It is only a blip in time, just over a couple of centuries, since women have been made to give birth on their backs on beds. In the past and in other cultures, women have squatted or kneeled in upright positions, making the best use of gravity and the extraordinary orchestration of pelvic joints, ligaments, muscles and nerves in the process of growing and birthing a baby. There is a great deal of research now supporting a return to more active labour and upright birthing positions in maternity hospitals all over the world. Given our urban sedentary life style, this ‘back to the future’ culture change requires new sets of practices for bringing about pregnancy and birth fitness as an intricate body-mind-heart process.
The ancient Indic tradition of yoga has gained special popularity in relation to pregnancy, birth and postnatal recovery. This is a highly emotional time when our bodies, minds and emotions undergo extreme transformations. Neither the fitness regimes nor mental techniques that serve us well at other times address the felt holistic need to relate to the mysterious process of growing babies in our bodies while adjusting to our changing selves and relationships from a secure grounded core. With its main focus on the breath in combination with spinal alignment, yoga during pregnancy creates pathways of wellbeing by gradually promoting strength and suppleness, blood circulation and innervation, awareness and activity around the expanding womb. Each breath, each stretch translates into ‘molecules’ of emotion that can convey growing calm confidence to prepare for the unknown of birth. Babies receive the quality of their mothers’ (and fathers’) breathing and voice in ways that also prepare them for their amazing spiralling journey through the female pelvis into the world.
Birthlight has uniquely adapted classic yoga for women to enhance comfort and wellbeing during pregnancy as a time of joy and celebration of life. Birthlight practices go to the essence of yoga. They are simple and equally beneficial for women new to yoga and for advanced practitioners. Recovering ancient rhythms and flow movements discarded in the linear mat practice of western yoga, Birthlight supports the world tradition of nurturing the way babies are brought into the world. As we move and breathe more freely, our bodies start remembering the ‘light’ of birth. In the forest of anxieties and insecurities, we find our roots, our balance and our centre.
I personally enjoy the freedom of movement and soft wrapping around of Asquith yoga wear. The designs and materials correspond beautifully to Birthlight values of strength, ease, grace and flow in yoga for the greater enjoyment of being pregnant, and later for returning to our yoga mats in comfort with our young babies.
Dr Francoise Freedman
Birthlight Founder and Director
Birthlight courses:
Pregnancy yoga teacher training (Yoga Alliance UK Accredited)
London
Part 1:18-21 December 2015
Part 2:17-20 June 2016
For more details, please click here
Postnatal Yoga:
11-12 July 2015, Birmingham
For more details, please click here
Fertility Yoga:
25-26 July 2015, Matlock
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Baby yoga
London: 24-26 Sept 2015
Liverpool: 26-29 Sept 2015
Edinburgh: 3-5 Dec 2015
For more details, please click here
Tel: 01223 362288