I had never done yoga before… until I found myself at 32 weeks pregnant with a breech baby. A good friend (and fellow pregnant mama) recommended I try yoga, both for the physical benefit as well as to calm my mind and find a sense of peace with my pregnancy and baby. I figured I would give it a go… if, for nothing else, just to have the quiet time to myself and to dedicate a small portion of my busy day to the baby inside me.
Anyone who’s ever taken a pregnancy yoga class at Triyoga will, no doubt, be familiar with Nadia Narain. Her name is practically synonymous with yoga. I can’t tell you how many people recommended Nadia’s pregnancy yoga classes to me before I even took my first step into her class. ‘You want yoga? Oh you must speak to Nadia’.
One pregnancy yoga class with Nadia and I was a changed woman. I felt so empowered by her words, so comforted by her support, and, for the first time in my life, so prepared for my impending labour. I really believe it is thanks to her (and this book !) that I was able to achieve the labour and delivery I had always wished for. I still remember hearing her words in my head as I entered the final stages of labour. ‘Relax your body, relax your mouth, slow down your breathing…’.
It is a subject I almost find difficult to write about. You know the feeling where you have so much to say, you don’t know where to begin? Where your thoughts get so jumbled up in a rush to be spoken?! I feel this way when I think about the transformation that took place in the final weeks before Marlow was born. I just want to stand on a big soapbox and preach the benefits of yoga, to sing the praises of Nadia, and to tell every pregnant woman to read this book .
Instead, I will simply say that if you live in London, you should definitely take one of Nadia’s classes. If you don’t live in London, you can buy her pregnancy yoga CD which is awesome (and nearly as good as the real deal!) as well as her gorgeous aromatherapy candles… so that, no matter where you live or how busy you are, you can still benefit from her yoga and her teachings.
Jumping down from my soapbox now. : )
xx Courtney
Comments (13)
The links to the book and CD don’t seem to work…And now I’m so curious to see what they are!! Can you please fix these? Thanks!
Hi Shira,
I’m so sorry about the links. I don’t know what happened! I have fixed them! Thank you for letting me know about that. xx
It’s great to hear about your experience! I went to triyoga when I was pregnant with oliver, and really missed not going this time around! So glad it all happened the way you wanted with Marlow… and so glad she turned from breech!
I went to Nadia’s classes when I was pregnant with Sara 8 years ago! I loved her classes, and maybe because of those classes I’ve had natural labours 4 times… xxx
I should have gone with you 8 years ago! Imagine how different my first three labours would have been!?! xxx
Love ….. yoga !
I’m thrilled you had such a good experience with antenatal yoga! I followed Janet Balaskas book for yoga and active birth and it really helped me through a complicted labour to have a natural birth. Can I suggest taking a look at my sister’s site for her pregnancy and post-natal yoga and massage? She’s based in Northumberland but provides residential retreats and workshops too http://aspacetobe.co.uk/mother-nurture/
I attended Nadia’s classes and partner’s workshop during my first pregnancy 8 years ago and after a traumatising medical intervention with the birth of our son, my husband and I were determined to have a beautiful natural birth the second time around. I attended Nadia’s classes as well as Katharine Graves’ hypnobirthing workshop but my husband and I were in need of support, not so much in giving birth but in protecting us from the medical pressures. Nadia agreed to be our doula and I am so grateful she did. After a routine visit with my midwife, I was told that I was in labor (I was 2 weeks ‘late’ and just had a reflexology appointment that morning) but was not allowed in the birthing centre as my baby’s heartbeat was apparently high. I was going to have to be monitored and stay in the labor ward. The doctor’s advised the birth should be induced chemically. I kindly requested to wait for my husband and Doula to come to make a decision. The doctor looked at me uncompromisingly : “Don’t you want the best for your baby?”. Don’t I want the best for my baby? My husband and Nadia arrived. Nadia asked the nurses to intervene as little as possible, turned the lights off, placed a yoga matt on the floor and promised we could still have the natural birth we were hoping for. My husband put the music on, I sat on my birthing ball and the three of us had a very inspiring conversation about life, our experiences and the importance of meditation in adversity. Two and a half hours later, as her daddy and I were dancing to Ravi Shankar, our beautiful daughter was born. With the birth of our daughter came our rebirth. We had let go of the past and taken a leap of faith. Thank you Nadia and thank you life.
I am pregnant with my third (!). So I’m excited to try Nadia. As previously I was not at all into pregnancy yoga thinking it was such a waste of time. But now that I’m in yoga teacher training and can get to Nadia’s classes – I’m going! I’d like to have a more deliberate / guided labor this time around.
I went to Nadia’s pregnancy / mommy and me classes at Triyoga with my two first babes. Amazing classes! I still think of her when I hear Bob Marley’s ‘three little birds’. I missed her class a lot when pregnant with my third in the US : )
I attended pregnacy yoga classes where I live (in Sopot, Poland) during both my pregnancies. I think it is the best way to prepare for the natural birth. Our teacher taught us how to work with breath, mouth, vaginal area (which I didn’t expect – but okey – it is the most important during labour!). Each class started or ended with our complains about pregnancy inconveniences and she gave us tips which exercises can give us relief and how to do them properly. I totally recommend!
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