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Treat your unborn to a little Sun Breath

by Skylar Hill-Jackson
published in FOYTSpace, 2002.

Today when a woman finds out she is pregnant often her next thought is, “I want to get into shape for the labour so I think I’ll take yoga classes during my pregnancy” even though she has never practised yoga before.

Specially designed pregnancy yoga classes have been offered in a couple of Toronto locations for the past 16 years but there wasn’t much mainstream interest until recently. “We would have only four or five pregnant women in each class”, says Skylar Hill-Jackson, co-founder and director of BABY & ME FITNESS.

Although yoga arrived in North America in 1920, its first widespread popularity came in the l960s when celebrities like George Harrison and John Lennon got involved. But it enjoyed even greater popularity in the ‘90s, with the likes of Madonna, Alannis Morisette and Donna Karan promoting its benefits. Even Marge and Homer Simpson have been seen participating.

Many pregnant women find yoga can make their pregnancy more comfortable and labour is easier and shorter. “Yoga increases flexibility, calmness and especially confidence throughout pregnancy and during the birth process,” says Karen Weinthal, co-founder and director of BABY & ME FITNESS and veteran Women’s College Hospital childbirth educator. “Afterwards, new moms often find the yoga postures can help lessen the effects of backache and depression”.

Yoga is for everyone. With this in mind BABY & ME FITNESS continues to offer a variety of yoga classes to guide pregnant women and new moms through traditional yoga postures specially designed so no previous yoga experience is necessary.

“We feel honoured to introduce the practise of classical yoga postures to pregnant women, draw their husbands/partners in with pregnant couples yoga, encourage new moms to return to yoga with their new babies and then continue with family yoga--and we hope these new parents will continue practising yoga as an important part of their focus on a healthy family,” says Hill-Jackson.

Today yoga continues to be the newest trend in the fitness, health and wellness community. For many people, yoga’s thousands of postures and centuries of tradition provide a way of obtaining spiritual reform by perfecting the body’s positions.

Yoga can help moms in a number of ways, both before and after giving birth by opening and strengthening the pelvic area, helping with balance, increasing support, promoting deep breathing and helping develop the relaxation pose which prevents strain on the spine. It allows women to enter the postnatal period feeling energized and positive.

Regular yoga practise will raise a pregnant woman’s general level of health and energy, reduce stress, release chronic tension from joints, ligaments and muscles, and protect her spine and lower back from the physical demands of a growing baby. Yoga will also increase her vitality, and sense of power and serenity.

Practising adapted and modified postpartum yoga postures will improve a new mother’s circulation, respiration, flexibility, strength and all her vital body functions.

Modified classical yoga exercises can also help get babies’ tiny bodies moving. Yoga postures give babies a sense of their bodies. There are 72,000 yoga poses so a new mother doesn’t have to fuss with technique. Any sort of gentle movement or stretching is relaxing for the baby. With baby yoga postures the mother is using touch as well as eye contact with her baby which in turn strengthens the mother-child bond.

As well, participants often find their child much more relaxed at the end of a session than at the beginning. BABY & ME’s instructors take care to make sure babies never go beyond their limits and encourage moms to let their infants tell them what they can do by their reactions.

Pregnant couples yoga 3-hour workshops teach prospective moms and dads yoga postures for comfort during labour, deep relaxation and breathing. “The women found their husbands were delighted to be so intimately involved at this stage in their pregnancy”, say Weinthal who leads the childbirth preparation segment.

The sessions are held in a relaxing atmosphere with candles, music, gentle waterfall sounds, pillows and mats.

Another new offering entitled Family Yoga is a five-week program for new parents with babies six to 18 months old. The course enhances bonding, touch and relaxation between parents and the new baby through a three-part combination of gentle yoga postures for the parents, parents and baby and for the baby alone. The classic poses which are taught can be used forever.
“It is be a quiet little oasis in which busy parents can focus on the heartbeat of the family,” says Weinthal.

Celebrating 16 years in 2003 BABY & ME FITNESS believes that yoga during pregnancy and after the birth promotes a healthy pregnancy, healthy woman and baby, healthy postpartum recovery, and healthy and happy family.

BABY & ME Pregnancy and Postpartum Fitness Inc. est 1987 offers pre/postnatal fitness programs throughout the GTA and Mississauga. Thousands of women have gone through the programs. With 10 locations BABY & ME FITNESS is always looking for yoga instructors. Pre/postnatal yoga teacher training 10-hour credit workshops are offered twice a year.