I’m Pregnant…. so now what?
Pregnancy is the ultimate experience of Yoga in my opinion. It is a time of becoming aware of your body in a new way. It is an opportunity to be in a new relationship with yourself, following the guidance of your body's own wisdom. Trusting that your body will support you and your growing baby. You may notice a silent intelligence ushering you in directions you may never have before noticed. Being guided internally in a way that may be new. Being so utterly connected to another individual in such an intimate way, experiencing true oneness. Each pregnancy is sacred, unique, one-of-a-kind, just as the growing baby is, just as we all are. Each woman has her own path to discover as an individual, but also as a tribe.
As a prenatal yoga teacher, and holistic wellness guide, my role is to empower my clients through listening to them, meeting them at the exact place where they are, and to share embodiment practices to experience the present moment. To guide them to trust their bodies innate wisdom, and to nurture them during this most sacred time of life. I honor every woman and her choices for her pregnancy and labor as she is walking her own very unique path.
The female body begins to nourish the growth of a human being. From the union of sperm and egg, something begins to grow out of nothing. A woman can feel completely out of control in her own body, so yoga offers an opportunity for her to return to herself. Yoga reminds a woman that she is in control of how she nourishes herself; her breath, her thoughts, what she “feeds” herself.
A growing embryo transforms into a fetus. The fetus begins to take up space within a woman's body applying pressure on her bladder, lumbar spine, internal organs, and diaphragm.
The uterus begins to expand as baby grows. Amniotic fluid fills the space along with other fluids and the placenta. The placenta is the only organ that is created and then released once the baby exits the womb.
Relaxin, Progesterone and Estrogen hormones are released into the body. They can create extra flexibility in a woman, which can lead to instability in tendons and joints. This flexibility is necessary for the pelvis to open during childbirth to allow for the exit of the baby from the uterus. For some its an added plus, and for others it leads to additional discomfort.
Increased blood flow to the uterus means decreased blood flow to digestive organs and other body parts. So, while baby is most always supported,
Benefits of Prenatal Yoga
Creates connection to other women having the same experience, a sense of sisterhood
Empowers women to trust their bodies wisdom
Increases overall awareness of internal body
Calms nervous system, relieves stress
Increases circulation through movement
Increases respiration/oxygenation of body through breath work
Promotes initial bonding with baby
Builds physical strength, stamina, and balance to support a pregnant body,
prepare for labor, and support a woman in motherhood.
Relieves or decreases common physical and emotional discomforts
We all have tremendous POTENTIAL within our bodies and minds. There’s incredible potential within the body of a woman to grow a baby, birth a baby, and mother her child. The knowledge is already there within us. It’s just a matter of acknowledging it, attuning to it, and then trusting in it. This empowerment of my clients and students is a key component to my classes and online sessions. You are collaborating with whoever shows up each time in a unique one time experience. The student teacher relationship is similar to that of mother and child in that you are together in the experience for a specific time period. There is no class without both student and teacher just as the pregnancy doesn’t rely on solely mother or child. The union, yoking, collaboration, infusion, symbiosis happens when two or more energies join.
Pregnancy and any relationship for that matter is an opportunity to meet one another exactly where we are with a gesture of reverence and gratitude for the opportunity to commune.
Prenatal Yoga is just one place for women to feel nurtured, supported, seen, heard, and cared for. For any pregnant woman, its most valuable that she finds the practices of movement and breathing that feel good for her in her body and that she trusts these parts of herself.
Pregnancy, labor and birth are all primal acts for women, however in modern days there is often a split within. Finding your own version of slowing down, yoga, pranayama(breath practices), meditation, listening to your bodies wisdom and strong intuition during each phase of life is optimum. Trusting your own animal instincts is the ultimate goal of oneness.