Yoga in Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a personal journey for any woman, a time of both mental and physical change. It can also be a very challenging time as the body adjusts and adapts to the changes pregnancy brings.
Yoga in Pregnancy can help address some of these changes in a positive way.
If you are already practising Yoga, you will find that there are certain postures that are contra-indicated in pregnancy. Eventually the general class you have been attending will no longer meet your needs, leaving you with an incomplete feeling. Changing to a pre-natal class will give you a complete experience and will help to strengthen the muscles and tendons that will support the growing weight of your baby.
Midwives recommend yoga to complete beginners as well as women who have practiced before as there are so many benefits to be gained, and they have seen the proof in the delivery unit. Relaxation and breathing techniques can easily be learned in a pregnancy yoga class. Unlike other forms of exercise, in our yoga practice, we learn to contain energy and reserves are accessed.
A pre-natal yoga class also provides a social support network for the pregnant woman; you will meet others at various stages of pregnancy and be able to exchange experiences and perhaps even phone numbers!
Yoga in Pregnancy is taught with an internal focus which most women find extremely beneficial during labour. The more you are internally connected the more energy you'll have for the process of labour. You will be able to access energy that you didn't know you had. It can be an entirely empowering experience. The urge to give up may be at hand but if you've focused in a yoga class you'll know how to do that when the going gets tough. The postures become more than movement that stretch and strengthen the body, they become an anchor for labour.
Please see my classes page to find out times and venues of classes. Birth Preparation Classes
It is vitaly important that the expectant mother receives encouragement and support from her partner during her pregnancy,in the weeks leading up to the birth and for labour and birth itself.
Therefore I offer birth preparation classes for parents to be. These two hour classes are for both the 'new parents to be' to attend.
Classes reinforce the work practised in the regular weekly class so that 'dad -to- be' can learn, and therefore remind 'mum-to-be' when the time comes, and labour is progressing. Massage techniques, breathing techniques and lots more information on how he can support his wife/partner as and when required.