AMMA SHANTI YOGA

Autumn is fast approaching and my eldest son is very excited about school.  I am very excited about having a little more free time to devote to new pursuits. My family is fortunate to live next to a wonderful Tae Kwon Do studio, The Amherst Academy, fully equipped with mats and a wall of mirrors.  Master Mary Allen has granted me permission to lead a postpartum yoga class especially designed for mothers and children 6 weeks to 3 years.  Classes will start on Friday, September 12th, from 9:30 to 11am. They will continue weekly on Fridays, however, if another time and weekday, aside from Wednesday, is better for others interested, things can be easily changed.  I will have my eight month old son with me, a box full of great tea, a stack of helpful books, and a very open heart/mind.


This class will focus on the following topics:  
1. Gentle stretching for mother and child  
2. Baby/Toddler massage  
3. Ayurvedic health advice for mothers

Here is a little more specific information we will be exploring.

The Benefits of Baby Yoga 

sourced from birthlight.com

Babies have experienced being rocked by their mothers through pregnancy. After birth gentle movement and touch together are the basis of synesthesia (the integration of sensory experience, the way babies unify their sensory experiences in a general way through an emotional interaction with their parents or trusted carers). The many practices of baby yoga provide recourses to handle babies in ways that they enjoy and that is good for them at every stage of development. An expanding spiral of joy is created between parent and baby as babies express their delight and parents’ warm responses generate even greater delight.

Physical benefits

• In one short daily session, babies receive as much physical activity as if they were handled for a few hours. Birthight offers daily routines for parents to engage constructively with their babies from birth as a foundation for future regular exercise
• Baby Yoga promotes more and better sleep
• Regular movement promotes a more ‘settled’ behavior with less extreme ups and downs.

Physiological / developmental benefits

• All the babies bodily systems are stimulated, including the digestive and nervous systems
• Baby Yoga offers recourses to keep babies contented between feeds and helps alleviate wind and colic
• Baby Yoga reduces the frustration of babies in the transition of one developmental stage to another while assisting their transitions
• Tactile stimulation has been shown to contribute to the development of the brain and the nervous system.

Psychological benefits

• Baby yoga helps the parent and baby to get to know each other better through active means of communication that are easy to learn and practice
• New challenges introduced at a pace that babies can absorb and integrate increase their ability to cope positively with new situations
• Active interaction with parents is the foundation for future positive social relations over the early years and beyond
• Joint relaxation is mutually beneficial for parents and babies and enhances non-verbal communication between them. Early birth trauma can be resolved and healed through this loving interaction.

POSTPARTUM SEQUENCES
from http://www.prajnayoga.net/womans-health/postpartum-practice/

Urdhva Prasarita Padasana – Upward Extended Legs

 

Benefits

• Relieves upper back tension
• Lifts and tones abdominal organs

Instructions

• Recline with pelvis flat and back of legs completely supported by wall
• Join the inner legs
• Tighten the thighs and knees and press the legs to the wall
• Extend strongly through the arms to lengthen and narrow waist
• Draw the abdominal organs toward the spine
• Relax your arms either overhead or by your side, whichever is more comfortable
• Soften your face
• Hold for 1 to 5 minutes
• Focus on your breath and draw your energy inwardly
• Let go of outer demands

Adho Mukha Svanasana – Downward Facing Dog

Benefits

• Lifts and tones uterus, abdominal organs and pelvic floor
• Extends spine and relieves back tension

Cautions

• Not appropriate for those with wrist difficulty

Instructions

• Place hands on floor and walk balls of feet on blocks, can be done without blocks
• Place center back heel at the wall with feet hip width apart
• Walk hands forward to stretch the arms and legs completely
• Press thighs up and back
• Breathe normally
• Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, repeat up to three times

Tadasana – Mountain Pose

Benefits

• Lifts and tones pelvic floor and organs
• Improves posture

Instructions

• Stand with block between upper thighs, close to but not touching perineum
• Bring feet as close as possible without twisting knees
• Simultaneously turn outer thighs in and tuck buttocks away from back waist
• Press outer thighs to block to lift pelvic floor
• Hold for 15 to 30 seconds, repeat up to 3 times

