ADHD and Life’s Transitions with Tasha Post
In the podcast episode, listeners are introduced to Tasha Post's remarkable journey as she adeptly balances the challenges of ADHD, pregnancy, and running her business, ADHD Yoga. The episode provides a rich narrative of how Tasha combines self-care and community support to manage these life transitions effectively. Through her innovative approach to yoga and wellness, she offers a unique perspective on handling ADHD without medication.
Highlights
Tasha Post shares her experiences as a small business owner preparing for maternity leave while managing ADHD.
The episode explores Tasha's transformation of live yoga classes into wellness body double sessions.
Tasha emphasizes the integration of moon practices, blending movement and guided journaling, to help individuals with ADHD set and recalibrate their intentions.
Summary
In this episode, I catch up with ADHDer and yoga teacher Taucha Post to talk about her pregnancy.
ADHD & Pregnancy
The last time we caught up with Taucha she was trying to conceive, at the time of recording Taucha was ready to give birth. She shared how she has built her online yoga business into a community.
Taucha made the decision to stop taking her medication while she and her husband were trying to conceive. While it was challenging she found it helpful to surround herself with people who could help her with everyday tasks.
Body Doubling For ADHD
Like many expecting moms, Taucha was trying to figure out how to balance being a new mom and keeping her yoga studio going. She wanted to make sure she takes care of herself, her baby, and clients.
Taucha has built a library of yoga sessions and resources, especially for people with ADHD. One idea she came up with to keep supporting ADHDers was to turn her online sessions into body doubling sessions.
If you're not familiar with body doubling, it basically means having someone with you while you do a task. Which is super helpful for people with ADHD!
It was great catching up with Taucha, don't miss the full conversation in this episode.
Taucha's Link
https://adhdyoga.ca/adhd-yoga-
Transcript
00:00 - Speaker 1 (None)
The Adulting with ADHD podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Please see a medical professional if you think you have ADHD or if you have questions about your current treatment. To support this podcast or to access the podcast archives, visit patreoncom slash. Adulting with ADHD. This is the Adulting with ADHD podcast self-empowerment for people with ADHD.
00:29 - Sarah (Host)
I'm very happy today to have with me again Tasha Post. She is founder of ADHD Yoga and last time she was here we did an episode on trying to conceive. How's it going?
00:41 - Tasha (Host)
It's going good. I'm very pregnant now.
00:44 - Sarah (Host)
I nearly left out of my chair when I got your email and I can't wait to hear how it's been going so far. So, yeah, what's been going on since we talked?
00:55 - Tasha (Host)
last. Yeah, when we talked last, when was it? It was like March, I think, early March, I think yeah. Yeah, something like that. It was a while ago. It was a long time. Like eight months ago.
01:08
Yeah, it's funny because you asked me to do the interview and then, I think maybe four days before our interview on trying to conceive was scheduled, I found out I was actually already pregnant, but I couldn't tell anybody at the time because it was like I had known for three days, so I didn't tell my family. I hadn't told my family yet it was still really and I couldn't tell you. So then we did a whole episode I'm trying to conceive.
01:36 - Sarah (Host)
It was already there.
01:38 - Tasha (Host)
Yeah, it was a fun surprise. So since then, oh my gosh, what has happened? What hasn't happened? Yeah, we moved, so I'm full term now. So like, literally, this baby could come at any moment. So I've been through all three trimesters now and in the process of that, daniel and I were house hunting and then we also recently moved. We moved in September, the middle of September, so right now it's the middle of October. So we've been in our house for about a month, yeah, so that's, those are the big things Trying and also just planning on maternity leave, stuff for my business, as I take a little bit of a break Not a huge break and not a complete break, like I'll still be around just at a in a different capacity so just figuring out a way to do that and and and how I can be the most supportive for ADHD years in a time where I also really need to figure out how to support myself and my new family. So a lot's been going on.
02:40 - Sarah (Host)
Wow, I have so many questions. I'm just wondering how that works. When I had maternity leave, I was still with a company. How does that work when you're an independent? Are you going to have another instructor come in, or how does that work?
