-Increase Circulation to the Reproductive Organs
-Balance Hormones
-Reduce Stress
You made have already heard that inversions like headstand and shoulder stand are powerful natural fertility aids. Those positions didn’t make our list for one simple reason: they should be done with proper supervision. These poses made our list of the five best yoga positions to aid fertility because they don’t need supervision. In fact, they can be done in the safety and privacy of your home with no risk.
Yoga For Reproduction….Flexing, Floating and Baby-making
1. Baddha Konasana – Butterfly
According to B.K.S. Iyengar this pose is a blessing to women. It stimulates the abdominals and ovaries.Sit comfortably on a rug or yoga mat. Draw your heels together in front of your pubic bone, allowing your knees to open outward. *If your knees won’t open fully, this just means your pelvis isn’t open yet. For your comfort, you can sit on a blanket or firm pillow to elevate your hips, this will help.
Close your eyes a moment and tune into your breath. Soften your belly and allow your inhale to fill the space between your belly button and pubic bone, as if you could breathe into your womb. As you exhale draw the belly gently in toward the low back, massaging your internal organs.Press your feet firmly together to allow your inner groins to stretch as you elongate the spine up and out of the hips. Stay here a few breaths.As you breathe, your body will soften into the pose. If you feel you can lean forward without collapsing the lower back, extend forward over your heels reaching up through the crown of the head.Hold onto your feet with your hands, and gently press your knees toward the floor with your elbows. Breathe into the sensation in your hips. Keep your shoulders and face soft.
This pose helps to open the hips and increases circulation in the pelvis, it has been known to help balance irregular menstruation and helps the ovaries to function properly.
This pose stretches the hamstrings and helps the blood to circulate properly in the pelvic region and keeps it healthy.
Sit on your mat or rug, and open your legs wide. If your legs won’t open fully, this just means your pelvis or hamstrings aren’t open yet. For your comfort, you can sit on a blanket or firm pillow to elevate your hips.
Flex your feet back toward your face and make sure your feet are straight up and down, perpendicular to the floor. Lift up through your heart and extend your spine on an inhale. With a long spine, slowly walk your hands forward until you feel the first sensation in your groins and hamstrings. Stop here and breathe. Inhaling as if you could breathe into your womb, allowing the belly to soften and swell then exhale drawing your belly in. When you feel the body has opened, walk your fingers forward until your next edge of sensation. Stop and breathe, and then continue. Once you are fully extended , you can slowly rise, lead with the heart and gently shake out your legs.
This pose is beneficial because it helps regulate menstrual flow and also nourishes the ovaries. One of the wonderful benefits of Yoga is it teaches you to respect your process. Treat yourself gently as you approach these poses, knowing that mastery doesn’t occur overnight. Treat yourself just as gently as you proceed on your path toward parenthood. Accept and honor your limitations and don’t push past the point to where you are in pain or massive discomfort.
3. Viparita Karani – Legs Up The Wall
This pose is restorative and helps to calm the nervous system and the heart rate. It is powerful for women because of its inversion qualities and ability to focus on the reproductive organs.
Find space at a wall. You can use a blanket underneath your hips if you want. Lay on the floor and scoot your bottom as youwalk your legs up the wall until your hips are level and your back is on the floor. Put one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart or the arms can lay open, creating space in the heart. This pose is about receiving and surrendering. Let your breath be soft and deep, allow your mind to quiet and surrender to the pose. You will feel the circulation in your body shift. Imagine a waterfall starting at your legs, pooling at the hips and slowly spilling down into the heart and the brain. This visual will follow the natural flow of energy as it cultivates a calm nervous system. This pose can be done while you’re menstruating as long as the hips are level. This pose has great healing qualities and is a gem for women. It is a great pose for insomnia, anxiety and jet lag as well.
What are your thought about yoga poses for fertility? Which ones do you think are the best and worst?
