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4 Techniques for Managing Pain in Childbirth that we do in Prenatal Yoga

Posted on by Sarah

Prenatal Yoga & Pain Management 

I think most would agree that labor is painful. Having the expectation that it will be painful going into it, I think, is useful and will less likely lead to failed expectations, if one is going in expecting a mildly painful experience full of bliss. Pain can be tricky. It’s typically signaling to us that something is wrong, and we need to stop doing that thing. The pain of labor is completely normal and is usually a sign that things are progressing, that the cervix is changing, and that the uterus is contracting stronger and stronger. 

In their book, Mindful Birthing, Nancy Bordacke uses the term Transformational Pain to describe the normal sensations that one experiences during labor. Bordacke says,

“We need a completely different category for the pain of childbirth, so I offer the concept of transformational pain. Transformational pain is normal pain.  It is the pain of living in a mortal body, a body that exists in Horticultural time, a body that is birthed, grows, at times experiences illness, the eventual pains of aging, and ultimately death. Physical pain is just part of the business of being alive. When we give birth, change is taking place very rapidly – anywhere from a few hours to a day or more – and when a body changes so quickly, we experience intense transformational pain.”

Often the fear of pain initiates the “fight or flight” response to take hold of our bodies. When this happens in labor, the increased production of adrenaline by the hypothalamus crowds out many of the body’s natural coping chemicals, oxytocin and endorphins. In addition, blood circulation increases outwards towards the extremities of the body and away from the organs in the central region of the body, including the uterus. The decreased circulation in the uterus can make uterine contractions slow down and lose their rhythm and cause contractions to be more painful. 

The practice of Prenatal Yoga utilizes many techniques to help a person cope with uncomfortable and sensational moments.

Some of these include:

  • Breath observation. Simply observing the breath can be an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to pain management. As mentioned above, often the fear of pain initiates the stress response to send adrenaline coursing through the body, getting it ready to fight or flee, and involves an elevation in the breath pattern with more shallow exhalations. When one is in the practice of witnessing their breath, they will be able to better catch when their breath pattern has changed and begin taking deeper breaths with longer exhalations. A deeper breath also involves breathing downward and outward versus up high in the chest. Breathing in this way will allow their body to get back into its parasympathetic state of greater peace and the state of mind that is ideal for laboring and allows pain coping chemicals to be released. 

Throughout a prenatal yoga class or session, there are many reminders to observe the breath while moving and resting, and various types of breathing exercises are practiced to help calm the body. People often ask in prenatal yoga, how should I breathe during labor, and my answer is usually to breathe normally and to stay cognizant of the breath so that it can be there to support you through challenges. If you notice that your breath is becoming shallow, encourage yourself to slow down your breath and keep the exhales complete. 

  • Practice how to Relax. As easy as it sounds, relaxation can be quite challenging sometimes. While our partners or friends may have the best of intentions when they say, “Just relax,” this may be quite triggering for some and bring on the opposite results. Sometimes we may also think after a few minutes of wiggling around in a restful posture or trying to sit quietly, “I’m not very good at relaxing,” but all this means is that we need to figure out how to relax. The simple meaning of Yoga is Union. This can be understood as a union between the body and the mind. The mind is the body and vice versa, but often in life, we may feel like the mind is sprinting all over the place and have little awareness of the actual physical body. 

There are many ways to bring the mind back into the body, where union and therefore relaxation occurs, but I usually encourage people to start by observing their breath. 