02:55 - Tasha (Host)
I don't know, and it's funny because I'm Canadian, right, so I grew up always thinking that I would just have a year off, because that's generally what we did. And before this I was, I was a speech therapist and public health Like I had the option of taking between 12 and 18 months off of work, but then I switched to having my own company, like having my own small business and and now that's not really an option because I could pay into EI but I didn't, probably because there's too many steps with paperwork. So, thanks, adhd, well, thank you bureaucracy?
03:31 - Sarah (Host)
Yeah, totally, oh my gosh, so many.
03:34 - Tasha (Host)
So, right now, how it's going to work is that it's been really it's been hard to figure out. Honestly, that's something that I'm going to have to figure out. It's something I'm planning for, but, because there's a kid involved in a new life that I'm going to get to have to know, there's only so much I can plan for. Yeah, so the plan right now is to take care of myself in a way that actually is like remembering and keeping in mind that taking care of myself is the best way to also take care of my business and the best way to take care of my clients, because I'm in the business of wellness. Like what kind of example would I be if I'm just like have my baby and I show up to teach two yoga classes the next day? Like exactly Good example? So it's figuring out a balance, a new way of showing up.
04:21
Like I've been thinking about a lot of things that you know with my online studio, like what are the challenges a lot of ADHDers face? Where are the barriers for them? How can I show up in a way that isn't completely depleting for me? And so what I'm trying to do with my online studio is to build a community, because I feel like ADHDers need a lot of community, and also for myself, as a new mom still in the middle of COVID in Ontario, I need community too, so it's showing up and being supportive for each other, so I'm trying to. So, instead of teaching live online classes, I've spent the last two years building a very big library of classes, and it's always been available, but I can see in the background on my website how often they're watched, and I can tell that ADHDers come to my live classes more than they use my library. And I get that, though, because if there's someone on the other side of the computer, you feel obligated to show up. If there's just a video sitting there that you can access at any time, why would you do that? I, as a yoga teacher, have subscribed to other yoga teachers' libraries and I've used them maybe twice, like three times, but it's still a good resource. It still doesn't mean that it's not useful. I just need to figure out how to make it useful for ADHDers or to help it be more accessible. So one of the things that I've done, or I'm thinking of that I will do, to try and get everything up and running is or to be more supportive is, instead of teaching live classes right away after the baby is born, is turning those into body double sessions wellness body double sessions.
05:59
My clients can come and every week I will give recommendations and a theme from the library of something they can practice a mindfulness practice, an actual class, a longer class or a post tutorial or something like that and then I will give them links for Zoom links that previously lined up with when I actually taught class, that are now just when we'll just show up to support each other and they can choose to either do one of the mindfulness practices or the classes that I recommended or they can do something like eat their lunch or drink water or go for a walk or journal. But we're just showing up for each other in a way that takes care of ourselves and in a healthy, balanced way. It's not supposed to be pressure, it's just supposed, because these are all the things, as ADHDers, we know we need to do for ourselves, like we know. We know to cook for ourselves, we know to drink water, we know to take our vitamins, we know to go for a walk and read a book and all that stuff. But we don't, we don't do it. We just don't do it. We just don't do it.
07:09
No-transcript how I'm planning on doing this maternity leave for a little bit, like it's I think about. I'm going to try and do eight weeks that way where my live classes turn into body doubles, and I'm working ahead of time to pick all of the themes and pick all the classes and I recorded new content for recommendations and then I'll send them every week and do the body double sessions and they can choose to do those classes or anything else that takes care of themselves, and I'll be on the other end of my screen doing the same thing making bone broth, exactly Feeding the kid, talking to a friend, something that is good for my wellbeing. As an example, that's how I'm planning on doing maternity leave and that's what I mean, like it's not really a leave.
