the beach. When I was 18, we moved out West. My dad used to take us out West to Oregon and Washington, the easiest time to fall in love with it, in the summer. It’s all dry and blue skies. So I went to The University of Portland and I lived there for six years, that’s where I met my husband. and then we moved here in 2013. We wanted to be closer to family.
I have a huge family and most of them are in Florida. But some are here and Danny and I wanted to be somewhere that felt a little bit like Portland but with a community feel, easy to feel a part of it. It has mountains, somewhere liberal and fun and we could hike and at that point, drink beer, party and listen to live music all the time. We were like 22 when we moved here.
HYA: How did you find yoga?
Chanel: I was a gymnast growing up and a soccer player growing up, but I didn’t do yoga until I was in college. They just had some free classes on campus. And there was a hot yoga studio. I remember the first time, sweating from places I didn’t know I could sweat from, like the crease in my elbow. I was just focusing on not dying the first time I went, just getting through. Which turned out to be one of my favorite things about hot yoga.
I remember one of my first classes here, thinking about just getting through. You couldn’t do anything else but be in the moment and I love that so much. Especially in this season of life when my mind is so often doing a million things, thinking about lunches and doctors appointments and nap schedules and when is bedtime and who ate last and who needs water. It’s never quiet. So when I’m here, it’s all I can do. I’m sure that’s how everybody feels, is just to be here, in your own body. It’s such a treat to be in this moment.
HYA: When you were first pregnant with Celeste, how did you decide to continue your practice?
Chanel: I talked to Adi (HYA’s owner & founder, who practiced through two pregnancies). I think she spent like an hour on the phone with me, just talking about her experience pregnant, giving me tips and tricks so I can feel safe doing it. I was so sick. With all three of them I felt so sick in the beginning, and I remember coming to class and it being one place where I felt fine. For that one hour, just being on the mat, I thought the heat would make it worse but it didn’t.
With Celeste I didn’t get to do it the whole time because it was during Covid, so I practiced at home. With Leona, I thought I would just go until it doesn’t feel comfortable anymore and I went until 37 weeks. At that point, all I’m doing is modifying. I said I think I’m going to start swimming until the baby comes.
Now it just feels so much more comfortable. I know my body can handle it and I don’t feel worried about it. The first time around I was so worried. I was bringing a thermometer into class and staying by the door. I had a spray bottle, all the things to keep my body cool. Now I just try to stay by the door. I don’t feel dizzy ever, which is nice but if I did I think I would just relax. With my body being adjusted to the temperature, it’s fine. You can’t lay on your belly, and if someone is coming in and isn’t sure what to do, talk to the teachers about modifications. Now I know all the things I can do when I can’t lay on my belly.
HYA: Did your yoga practice help the birth experience?
Chanel: I feel like it helped prepare me for labor because they were unmedicated births each time. The experience of just being in the moment and leaning into it and not trying to be anywhere else, really did help prepare me for labor. And then postpartum, I waited a long time to come back after I had Celeste, I think it was four months, but after Leona, after four weeks I was like, I want to be back on my mat. I just took it really easy and it just felt so good to be here. I remember my midwife commenting on my core at the end of pregnancy, that everything felt strong and balanced, and the same thing postpartum. I think yoga really helped. I’m following a pregnancy fitness program and they do a lot of the things we do in class, to balance parts of your pelvic floor, so it feels good that I already do a lot of these things.
HYA: How does your family support your practice.
Chanel: Danny’s always like, go enjoy it, go do it. And the girls, when they’re playing they’re like ok, you have a good day. I’m going to yoga and I’ll be back. It’s like they work it into their play. Hopefully it doesn’t become a negative thing that Mom’s always going to yoga but for now, it’s good. I want to do it more with them at home but I haven’t figured that out yet. I’d like to have a space for them where we can work that in, some mindfulness in the morning, some movement. It just gets away from us so quickly. I mean it’s only preschool three times a week, so why does it feel so rushed sometimes? I would love to build that into our morning.
HYA: What did you do for work before being a mom became full-time?
Chanel: I’m a therapist but I haven’t been doing it since having kids. I have a Masters in Social Work and did intensive in-home therapy with kids and families until I had Celeste. And then when I go back to work, I’ll do individual therapy but that was a great way to jump into the field. It’s very intense. I will probably end up working one-on-one with moms, I think. The transition into motherhood and postpartum life. That’s my vision when I go back. Sometimes I get itchy to go back to work but I’m like, I’m 35, I have so much time in my life to work. I’m just trying to enjoy them while they’re still little.
