Yoga helps turn childbirth into a joyous experience
CHILDBIRTH need not be stressful nor traumatic. It should be a gentle and joyous occasion—if given groundwork, nurturing and assistance, according to a therapeutic method centered on the body called Birthlight by Dr. Francoise Freedman of the University of Cambridge.
“Birthlight pregnancy and postnatal yoga have been designed for the mother to have a conducive ecology in the womb, easy labor, delivery and recovery,” explains Johanna Paula Cox, an instructor at Urban Ashram Manila, a yoga school with studios in Pasig, Ayala Avenue and Bonifacio Global City.
“It’s a series of micro movements and gentle exercises—adaptations of classic yoga poses—that support pregnancy and enhance recuperation,” adds Cox.
During Freedman’s fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon as a medical anthropologist, she observed that local women viewed childbirth as a happy occasion. The academic and trained yoga teacher integrated her learnings from the field into yoga exercises for pregnant women and mothers with their newborns.
Cox explains that in pregnancy, the body becomes misaligned as it bears a new load, leading to muscle and joint pains and headaches.
“In prenatal yoga, we try to support the spine to keep its natural position throughout the pregnancy and to address issues on the lower back, shoulders and neck,” she says.
The post-natal module, composed of another 10 sessions, helps the mother to regain the correct alignment of her body, including those of the legs and feet.
Core-strengthening exercises with coordinated breathing position her to get back her figure.
Cox, who took 100 hours of training on Birthlight from Freedman herself, observes that at the start of the program, mothers complain about low back pain, breathless- ness, indigestion, sleeplessness, aching shoulders and stiff neck.
One of the few learning centers that offer post-natal classes, Urban Ashram Manila teaches breathing exercises as a source of energy and how to correct stooped chests and bring the gait back to normal. Mothers can also bring their babies to class and even exercise with them.
Urban Ashram Manila partner and director Maricar Holopainen, also a student of Freedman, adds that breathing is the way for new mothers to discover their new normal. The technique helps to improve intake of air supply, the exhalation of toxins and improve blood circulation. Moreover, it helps keep them calm and collected.
“When you focus on your breathing, you become mindful of the moment. You start observing your thoughts and eventually quiet down,” says Holopainen.
When Cox was carrying her second child, her yoga training helped her cope with a difficult pregnancy and recover her figure quickly. She was strong enough to model for Ben Farrales when her baby was only 6 weeks old.
Holopainen adds that many of the mothers who took up prenatal classes had never done yoga before. Seeing the benefits, most have incorporated yoga into their lifestyle.
“Moms make the choice to be healthier. The workout makes them happier and that transmits to their kids, husbands and work,” says Holopainen.