Very rarely do we take time out of our busy schedule to sit back and indulge ourselves for a few minutes. Usually, a soothing cucumber mask or an oatmeal, almond and avocado body scrub are fleeting fantasies during the day. As soon as the stoplight turns green or a telephone shrills ten we must snap out of the calming thoughts of spa indulgences and return to our daily grind or screaming, whiny kids (or husbands) and demanding bosses sending emails on your blackberry after 6 pm every five minutes asking about the status of an overdue project…….
This is for the woman who can’t get away to a spa but can luxuriate at home with recipes for lotions, oils, rubs, scrubs, wraps and cuisine. You can also use these treatments for a romantic night at home with you and your sweetie (with no other men around, you’ll be surprised to see how much the man in your life enjoys being pampered) or have an at-home spa party with you and some girlfriends. If you are not inclined to personally concoct these simple recipes, then you can go to a store that sells beauty treatments with some of these ingredients or look for a spa that has treatments with some of these ingredients.
Coconut Oil Hair Conditioning Clay
This is a both a deep cleanser and deep conditioning treatment. The clay will remove dirt and hair product residue from the shaft while nourishing the scalp. Use a gentle white clay since the red and green clays might be too harsh on the hair.
1/2 cup jojobo oil
2 tablespoons coconut oil
4 tablespoons powdered white clay
1 cup distilled water
In a small saucepan, heat jojobo and coconut oil until melted on low heat untill melted. Remove from heat and slowly add water in the form of a paste. Apply a palm full of treatment to your hair.. Cover hair with a cap and let stay in for 15 minutes. Shampoo hair as usual.
Coconut Body Scrub
This is great to do in winter when elbows and feet are especially crackly.
1/2 cup coconut oil ( gentle melted in a saucepan)
1/4 cup coarse salt
1 lemon
Combine ingredients and vigorously scrub on feet, hands, elbows etc.
Ginger and lemongrass are highly rejuvenating. Ginger is typically cultivated in Southeast Asia. The citrus-y scent is very uplifting.
I cup fresh lemongrass, cut up into stalks or 1/2 cup dried.
1 3 inch long piece of ginger root grated
1 cotton sheet, cut into 3 inch wide strips.
1 plastic sheet or shower curtain liner
1 or 2 blankets
Place lemongrass and grated ginger in a pot filled with water. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. With a strainer , scoop out as much ginger and lemongrass as possible. Put the strips in the water, wringing out the water as much as you can each time. Start wrapping yourself with the strips snugly starting with your legs and work up to the torso and then arms. Lay in the tub for 15 minutes, wrapping yourself in a blanket for warmth. Remove the strips and then take a shower to rinse off any ginger or lemongrass.
Pregnancy is a great time to learn how to emotionally, spiritually and physically release, open up and let go. Yoga also help you find the time and space to look within yourself, allowing you to openly explore your own intrinsic knowledge about the cycles of life.
Yoga is a comprehensive and safe form of exercise during pregnancy and postpartum. Prenatal Yoga Classes are taught by highly qualified staff trained in Yoga Alliance Certified guidelines, methods and practices. Our yoga practice is gentle and nurturing, yet safe and supportive, so that mother and baby obtain the maximum benefit from postures without any strain.
Prenatal yoga links postures and breathing exercises to create awareness of your own mind, body and spirit, and the spirit of your baby. Pregnancy Yoga is ideal preparation for giving birth. Our yoga program is taught in a way that will help you access your own intuitive understanding of birth while helping you to connect to your partner.
Breathing practice during pregnancy opens the chest and helps to improve circulation in both mother and baby, ensuring a better supply of oxygen to the blood. It also calms the nerves and gives the mother greater control of her breathing during labor.
CAUTIONS
Since nausea is common during the first trimester, it may be helpful to practice in a well-ventilated room. During the second trimester your growing belly will require modifying some poses. Use common sense and avoid putting undue pressure on the abdomen in poses like Head To Knee Postures, Seated Forward Fold, and Forward Bends Towards the Knee, as well as Seated Spinal Twists.
You may also choose to reduce the amount of vinyasa (flowing postures) if generating heat in the body makes you uncomfortable. The third trimester will require you to continue to adapt and even omit certain postures. Standing poses like Extended Triangle Pose, and Extended Side Angle Pose can help relieve back pain. A simple inversion such as Legs-Up-the-Wall-Pose can help to relieve swollen ankles. Some poses might require additional props or support (blocks, blankets, bolsters).