  • Explore Coping Techniques in Challenging Postures. Many prenatal yoga postures and exercises can be physically challenging. While these pregnancy-safe exercises are providing tone and pelvic stabilizing opportunities, they are also giving the pregnant person a practice round at being in an uncomfortable position and needing to figure out a way to cope that suits them best. It may be counting the breaths, or softening the face and shoulders, or repeating a phrase or word that also matches their long rhythmic breathing. There are endless techniques, and we explore many of these in classes and sessions. The practitioner begins to hone in on which ones work for them in the midst of challenge and which ones do not seem as useful. We often experiment with techniques in the “Wall Sit” while squeezing a block between the upper inner thighs. We may begin with shorter holds of around 30 seconds for 1-2 sets, and then we’ll gradually build into 2 sets of 1 minute each, about the length of an active labor contraction, and building up to 90 seconds to 2 minutes long, more the length of transition contractions, for 1-2 sets. 
  • Build Focus in Pregnancy-safe Kundalini Exercises. This last area of focus builds from the previous method. Kundalini sets or Kriyas typically involve doing 1 thing repetitively for a few minutes or more. Some pregnancy-safe sets include calf-strengthening by moving onto the tippy toes and back down, for a few minutes, circling the arms for a few minutes, or coming in and out of the deep squat, Malasana, for a few minutes. There are numerous ones to try, and most of them require much focus and motivation to get through. Once the exercise is complete, there is a sweet moment of rest where the practitioner may experience the release of pain-relieving endorphins that sometimes feels “blissful.” Labor offers these natural breaks between contractions, and this is how one may experience bliss during childbirth – by riding the wave of endorphin release caused by the pain experienced in contractions followed by a short rest to feel and be in the moment. 

The Forward Leaning Inversion is not Only for Breech Babies!

Posted on by Sarah

I wish I’d known more about this technique to set myself up for my past labors and to possibly help when one of them stalled at 8-9 cm dilation! The Forward Leaning Inversion, a Spinning Babies technique, is not only recommended to use for breech babies, which is what I used to think, but also to potentially establish a fetal position that may help labors progress more smoothly and quickly. 

My first labor had a fairly smooth labor progression up until I reached 8 cm. It began around midnight, and by around 3 pm the next day, my midwife was measuring that I was 9 cm with a bit of a “lip” left on one side of my cervix. I had been moving around since labor began in positions that I often recommend, like an all 4s table position while circling my hips, child’s pose in between contractions when I was tired, and I spent much time in my birthing tub once I reached about 5 cm of dilation. I was encouraged to try squatting over the toilet during contractions to see if that “lip” would fully dilate. After several hours of trying this and being in excruciating pain. I decided to go to the hospital for an epidural. On my way to the hospital, I closed back up to 8 cm. Who really knows if trying more Forward Leaning inversions prior to labor would have set me up for a more balancing opening of my cervix, or if trying it once this stall began would have resolved the “lip,” but I do wish it had been a technique in my toolbag to at least consider. I think the toilet posture was a great suggestion by my midwife that would have been more successful along with the Forward Leaning Inversion and the Side Lying Release. This article is only about the Forward Leaning Inversion, but I also know now that I probably had a pelvic floor imbalance (tighter on one side) that the Side Lying Release from Spinning Babies could have also helped break this stall or prevent it. Read more about the Spinning Babies Forward Leaning Inversion below, source website at the end. 

Below info taken directly from Spinning Babies website – see website for instructions for how to safely practice & to see list of contraindications. 

The Forward Leaning Inversion posture from Spinning Babies, put simply, is a technique that creates room in the lower uterus. The baby can then use that space—with the natural pull of gravity—to snuggle into a more ideal position for birth. The Forward-leaning Inversion technique comes from Dr. Carol Phillips, DC who teaches Dynamic Body Balancing.

The Forward-leaning Inversion potentially makes room for a good fetal position by untwisting any ligaments to the lower uterus and cervix that may be wound up from sudden stops or a twisted posture.

Kneeling afterward also allows temporarily lengthened ligaments to align the uterus with the pelvis. The cervix may become less tipped or tight and then be able to let the baby’s head position better, and the cervix to dilate in labor more easily.

This technique may also reduce back pain, hip pain, or tailbone pain. Improved fetal positioning does occur too. It is a very worthwhile activity because simply turning the baby’s head down is a notable achievement in and of itself.

