| Pregnancy is an excellent daily spiritual practice - the ultimate sadhana from a yogini perspective. The unity of a mother with her conscious prenate is an obvious example of the same creative essence of the Universe. Carrying a completely new life around in your most tender place, and right under your heart, is a sacred act honored to the degree you honor yourself as a woman. The discomforts that one may encounter in pregnancy offer opportunities to get in the habit of adapting to the unexpected and embracing the unknown, with the love of good self-care. Root causes of pregnancy discomforts are varied. Emotional changeability induced by high hormones can bring up personal issues about self and relationships and symptoms can and do come along with them, often disappearing if the issue is named and embraced. Sometimes a discomfort may be related to physical detoxification, as the body experiences the state of optimalized physiology and starts releasing what no longer serves it. Sometimes certain discomforts are just considered hereditary, because of the family "story" that has been repeated so many times that a woman believes she cannot avoid it. Other times discomforts may be sourced in basic dietary and digestion issues, remedied once the mother attends to her food and hydration habits. Sometimes pregnancy discomforts may have to do with a woman's pre-pregnancy level of fitness - extremely sedentary habits are debilitating to the digestive tract and many other bodily systems. Other times discomforts may be related to current ongoing stressors from negatively perceived life changes such as an overworking partner or an unexpected relocation, or the subtle changes that happen from exposure to television "news" or negative gossip. Backache: Practice regal posture, use your thigh muscles when walking and lifting things; squat when reaching down rather than bending forward; wear low-heeled shoes yet shoes that have shock absorption in the heel area; exercise daily; move your pelvis with rocking or dancing the belly, apply heat to the lower back; sit crosslegged on the floor or couch rather than in a chair whenever possible; get a pregnancy massage once a month; have a serious foot massage from your partner every night, do daily Yoga. Body Image Insecurity: Focus on your new strengths and radiance; enjoy the heightened arousal physiology of especially the 2nd and 3rd trimesters; celebrate your partner's erotic attention to your even more sensitive, abundant breasts; look at artwork and photography that honors the pregnant body; use Walnut Flower essence to help you with the transitions of your body and mind in pregnancy; pamper yourself with regular pedicure from top-quality spas (good hygiene) or pregnancy massages; only wear clothes you feel beautiful and graceful in; make love freely with your partner in a relaxing, comfortable, private setting; give yourself permission to be sexual, sensual, and spiritual at the same time; stock up on sarongs in a variety of colors! Constipation: Drink plenty of liquids and avoid drinking with meals; exercise daily; eat raw or dried fruits, whole grains, and plenty of vegetables, drink Prune juice; take only Floradix as an iron supplement; on an empty stomach drink a hot liquid to stimulate bowels; relax when on the toilet, do deep slow breathing; raise your feet on a box or stool while on the toilet so that thighs are even with hips; try squatting on toilet seat instead; do regular pelvic dancing; imbibe your partner's seed (the hormones in it move the bowels and such sexual activity enhances intimacy & communication). Fatigue: Significant fatigue can occur with insufficient night sleep and lack of proper breaks during the working day. The common-sense caution about avoiding lying on your back in late pregnancy for long periods of time IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE (feeling breathing discomfort or odd circulation) or IF YOU ARE NOT IN GOOD HEALTH has been taken to absurd extremes (because of fear) and a surprising number of healthy pregnant women, regardless of their gestation trimester, falsely believe they are NEVER to lie down on their back to rest. This results in alot of unnecessary sleep loss due to not being able to fall into a deep sleep! In the last month of pregnancy, t'is true, one may have discomforts in many positions, however, lying on one's back for a short period of relaxation before sleep occurs is essential for many women. In fact, the well-known yoga asana known as corpse pose/savasana, when correctly practiced on the floor with spine straight and heels touching or very close (heavily pregnant women can add a thick pillow under the knees), is the equivalent of 4 hours sleep if done for 30 minutes. Short afternoon "awakened sleep" in savasana (even for only 5-10 minutes if you are heavily pregnant) can make or break the energy level of a pregnant woman (or a mother of young children!). Essential oil of Rosemary in a tepid-warm morning bath is invigorating for a the day ahead, and can also be inhaled directly in the late afternoon for a significant boost. Last but NOT least, be sure to carry carb snacks like healthy crackers, chapatis, or potato salad with you for afternoon snacking. A nice serving of carbs in the afternoon low is just what the brain needs to recharge - the difference is amazing. Headache: Eat at least a snack every few hours; give yourself a 15 minute footbath to relieve sinuses and head/neck