Staying Grounded: How to sit on the floor?

In such modernized society we're breeding in, we're developing a " Chair Culture" without realizing it.
At home, we sit on the couches. When travel, we sit on the transport seats. At work, we sit on chairs. Even in the toilet, we still sit on the bowls!

And eventually, our body resemble a chair ( knees can hardly bend much to a squat). This habitually sitting makes our hip joints really stiff and tight.

Mums! Time to practice the " Floor Culture". Take more time to sit on the floor, overtime, you may notice that your knee and hips are more relax and open.
Put cushions for more comfort too!

Some basic way of sitting:

Cross -legged. Like how children sit on the floor in pre-school.

The Butterfly

Our intention is to be able to sit as long as how we used to be siting on a chair.
Don't worry about how much stretch you can get from these poses. Just keep comfortable, and keep the legs loosely crossed.

For mums who find it really hard to get balance when sitting on the floor--- very much due to super tight hip/knee joints and rounded back. Lean against the wall for support.
Don't forget, you can always stuff cushion to give the posture a soft- touch.

Sitting on the floor, brings us very close in touch to the earth. There comes a nice feeling of rooted-ness. As we feel a good sense of grounded-ness, both you and the little one  growing inside will also feel a good deal of security.

Get comfy!

Haaa~ Its the Cooling Breath!

So, you notice that the sweat glands has becoming very active these days; you tend to sweat more frequent and easily than usual. Maybe sometimes a couple of heat gushing up as the heart thumping loudly, you're having a slight heart- burn.
Has the rise of your body temperature becomes reasons for: moodiness, easily irritated, short- tempered...

Learn how to regulate your body temperature through your breaths. Do you know that we can warm -up our breaths and cool them down too? By manipulation.
This post, i will introduce a cooling breathing technique.

There are two ways to practice this:

                                                                   Roll your tongue                                                                           

If you can't roll your tongue...

                                                                       Show your teeth
    

How to do it:

Inhaling ( one full breath) through the mouth ( imagine you've just ate some spicy food/ chili padi);

and Exhaling through the nostrils. 

You can practice this for 10 -20 rounds.

* Practice Cooling Breaths only in a clean place--- Indoors ( as breathing through the mouth does not go through filtration)

* If you're asthmatic, this practice is not for you:) 

Enjoy the cool breeze!

Something for All: Legs Up The Wall

Most modern mums still prefers to be out to work, comparing to staying at home. This enables mums to interact with people around them, which makes them happier. This also means that you can get physically worn out at a higher rate.

You once used to be able to brisk walk, fleeting from street to street.... but now you feel like you're carrying a giant body, stomping like an elephant. 

When you finally reach home, you check out a whole list of discomforts in your body:

Backaches, Shoulder/ Neck tight, Uncomfortable tightness in the hip joints ( where you can never point out the exact spot), sudden muscles cramps in the middle of the night, water retention in the legs, veins in the calves popping out ( green, purple, blue and red)....

No worries, it just time for some restorative practice. A passive inversion pose:

Legs Up The Wall ( Viparita Karani)

This is one of my favorite pose i like to bring it into the class, a simple pose that offers so many benefits.

Get a comfortable spot in your house, invert both of our legs up against the wall ( L shape in line with the wall). Stay there for about 5-15minutes--- in the morning after when you wake up, or/and in the evening before you snooze!

* Grab some soft pillows and slot them anywhere under your back for support. 

* Make sure that your head should be in the same level or higher then the rest of the hip---- otherwise you may experience giddiness.

Alternatively...

If you are suffering from slipped/ herniated disc, any spine injury that prevents you from keeping a straight knees, or with super tight hamstrings. No worries!

Consider this alternative pose, resting your legs on a chair to soften the spine. You'll still reap the same benefits:)

Enjoy the pose fully by closing your eyes, and freeing your breaths!

What pose to be avoided?

What type of poses should be avoided during prenatal? This is a common question asked.
Prone poses ( anything that makes you to lie flat in the tummy and chest) are a big NO NO. Why do you even want to flatten the tummy huh?

All others such as twist, side stretch, standing, back-bend and forward bend--- can be done with gentleness.

Full Inversion, friend or foe? There are many debates about it. No doubt that I've seen pregnant warriors inverting themselves. BUT, only if you have been practicing yoga for a long time, even in the advanced level, experienced with inversion. 
Stay away, or modify the pose.

Prenatal yoga offers a great opportunity to practice with compassion and surrendering any ego-ness. All mums knows that, the last thing they want is to hurt the little one. Like i say, a pregnant body is incomparable to the body you once knew.

Some mums can be really hyper and active. Its good to be move--- also accept the fact that as the tummy grows, limitation sets in--- as much as not able to see your own feet and cut your own toe nails.
Be patient, slow down and enjoy the moments!

Breath in a Yogic Way!

The Yogic Breath, is a very basic principle of how our body will react when we inhale or exhale. This sounds so logically, but why do we still have to learn them--- if it happens naturally?

The issue is, not many people allow their breaths to flow freely--- maybe due to the fast pace of the lifestyle and piling up stress level. The common ones are: really shallow upper chest breathing and reverse breathing.

Yogic Breath is a good head start when you are in the First Trimester. Because when your tummy starts growing, this exercise may be a little too challenging.

Let set your breathing pattern right!
Easier option: Lie down on your back ( knees bend or straight, whichever one is comfortable for your lower back)

Divide your body into 3 parts: The Abdomen, The Rib-cage, The Chest
Inhaling: 
Breathe down into the Abdomen so that it bloats, then continue to fill up the rib-cage area so that it expands, and one last inhale to fill up the chest.

Exhaling:
Release the air slowly from the chest, then the rib-cage and one last bit of exhale to release the abdomen, so that they soften down towards the spine.

This is one round. Do about 10 rounds daily.
When you're confident with the practice, try the same method sitting up ( a chair or on the floor cross legged).

When to start Prenatal practice?

The preferred period for a physical prenatal practice, i would say---  when you enter into the Second Trimester ( 4th month or after 12 weeks).

During the First Trimester ( first 3 months or the first 12 weeks), the hormones changes drastically, and most mums do experience morning sickness, which can even last for the whole day. Every pregnancy is unique. Some mums do get morning sickness and vomiting right till giving birth, some lucky ones do not even get it from the start. 

Once you pass the First Trimester, you can check out for the Prenatal Classes in your area--- don't be shy, you'll get to meet all other mums from everywhere. So, you're not alone:)

What to do during the First Trimester?

While the body is stabilizing in the initial stage, try to take rest as much as possible. Learn some simple deep breathing practice: The Yogic Breath ( look out  the next post)

The objective is to relax and calm the fluctuation of the body. 

A " pregnant body" is not your "usual body". Every cells sort of re-group and coming into a total new formation. Embrace the changes, and say hello to your new body!

A blog for all Mums-To-Be.... Its Prenatal Time!

This blog is specially created for all first time or repeated mums-to-be, welcome!

Couples months back, there's a sudden rise of mums stepping on the mats for prenatal practice. I reckoned it's due to the arrival "dragon year" in 2012. 

Anxious about being a mum for the first time? Don't worry, you are not alone.

In a spur, i would like to share some simple workout and tips for a breezy nine months:)

Nope. I've never been pregnant before, not given birth before and don't have a child... not yet. But i do understand what you are and will be going through, and do check out the posts for remedies!

I started teaching prenatal yoga since 2009. In this blog, will share my experiences with mums coming from all walks of life; be it expatriate living in Singapore or authentic locals; of various shapes and sizes.

Happy reading!