I am writing this blog to share my passion to work with perinatal women. I started studying yoga therapy because it helped connect to my inner wisdom and I wanted others to access it too. I did much of my yoga therapy education during my first pregnancy. The important portion of the coursework was the nine-month-long practicum and it so happened that I got pregnant at the same time. Pregnancy and yoga therapy supported each other. Pregnancy made me slow down, do only what my body was capable of and yoga therapy helped me have an empowered pregnancy. What does ’empowerment’ mean? I define it as the ability to know what is right for me, the ability to make my own decisions and own my pregnancy.

This is definitely a transformation that happened during pregnancy. I started off the practicum with so much uncertainty (finishing all requirements on time) and the pregnancy with so many questions. Did I mention it was my first pregnancy? I wanted to do everything to have a natural birth to set the baby off healthy but it seemed so daunting. Pregnancy is a wide spectrum of symptoms. I was tracking my pregnancy with apps, read some birth books, hired a doula, transferred to the birth center, picked my midwives’ brain at each visit and took hypnobirthing classes. Although they all helped get some familiarity, the true transformation happened from the yoga therapy practice which kept involving my whole self not just my intellectual mental body. I noticed it a few times during the pregnancy when choices were presented to me, even though I had no familiarity with the situation, I could make my decisions myself instead of asking the healthcare providers for their input. That’s because one’s inner consciousness knows whats right for the unique being each of us is and the signals come through the body, breath, and an inner knowing. Yoga therapy helps us access it.

I realized this transformation had happened in me after birth when my friend and I were exchanging birth stories. She let her healthcare team make decisions for her but later when we discussed, she was obviously not peaceful about her decisions because they are not her own. That’s when I realized that moms need support to help access their inner strength. They don’t need to have an MD in Obstetrics to know what is happening in their body. Why is accessing this power important? There are several reasons but the key ones that stand out to me are:

1. Given the spectrum of normal pregnancy, doctors know the choices for each condition but don’t know what’s right for you (the mom) from among those choices. Your inner wise self is screaming when it hears the choice but most of us don’t pay attention
2. You, the mom owns the pregnancy, the birth process, and its outcome. When one does that, the quality of acceptance of each birth as it manifested develops. I have experienced that myself when I first baby was stillborn. I was able to come to an acceptance of his death in two days without blaming myself or my support team. Not only for an extreme case of death but many moms aspire to have natural birth only to get surprised by interventions that they were dreading.

Once I found this passion, I took some time studying prenatal yoga teacher training. Now, grounded in my experience, I combine my safety knowledge of prenatal yoga and my training as a yoga therapist in facilitating one-one yoga therapy sessions.

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In this video, I talk about my new found joy of cooking in clay pots. Checkout xtrema for premium ceramic pots or find a potter near you. Happy homemaker on youtube is a good guide for how to use clay pots without enamel coating. I have found that it has slowed me down more leading me to physical and mental health. The connection with earth offers a spiritual connection to nature as well. So, it supports the healing of my whole self.

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In this video, I talk about experience leading a day with love. Try it and comment on your experience. May you be loved.

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According to the Buddha, there are eleven benefits for who practice Metta:

• You will sleep well
• You will wake with ease
• You will enjoy your dreams
• People will love you
• Celestial beings will love you
• Celestial beings will protect you
• You will be safe from external dangers
• Your face will be radiant
• Your mind will be serene
• You will be clear and unconfused at the time of your death
• You will be reborn in a higher and happier realm

I had an informal practice of Metta meditation. I knew its great to do it at night before going to bed. When I can’t sleep, I will start Metta meditation and drift off to sleep before I finish. I decided to do a dedicated 20mins Metta meditation practice before bed one day. The night I did it, I fell asleep shortly after and I work up one hour before my wake-up time. I had all this extra time that I could practice mindfulness meditation with ease. This was a huge shift. My body didn’t need an extra hour. I was well rested, so I could meditate with ease. Mindfulness is described in many ways but I like my teacher Heather Stang‘s explain it as falling awake to the present moment.

S.N.Geonka says in the 10-day vipassana discourse that the benefits of walking on the path of dhamma are felt immediately. Dhamma is translated as the law of nature but I understand it as the path to enlightenment taught by Buddha. That’s the first thing that came to me when I woke up easily and meditated. Since then I have noticed that every time I do Metta meditation at night, I wake up with ease the next day.

If you want to bring more mindfulness into your life during your awake hours, doing Metta meditation may set you on the path. There are so many benefits to this type of meditation. Starting with compassion for self is huge!

