This is a picture of some of the lovely ladies that were in my Prenatal Yoga class that I took at Journeys in Yoga during my third trimester. I lobbied the owner of Journeys the first two trimesters to bring Prenatal Yoga back, because I was so sick of doing yoga while pregnant next to a man. It just felt wrong! I wanted the same experience I gave women when I was teaching Prenatal Yoga at my studio in Manor @ Midtown! My dear friend, Teresa, was our teacher. She is an amazing yoga teacher! She should be, I taught her! I kid, I kid. But seriously, she is talented and she understands the pregnancy and birth journey very well (she is also a Doula).
I forced everyone to take this picture, because I am picture freak, but now I am so happy I did because I can share it here!
If you are looking for a prenatal yoga class in town there are two. One at Journeys in Yoga one at Namaste. I can't encourage you to go enough! It is vital to your health, but it will also help you have an easier labor, I promise. I can't guarantee your birth outcome, but yoga will help guaranteed.
This is one of the most important things you will learn in prenatal yoga. The Squat. As seen here, in early labor. Just don't look at my huge, swollen feet. I said don't look!
The squat aids in digestion, as all us former preggers and current preggers know, we need all the help we can get to keep things moving along when you have a 9 pound baby in your belly and your intestines are in your rib cage.
It strengthens your pelvic floor muscles, so you you get the most out of each contraction and pushing and then later get things back in place down there more quickly.
It helps get baby in the right position for an easier decent through the birth canal. And in late pregnancy, it will help press baby's head against your cervix to stimulate labor.
I have so many wonderful memories of going to prenatal yoga and practicing at home. What are some of your favorite prenatal yoga memories?
Don't forget to engage your mula bandha! I am taking the prenatal class now (tomorrow night in fact, we have two classes left in this session, and then I will get to start up again in January - yay!). I love Teresa, she is so warm, enthusiastic, positive, and inspiring. I love hearing her say the yoga words (that I can't pronounce). I leave the session feeling calm and relaxed for a nice weekend. I am excited every week to see my classmates expanding bellies and hear how their week went.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the picture! ;-) Doing Prenatal Yoga with you (during my first pregnancy) and Teresa (with my second ...well and technically you too, just not as the teacher!) was such a wonderful and RELAXING time. I enjoyed getting to share the journey with other expecting moms and loved having a special time to connect with my babies. It was definitly helpful for me before, during, and after labor!
ReplyDeleteNice post! Now a days, yoga has been more popular and essential for pregnant women, it helps in healthy and smooth pregnancy and with yoga practice and meditation the women can have easy and painless labour that she can actually enjoy the labour and experience a sense of fulfilment. The aim of these yogic practices is to improve their breathing capacity, to have correct posture flexibility of spine, it also guarantee a good supply of blood as well as vital nutrients to the developing fetus.
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