YOGA IN PREGNANCY Yoga with its dictum of moderation and with its vision of a complete integrated human being has plenty to offer to a mother-to-be and a young mother.

You Need to Relax ...

"TENSION IS DISEASE, RELAXATION IS HEALTH", is often voiced in Yoga. For a mother, relaxation could be the difference between an easy and more pleasant delivery and a long, anxious, painful one.

Relaxation does not entirely depend on a position or place, it is a state of mind. For a pregnant mother, the ability to relax completely will help her enjoy pregnancy, delivery and nurturing the baby as well.

During pregnancy, rest and relaxation are particularly important, given the demands on the body. A very good asana for relaxation is Dradhasana. The growing baby likes it too as he can sleep with you!

Dradhasana:

Lie on either side using the arm which is towards the ground as a 'pillow' by flexing it below the head and keeping the upper arm on the flexed leg. The lower leg is kept straight while the-upper one is bent. This posture eliminates pressure on the back and relaxes it.

Nispandabhava:

Nis means 'no', Spanda means 'movement', Bhava, 'reflection'.

This is a wonderful practice where the woman either sits on the ground or a chair with the base of the back touching the wall or back of a chair, legs thrown forward, arms relaxed, hands on the thighs, eyes closed, neck, eyelids, face relaxed. One listens to a low rhythmic or a faint sound. Music which is soothing can also be used. The use of passive listening induces calmness and relaxation. This practice can be done several times a day either on the chair or while travelling. The passive listening attitude induced will be needed many times during and after the birth of the baby, as the woman steps into the role of motherhood.

Minati, a Yoga teacher exclaimed, "My pregnancy and labour were very simple. I have to thank Yoga for that, as what to do, what not to do, was known to me. Since I was prepared mentally, the fear of the unknown was eliminated and serenity was experienced."

Narrates Priyam - "While I panicked and squirmed as my contrac¬tions occured, I watched with disbelief two Koli women who were going through their first deliveries with utmost confidence totally relaxed while I laboured not with love but with fear. In retrospect, I think it was their simple acceptance of life and birth as normal that helped the baby to come a little closer to its entrance in the world"

The mother's conscious co-operation with this event definitely helps.