Through each trimester the most important thing is to tune in to what your body is telling you and alter your practice accordingly. During and after your pregnancy, try not to be attached to your previous abilities or level of flexibility.
Safety Guidelines
All pregnant women are welcome to attend the class, whether you have a regular practice or want to start yoga during pregnancy. It is very important to inform the teacher of any complications (current or past) or any treatment that you are receiving.
During pregnancy ligaments around the joints become loose and soft. Care should therefore be taken not to overstretch the body. The abdomen should remain relaxed and soft at all times to allow room for the baby.
Pregnancy can make you feel more tired than usual. It is essential to be aware of this and try not to do things to the point of fatigue. If you feel tired after yoga or any other physical exercise, it means that the practice has been faulty or that you have done too much. Signals such as pains, stitches, cramps, nausea, dizziness, headaches and contractions should never be felt during or after yoga practice. Yoga generates energy, rather than dissipating it.
Is yoga just a set of poses and stretches? Yoga is not just a set of physical poses. Yoga does not refer just to the poses as is commonly thought in the West. Yoga is a series of lifestyle practices that include diet, hygiene, yoga philosophy, breath-control techniques, meditation techniques relaxation techniques, awareness techniques, self-mastery techniques and physical poses that lead to self-realization, compassion and evolution. Yoga philosophy emphasizes non-judgement, acceptance and compassion at its core.
Is yoga just a set of poses and stretches? Yoga is not just a set of physical poses. Yoga does not refer just to the poses as is commonly thought in the West. Yoga is a series of lifestyle practices that include diet, hygiene, yoga philosophy, breath-control techniques, meditation techniques relaxation techniques, awareness techniques, self-mastery techniques and physical poses that lead to self-realization, compassion and evolution. Yoga philosophy emphasizes non-judgement, acceptance and compassion at its core.
So now I am days away from my “due date”….. really hate that term….. feel like I am a carton of milk that is about to go bad by having a date. Now when people ask when I am “due” I just say soon. Never felt such discomfort in so many body parts in my whole life and I’m very used to dealing with chronic pain most of my adult life. Sometimes I feel like I can barely walk. When I walk is with great effort, a huge lack of grace, balance and coordination…. qualities that yoga has helped me cultivate and now that are GONE. I basically walk like that Edgar character in Men In Black – the guy whose body is taken over by cockroaches.
I’ve been doing everything I can to induce labor naturally – acupuncture, using the breast pump, chiropractic adjustments, evening primrose oil, special “assistance” from hubby, walking, yoga, pelvic tilts, going up and down stairs sideways, spicy food….. in a few days I might resort to castor oil.
We’ve been getting ready for 9 months…. we basically added a new addition to our house, but instead of hiring contractors to do this for us we did 95% of it which includes sledgehammering, adding new electrical wires, moving a ton of furniture around, adding new lighting downstairs painting little tables a huge bookcase, a dresser….. for the nursery that was easier but still more work than I realized. We put an Eco-bond paint covering on the floor in case there was lead paint on there before it would provide protection.
Then painted the molding, the walls, the ceiling, took down the ceiling fan, changing the curtains, fixing the drawers so they are not so noisy, getting a new radiator, insulating our new home office downstairs. Then we started to get all the baby stuff together which entails putting a crib together, moving even more furniture downstairs, reconfiguring our back sun room which is a storage area for baby stuff, toiletries.
Many trips to Babies R Us to exchange some of the dozens of newborn baby clothes ( we have about 45 newborn onesies – such a waste since they outgrow them in a month, that doesn’t even count the 15 I exchanged for other things such as diapers, wipes, blackout curtains, a baby carrier, nursing pads. I never realized the urge people have to buy newborn clothes. I didn’t even register for any and that is about 90% of what I got plus about 6 tubes of butt paste ( I only registered for 1.) I washed all of the baby clothes, baby sheets, swaddle blankets.
