Christmas gifts that don’t spoil us rotten
Time is precious
One of the most crucial times for proper self-care is during pregnancy. We go from being a single vessel, carrying our own heavy load, to a vessel carrying the weight of two. No matter how small that other load is, it’s entire existence is feeding off of ours. We physically and emotionally need more energy, strength, stamina, relaxation and balance.
This is what makes Yoga a truly holistic practice, and one which is ideal for all prenatal stages. Holistic practices benefit you as a whole person, not simply one aspect. It’s not only good for relieving, say, muscular tension, it’s also an effective tool for mind-clarification and system regulating.
Benefits of prenatal yoga
- Relieves muscular tension
- Helps you find balance both physically & emotionally
- Gives you time to connect with your body and baby
- Increases stamina and strength
- Calms the mind and reduces stress
Find balance when you need it most
One very noticeable change which occurs even before a baby bump starts showing, is the increase of two major hormones – estrogen and progesterone. This will often cause fluctuations in mood levels, energy levels, and can regularly alter our general perception of things. Being ruled by our hormones is one of the most peculiar and frustrating occurrences, leaving sufferers feeling seriously emotionally drained. “Through deep breathing, we activate the parasympathetic mode, which is responsible for relaxation. When our bodies are in that mode, our digestions operate properly, we tend to sleep better, and our immune system is at its optimal.” (Fit Pregnancy)
Profound breathing allows us to fine-tune our balance and is a key technique in all yoga poses. Master your breath, and you’ll conquer the rest!
Hips don’t lie
Literally, the strain of child-bearing is very apparent in the pelvic region. Our hips tighten due to additional pressure of the babies weight in our bellies. The lower back develops an extended outward curve pulled forward by the new centre of gravity, and to top it all off, if you’ve got big breasts going on, welcome to Town Discomfort. Population: Your shoulders. All major issues that can be soothed and pampered by a little time on the magical mat.
Time to practice!
Katy Appleton, founder of appleyoga.com has graced the internet with one of the best instructional yoga videos currently out there. She makes watching an instructional video feel like a spa treatment. Katy is a qualified birth partner (doula) with plenty of experience assisting and supporting women in labour. Due to her years of teaching prenatal yoga she has been able to understand exactly what is helpful during a birth process and gives clear and concise tools on how to manage your birth from a place of knowledge and grace. Check out episode 1 of her Pregnancy Yoga series on popular health YouTube channel ‘Tonic’:
Become diploma-certified with our online Yoga course
At The School of Natural Health Sciences we are passionate about living a balanced lifestyle. We believe that spreading holistic knowledge breeds healthy habits, and that’s exactly how we’ve come to attain over 57 holistic therapy courses from Holistic Massage Therapy to Child Psychology. One of our most popular courses, Yoga, is a fundamental in holistic self-care, and in high-demand throughout the health industry. We don’t offer a qualification in prenatal yoga but our accredited course provides a valuable qualification for career-enhancing, and makes the perfect add-on for any therapists tool-kit, or anyone wanting to benefit from the healing powers of yoga. Our philosophy of stress-free learning, enables our students to study at their own pace, on their own schedule for very little cost. Learning should be a joy, not a chore, and that’s exactly how we’ve designed our lesson plans. Choose to self-study or have the option of a qualified tutor to guide you along the way, there’s something for everyone! Contact us with any enquiries, we’d be delighted to hear from you!
What to expect from our Yoga course
This course covers the basic benefits for obtaining relaxation through the principle of yoga. You will be enlightened by the techniques, and postures, together with stretching exercises, that will tone the body and enhance the mind. The course includes a detailed routine, which is easy to follow, bringing the benefits of relieving stress and clearing the mind. It is a stand alone course, aimed at students who wish to obtain ‘competence in practising and teaching yoga.’
The diploma correspondence course of 11 lessons includes:
- The yoga principle
- Basic postures
- Warm up & relaxation techniques
- Seated postures: The right angle, the disciple, easy posture, siamese, etc
- Kneeling postures: The diamond, japanese, thunder bolt.
- Leg postures and stretches
- Breathing, nose, relaxed/easy breathing, ribcage breathing, top breathing, the breathing umbrella, deep breathing and the throat sound.
- Breath retention, rhythmic breathing, balanced breathing, square breathing, alternate nostril breathing
- The breathing sequence, cleansing breaths, standing ha breath
- Seated cleansing breath – prana
- Basic stretch, the forward droop, the backward arch, standing warm-up routine, spinal rolls, the rolling ball, simple sideways rolls, prone lifts
- Body Movement, bottom shuffle, the scissors, the bear walk, salute to the sun, tree vrksasana, wide leg stretch, standing head to knee pose, warrior pose 1 and 2, sideways leg stretch, triangle, gate, camel, forward bend, forward bend over one leg, cobra, locust, the bow, dog, leg raising, head stand etc.
Namaste!
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