meet amanda kassar
How do you make your health a priority?
During the pandemic, I was ordering Postmates a lot and I realized I needed to slow down and figure out how my body feels after eating certain foods. There were some nights I felt hungover from eating really greasy, terrible fried food. So for me, knowing that I am growing a human, I want to make sure that she’s also eating well.
Also, talking to a therapist for me is a priority, especially being pregnant, because I don’t have those motherly instincts that some of my friends do. I’m kind of in denial about having a baby. I’m scared of the unknown. I don’t know how I’m going to feel. I’m scared of postpartum. My identity has been so much about my job and my career, and now my identity is going to change with a baby and that’s scary to me.
How do you manage stress and relax?
For me, taking a bath at the end of the day, reading my pregnancy books and being open to different ways of handling each trimester and thoughts and emotions, and knowing that certain feelings are okay is how I unwind.
“I love sitting in the bath with my products.”
I need to relax before I wind down because if I try to just go to bed, I’m anxious and I have all these thoughts and feelings about birth and what I should be feeling and what others think I should be feeling at this point. So the bath decompresses me and makes me feel comfortable.
As a Pilates instructor, how does Pilates affect your mental health?
The first trimester of my pregnancy, I was really nauseous and sick and I wasn’t working out. I tried to and I didn’t have the energy. I was so focused on maintaining my schedule and the fear of losing my job, especially during the pandemic since I had to close down my group classes. Once I started feeling better, I began working out again and I realized even if it was 10 or 12 minutes, it really boosted my energy. I felt really bad not working out and in my head, I kept telling myself to get on that machine. But ultimately, that’s how my prenatal videos started because sometimes you don’t want to do an hour. Now, every day I workout and it makes me feel good. I feel like I’m doing something for myself. I feel like I’m doing something for my baby. And I’m hoping that it’ll help me with my delivery.
“Now, every day I workout and it makes me feel good.”
I’ve also taken up cooking. My husband and I started doing these meal kits at home. It’s been the best way for both of us to signify the end of the day. We’ll play jazz piano music and have a glass of wine. It feels really relaxing. It’s become a nice new constant in our life. Even as the city begins to open up, we’re still doing them.
next story — rishi magia