We’ve attended our Childbirth Education Classes and plan to use hypnosis for pain management. I also plan to have a natural birth without medications or interventions. Because of my age, thyroid and gestational diabetes I require enhanced monitoring and my Perinatologist recommends I get induced on by 41 weeks if I don’t go into labor naturally at that point.
I’ve been pretty adamantly opposed to that. I want to avoid the hospital and hospital staff as much as I can. I have a deep distrust of institutionalized medicine since I have been to countless Western-trained doctor for various health issues and 90% of them have been a HUGE waste of time and money. I hate how I am literally a “number” when I call MainLine Health they identify you by your social security number which is so impersonal. At so many doctor offices I visit it feels like a factory and it’s such a dehumanizing experience. The doctor’s main goal is to make sure they don’t spend more than 15 minutes with me since insurance doesn’t reimburse them if they spend too much time with me. Since I have a complicated health history I always feel shortchanged.
So I did a lot of research on the typical ways that women give birth in this country and decided I wanted to have a personal, intimate experience where I felt like I could get the attention I was craving. When you have a Midwife attending to you, you get a lot more attention, education than a typical OB office. So as I get closer to my little guy making his worldwide debut, I am anxious about my natural birth wishes.
So now all there is to do is to surrender…. to realize I don’t have any control over….. that someone else is in control. Hopefully the next post from me will be about how hours after I wrote this our little guy decided to make his debut……. stay tuned……..
Losing your muffin top without ommmming. A few years ago one of my co-workers said she can’t stand going to yoga class because she hates chanting om.
She loved the poses but just hated that aspect of the class. It made her feel uncomfortable. It made me think about why some people don’t feel yoga is right for them even if they know there are so many benefits to yoga.
I turned to yoga over 15 years ago and it has been part of my lifestyle and life journey ever since. I order and review all kinds of yoga products, DVDs, books, clothes (about 50% of what I wear is yoga apparel even if I am not doing yoga that day) mats, blocks, eye pillow, CDs, music, essential oils, gluten-free products, yoga-lifestyle cookbooks, cards ( I could open a small gift shop of all my yoga related products) as well as attending various yoga classes, workshops, retreats, kirtans etc.
I recently came across Shapeshifters Yoga Programwhich is described as helping you feel younger, stress-free, flexible and even SLIMMER. I wanted to see if it would be a good fit for the om-hating crowd that wanted a scientific based program that would help them lose flabby butts and guts and also maintain that toned sculpted look. With all the images of yogis contorting themselves into Russian Circus kind of poses, yoga can be scary. I was also looking for a program that would demystify some of the more exotic aspects of yoga. Starting yoga does not mean you start wearing a loin-cloth or wear a turban. In my classes, I just find folks that want to soothe their nerves along with toning and trimming.
Are you yoga-curious or thought about losing weight through yoga but feel weirded out but some of the more exotic aspects of the practice? Are you looking for a scientific based exercise practice that has the power to transform and sculpt your body if you are ready to commit to it?
There is a focus on overall flexibility, core-conditioning, body awareness and muscle-conditioning before you move on to master the more advanced part of the practice. There are some basic traditional stretches and yoga poses that all body types and sizes can do.
There is no oooming, no talk of your crown-chakras so you won’t feel like you have to wear a turban and a loincloth to do this program. It’s all scientific based, practical and utilitarian in how they explain the benefits with no woo-woo.
There is no extra equipment like a weight machine. The most extra equipment you need is a yoga mat.
You can do the practice almost anywhere any anytime.
I’ve done yoga poses in all kinds of weird places from the airport lounge area, toilets, waiting for a subway in NYC, in the car, on the beach, at the park, watching TV on the couch and even on the airplane – both in my seat and in the back of the plane where the flight attendants gather.
I used to live in a tiny match-box size apartment in NYC and the only space to practice in was in front of the front door.
When I stay in hotel with small rooms, I move all the furniture around so I have enough space to practice in.
The workouts are very compact – You can do most of the sequences in about 20-30 minutes. Being consistent and doing a little bit everyday is more important than doing 1-2 practices that are 90 minutes long every week.
