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What is Pregnancy Yoga
Ok so whenever I try to write about how amazing pregnancy yoga classes are,
I think of how tired I was in middle pregnancy,
and all the tired pregnant women out there,
and about how nobody really wants to do an exercise class…
(because that’s what everyone thinks yoga is!)
Yes ok maybe some of you really do want high energy & exercise,
and it can be taught like that too
but a lot of women really, really don’t have the energy,
or the time….
but before you click away…
Please 🙏🏽
Hear me out!!
I know a lot of people also get a bit weirded out by the whole yoga ‘thing’
thinking it’s about being stretchy,
maybe you went to a bit of a dodgy class at the gym yada yada…
There are sooooo many drastically varying ways of practicing
You might have heard - Yoga means ‘to yolk’ i.e. connect…
So a pregnancy yoga class focusses on lots of ways of connecting.
Connecting - to your baby
Connecting - to your body
Connecting - to your breath
Connecting to your *SELF* inner knowing
Connecting - with other pregnant women
Yes it actually is a complete system of
relaxation,
breathe,
body awareness,
combined with very very gentle physical postures: asana.
And most of all it’s FUN
I know, I know it sounds like a bit of a cliche
- but its true -
and it is really not like a ‘normal’ yoga class
(if there is such a thing)
In fact all yoga should be taught like a pregnancy class IMO!!
Reminding all students to listen to their bodies,
to back off,
following your own breath and your own inner teacher
rather than the class teacher
- its all verrrry unorthodox!!!
(but not!!)
In fact, it is the perrrrfect preparation for an unorthodox birth
- doing things YOUR way -
nobody else’s!!
Here’s the secret
Yoga is actually a magic tool
for managing many different aspects of your pregnancy journey,
꩜your spiral into motherhood꩜
👩❤️💋👩creating a circle of support👩❤️💋👩
a beautiful container each week to focus on yourself
to let go of worries
and stresses
just for a short time,
making space to connect with your baby,
and prepare yourself both mentally and physically for birth.
PS. Spoiler
You don’t actually need to DO anything to give birth,
it will just happen,
we’ve been doing it like, forever without a load of expensive trainings!!
BUT our birth culture has gotten a bit fucked up,
and our amazing neocortex that makes us oh so clever…
is actually un-necessary during birth
In fact it’s been getting in the way quite a bit over the past few hundred years or so - here in the west anyway - soooo maybe you do need a class after all - just to remind you how to STOP thinking so bloody much, and stop others from thinking for you and getting in your way!!
So you’ve decided to read on
YIPEE!!
Here is the super duper - amazing news…
There is a shit load of research into the benefits of Yoga in Pregnancy!! My amazing teacher Janine Hurley in Manchester (Creative Calm Studio) was part of one randomised control trial, looking at reductions in cortisol - and they were all super surprised at the results.
So guess what?
The benefits of one yoga class per week are far reaching, long term, and completely PROFOUND for both mother and baby (and right through that baby’s life)
Just one class per week can give unbelievably amazing benefits for the health of you and your baby.
(Compare that with the fact that routine scanning does NOT improve birth outcomes,
and routine monitoring also does NOT improve outcomes
but DOES increase the rate of interventions, injuries and trauma!)
Yet women spend half their pregnancies sat around in germ ridden hospitals for this false reassurance - handing over their power to a broken system!
Yes their may be instances when all of that medical care is really helpful - but for the vast majority of women - this system is causing a huge amount more harm than good.
Pregnancy yoga for
Better Birth Outcomes
Many of the trials are based on women practicing for just 30 minutes per week in their final trimester of pregnancy and show….
Pregnancy Yoga for
a Better Pregnancy
Pregnancy yoga
for healthier babies / children
Pregnancy yoga massively reduces CORTISOL in pregnancy
(Stress hormone)
Which is toxic to developing fetuses.
The presence of cortisol in your blood stream,
effects your babies brain development
and this has been linked to ADHD!
This isn’t a fact to beat yourself with a stick about…
we all have stresses in our lives,
that is just the way that life is.
When I look back there were huge stresses in my life
(and my son does have ADHD)
BUT I just imagine what that might have been like
if I hadn’t had that pregnancy yoga class in my life
- there would have been even more cortisol rushing around my body!!!
We all do the best we can, with the resources we have…
We can’t do more than that!
Also there is research to say that
Calmer Pregnancy = Calmer Baby.
By doing pregnancy yoga you are laying the groundwork for a super chilled baby
(no money back guarantee on that one though I’m afraid!!)
But don’t believe me
- do your own research -
there is sooo much out there
Here’s a starting point
😁Wow you made it to here 😁
🧘🏽♀️ so you’re feeling convinced of the benefits of pregnancy yoga?
😵💫 but not about how to actually fit it in to your life?
Maybe you’re one of the many women who find their energy levels are so low after a day at work,
that it’s impossible to do anything else,
once you’re home,
simply collapse on the sofa,
and try to eat something vaguely wholesome,
that is if you’re not still nauseous
(whoever called it morning sickness, or that it ended after 12 weeks grrrr)
Is this you - partly???
Don’t worry- This is completely normal!
🤰🏽 your body and mind are undergoing enormous changes 🤰🏽
🧠 your brain is actually being RE-WIRED 🧠
so no wonder you need
😴 more sleep, and time out 😴
The benefits of pregnancy yoga classes are
so profound
for yours
and your baby’s
long term health
the law says your employer MUST give you paid time off work to attend pregnancy relaxation classes.
Why don’t more women take up their legal right to prepare for a better birth outcome?
Pressure at work?
Not wanting to ‘let colleagues down’
These are some of the reasons I’ve heard over the years of teaching… maybe its the worry about looking like they are less committed to the job / their team than non pregnant colleagues.
