The Power of a Birth Plan
It’s YOUR birth, so rather than just hoping for the best or ‘trusting’ your care provider, take the bull by the horns and do your own research. What you discover might totally surprise you!
This is the power a birth plan gives us.
When what we planned for doesn't come to pass, then we have the know-how and the tools to explore other options or Plan B, Plan C or Plan D that will still give us the positive outcome we are planning for!
Your Brain During Birth
One of the ways in which we can better connect to the limbic system is through self-awareness, this is THE MAIN principle of yoga and it's one of the reasons why a prenatal specific yoga practice throughout pregnancy can be of immense benefit - not just to prepare the body and connect with your baby but more so to prepare the mind! By increasing our self-awareness through practices of pregnancy yoga, pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation practices we become better attuned to our inner landscape, connecting with and becoming aware of different sensations on a deeper level and thus preparing us to move into the limbic part of the brain during the birth of our baby.
Pregnancy, Yoga + the Pelvic Floor
It's a common myth that if you have a caesarean birth then you don't need to do pelvic floor exercises - WRONG! As your baby grows and becomes bigger, this additional weight on your pelvic floor causes it to stretch and weaken. Learning safe and correct techniques to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles will help prevent leakage when you sneeze or cough – something that becomes a lot harder to restrain from after giving birth!
How Prenatal Yoga can help your birth
When it comes to labouriNG and giving birth (ANY birth), the mind-body connection is PARAMOUNT! A prenatal yoga class can help women to access deep reserves of emotional strength and resilience that can be put to good use not just during contractions but for being present and anchored in some of the challenges that are likely to come up throughout your labour and giving birth to a baby.