When to NOT do it:

  • If medical contraindications exist for going upside down, such as high blood pressure or another risk of stroke
  • If you have heartburn, glaucoma, or hypertension
  • In cases where amniotic fluid levels are unusually large and the doctors are worried and measuring weekly
  • If you have a sinus infection and going upside down is especially uncomfortable
  • Right after eating, to avoid potential heartburn
  • If there is a suspected or known problem with the placenta in pregnancy, including bleeding
  • If you have uterine pain of an undetermined origin. If this is the case, get assessed immediately
  • If the baby is having, or has had, frantic vigorous movements. Be sure to have the baby assessed immediately
  • If the inversion causes unexpected pain. (Remember, your head may pound a bit for the first few times, but that’s normal.) A severe headache should be evaluated by a physician immediately
  • If your labor is progressing normally. Enjoy your labor
  • If there has been abundant fluid in labor and the baby is high at -2 station or above, and the water has released with the baby’s head high (in which case, open the pelvic brim with Walcher’s or a variation of Walcher’s)
  • If you simply don’t feel that this is right for you (always trust the mother’s intuition and respect her choice)

Before practicing this technique, read all about it at: https://www.spinningbabies.com/pregnancy-birth/techniques/forward-leaning-inversion/

10 THINGS TO DO IN BABY & ME YOGA

Posted on by Sarah

10 THINGS TO DO IN BABY & ME YOGA

The first and largest accomplishment is arriving. It’s no small task to get packed and leave the house with a baby, but I promise you that it will be worth it! Give yourself plenty of time to arrive so that you have some time to set up and acclimate you and your baby to the space, whether you’re joining in-person or online. 

Before class begins is a nice time to meet and chat with the instructor and other mamas and parents. A yoga practice is all about “arriving” into the body and into the present moment, so let yourself go through this process in the room (the physical or virtual). 

Now, actual “things” that we do in class:

