Hi Bettina! I was wondering about the last exsercise of week 3, should we post it here in the forum or Is it jus for ourselves? I was also wondering if you have any tips for your students how to remember all the information while in labour? I myself struggled whit that during labour when I turned inwards it was easy to forget things like that you shouldn’t lie on your back to get baby in the right position.
Hi Anna, It would be great for you to share some of your answers for Activity 4 here.
As for remembering during birth. It really is about practice. The more you do, the more likely you are to remember during the rush of birth. Although some people use other things to remind them. Eg. Visual reminders (making a little alter of things to remind them), affirmation cards etc. Some women use music during pregnancy and bring the same music into birth as a subconscious cue to relax. Getting your partner to have enough knowledge to cue these things is also great. Or hiring a doula or midwife who can be that person for oyu.
Hello. I would like to share my yoga for birth class plan. Please let me know if there are any changes you think would improve it, or switching the order of the class to make it flow better. 🙂
Begin with a opening and welcome to class chat to briefly explain the class, ensure that everyone is feeling well and okay to practice, and to ask any questions now/during/after class.
Then move into a meditation which connects mum and baby, begins to relax mum into the class and some visualisations for birth.
Move into a couple restorative, supported poses, following by a couple of sitting poses to relieve any aches/pain in legs.
Then progress into tabletop poses, knee lunges, squats and warriors. During this section I would provide information about the pelvic inlet and outlet, creating space and alignment, so that the body is opening and allowing optimal positioning of the baby, all while building stamina to assist at birth.
A long supported/restorative savasana will follow with a guided meditation for releasing fear/anxiety around birth.
Lastly, we would practise a few breath work techniques to assist during labour, including Bee breath and Ujjaji.
Finish formal class but encourage a discussion around self-care to increase oxytocin, the role of the partner/doula/midwife in labour, massage, rest and meditation in preparation and during birth.
Here is my thoughts about how i would teach and provide the information. I would put in some bits and pieces throughout the course. For example I would do keep ups/ goddess pose or chair pose one time each class to practise stamina over time. I would do fear release meditations in different variations for multiple classes in the course because I think fear is a recurring feeling during pregnancy. I would talk about the benefits of ujaji breath and deep belly breathing before we meditate. I would drop information about how the baby is passing through the birth canal during labour when we do tabletop and talk about ideal positions for birth, and in the same time encourage movement in tabletop position to practice finding out what movements the body needs during labour. Maybe I also would have one class that focus more on birth where I provide more information (a bit like your yoga wisdom for birth) and we would practise stamina positions, deep relaxation and different breathing techniques (deep belly breathing and bee breath)
I especially love that you’re feeling confident to run a circle at the end for discussion. It’s not always the easiest part (especially if they’re not keen on talking – you’ll have to!) but it’s so valuable.
I love this Anna. Weaving into your regular classes is such a great way to share with those who aren’t quite ready to commit to a birth workshop or class.
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