Friday, July 18, 2008
Issues in pregnancy... part 1
To begin with I'm 37, and am currently 20 weeks into my third pregnancy. My life with a pregnant body over the past 5 years has coincided with the second half of a decade of daily ashtanga practice, opening and growing an Ashtanga Yoga school in Spokane, WA and continuing to advance in my own studies. I'm not an authorized teacher, (and most likely never will be) I spent the years of my life (in my 20's, before marriage, having children, and in general householding) when I might have been in India, training and competing around the world in rowing.
As far as how my body felt and what I did on my mat during my pregnancies, it has differed from the first pregnancy to my second, and again with my third. For one thing, my practice has advanced despite the fact that there has only been about 18 months interspaced over the past five years that I've not been either pregnant or nursing or recovering from pregnancy. Prior to my first pregnancy I was proficient at first series but still not open enough to bind in supta kormasana, and also still not dropping back. Prior to my second pregnacy I had gotten up to eka pada sirsasana in intermediate, and prior to my third pregnancy I had just added vashistasana from the first advanced series.
But more importantly prior to my first pregnancy I was still sleeping all night long (something that now five years later only happens a few nights a year).
I bring this point up because how much rest you get is very much going to affect what you are going to want to be doing on your mat during your pregnancies.
Because I was able to have enough sleep, and my pregnancy was progressing normally there was no indication that I should adjust my practice other than for my growing belly - so I was able to practice 5-6 days a week up until the last month, and because I wasn't doing advanced backbends before I was pregnant, it wasn't a question during.
Above is a way of continuing with the prone backbends while pregnant. In the picture I am about 18 weeks in my current pregnancy, and I've just taken two blankets rolled up and placed one under my lowest ribs, above the zyphoid process, and one under my hip bones. You can continue doing these backbends on the blankets for most of your pregnancy putting no pressure on your uterus and is a way of keeping your back muscles strong. This will help counter the growing weight on the front of your body and the tendancy for extra forward tilt of the pelvis.
The picture of kapotasana is also at 18 weeks - and because I have abdominal separation/diastasis recti from my two previous pregnancies, I have been backing off of this pose and will stop this and other deeper backbends after my fifth month.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Pregnancy, Menstruation and Motherhood...
(Entirely paraphrasing here)
MENSTRUATION (not practicing during). Nancy says she originally, as a liberated '70s hippie chick, thought this was just brahmin chauvinistic bullshit. Quickly changed her mind. Extremely bad idea to attempt bandhas or inversions, because they are completely contrary to the body's natural downward flow. So ashtanga practice an absolute no-no. OK to do some other kind of gentle asana practice if you really want to – but also a good opportunity to practice non-attachment to daily asana practice.
PREGNANCY. Absolutely fine for women who already have an established ashtanga practice to continue all through pregnancy (obviously with much modification in the later stages, although Nancy says she had a student who practiced third series into the ninth month) Wait three months after birth before resuming ashtanga practice. Not a good idea for pregnant women who haven't done yoga before to start with ashtanga - fine to start with other forms of yoga practice.
MOTHERHOOD. Children are sent to to disrupt all your preconceptions, shatter your attachment to your yoga practice, make you rethink everything you thought you knew about your future, your present and your past. Graphic description of Nancy as single parent yoga teacher, trying to nurse baby with one hand & adjust students with the other. Apparently the students were fine with this. Must be nice to have such supportive students.
TEACHING CHILDREN YOGA. Fine for small kids to play with asanas - although no headstands before the age of 12 as the bones of the skull aren't completely fused yet. Not so good for adolescents circa 14 to 17 - the bones are growing faster than the muscles, joints are unstable, stretching can be very uncomfortable & unpleasant. Nancy has no problem with parents bringing small children into class – good opportunity for the childless students to learn to chill out and let go of their beliefs about how a yoga class “should” be. (Having gone through the finishing sequence at one of Lino's workshops with Lino's six year old son Oliver and my friend Günther's nine year old son Alex playing next to me, I completely agree). Her daughter (now 19) does yoga but normally chooses to go to another teacher.