  1. Viparita Karani with the low back raised on a bolster. Not only does this restorative posture just feel great, but it has a long list of unique benefits for most humans, especially those who’ve birthed babies. This rejuvenating posture is great for “women’s health” and is one that I almost always sequence into postpartum and baby & me classes (as long as a person is not on their period). This gentle and passive inversion allows mamas and daddies the opportunity to receive the nervous system calming effects of having the body positioned in a mild inversion. These include parasympathetic nervous system stimulation to help calm the often frazzled nerves of new parents, enhanced circulation to the pelvic region and uterus, which aids in postpartum recovery and overall feelings of wellness, enhanced circulation to the heart, lungs, throat, and head, which among many things helps aid in proper functioning of the thyroid and pituitary glands, which are crucial for hormonal balance and fertility, and helps the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles to gently lift and lengthen, which improves their recovery and functioning. It is sometimes a challenge to get the low-back on the bolster, especially if there is a baby on the lap! If you’re unable to get your back up on the bolster, start out doing Viparita Karini without a bolster. Hold the posture for as long as it feels great to you, 3-15 minutes. 
  2. Ribcage-Focused Breathing is a gentle way of breathing that encourages us to utilize every region of the lungs. We do this by focusing on the ribs moving or “blossoming” open to the sides, back, and front of the ribcage with each inhale and softening back in and down with each exhale. This helps the diaphragm move maximally up and down (as it should) with the breath and gently restores core muscles while soothing the nervous system. This type of breathing is revisited throughout class, and it feels great!
  3. Gentle Hip-Opening Postures, like Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana PREP variation (Pigeon Pose Prep), Agnistambhasana (Firelog Pose) variations with one leg or seated on a chair, or Tarasana (Diamond Pose). All of the postpartum sitting involved in feeding and caring for a newborn baby results in tight hips for many new parents, which echoes through the body and usually leads to other imbalances and discomfort. 
  4. Thigh & Hip Flexor Stretches. Hip flexors are shortened and tight in many new parents from all of the sitting that we do in caring for our babies. It’s kind of like the body is a little stuck in a seated position, so we need to do things that are the opposite and take our bodies out of that seated position. Some postures that we do in Baby & Me Yoga to help lengthen the fronts of the thighs and the hip flexors include: Pigeon Pose followed by an easy thigh stretch that involves pulling the heel up towards the buttocks. I do this variation of allowing the bottom to completely drop to the floor on one side versus the “traditional” posture of keeping the bottom off of the floor to avoid the high possibility of a postpartum body collapsing and overstretching the ligaments and joints, which are still affected by the hormone relaxin, and would therefore place unnecessary  stress on them, possibly leading to more pelvic instability, pain, and injury. Go easy. We want to target stretching the actual muscles and avoid any collapsing into postures, which is important in all bodies but especially so in bodies who’ve recently birthed babies. 
  5. Gentle Low Back Openers. Many mamas come to class hoping for some of their low back stiffness to be alleviated. Postures we do in class often include: Balasa (Child’s Pose), Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose) variations, Uttanasana (Standing Forward Fold) with bent knees and a lengthened low back, Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Fold) with a lengthened low back, and Tarasana. 
  6. Singing Songs to Your Baby along with the class when you’re in postures that do not compromise your body. This is the perfect time for you to gaze into your baby’s eyes while they enjoy hearing your beautiful singing voice, which no matter how you think you may sound, your baby is deeply soothed by hearing your voice. The heart rates of babies slow down when they hear the familiar voices of their parents and caregivers. Singing also stimulates the vagus nerve which helps us relax and be in the moment.
  7. Mindful Walking for a few minutes inside or outside, if the weather is nice. The practice of mindful walking can be a wonderful way to see how mindful breathing and feeling the feet landing on the ground can be inserted into any part of one’s day, even during those long nights of little sleep or those challenging moments of growth and transition in your baby (and yourself). A few minutes of mindfully walking with your baby may be an invitation to remember to take, even 1, deep breath during a hard moment of parenthood. This won’t make the challenge disappear, but it may soften the edges and help us get through the time. Notice how your baby responds when you drop into your body. And, know that this won’t always be the case. 
  8. Downward Facing Dog with the Feet Together, the knees bent, high on tippy toes, and the bottom super high. This inverted position helps one access and tone their inner thigh (adductor) muscles, the pelvic floor muscles, and the low belly muscles (transverse abdominals). It also gives the belly tissues and uterus a little lift and a break against the usual pull of gravity and helps the front body and chest also lift and open, which often feels nourishing and energizing. We often build into variations of dog on tippy toes and on a block against the wall, and when one is feeling strong and open enough over time, they may choose to eventually walk their feet up the wall hip height for an inverted L pose. 
  9. Chest and Shoulder Openers are the number 1 types of postures that participants in Baby & Me classes recommend. The feeding and caring demands of the first year (or few years) of a baby’s life are extremely hard on the caregiver’s body. Already, from nearly a year of pregnancy, a person’s chest and head has, most likely, been pulled forward by their growing baby and breasts, which has compromised their natural spinal curvatures, and thereby placed strain on the shoulders and neck regions. Similar patterns usually get carried into early motherhood, as a mama is looking down, holding, and caring for their little one almost constantly. The body may also not be getting proper rest for some, so recovery and healing may be taking an extra long time. This leaning forward position not only feels crappy, but it also decreases circulation to the breast area, which may affect milk production, and it decreases circulation and tone around the throat and thyroid gland region, which could have an impact on fertility and one’s overall state of having “energy” and feeling well. Simple postures, like a supported bridge pose, that help to gently open the chest and shoulders and align the neck and head are a must in postpartum classes. 
  10. Block-Squeezing Utkatasana helps strengthen the inner thigh adductor muscles and stabilize the pelvis. One meaning of “stabilize” in this context is that by squeezing the block evenly from both inner thighs, the muscles are becoming symmetrically strong and other asymmetries around the pelvis may begin to shift into a more ideal place. The adductor muscles are one of many muscles that play a role in “holding together” the pelvis, and these muscles coordinate with the pelvic floor group of muscles and abdominals too – all muscles that are crucial in pelvic and spinal support. This intense posture allows one to feel how strong they are, which can bring a sense of energy and confidence to a new parent, which is so valuable in the first years of parenthood when we often question many of our decisions and ability to parent. We usually “swish” around colorful scarves while doing Utkatasana, which makes it much more entertaining for mamas and their babies. 

