A mother-of-three has revealed how breastfeeding her two-year-old daughter while doing yoga has helped her 'connect' with her body. Carlee Benear, 31, from Texas, described how her youngest daughter Maramaylee will walk up to her as she's holding various positions, before latching on to her breast.
She explained how she first took up yoga after the birth of her second child, having struggled with post-partum depression following her first birth. Carlee even continued doing yoga throughout her third pregnancy, describing how it helped her morning sickness and find a greater connection to her unborn daughter.
She explained how she first took up yoga after the birth of her second child, having struggled with post-partum depression following her first birth. Carlee even continued doing yoga throughout her third pregnancy, describing how it helped her morning sickness and find a greater connection to her unborn daughter.
The accomplished yogi is showing off her multitasking mom skills by posting a video of her breastfeeding while doing a headstand. Carlee Benear, 30, a mother-of-three from The Woodlands, Texas, posted the video of her completing the gravity-defying move while breastfeeding her 19-month-old daughter, Maramaylee to Instagram. With over 66,000 followers, Carlee frequently posts pictures and videos of her completing complicated yoga poses while breastfeeding.
Explaining why she breastfeeds Maramaylee while doing yoga, Carlee explained that it's helped her to enjoy breastfeeding while being in the moment. 'Holding poses and breathing while nursing helps me connect with my body and be more present,' Carlee said. Anything can be challenging if you let your mind get in the way. I think that's one of the things breastfeeding yoga has helped me move past and it's helped me to believe in myself again. Staying in poses is big in yoga as it helps you be in your body and connect with your body during the ups and downs of breastfeeding.
She added: 'I am always aware of my daughter around me and I adjust my flow to her because she loves to sneak snacks at any time, so I need to be ready for her to pounce.' There is good in this because it is yet another reminder to be present.' Now, yoga helps me be the mother I always dreamed of being because I can enjoy every moment to the best of my abilities.' Carlee explained how she took up yoga after the birth of her second child in 2013, after suffering from post-partum depression following the birth of her eldest child in 2016. 'I got into yoga after the birth of my second child because my first battle with postpartum depression was terrible,' she explained.
I wanted to connect more with myself as the transition into motherhood can make you feel like you lose yourself, or that you're turning into a new person with new responsibilities.' One of the benefits of doing yoga is the ability to slow down and enjoy life again in such a fast-paced world. We raise our kids with this pace and it's more damaging than it is helpful to them for the real world.' Yoga showed me patience with myself and patience with my family as well as for everyone I interacted with. The practice also helps you see things differently.' We are often so fast to react, we forget that this is not a race and we can sit and think before we take action.' Carlee explained how she continued with yoga throughout the pregnancy of daughter Maramaylee.
Yoga was the only way I survived my pregnancy. Even when I didn't feel like getting on my mat, it always made me feel better and ready to handle the day with a fresh face,' she said. 'It also helped me build confidence in my body and my ability to birth life, while also helping me stay in tune with my needs for recovery.' Pregnancy is such a precious time and you're never more in tune with your body, so what better time to explore how big the heart is, or how open the body is becoming? Yoga during pregnancy gave me a connection with my daughter that I'd never experienced before.'Carlee admits that she's had a mixed reaction on her Instagram feed (@carleebyoga) about her breastfeeding yoga, but said that doesn't matter to her because it's become such an important part of motherhood for her.' It really helps show the power of a mother and her ability to do great things for herself and her family at the same time,' she explained.
'Multitasking is great, but I don't think it should be used for everything all the time. We do still enjoy sitting down and nursing while gazing into each other's eyes too.' As far as what others say, there are good things and bad things that can be said about everything. What matters is what you think and how you feel because you live your own life, no one else can do that for you.' Carlee said she never expected to still be breastfeeding her youngest by the time she was two years old, but she is more than happy to have reached this milestone. 'I will carry on nursing for as long as we both enjoy this bonding experience for.' My daughter is even trying to master doing yoga and eating now, it's quite entertaining. We stop, drop and yoga through the tough times in our house. When we do yoga, it's a few moments to stop, breathe and believe.' I do yoga whenever I struggle as a mother, which is daily. It's not always picture-perfect, recorded or easy, but it is necessary for me to survive and thrive.'
She continued practising while she was pregnant with Maramaylee and also involves her other two children Milam, six, and Cale, three, in meditation and yoga. However, Carlee only started doing yoga after the birth of her second child Cale, as she struggled with postpartum depression.' My yoga journey started after the birth of my second child. I wasn't willing to go through postpartum depression again, so I actively committed to the journey within,' she shared on her Instagram page in February. 'My kids are always around me and my two boys started their journey along with me. When we found out we were expecting again, we celebrated the creation of life together as my daughter grew inside my womb.' Crediting yoga with helping her 'dive into motherhood and become the mother I always dreamed of', Carlee also suggested that her daily yoga practise has allowed her to be supportive and patient, lessons she is passing onto her kids.
'Life as a mother has its stresses, but yoga helps us all reconnect with what is really the must do's of everyday life. To Love and be loved. Bringing her to our practice of embracing life was a natural choice. They grow up learning to be limitless.' And addressing her decision to share images of her breastfeeding while doing yoga, Carlee explained that as breastfeeding is a '24/7 dedication', she had to learn how to combine it with her usual daily activities. 'I believe as parents it is our duty to make that time for our self because we can not pour from an empty cup,' she said.'Breastfeeding yoga has helped me combat postpartum depression and has made my breastfeeding journey free of any bumps in the road, such as mastitis, worry of lacking in supply, getting over those first few weeks of tenderness, let down control and the stresses of being needed around the clock- to name a few.'
'Not only that, but it helped me get my mind out of the way and let my body soar with the possibilities and control that are naturally there,' she added. And she also expressed that no woman should feel ashamed of feeding their child. 'Society has taught us to just hand over our children and let the world sculpt them, we are losing our connections in families by this view and missing out on many opportunities to not only TEACH our own kids but LEARN from them' she wrote. She also took the opportunity to address critics who leave negative comments on her page, questioning her parenting decisions and her motivation for being so open and honest about her body and family. 'We need to stop projecting (and running away from) our hurt onto others in the form of harsh judgmental words or actions, so that we can all know peace and free ourselves from the pain of the past, resolve our buried issues and evolve together,' she said.'We may never agree, because there is no one way to do ANYTHING, but what we can learn from each other through acceptance is what makes this human experience so beautiful.'