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A non-profit organization called Molly bears makes weighted (to baby’s weight) bears for still parents like us. Krishna was 7lbs and 11.5oz. When they were getting ready to make Krishna the bear, they asked if I had any special requests. Being an environmentalist, I asked them if they can use organic cotton or recycled polyester to make my bear eco-friendly. They researched vendors and got back to me that they can make Krishna with an organic cotton skin, stuff him with locally grown cotton sherpa and embroider or stitch in wooden eyes, nose, and mouth. They even offered me a choice of colors for Krishna’s skin. I said white because my Krishna was fair complexioned.

When I made this request, I remembered Krishna’s teaching to Karna in Mahabharata. Karna is an archer with natural talent but does not get the recognition he deserves as his foster parents are of charioteer class and his high archer skills are in those of royal class. The unethical Duryodhana, recognizing his talents befriends him by giving him a kingdom. Karna becomes loyal to his friend Duryodhana. In the war of Mahabharata, Pandavas’ kill Duryodhana’s supports one by one and when Arjuna is fighting Karna, Karna is about to lose, Karna questions Krishna does he deserve this? “Haven’t I been philanthropic, I just want the world to recognize my skills”. Krishna says, “Yes, it was not good the way you were treated. But instead of siding with the unethical friend, you could have strived to fight for recognition for others like you around the world who have skills but are not given opportunities”. This teaching stays with me. Essentially, it’s not just enough if I get eco-friendly products/custom bears but I should advocate for others after me to have this option.

With this in mind, I requested Molly bears to have this option available for future still parents. It does take them longer and it’s more expensive for them to make it. But this option is available if one is willing to pay more to have clean materials represent their loved angel and be kinder to the environment.

My Krishna came back as a polar bear today!

Thank you Molly bear!

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Benefits of Abhyanga:

1. This practice rejuvenates and supports the skin
2. You feel nourished and calm
3. Moisturizes and helps balance your body temperature

In winter, I use warming oil like sesame oil and in summer, I use coconut oil which is cooling. If you feel too warm in winter, you can coconut oil to cool yourself down and vice versa. Fiery nature may be a sign of too much pitta (ayurvedic term meaning warmth) and you may benefit from using coconut oil. If you feel dull, cold or depressed, abhyanga with sesame oil can make you feel nourished and supported. This is a general guideline. If you see an ayurvedic doctor and they recommended a particular oil for your body’s constitution, follow that.

If you have an oil warmer, it will feel nice to use warm oil. Just a cup warmer should do. I found mine at the thrift store. You can also use the oil at room temperature.

It’s best to do this before taking shower. Sitting at a place calmly for a few minutes before showering, allows for the oil to penetrate in. Sitting without multitasking helps you slow down and bask in the calm. Maybe a good time to practice a five or ten-minute meditation. Wash off with warm water. Avoid using soap as it dries the skin. Soap is a recent discovery and it is really not needed for maintaining hygiene.

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Why do I dry brush my body?

1. It helps remove toxins from the surface of the body. Our body eliminates toxins through the skin when we sleep in the night. Dry brushing is an effective way to remove toxins from the top of the skin.
2. Stimulates the circulation of the lymphatic fluids which is just under the surface of the skin. Unlike blood lymphatic system does not have a pump. So, it relies on external pressure or body position for moving the fluids. Good circulation of lymphatic fluids leads to good health
3. Warms up your body. This practice is especially good to do in winter.

This video shows you how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ANy_2xWLAo

Try to find a brush like the one on the video with natural bristles and avoid those with plastic/nylon bristles.

Ayurvedic guidelines for daily practice is called Dinacharya. I will be writing a separate article on all the recommended Dinacharya after I have introduced them all to you. Try to add them one by one. All the practices in Dinacharya are meant to cleanse and rejuvenate the five senses. This one is to cleanse the skin and you follow this with abhyanga which rejuvenates the skin.

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I am saying this with my own experience. In a yoga class, the teacher asked us to lie on our tummy in crocodile pose. I was finding it hard to breathe as I have the habit of breathing using mainly the muscles in the front of the body. She made us do lateral bends, backbends and got us back to lie in crocodile pose. This time, I found that I could breathe more easily now that my back muscles are warmed up. This observation was the inspiration for this blog.

By doing the forward folds, lateral bends, inversions, backbends and other poses in yoga class; one can awaken different muscles groups in their body so that those muscles actively work with the breath. This has several intuitive benefits: breath is deeper having a calming effect, oxygen reaches energizing more areas of the body thereby having a rejuvenating effect. Taking your attention to various body parts while in poses helps this process. That’s why your yoga teacher may ask you to take your attention to a body part as the breath follows the mind.

So, practice yoga regularly to breathe with your whole body!

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