Well, there you have it. This list could go on, but I’ll leave it at a nice and even “10.”

Postpartum and Baby & Me Yoga classes are offered weekly virtually and in-person in Albuquerque, NM. Baby & Me classes are geared towards those who’ve been fully cleared to exercise by their healthcare providers and for babies who have not yet begun crawling quickly. Baby Moon Yoga classes welcome all mamas, daddies, and caregivers. 

Anna Flipped Her Baby! – & That’s Just the Beginning

Anna Flipped Her Baby! – & That’s Just the Beginning

Posted on by Sarah

This is Anna. Her baby was in a transverse lie position (sideways), which by most providers necessitates a C-section for safety reasons, up until this past week when he rotated into a head-down position at 36 weeks. Anna was thrilled, because she is hoping to birth her baby without surgery. She believes her baby rotated during or right after prenatal yoga (the day before she’d had an ultrasound that still showed him transverse), during which we’d practiced a balanced session that  included many postures to help cultivate mobility in and around the whole pelvis. When a pelvis is mobile, it’s just one more piece of the puzzle that can help a baby move into a space that may propel a labor to go more smoothly and quickly. The baby’s head will be able to move and rotate allowing it to drop deeper into a pelvis (and out!), like a lock finding its way into a key (a Gail Tully analogy).

We do many postures in prenatal yoga to promote balance and mobility in the whole body. These include: 

Outer hip-openers like Agnistambhasana (Firelog) variations. My favorite one of these that I recommend daily for most human beings is the accessible variation with one’s buttocks scooched towards the edge of a chair seat (pictured below). Make sure that your weight is tipped towards the fronts of the sitting bones versus towards the tailbone for maximum benefits. Breathe slowly and hold for at least 1 minute on each side.

Agnistambhasana variation with a chair.

Inner thigh & pelvic floor softening, which are touched on in many prenatal yoga postures like Parsva Konasana (many great prenatal variations in the Silver Moon Yoga Syllabus of postures), Trikonasana, Baddha Konasana, Malasana, side lunges, and one of my favorites is a passive variation of Upavistha Konasana with the forehead resting on a chair (pictured below). Add in horse lips releasing breath for maximal release in the jaw, tongue, and pelvic region. Sit on enough props so that your weight is slightly tipped forward of the sitting bones. Breathe slowly and hold for 1-3 minutes.

Upavistha Konasana

Low back opening and lengthening, which can be accomplished in forwards folds like Paschimottanasana (legs wider apart for pregnancy), Uttanasana (legs wider apart for pregnancy), Tarasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana variations (including using chair & wall), and the Spinning Babies’s Forward Leaning Inversion (pictured below), which also helps release ligaments that connect the uterus to the sacrum = opening the “sacred doors of the pelvis” – Gail Tully. Make sure in seated or standed forward folds that the knees are bent enough to keep the lower back long versus excessively rounding the back.

Thigh and hip flexor stretches like a side-lying thigh stretch, Parsva Konasana, and lunges, which have many variations. I’ve pictured one below using a chair.

In a 1:1 private session, I’d throw in a few minutes per side in the Spinning Babies Side-lying Release as well as their recommended Body or Fascia Jiggling and the Standing Sacral Release.

It’s ideal if any yoga postures are practiced with an experienced prenatal yoga teacher who has a well-trained eye on proper alignment and form for pregnancy. These postures will probably have some element of challenge but should overall feel fantastic and useful to the pregnant practitioner.

Anna has been coming to classes bi-weekly since early on in her pregnancy, and for the past few weeks has been practicing at home some of the things that we do in class like the Forward Leaning Inversion, the chair outer hip-opener, and ball circling. Way to go Anna! You made the space in your uterus for your baby’s head to slide into! 