The unconscious pressure to be ‘just as good as’ men / non pregnant colleagues….
But what about letting your baby down, and yourself?
Why should YOUR HEALTH SUFFER?
Why should your bay’s health suffer?
Just to prove a point to the world / aiming to ‘keep up’ the appearance of strength, act as though your pregnancy isn’t happening… carrying on as normal until the last minute when you go into labour!!!
The is NOT what the suffragettes fought for!
We are - YOU are - YOUR BABY is
entitled to equal rights for health….
Our society is incredibly rich,
and we must put our health and our unborn babies health at the forefront…
Don’t you owe it to yourself and your baby to take a coupe of hours one morning a week
to boost your energy,
and ensure you both have the healthiest and best start to your new life together?
Healthy, happy employees / colleagues are more of an asset to a company,
or to your own business if you are self employed…
don’t see it as a sacrifice of time
- it is a MAHOOSIVE INVESTMENT!!!
Women who sleep better, feel more confident, and have less aches, pains and complications of pregnancy are surely better co-workers, surely they are more motivated, productive, creative and just all round more inspiring and pleasant human beings to have around?
So pull up your big girl pants, and go explain this to your employer!!
Emma’s Basic Breathing Practice
I recorded this a few years ago now, but I still really like it, and I just want everyone to have access to this amazing power, that is right there within you.
So here is my 5 minute basic breathing practice - try it out - enjoy!
Emma’s Pregnancy Yoga Journey…
Why am I soooo passionate about pregnancy yoga I hear you ask??
Well partly because I never ever would have paid for pregnancy yoga classes
In a million years!!
Yet this lucky break absolutely changed my life
I’d read about dodgy Indian Guru’s using yoga to
‘go tantric’
with young women
so when I travelled in India I gave the whole thing a wide wide berth!!
I laughed at people standing in tree on the beach,
wondering what on earth benefits they could get from looking so silly!!
Well fast forwards
to my pregnancy in 2008
the beginnings of my birth research, education, and obsession!!!
I was working at Virgin Media
(a strategic choice at that time planning a family,
boring job but great family policies and support)
And in the hey day of the Labour Government’s SureStart Centres & family support
I found out about FREE Pregnancy Yoga Classes
And that I was entitled to
PAID TIME OFF WORK TO ATTEND
So I got to leave work early,
and go do something for mine and baby’s health FOR FREE
Bit of a no brainer ey??
So that’s what I did every Thursday afternoon,
I would finish an hour or 2 early and head to Gorton Surestart where Janine taught this class,
that was like NOTHING I had EVER experienced before.
I’d done all sorts of sports, aerobics, weight lifting, kick boxing, Zumba, step classes etc etc… I loved to be active
- but to RELAX, in a class, with other people felt SO ODD.
Yet within a few weeks,
the gentle movements, the breathing,
and the way Janine talked about birth,
and talking with the other women there,
about birth and making our own decisions
really just cemented everything else that I was learning
and started to actually feel really REALLY great!!
📚Hearing all the stuff I’d been reading about in books📚
💻on websites, and in yahoo groups💻
🧍🏽♀️from a real person🧍🏽♀️
👂🏽 and hearing all these 👂🏽
🌻amazing positive affirmations🌻
💜was actually the first time in my life I’d been told I could do something💜
I was worthwhile, and someone believed in me
During classes Janine encouraged me to think about
all the amazing a beautiful changes in my body
appreciating and loving my body
preparing myself to accept help
and connecting to my baby
And I am sure that it was the power I found in these classes that boosted my confidence in planning my home birth. Despite my (now ex) husbands fear because of his previous children’s traumatic births - despite my mum and the rest of my families fear.
And I ABSOLUTELY KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that the preparation I put in
- learning how to really relax, by using my breathe to stay calm and centred, helped me to manage the length and strength of my labour.
And I did it
- after 30 hours of labour -
14 of them in the pool…
I birthed my baby, and birthed myself into a new role - one where I knew my body worked, and one where I trusted my own instincts more than I ever had before.
Fast forward again….
I now have 13 years experience in leading pre & postnatal yoga classes,
as well as 8 years leading National Childbirth Trust Antenatal Preparation couples classes.
And integrating self hypnosis skills into my pregnancy yoga classes
(My teacher Janine went on to become a qualified hypnotherapist,
and now teaches these skills to other pregnancy teachers)
I have undertaken much training in childbirth and parenthood preparation over the past 15 years,
all centred around supporting women to be the creators of their own her-stories as well as supporting men & partners to take the role that they want to take in the process.
I’ve learned particular traditional skills such as baby-wearing,
acupressure, birth art, placenta magic, herbal support and much more….
All of my practice is Trauma Informed
What is on Offer
at Radical Rewild Birth & Beyond?
my amazing easy to access e-course
1 time payment
Follow at home or work or in the car
Over my years of teaching,
I've been constantly looking at ways to make pregnancy yoga
MORE ACCESSIBLE
to
MORE WOMEN
I know from all the feedback I’ve received over the years,
and all the research,
that it wasn't just me
who had such a profound experience of pregnancy yoga.
Hundreds women came to my pregnancy yoga classes right through their whole pregnancies
Some women came just for 1 or 2 classes right at the end of pregnancy after they finished work….
Even those who came right at the end experienced benefits
So I’ve become more and more passionate about getting these simple, effective, and powerful practices out there into the world!
I don’t see ANYTHING like this,
when I search for pregnancy yoga online,
and that makes me sad,
but also super motivated to share….
So I am currently developing a online course to share with you the most simple and effective practices from pregnancy yoga relaxation and birth preparation classes.
This will be 10 short and simple practices for an amazing value of just £10 - accessible for everyone.
