Yoga for You and Your BABY

“Yoga brings harmony into the physical, mental, emotional & spiritual bodies. An expectant mother practising yoga invites this harmony for herself and her baby enhancing the mother-baby bond – the baby feels more secure and the mother grows in confidence as her innate capabilities increase.”

The practice of yoga during pregnancy maintains health and well being; boosts energy, refreshes from fatigue; calms and also stimulates relaxation. The stretches and postures in pre-natal yoga cultivate flexibility physically and mentally. Physically, specifically in the muscle groups which are most needed during pregnancy and delivery; and mentally allowing you to “go in harmony” with this beautiful time of growing a baby and later to allow you to “flow” with your labour and birth. Yoga at this time is also an opportunity for you to take responsibility for your health and your baby’s health during pregnancy and your healing afterwards. Very importantly it helps you build a harmonious bridge of contact and bonding with your baby. Physically, the focus in the postures are: the feet, as being our point of contact with the ground they have considerable responsibility for our balance. Our centre of balance changes as our baby grows so we need to be in tune with our feet. The feet also need to be strong to support our body weight which obviously increases during pregnancy. The pelvic floor muscles which form a hammock from the base of the spine to the pubic bone and consist of the muscles of the vagina, urethra and anus, support the body’s organs, including the enlarging uterus and the naturally widening vagina, -  so these need to be at peak muscle tone and strength. The back, particularly the muscles and ligaments of the lower back  work harder during pregnancy to support the growing baby. So poses are aimed to increase muscle strength, relieve tension and aching muscles and offer alternate sitting and standing postures. The muscles of the larger pelvis and hips naturally become softer and more flexible in preparation for delivery so poses both cultivate and support this extension. Awareness and control of the power of the breath is an integral part of pregnancy yoga. The more we breath, the more we can relax; and the more we can relax the more our muscles can stretch. This means that we are more able to work with our body’s natural movements of opening the womb and the downward push required during birth. Some of the breathing techniques used are the 3 part breath, the “bee” breath, alternate nostril breathing, the lion breath and the intuitive or “hissing” breath. Relaxation and visualization are powerful tools used in preparation for labour and delivery. They can aid linking  with your baby, increase your confidence to follow your natural instincts, assist you to change expectations for your baby’s birth and help you to create the birth you would like.