Samantha Magee - Pregnancy Yoga

Being pregnant and giving birth are among the most natural things in the world a time when a womans body is at its full potential. However, many women can find this time unsettling due to increased hormone levels and the variety of physical changes taking place on top of the pressures of everyday life. The increase in medical intervention in Western society has made pregnancy and childbirth a lot safer. But as a result the whole process can seem very clinical and complex at times, which means that some women can feel detached from the natural experience. This is a shame as every woman deserves to feel fully connected with her own body and her unborn baby at this special time.

Yoga can be an invaluable tool in making pregnancy and birth all-round easier and more positive experiences. Highly recommended by birthing experts and medical practitioners, yoga is an ancient Indian practice that combines physical postures with breathing, meditation and visualisation techniques in order to maintain balance in both the body and mind. Postures (asanas) provide a gentle form of stretching and strengthening that keeps the body fit and supple during pregnancy, while breathing (pranayama), meditation and visualisation techniques help expectant mothers to accept change, maintain a positive mental outlook and deepen the mind-body connection with their unborn baby.

The practice of yoga also acts as a maintenance programme on a basic level to support all the major systems, keeping the skeletal, muscular, respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems in balance as much as possible throughout your pregnancy. A regular practice can also help to minimise common pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness and constipation, ease labour and help to restore your body after childbirth.

The experience of my first pregnancy was a wonderful one for me but also a bit of a shock. Having practised yoga for many years and maintained a high level of health and fitness, I was used to feeling stable and balanced. Then, overnight, I suddenly had to deal with a torrent of increased hormones and rapidly changing emotions as well as the vast changes that were happening to my body and my life.

Throughout my pregnancy, yoga helped me to maintain a sense of balance and perspective. It allowed me to remain physically strong and vital, but, more importantly, my regular practice gave me mental and emotional stability when change was all around. Having to accept that I could no longer do my favourite stronger yoga poses, such as Floor Bow or Crane, helped me to expand my concept of yoga and to enjoy a more deeply centred practice. Through having a greater understanding of my bodys capacity and embracing my natural instincts and intuition, I feel I connected deeply with my unborn child and gave him a strong foundation for the future.

When I first needed to adapt my practice to my own pregnancy, I found a scarcity of information on the subject. So I have written this book to support future practitioners, and I hope that this guide will help you, too, to enjoy and embrace your experience of pregnancy more profoundly. The choice of postures and clear, step-by-step guidelines for each one make the programmes easily accessible for beginners, while information on how to adapt an existing yoga practice to one that is suitable for pregnancy means that the book is also ideal for more experienced practitioners.

My hope is that this book will empower pregnant women to practise regularly, become more connected with their natural power, remain strong and healthy, and deliver beautiful, balanced, strong and confident children.

For some of you, this may be the first time you have done yoga, so its important that you have some background information on how to prepare for practice in order to get the most from it. And for those of you who practise regularly, its always good to go back to the basics to make sure you havent slipped into any bad habits.

When practising yoga, choose times that suit you and that can fit in regularly with your schedule and mark these into your diary. That way, doing yoga will be easier and more enjoyable for you. Ideally you should strive for a consistent practice at pre-decided times each week. The more your body gets programmed through the exercises and techniques, the more positively it will respond.

Choose a private space that is clean, clear of furniture, well ventilated and at a good temperature so you dont feel too hot or cold. Avoid high heat and humidity. Ensure that your chosen space has adequate lighting and try to make sure that it offers a sturdy wall for support as well as enough space for a yoga mat and any props you want to use (see ).

Before you begin a yoga session, turn off your phone and let friends and family know not to bother you during your yoga time. If you like music, play something that suits your mood whether inspirational and uplifting, or calm and restorative. But always allow yourself a few minutes of silence at the end of a session where you can connect fully with your mind.

Wear loose, comfortable clothing that allows easy movement. Supportive tops or vests will help to keep your beautifully expanding bust in check. Remove all jewellery, glasses and watches. Also remove socks so that your feet can grip well onto your yoga mat to maintain solid footing.

Make sure to stay well hydrated both before and during any exercise. It is best to practise on an empty stomach, but you might benefit from eating something light and easily digestible half an hour to an hour beforehand to keep blood sugar levels up or to stave off nausea. If so, suggestions are a banana, a handful of dried fruit, a slice of toast, and/or a cup of warm water or herbal tea.

You should also support your yoga practice with a healthy diet in your day-to-day life: the healthier you become through a combination of a well-rounded diet and regular exercise, the more connected you will feel to your practice and the more joy you will gain from it.

Before you begin any of the yoga techniques, first familiarise yourself in full with all the safety aspects (see ), as well as the step-by-step guidance for each posture, or sequence.

Once you are ready to start, do so slowly and carefully, referring to the book as often as you need to. As you become more confident, you can practise more intuitively.

Yoga is one of the best forms of exercise to undertake when pregnant because it emphasises gentle stretches, strengthening and opening while maintaining awareness of alignment and proper technique. Proper physical alignment is always key to a safe and effective yoga practice. But it is all the more crucial during pregnancy, as your skeletal system is under such pressure as a result of your increasing weight, your opening joints (due to the effect of the hormone relaxin see ) and your babys position. Proper alignment will help to support your weight-bearing joints as you go about your daily business, as well as providing a strong foundation for your yoga practice. So it is important to avoid forming bad habits in your posture and alignment. There are a series of simple rules and checks to remember before you begin standing or seated postures to ensure correct alignment for the forthcoming pose.