I just got off the phone with yet another friend of mine who is pregnant. She has been doing my DVD, Yoga For Your Moods, for quite some time but stopped doing it in the past few weeks because she didn’t know if it was okay during pregnancy. I quickly informed her that yoga is an excellent activity to do during pregnancy, as long is it is modified correctly. In fact, on page 101 of the magazine FitPregnancy’s Feb/March 2007 edition they discussed the benefit of doing yoga during pregnancy. It reads, “A 2005 study comparing pregnant women who walked for half an hour twice a day to those who practiced yoga for an hour a day, found that the latter had fewer complications, including pregnancy induced hypertension and pre term delivery.”

I have practiced yoga throughout both of my son’s pregnancies and have enjoyed quick labor and recovery for each. I will caution you to be careful with your body during this time and follow a few guidelines to help prevent injury to you or the baby. Some of them are:
Your balance is off from the very beginning. Stop looking up during poses and stay focused on things that are eye level. Also, use the wall or a chair to help stable yourself.

Stay away from inverted poses, like shoulder stand or plow. As your tummy grows this puts too much strain on your baby.
Don’t hold poses as long as you use to. As you progress in your pregnancy, you’ll have a greater chance of cramping. The longer you hold the pose, the more likely you will cramp up.
In the second and third trimesters, don’t do upward facing dog or any extreme stomach exercises (save that for post-baby!)
Drink a lot of water! You are more dehydrated when you are pregnant.

These are just a few tips. You can find a directory of poses on the Yoga For Your Pregnancy DVD which focuses on yoga throughout each trimester of your pregnancy. In addition we have Yoga For You and Your Kids to progress with yoga after your pregnancy. Until then, if you are pregnant, ask your doctor if yoga is ok for you during this time, and enjoy it!

Do you remember high school? You know all the groups, the judging, the low self confidence, and lots of comparing. Well, sometimes I catch myself right back there. Recently I was flipping through a book that was full of amazing yoga poses. These yogis were trying things I’d never heard of and instantly I felt myself comparing my skills to theirs. I got out my mat, and went through the first dozen poses trying to hit each one, and not being able to. I then felt inadequate and started having thoughts like, “who do I think I am to make yoga dvd’s?” and “Why would anyone want to listen to me, when I can’t even do these poses?”. Well, after my pity party, I read some of the text in this book and it reminded me of one of the main threads of yoga- being true to oneself.

As yoga has gotten more popularized in the west, it has also gained more postures. Terrific poses brought from other sports like gymnastics and ballet. With these postures, the physical emphasis of yoga became more pronounced and the inherit human nature to compete with others was brought into the yoga class room. Well, this is exactly what is not intended to happen with yoga. In fact in many studios you will not find mirrors on the walls, so you cannot compare yourself with the peers in the room. When I teach I tell my students to pay attention to how you feel and not what is going on at the mat next door. I have even found myself turning around during a class and doing a pose away from the rest of the group so I can focus better on my own breathing and postures. I must have forgotten the strength of this lesson.

I am going to make a pact with myself to try and remember the importance of each person’s uniqueness, and not let myself get down for not measuring up to other “yoga Jones’”. So I wanted to share this lesson with you all. I think it is a good one that we can take with us not only in our yoga practice, but also in our lives off the mat.

One time I attended a large neighborhood Christmas dinner that was beautiful. It took place in the mountains at a huge hidden lodge decorated with big Christmas trees, miles of garland and an enormous crackling fire. My husband and I sat next to some neighbors we did not know too well, but were happy to meet a fun couple in our area. When it was time for us to line up to fill our plates with traditional Christmas foods I heard our new friend whisper to his wife, “ugh, the smell of this ham is giving me a headache.” Thinking nothing of it, we filled our plates with potatoes, rolls, ham and salad, while our neighbors filled theirs with all but the ham.

Yes, our new friends were vegetarians. After we sat and talked for awhile we learned that he was very involved with ashtanga yoga. He had studied with some of the best in the world and shortly after attending a retreat where they were fed only vegetarian meals, they had decided that this habit of eating suited their family the best. Feeling a bit embarrassed I finished the last bit of ham on my plate while my husband announced, “oh, Carolyn is really good at yoga, she even has a DVD out.” I then explained the type of yoga I am involved in (ashtanga as well, but with a little more of a western kick to it). I did not want him to think I was a nobody who just thought yoga was cool. I wanted him to know I was smart and really knew my stuff when it came to yoga even though I still eat meat (not to mention refined sugars.) But then I reminded myself of one of the great laws of yoga. Yoga is what you want it to be. It morphs with your lifestyle, your religious convictions, your physical abilities, whatever. This is the reason I like it so much. I don’t have to worry about what other people think of me when I practice yoga, in fact in yoga classes it is important to only focus on what is happening on your mat- no one else’s. I resolved at that moment that I didn’t care if he had studied longer or with more gurus, I knew I was at a level I was proud of. Through this experience, I learned once again, that it does not matter what others think of you, as long as you’re happy with what’s inside.

Have you ever had those nights where you are so tired and all you want to do is close your eyes and fall asleep, but something in your brain refuses to turn off? Lately my husband has been having some problems with getting himself to forget about the heavy stress he has running a business and leading a household. I knew last week it was pretty bad when he called to say he’d be home in a half an hour but showed up two hours later saying, “after I locked up and turned out the lights I sat on the couch for a minute and fell asleep.” He needs to get some rest, so I tried to show him some of the things I do to clear my mind and fall asleep.

First I do a couple poses that make my muscles work- like warrior 1 and 2. These are “power” poses that I hold for longer than normal, so I feel like the muscle has been worked and needs a break. Then I stretch. I love stretching at night because your ligaments and tendons are already loose from the day and when you stretch it helps to relieve tension. After that I turn on some low yoga music or I have a small fountain in my room that sounds like rain falling. I lay on my bed with my head and back slightly elevated from pillows, and I breathe. I inhale deep through my nose for 3 seconds then I slowly release my breath for 3 seconds. All I try to think about is my breath. I try to control it, I make it feel hot, I think about sending my breath to my toes, then my knees, and continue it up my body. After I send my breath through my whole body, I just breathe normal. By this time, I am usually sound asleep. It may take longer if you are not used to making yourself relax, but practice makes perfect. 

I hope that this helps some of you out there, suffering through sleepless nights (especially my husband). I know you and those around you will love to see the change a good nights rest makes.