08:00 - Speaker 1 (None)
I'm still there, but in a different way. Something that's brought me comfort is just knowing that there is affordable, private online therapy available anytime and anywhere through Better Health, and I'll just found it to be way more convenient and way more in line with how I prefer to communicate. There's ways to communicate through email, through chat, through phone, whatever is easier for you, and listeners of the Adulting with ADHD podcast can save 10% off their first month today if they sign up. To take advantage of this deal, go to betterhelpcom slash ADHD adulting. That is betterhelpcom slash ADHD adult.
08:35 - Sarah (Host)
I love that and I love how you're normalizing it, because I think it's so important for our community to see more of that. It's great. I can't tell you how many times I have hovered over your schedule Like I'm going to go to this one. I'm going to wake up and drink my damn water and I'm going to do one. I'm going to wake up and drink my damn water and I'm going to do this. I'll tell you what.
08:56
In the most ADHD form, when I'm ready to body double someone on anything like my work or whatever I'm like, all right, where is everyone I'm ready to body double. So I think this is spot on. I think you're onto something here. That's cool, that's super cool. I was just on your website and I saw on your schedule that you have like a new moon intention setting session planned and it's so funny. So I was just telling my I'm meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow and I was like God, we got to. We each have projects we're trying to do and it's oh, we got to set some intentions. Man, I didn't know there was going to be a new moon coming.
09:33 - Tasha (Host)
Yeah, I love that one, that one. I didn't know there was going to be a new moon coming. Yeah, I love that one, that one. I love that class.
09:44
That one I think I've done for, I think, since the new year, and the thing that I really like about that one so it's 60 minutes of movement and then 30 minutes of guided journaling. So it's the same questions every time. It's usually starts with just reflecting on everything you've just gone through in the past month, like since the last new moon, and then reflecting on your challenges, reflecting on the lessons that you can carry with you for the rest of the moon phase, so that you have a reminder about what you're really the mindset you're trying to maintain throughout this process. And I really like it because what's happening with that class is that people are sticking around after and chatting about what they came up with. It's really nice to hear other people's what they're going through and what they're focusing on, and it's turning into a really powerful practice.
10:39
And then the new one that I'm actually doing now is a full moon practice. I'm just looking at my schedule here. That's why I'm like not looking at the camera calendar and the full moon one is reflecting back on your intention and just recalibrating, celebrating how far you've come so far. Evaluate, because, again, the thing that I like about this for ADHDers is that we know we are supposed to pause and reflect and redirect, but we don't do it. Again, like a lot of the stuff that I put in my membership is just stuff I selfishly need myself.
11:11 - Sarah (Host)
I was the same way when I had a community. Exactly the same.
11:16 - Tasha (Host)
These are things I want to do. I want to journal and reflect more regularly, but if I do it on my own, it's just not going to happen. If there's someone else there with me or that I'm responsible for in some way, I'm going to do it. I'm going to show up, and that's how I realized the new moon intention setting once a month isn't enough, because memory problems are a real thing. So I'm starting this full moon practice to so that again we can pause and reflect on what it was that our intention was at the beginning and how that's going.
11:45
And also, as ADHDers, we just have such a habit of just focusing on the things that went bad and beating ourselves up on like I'd set that intention, I haven't thought about it since and like I set this intention but then I totally just ignored it or went in the complete opposite direction. We just beat ourselves up for that kind of thing and I think, setting time aside to purposely make ourselves be like no, like sure, I had some challenges, sure, I fell off the wagon here, but look at all these things that I'm still doing. Look at, this isn't my last chance. I can just pick up today and just reminding ourselves that it doesn't. You don't have to start at a certain time. You can go off course but still come back. I think that's a real important reminder.
12:32 - Sarah (Host)
Yeah, that all or nothing kind of mindset where it's oh, I screwed up, forget it, I'm hopeless.
12:38 - Tasha (Host)
I'll never get any further, like all of us, we have. We're so mean to ourselves.
