rather than existing in harmony with it. This results in any combination of structural imbalances such as tight shoulders, protruding head and neck, exaggerated spinal curves, rigid pelvis, stiff legs, etc., and the inevitable headaches, backaches, and other aches and pains which accompany them.
This state of affairs is brought about by the stresses and strains of modern life, sedentary life styles, loss of contact with nature, poor postural habits and physical education, and the suppression of emotions which are commonplace in our society. Most of us, without ever being aware of it, end up carrying a load of unnecessary tension around with us, actually bound up in our muscles and joints. Without our knowing it, this limits our physical and mental potential and separates us from our instinctive selves. Yoga gets to the root of tension in the body and gives us an opportunity to breathe, let go and release it. It is a fundamental approach to relaxation which has tremendous transformative potential and power at any time, but it is particularly appropriate in pregnancy.
While some yoga positions involve a complex combination of movements which affect different parts of the body simultaneously, a simple forward bend will help us to understand how the underlying mechanical principle of yoga-based exercise works.
A forward bend is a positional exercise to encourage passive relaxation of the hamstring muscles at the back of the legs, while the body is positioned to allow maximal movement of the hip joints in relation to gravity.
TRY THIS:
Stand upright with your feet about 12 inches apart and parallel. Allow your weight to settle down into your heels as you exhale, until you feel your feet are well grounded. Now, without bending your knees, bend forward slowly from your hips keeping your spine straight.
Hold for a few seconds, breathing deeply, and then come up slowly.
You no doubt felt a stretching sensation in the muscles at the back of your legs as the movement caused them to lengthen and relax. You are probably wondering why this was painful, if the muscles were relaxing. The reason is that it is so long since you have made the full movement that the hamstring muscles at the back of your legs have shortened and lost their elasticity, restricting your ability to move forward.
Nature has designed your body to be able to fold over like a jack-knife, with your stomach and chest flat against your thighs and the palms of your hands on the ground in front of you. Of course, during the later months of pregnancy, this can only be done with legs apart to make room for your belly! (See here) In this position your feet are firmly grounded and gravity draws your trunk forward with a hingelike movement from the hips. Your spine should be completely passive and relaxed while the front of your body contracts and the hamstring muscles lengthen and extend.
Breathing deeply while in the position allows you to release the tightness you feel until eventually you can make the movement with greater ease.
You will probably find, as you experiment with other movements, that this state of chronic tension exists throughout your body to some degree, affecting some areas more than others. The most effective way to become more relaxed and supple is by beginning to make the neglected movements we were designed by nature to make. It is simply a matter of spending some time each day practising them. Gradually stiff muscles will lengthen and regain their elasticity, and joints will become more mobile as tension is released.
The programme of yoga-based exercises that follows will cultivate relaxation and flexibility in a safe, passive and non-strenuous way, which harnesses the help of the forces of gravity and your natural potential for movement. Pregnancy is a unique and marvellous time to let go of habitual tensions and to allow your body to become more open and relaxed.
‘I’d never exercised before and found some of the positions quite hard to start with but gradually, with practice, I loosened up. I concentrated mainly on about six or seven exercises which I tried to do every day.’
The benefits of yoga-based exercise
As your muscles become more elastic and your joints more supple, the balance of the muscle-pulls that support and move your body improves. Muscles work in teams – while one team is relaxing and lengthening, the other is contracting and shortening. By balancing the opposing teams of muscle-pull, your joints articulate better and your posture automatically improves. This ensures that you are carrying your baby correctly and will help to prevent backache.
‘I found that the most comfortable ways to rest, watch TV or read were either to sit in the tailor position on the floor or on all fours leaning on cushions. The latter position was invaluable whenever I got backache.’
Breathing well depends on good posture. When your pelvis and spine are in good balance and your shoulders are relaxed, your chest cavity can expand easily so that breathing is not restricted. This ensures good oxygenation of the blood to nourish both you and your baby throughout pregnancy.
As you become familiar with the exercises you will find movements which alleviate the minor discomforts of pregnancy, such as heartburn, pain in the hip joints or in the ribs, cramps in the legs or headaches.
Your circulation depends upon your muscles. Blood vessels run through your muscles acting as pumps and return blood from your lower body back up to your heart. If a muscle is stiff then the blood vessels running through it are constricted and your blood circulation (and indeed, indirectly, the circulation to your baby in the womb) will be restricted. The exercises help to ensure that your baby is getting everything he needs to grow healthy and strong. Problems associated with poor circulation – varicose veins, haemorrhoids (piles), or fluid retention – will be prevented or improved. Yoga tends to lower the blood pressure and can often help to prevent problems associated with rising blood pressure. (See Chapter 11.)
Yoga helps to combat fatigue. If muscles are stiff and movement is restricted, the flow of energy is ‘blocked’. After a session of exercise you will feel invigorated and refreshed, and more alive. Over time this will increase and your pregnancy can be a time when you feel healthier and more energetic than ever.
The most comfortable positions in pregnancy will naturally extend into the labour itself. So, without needing to think about it very much, you will have cultivated ease and comfort in the natural positions for birth used by women through the ages. You will be able to move freely and instinctively like a primitive woman – your body will know what to do. Yoga will help you to be more deeply in touch with your own centre. It will be easier to behave involuntarily, and to surrender to the powerful forces within your body during labour.
‘When the contractions became very strong I knelt upon the delivery bed and leant over a very large firm cushion – this seemed to be a natural position for me to adopt as I had used it so much in late pregnancy.’
‘Yoga prepared me to relax as much as possible during and between contractions, to stay squatting, and to give birth in a position which allowed me to let go.’
As stiffness lessens, you will be helping your body to become free of pain. You will learn how to become familiar with the discomforts and even the pain of going beyond your usual limits. As your labour and birth demand going beyond your normal limits, positioning your body to do this physically during pregnancy prepares you gradually for this, so that when the time of labour arrives you are familiar with this kind of effort. Yoga teaches you to surrender to the forces within your body. This is the best possible practice for labour and will help you to cope with the intensity of the sensations of your contracting uterus.
‘By exercising, I learned how to be at one physically and emotionally with the changes which would inevitably lead to the birth of my child. The teaching enabled me to “go with” my body, even when the pain was a burden. I was physically and also theoretically prepared for everything that was to happen to me and I approached the final events