- Savita Joshi
Out of every three women, one mother gives birth by cesarean section – according to Hamilton Statistics. Why? There are obviously many reasons such as age, pain tolerance, stress, and fertility issues to name a few. According to National center for Health Statistics, 6-8% of the pregnant population has pregnancy related high blood pressure problems. All these statistics are not to scare the readers, but only to educate and help find right solutions. Good news. More than 50% of Yoga Bharati Prenatal class participants deliver babies normally. They have had less complications, higher baby birth weight, low chance of gestational diabetes and pregnancy related hypertension. Most of the women decide to do Yoga very early, as early as in 6 weeks. Some decide to take up yoga even prior to getting pregnant. As per our findings, more than 80% of women who have taken up Yoga at Yoga Bharati to improve fertility have conceived within 6 months. Yoga Bharati has provided classes for more than 200 pregnant ladies just in the South Bay Area.
Yoga is more than a curative solution – it is a preventive science,. But most of us turn towards Yoga only when we have health issues. Yoga helps greatly during pregnancy. When I conceived my first child I was a little nervous in terms of my age and natural child birth. I decided to take up prenatal yoga class for myself. I kept a walking routine along with the yoga classes. Combination of the two helped me greatly to handle general pregnancy discomforts and have a natural, normal childbirth.
Practice of yoga helps to stay within the acceptable weight gain range. It also helps build awareness of the body and mind complex. Yoga, especially Pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation, reduces stress and calms down the mind. Labor breathing during child birth helped me tackle labor pains and deliver without epidural. One has to surrender and experience the natural birthing process to enjoy the beautiful process of creation. Mantra chanting brings about concentration and focus, and makes the process of delivery, smooth and enjoyable. Conditions such as pregnancy induced diabetes (gestational diabetes) can be managed properly with the practices of Pranayama and meditation. Hard emotions such as anger, fear and anxiety are controlled and soft emotions such as love and compassion are cultivated with the practice of Yoga.
At what age does the child starts perceiving things?
This question comes to our mind when we think of child’s development and giving the right exposure. Renowned Indian epic Mahabharata brings about a beautiful story of Abhimanyu learning the fighting skills of breaking the enemy’s formation while being in mother’s womb.
Savita Joshi is the Treasurer of Yoga Bharati and an experienced Prenatal Yoga Instructor. She also specializes in Women’s Yoga and also therapeutic applications such as Yoga for Back pain, Arthritis, Asthma, Weight Management, etc.
This article was published in the Souvenir of International Yoga Conference 2012 by Yoga Bharati. Read below for Full Souvenir.