Peggy with her husband Ryan and daughters Leona (4) and Delia (1)
If you are someone who has been lucky enough to have the excuse – being pregnant, that is – to take Peggy Bergin’s prenatal yoga class, you probably wish you could stay pregnant longer than required! Who better than Peggy to connect new and current moms with their growing babies while also nurturing their bodies and developing the mental, physical, and breath strength to manage their childbirth experience?Peggy’s calm demeanor, gentle touch, and thoughtful teaching style offer all students a chance to get in closer touch with their bodies so they can be nurtured, appreciated, and taken on a yogic journey. Read on to learn more about Peggy’s personal connection to yoga and life off the mat.
Q: What was your first interaction with yoga?
A: I took my first hatha yoga about 15 years ago. I was experiencing a flare-up of my Crohn’s disease and at that time I was unable to really do anything physically. I had heard yoga helped with relaxation and can help to relieve stress so I decided to give it a try. It was an instant enjoyment! Over the years, I kept going back to yoga during flare-ups and realized that a consistent practice helped me maintain my health.
Q: How would you describe your teaching? What do you enjoy about it?
A: I think my strengths as a teacher lie in teaching to people who need a little extra attention in their bodies. At the beginning of class, I usually check-in with the students to find out what’s going on – in the moment, in their bodies, that day when they come in. I’ll often ask if there is anything they’re interested in learning more about, or a pose they’d like to try. If I sit at home and plan a class, it could be a great series – but it might not benefit the bodies that show up that day. In short, I try to tailor each class based on who is there.
I enjoy teaching to pregnant women, specifically, because its such a special and unique time in a woman’s life – and I’m continually awed and honored that the women are willing to share their pregnancies with me. Prenatal yoga is something special because these women practice together, work through their changing bodies together, and share pregnancy stories. Its really nice to witness the supportive communities that develop from the class.
Q: What do you find to be the hardest/easiest yama/niyama to practice and why?
A: It is easy to identify the most difficult for me – Santosha, or contentment. I often fall prey to the sense that I should be doing more, that I need more things and need to provide bigger and better for my children. So stopping and realizing that this moment, this breath, is enough is often challenging for me. Plus, I think contentment is such an important lesson to pass along to our children. So I am constantly practicing being content with who I am physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
Q: In what ways do you integrate yoga “off the mat”?
A: Over time, I have found that yoga has integrated itself without my even trying. Most importantly, though, it has taught me to be a little less emotional. Or, if not less emotional, less ruled by my emotions. Which, believe me, has freed up a bunch of time! And its given me a great deal more perspective on what is truly important in life.
Q: What do you enjoy doing – besides yoga?
A: Most importantly I enjoy spending time with my family – my two daughters (Leona, 4 and Delia, 1), my husband, Ryan and our dog, Roxxy. We recently bought our first home so that keeps us busy. And I recently got a bike trailer for my daughters to ride in, so we’ve been going on lots of bike rides to the pool this summer.
Q: What teacher/style has most influenced your own practice and teaching?
A: During my teacher training Rita Knorr, an Anusara teacher, has been a huge influence on my teaching. She is full of life and light, and I really learned a lot from her. I will also say, though, that I always try to learn something new about myself, my practice or my teaching from every teacher I practice with.
Q: What is your best advice to new students?
A: My best advice would be to come back…keep coming back to your mat. I try to tell this to students who are trepidatious. It doesn’t matter if you are in the most perfect arm balance – if you are on your mat and doing your poses you are practicing yoga and meditation. Keep coming back!
Q: What is your best advice to experienced students?
A: The same thing! Keep coming back and keep learning something new from your practice. Remember what it felt like to be a new student. Focus on breathing as if it’s for the first time you’ve ever taken a breath. New students have the advantage in that they get to experience it all for the first time. In yoga we are always trying to get ourselves back to the basics and be present and to learn.
Favorite Yoga Pose: Eka Pada Rajasana (Pigeon Pose – or as some of my former prenatal students call it, “penguin pose”). I love both practing this pose and sharing it with the prenatal students. I love it for the great stretch it provides and of course it such a beautiful pose – but, for me, it serves as a metaphor for all other yoga poses in that there is a basic starting point for the pose, but that there are a myriad of other forms of the pose to continue learning from and growing into. Plus, it’s a great pose for pregnant women to support sciatica and back issues.
Least Favorite Yoga Pose: Hand/arm balancing poses. It’s a love/hate relationship! I love attempting to do these poses, and watching others do them them but I have a serious mental block against them. They are so challenging for me!
Favorite Music: Can I answer by telling you my favorite band? I love Wilco. Before babies, my husband and I used to go to a lot concerts – but these days the only band we make a priority for is Wilco. They are from Chicago and are talented people doing what they do well, together.
Favorite Foods: My husband’s a whiz on the grill, so anything he barbeques (vegetarian, of course) is my favorite!