muscle tension; lay down in perfect Sivasana pose for 10-15 minutes with an eye pillow(being on your back for short periods of time is perfectly healthy in late pregnancy, contrary to widespread fear about lying on one's back at any time!); apply a cool, wet cloth to your forehead and neck; ask someone to massage your neck/shoulders/face; ensure that you are having regular fresh air; sleep with an air purifier in your bedroom; if using central heat have a humidifier in your bedroom, get an acupuncture treatment; put a few drops of an Essential Oil (Lavendar for relaxation, Rosemary for invigoration) onto a handkerchief and put it on your face while resting, inhaling the aromatherapy; stimulate the acupressure point in the webbed area between the thumb and index finger for 5-10 minutes. Heartburn: Avoid spicy or deep fried foods; if you eat something spicy, eat some cooling avocado,. cilantro, or coconut along with it; eat many small meals a day rather than a couple of big ones; do not drink beverages with your meals, drink them before or a half hour after; reduce your intake of iced drinks; never lie down with a full stomach; sip sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon; slowly chew and swallow Cashews or Filberts, breathe slowly and deeply; drink some warmed organic milk with some Rosewater or a drop of Fennel Oil, along with Maple Syrup of Honey, and butter or ghee in it. Hemorrhoids: Avoid constipation; avoid sitting on the toilet for long periods of time; do pelvic floor exercises every day; apply Witch Hazel (keep a wide-mouthed jar filled with soft gauze squares and Witch Hazel near the toilet); insert a suppository of raw Garlic or raw Potato; use Comfrey, Plantain, and/or Yarrow ointment; alternate hot and cold compresses with baking soda or Comfrey in the hot water and Witch Hazel in the cold. Itching: Lots of pregnant women get itchy legs and belly! Apply calamine lotion or Oat paste/Oat milk, try Dandelion root tincture 10 drops twice a day; see an acupuncturist. Do not use any preparation containing Benadryl or Cortisone. Leg Cramps: Exercise and stretch your legs each day (half-lotus pose and rock pose are excellent yoga postures for pregnant legs; keep legs warm; see if you're eating enough calcium rich organic cheese, yoghurt, and other foods; when having a cramp, sit on the floor and straighten knee while flexing toes to the ceiling; massage the muscle; apply moist heat. Nausea: Use acupressure wrist bands found at health food stores; eat a few crackers before getting up in the morning; avoid sudden movements; eat a little yoghurt or organic cheese when you get up in the night to pee; eat several small meals a day instead of a couple large ones; avoid greasy or fried foods; sip mineral water with a good squeeze of lemo; drink Red Raspberry Leaf tea every day; take 4 or more capsules of Ginger upon arising; sit and sip a cup of Ginger tea throughout the day; take 50 mb of vitamin B6 before bed. Old Episiotomy Scar: Add vitamin E to almond or avocado oil and apply to scar during perineal/vulva massage 6 times daily (have your partner help do this at night); notice what your scar tells you about who you were and who you are now, attend to any unprocessed grief; take 30 mg Zinc daily, take 1-2 grams of quality vitamin C daily. Swelling: Eat plenty of organic/free-range protein; avoid standing for long periods; elevate legs several times a day resting up against wall while laying down with your butt near the wall (ideal) or just elevate them any way you can so they are higher than your hips; drink Watermelon juice; eat Watermelon and/or Asparagus; take 4-6 Garlic capsules a day; take 4-6 Alfalfa tablets daily; work up a sweat once a day; drink plenty of room temperature water; avoid clothing that binds; lie on your left side . Yeast Infection: Avoid all sugars in the diet (including fruits and fruit juices); avoid yeasts and molds (including yeasted breads and baked goods, and any fermented products like pickles, mustard, vinegar, beer, wine etc.); wear no underwear or only cotton ones; eat active culture organic yogurt products; add a pinch of Goldenseal root powder to yogurt and insert into vagina every 10-12 hours' abstain from sexual intercourse until infection is completely cured; treat partner by applying yogurt to penis, being sure it gets into all the creases; fill a 00 capsule with Boric Acid granules, and insert vaginally at bedtime for two consecutive nights, skip one night, then insert one capsule on each of two more nights. Varicose Veins: Exercise regularly; elevate legs as above; when you must stand for long periods of time wear support knee-highs; don't cross your legs when you sit in a chair; wear shoes with well-padded heels for shock abosorbency; continue shoulder stand asana in pregnancy if you did it regularly preconception; use homeopathic Hamemelis 30x 3times a day. Weird Dreams/Nagging Anxieties: Write them out on paper and see how you feel afterwards; express them to your midwife, therapist, doula, or minister; wait them out and see what they reveal to you about your birth preparation process - it's the women who DON'T have any anxieties or weird dreams that traditional midwives consider higher risk. Apparently weird dreams and anxieties are brain functions to prepare you for big changes to come. |
| Pregnancy, Optimal Health, and Daily Transitions |
 | |  | |  | |  | | | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | | |
