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Pregnancy & Beyond Articles
Great reasons to practice yoga during pregnancy:

There are many reasons to practice yoga while you are pregnant, such as learning ways to move to enjoy pregnancy more, easing common discomforts and preparing for childbirth. For many women, pregnancy comes with a number of other conditions that need to be managed with care and consideration.

I have had the great blessing of teaching prenatal yoga for the past 5 years. Looking back, its humbling to recall some of the conditions my students have trusted my assistance in managing, here’s a brief overview:

? Pelvic instability – this is a condition causing pain and mobility problems during and after pregnancy. During pregnancy the hormone relaxin softens the ligaments around the joints of your pelvis, enabling it to open in preparation for childbirth. This is an essential process, however, for some women the effect of relaxin on the ligaments can be intense, destabilising the joints of the pelvis. As the pelvis is a closed system of bone and muscle, any change in movement at one joint can affect the function of all the others.

Anxiety, mood swings and medically diagnosed depression
High and low blood pressure
Cervical weakness and cervical stitches
Twin pregnancies
Previous pregnancies and previous miscarriage
Pregnancies resulting in unexpected birth outcomes including caesarian
Preparation for vaginal birth after caesarian (VBAC)
Baby presenting in transverse (sideways) and breach positions
Diagnosis of placenta praevia
Thyroid conditions
Inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and muscular fibromyalgia
Previous injuries

Prenatal yoga is a highly specialised form of yoga. We generally recommend starting anytime after you've made it through your first trimester. And if you've arrived at 36 weeks and have only just found time to join a class - don't worry its never too late to start! If you are pregnant and experiencing a long-term condition or a new condition has recently manifested, take time to chat with your teacher. A trained and experienced prenatal yoga teacher can work with you, your medical and complimentary health care professionals to help you get the best possible outcome from your experience of pregnancy and childbirth.

Namaste
Nina Isabella
Prenatal Yoga Teacher
Birth Attendant
Conscious Pregnancy and Ceremony

Conscious pregnancy is based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, the master of Kundalini Yoga.
Conscious pregnancy is designed to bring an awareness to the amazing journey of conception,
pregnancy, birth and beyond. The classes help mothers to discover a deeper sense of peace and
harmony within. There is a focus on developing a meditative mind to shed fears and doubts and
instead, to create inner strength, fearlessness, a quiet mind and a strong physical body.

Pregnancy is a nine month partnership of mother and child. And birth is a miraculous doorway that challenges and initiates our own mental, emotional and intuitive growth. A soul chooses the parents because their relationship, together, is an essential opportunity to bring about experiences needed in this lifetime.
Conscious Pregnancy seeks to support the mother through her pregnancy, to uplift her spirit, and awaken her natural radiance, dignity, nobility and grace.

120 Day Celebration
Traditionally, yogic teachings counsel the couple to wait until the 120th day to socially announce their pregnancy. The soul of the child is said to incarnate at this time and the woman's body responds to the new soul.
From this point the subconscious mind of the child is formed and the mother is the vibratory receptor for the child. Everything she experiences, her state of mind, in relationship to the world and connection with her child is transmitted to her child and becomes the foundation of the child's subconscious and personality.
The 120 day celebration is to honour the mother and offer her loving support. Family and friends
gather to meditate and chant and share a meal. This celebration offers an occasion to pray for the mothers spiritual, mental and physical well being so that she can teach, inspire and guide her child.

''Whatever goodness a man has, it is learned in the lap of his mother.
That is how important the institution of a woman as a mother
is in our society.'' Yogi Bhajan

40 Day Blessing
The 40 day blessing refers to the 40 days directly after birth and is a time when family remain with the child at all times in their home environment. The purpose of this 40 days is to ease the transition from womb to the world and to give the baby an indelible sense of security. It is an opportunity for the mother to rest and recuperate without undue stress; to establish a deeper  bond and connection with the baby; to learn the rhythm of the baby and establish a routine without the disruption of outside activities.

''We lie, Noses touching, And I fill my lungs,
With your sleeping breath.'' Rohana Vertcoutere

During the 40 days the mother enjoys a recuperating and healthy diet. Visitors are limited and stress of any kind is eliminated. Family and friends are encouraged to do practical chores for the family as a gift such as assisting in the shopping, laundry or taking older children to school. These blessings are so the family can concentrate on the delicious time of bonding, rest and recuperation which will lay the most beautiful foundation for the new family. After the 40 days of this inwardness, the family can invite visitors to rejoice with them in the celebration of welcoming the baby into the world.

Narelle McKenzie
For more information speak to Pre-natal Yoga teacher Narelle McKenzie
or see http://www.3ho.org/women/Pregnancy/pregnancyyoga2.html