12:42 - Sarah (Host)
We are mean to ourselves. I wanted to go back. You were talking a lot about just the uncertainty and I think that's so spot on, especially right now, just like dealing with the uncertainty of it all, and it looks like you're doing a really great job of normalizing that too. It's just we don't know. We don't know what's going to happen, but we can recalibrate whatever it is and revisit, reflect. So what's been working for you since we've talked? Are you doing anything different with your routines, are you? I think last time we talked it was a lot. It sounds basic, but it's not basic, but it just sounds like taking good care of yourself as the source of it all. Right, Cause you can't be on, or you've chosen or you can't be on stimulants right now, and we talked a lot about just taking care of your body and resting it and that kind of stuff.
13:33 - Speaker 1 (None)
So more of that.
13:34 - Sarah (Host)
Has that really been your tools at this point?
13:38 - Tasha (Host)
Yeah, that's been a big part of it Going into my pregnancy. Like I was off my medications. I chose to stop taking them, I think like in December, and I found out I was pregnant in March. So that was a big gap where I was just medication free and I knew it was going to be hard, yeah, and I tried to surround myself with supports, like my coaching group and everything before that. I can tell you like that gap where I was not pregnant and I was not medicated was really hard. That was just so crappy and you didn't know how long it was going to last for. But it was a choice which I'm grateful for. I'm grateful that it was. You know it can be a choice. I wouldn't tell anyone not to like what to do. I'm glad that it's an option. Like women with good doctors who are really on their side will guide them through pregnancy with their medication if that's something they need to do, and I, because I just felt I don't know more secure that way, personally, Because it's your body and it's totally valid.
14:45
Yeah, yeah. And because I made that choice, I knew it was going to be hard. But I think knowing it was going to be hard also allowed me to put some supports in place and also that was like why I started coaching the year before anyway, to like help build supports before all this happened, Because I knew family was going to happen at some point down the road. Yeah, totally. But then once the baby came, the hormone changes those were super helpful. Oh my God, Yay, oh my gosh.
15:17
And I think in the email when I were like reached out to you after and I was like surprise, I'm actually pregnant, I think I said I think I told you that some of the biggest differences like since discovering I was pregnant, like they the hormone changes definitely helped me. I did feel like I wasn't it wasn't quite like I was medicated, but it was almost there I felt sharper, I felt like I could prioritize and because I had more self-awareness of my challenges anyway, I knew where my pitfalls were, but I was able to stay focused on a task and I had more energy and I was able to prioritize with the supports I had in place. And then having a little baby also just felt like having a built-in like body double.
15:59 - Sarah (Host)
I love that. Oh, that's so true, it's so true.
16:07 - Tasha (Host)
Accountability buddy, however you say that it's so true.
16:08
Accountability buddy. However, you say that yeah, because things that I'm bad at as an ADHD are things like going to sleep at a decent time and eating regularly and eating good things regularly, taking like supplements because if you can't see like, the nice thing about ADHD meds is you can take them and they kick in within half an hour. You see a difference as an ADHD. Or taking supplements. Is this working and do I like see an immediate change? So it's harder to follow through. But then having like being pregnant felt like I just had a little built in accountability buddy, a little body double, and that was like. So when I was starting to feel tired, I could notice it and I'm like it's not for me really right now I have to go to sleep Not really my decision and right, it really helped. I was really surprised right.
17:08 - Sarah (Host)
It really helped. I was really surprised. Yeah, my baby taught me how to drink water. I was never a water drinker, I didn't do much of it. I was pregnant and then I was always checking my pee after that to make sure I was properly hydrated for my baby. So thank you, gabby, for that.
17:21 - Tasha (Host)
I have a water right now.
17:23 - Sarah (Host)
I know Cheers, cheers. Yeah, it's been great catching up with you. Remind the readers where they can all find you online, if they don't know already.
17:34 - Tasha (Host)
Yeah, sure, again, my website is ADHDyogaca. So yeah, that's my website, adhdyogaca. If you want to join my email list, you can get a free class and sign up there. When you sign up, stay up to date. I'm also on Instagram, at adhdyoga, and I think that's it. Those are my main platforms there adhdyogaca, adhdyoga, so you can check me out.
17:59 - Sarah (Host)
Awesome, check out, tasha. It's been really cool seeing your, your business growing and your family growing, and it's just it's been wonderful talking with you. Yeah, you too.