Vrksasana – Tree Pose

Benefits

• Improves posture
• Lifts and tones pelvic organs
• Energizes system

Instructions

• Stand in Tadasana with left foot about 6 inches from wall
• Reach up though left arm and place fingers on the wall
• Lift right ankle with right hand place heel as high as possible in top of left thigh
• Press raised heel and thigh together to lift pelvic floor
• Tuck bent leg buttock away from back waist
• Extend right arm
• If possible, bring left hand away from wall to balance
• Hold for 30 seconds to one minute
• Do the left side
• Repeat up to 3 times

Vajrasana with Gomukhasana Arms

Benefits

• Rests legs, releases any gripping in abdomen or pelvic floor
• Relieves leg swelling and curative for varicose veins
• Brings healthy circulation to breast area

 Instructions

• On hands and knees place folded blanket on calf
• With feet and knees together, sit back on heels
• Lift waist and chest
• Lift left arm straight up
• Bend elbow and reach between shoulder blades
• Take right hand to left buttock and reach towards left hand
• Attempt to clasp fingers tips
• If unable to clasp, use a strap over left shoulder and hold with each hand
• Hold for up to 1 minute each side
• To release, extend each arm to straight
• Repeat on second side

Benefits of infant, baby, and child massage
sourced from  http://www.lovingtouch.com/
• Provides a special time of communication that fosters love, compassion, and respect
• Improves general well-being
• Provides an intimate time for children to confide in parents
• Improves overall functioning of the gastrointestinal tract
• Promotes relaxation and helps babies self-regulate calm, which reduces crying
• Helps to normalize muscle tone
• Improves circulation
• Enhances immune system function
• Improves midline orientation
• Helps to improve sensory and body awareness
• Enhances neurological development
• Helps baby/child to sleep deeper and more soundly
• Helps to increase oxygen and nutrient flow to cells. Improves respiration
• Helps to improve pain managament; can relieve discomfort from teething,
• Helps with congestion, gas, and colic
• Enhances release of hormones in the body. The growth hormone can be stimulated which helps weight gain.
• Reduces levels of cortisol, the stress hormone
• Provides all of the essential indicators of intimate parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, voice, smell, movement, and thermal regulation.
• Stimulates all of the physiological systems. Massage sparks the neurons in their brains to grow and branch out to encompass other neurons.
 
Benefits for parents:
• Provides all of the essential indicators of intimate parent-infant bonding and attachment: eye-to-eye, touch, voice, smell, movement, and thermal regulation.
• Encourages pre-verbal communication between caregiver and infant
• Helps parents feel more confident and competent in caring for their children
• Helps parents to ease their stress if they are a working parent and must be separated from their children for extended periods during the day
• Provides parents with one-on-one quiet time or interactive play with their children
• Creates a regular time of intimacy between parent and child.
• Increases parents' self-esteem by reinforcing and enhancing their skills as parents, and validates their role
• Gives parents the tools for understanding their child's unique rhythms and patterns
• Teaches parents how to read their infants' cues and recognize their states of awareness
• Gives parents a special way to interact with their children who may be hospitalized. Helps parents feel a greater part of the healing process
• Daily massage helps parents to unwind and relax

AYURVEDIC ADVICE
I have been a practicing yogini (Hatha, Kundalini, Sivananda, Svaroopa, and Mantrayana) and have studied Ayurvedic medicine and astrology for over ten years. I do not hold any formal certifications at this time.  The following books will be used in this class as primary resources. I will also have weekly handouts from my own vast collections of yogic resources.

Ayurveda for Women: A Guide to Vitality and Health by Dr. Robert E. Svoboda

Women's Power to Heal: Through Inner Medicine by Maya Tiwari

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfect Health for Kids: Ten Ayurvedic Health Secrets Every Parent Must Know by John Douillard

 

If you live in the Amherst area please spread the word.  I am looking forward to meeting, sharing information, and creating beautiful things with like minded mothers!