By Yoga Journal
If you follow Hilaria Baldwin (and who doesn't?), Alec Baldwin's yogi wife has amassed 21,040 Instagram followers of her #yogapostureoftheday, you know that she's rarely without her six-month-old baby girl, Carmen. You also know that she just returned from a vacation in Madrid, where she did NOT take a break from her New Year's resolution to post a photo of herself doing a different yoga pose every day. The 30-year-old traveling yogi is an "Extra" lifestyle correspondent and co-founder of Yoga Vida in New York City. Busy is an understatement. We asked her how she balances motherhood, her career and yoga on the road. Here, she gives us the intel:
YJ: What are a couple of your favorite Instagram pose pics from your Madrid trip?
Carmen on the train doing Happy Baby Pose, and the one where I'm in Dancer's Pose (in heels) and cooking paella.
I also like the headstand I did in a dress, too. When I said I was going to do a yoga pose every day, I thought it would just be like Warrior I. I didn't really think it would turn into the spectacle it's turned into. It's hard to trump the last one -- it forces me to be creative. The night of the cocktail dress pose, I needed to go to an event and didn't want to let everybody down. It turned out to be a really cool shot.
YJ: Which poses make you feel the best while you travel?
Core work is key when you don't have a lot of time. When you work the core, you work your arms and legs as well as your center. Definitely Plank Pose, Dolphin Plank, Side Plank... I'm a big fan of Downward Dog and Chaturanga -- when you do up-dog you stretch and work your core at the same time. Hero pose is a great one for stretching the quads, or forward bend with your hands behind your back.
YJ: Tell us about the famous plane photo. Your fellow passengers appear shocked.... How do you stay comfy on the plane?
The commentary was such a big deal. "How dare I do it in first class?" I wouldn't recommend doing that, [but] I thought it was funny.
[To stay comfortable], I try to walk around as much as possible on a flight, even they don't like you to walk around too much. I also try to stay hydrated, so I walk to bathroom a lot. I love to do Eagle Wrap with my arms, which you can do while sitting in your seat. After a flight, I'm a big fan of sun salutations.
YJ: How do you eat healthy, and foster those habits, on the go?
When I go to Spain (Hilaria grew up in the U.S. and Spain), I eat paella, and things I wouldn't normally eat. I didn't work out as much, I ate more, drank more -- I don't drink a lot, but it's part of the culture there to drink more. Everyone said, "You look absolutely fantastic!" Guess that was the paella diet. When you're experiencing the culture, you don't want to feel deprived. When I'm traveling, I take time to slow down. I'm going to taste every single bite, sit down and have a three-hour meal. If you're having a big lunch or big dinner, the other meals should be much lighter. In the morning I eat fruit and oatmeal. I do maintain not eating dairy wherever I go. I think that's really key to being healthy.
YJ: Carmen just turned six months. Is she eating solids?
We started playing around five months, mashing up a banana and letting her lick an apple and discover it. The best thing about breastfeeding is you take the food with you everywhere. I'm very lucky that breastfeeding worked for us. It made life easier.
YJ: Speaking of Carmen, you look amazing just six months after giving birth. What poses helped you get your pre-baby body back?
In the following order, I do:
- Flowing through Warrior I, Warrior II, Reverse Warrior, Chaturanga, up dog, down dog.
- Dolphin Plank
Q. You brought Carmen to your "Extra" shoot today, and you're visiting Alec on the set of Law & Order. Are you bringing her to see him, too?
Yes! I'm never away from her for more than a few hours.
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