It’s a comprehensive fitness program – There is a cardio component, a strengthening component, a stretching component and a recovery component. The methods are based on ancient wellness and fitness principles so they have been thoroughly tested, practiced and vetted.
There is an explanation of the benefits of the poses in the down-loadable Yoga Manual so you know why you are doing knee-bending and cranking (to prepare your body for the weight bearing movements.)
It’s a step-by-step plan that is also customizable.Shapeshifters is very structured but there are also some modifications based on your body type and athletic ability.
Ideal for Couch Potatoes or Seasoned Athletes. If you don’t know squat about diet, wellness, fitness or strength-training then this is a suitable program. If you do have some prior experience and knowledge with these, then it will build upon and complement your prior training and experience.
Very Professionally Presented – You’ll feel like you are at a Yoga Journal Video shoot with the quality of the video and the voice. I’ve listened to other videos before and some of them sound all muffled and the lightening and angles make it harder to follow the sequence.
Wallet-Friendly – You could get a personal yoga session for more than the cost of this video and wouldn’t get nearly the amount of tips, instruction, alignment cues that this has. It’s a lot of yoga for the buck.
I think the strongest part of the Shapeshifters programs is the kind of feedback, support and community that you get with their online forum. One user wrote that she couldn’t do a certain type of pose because of knee pain and the teacher wrote back and gave her some modifications. The teacher even checked back in a week later to see how the modifications was working for her.
Feeling supported and part of a community is a critical part of any weight loss program. As much as possible with an online program there is a strong sense of support so you don’t feel abandoned after you bought the product. When people post comments or questions, it looks like they get a response within an hour or two.
The Yoga Instructor, Kristine Fondran, has a background in exercise physiology, which is not required of most yoga teachers but really should be to prevent injuries. In 2008, as a part of her Master Degree in Exercise Science at Cleveland State University she conducted a research study on the benefits of a 10 minute, twice daily, Sun Salutation practice. So you know you are in expert training hands with her educational background.
There are videos for those of us that need to see how to get in the pose and there is also a written manual with descriptions and modifications for each pose.
What I didn’t like about Shape-Shifters…
Some of the materials is recycled- If you have bought any of Adam Murdock or Ryan Steer’s previous materials, then you might not feel like you are getting a completely new fitness program. If you are just being introduced to them for the first time, then this won’t bother you.
It’s not all entirely new practices and poses. I thought maybe I would come across completely original poses and yoga practices. If you are a seasoned yogi, like me, you might want something completely unseen. If you are not as familiar with yoga and yoga lifestyle concepts, then this information will be fresh.
There is no mention of diet, food in the online program. In their blog, there is lots of tips about what to eat, when to eat and there are also a lot of what I assume to be ads for weight loss products such as protein powders. In the blog there is a lot of commentary on the psychological , social and emotional rewards of food. If you buy this program, make sure to read their newsletter and blog for tips and advice about food and diet, otherwise you will miss a crucial component of this program.
She calls some of the poses in English unfamiliar names, such as Equestrian pose ( for Lounge). If you haven’t done much yoga before, this won’t bother you, but if you have it will be confusing. Also Half-Moon pose, a pose I often teach and have been taught is a completely different pose.
Are you wondering if this is a program that can really help you to transform your body and way of being?
If you are looking for a quick-fix, then yoga is not for you.
If you are looking for magical, instantaneous results then yoga is not for you.
If you enjoy feeling sluggish and edge, yoga is not for you.
If you want an easy, non-challenging workout, then yoga is not for you.
If you would rather make a permanent butt imprint in your couch and watch DWTS, Two and a Half Men, then this is not for you.
If you you are committed to your excuse that you aren’t flexible, don’t have time, don’t have the money to do any fitness program then this is not for you.
If you want to stay the same, yoga is not for you.
But it will take discipline,
It will take commitment on your part.
It won’t be a light endeavor.
It is not about going to a class once and never again. You will find all kinds of excuses and limitations that get in the way of you going to class.
You will have to show up. You will have to be on your mat. Even if you body is on the mat but your head is somewhere else, you will have to re-committ to being present.