This is Anna’s story, which is not meant to be set as an expectation that these movements will do this for all bodies, but more as a reminder that they can and often do work. Some pregnant people may need to do them way more than another birther. We are all carrying and examining unique body stories. 

Founder of Spinning Babies, Gail Tully, says that a head-down position is only half of it. The placement of a baby’s head-down position and whether it will be able to tuck its chin and rotate through the pelvis is another huge and nuanced factor in the birthing equation. Another factor is that there are many variations of pelvic shapes which combine in unique ways that make no pelvis exactly like another one. The most predominant variations lie in the shape of the pelvic inlet, which means that each baby will have its unique journey of moving or engaging in the pelvis. A mobile pelvis will allow babies to move and spin as they need to to make their way through the pelvis and into the birthing canal and out into the world. I hear many people saying things like, “I’m all set; my baby is in a head-down position, so I’m ready for labor!” I absolutely love this confidence, but where it’s appropriate I try to encourage pregnant yogis to keep moving and opening and coming to yoga as long as it’s still feeling supportive. The baby’s journey has only just begun!

Therefore, the fusion of prenatal yoga that I usually teach is not only intended for those attempting to turn their baby from a breech position. It’s also great to encourage a nice head positioning once a baby is already head-down. Above all, I encourage pregnant yogis to move in ways that feel nice and that align with their body’s wisdom and intuition. Birthers often can feel what types of movement are beneficial to them when given the space to explore, listen, and feel. 

I combine yoga concepts of safe alignment and form, restful and relaxing postures, and breath awareness practices with some Spinning Babies theory in my classes and private sessions. Beginning yoga before pregnancy is ideal, but if you’ve already passed that, come as soon as you’re feeling up to it. 

The Spinning Babies website offers great step-by-step instructions on how to do many of their recommended exercises. 

I hope to see you in class! It meets in-person and virtually. 

Registration for Prenatal Yoga Teacher

Posted on by Sarah

A person who is eligible for registration as a Prenatal Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance has completed at a minimum both a 200 hour yoga teacher training and an 85 hour prenatal yoga teacher training from registered yoga schools. Once the person has completed these registered programs, they need to teach at least 30 hours of prenatal yoga. I taught prenatal yoga for many years with only having a 15 hour weekend prenatal yoga teacher training, but as I put in the years of extra training and attended more workshops and trainings specifically dedicated to prenatal yoga, I have become a much more knowledgeable, safer, and useful prenatal yoga teacher. I cringe at some of the things I used to do in my prenatal yoga classes with my limited training. I completed a year-long labor doula program, which focused heavily on the birthing process alone, but this would not provide much help in prenatal yoga. If you’re considering prenatal yoga, it may be wise to find out what kind of trainings your instructor has so that you can get the maximum out of your prenatal yoga sessions while you’re pregnant. You may find that your teacher is great without having these trainings, but it may be something useful to look into. Many prenatal yoga teachers with online videos and live classes are not registered and have had very little training, if any, dedicated to prenatal yoga.

Top 10 Reasons to do Prenatal Yoga: It’s Beyond What You Might Think

Top 10 Reasons to do Prenatal Yoga: It’s Beyond What You Might Think

Posted on by Sarah

A person’s prenatal time is one of beauty, joy and often challenge. Prenatal yoga, under the guidance of a well-trained and careful instructor, provides benefits to the birthing person and pregnancy far beyond simple rest, relaxation and stretching.  Though these too are important and beneficial, this is just the beginning.

The list below is simply a list, without ranking order, of many of the benefits that a birthing person may receive from practicing prenatal yoga throughout their pregnancy. The benefits exceed what I’ve written here.  

Continue reading “Top 10 Reasons to do Prenatal Yoga: It’s Beyond What You Might Think” →
Prenatal Yoga: One of the Ultimate Forms of Hatha Yoga

Prenatal Yoga: One of the Ultimate Forms of Hatha Yoga

Posted on by Sarah

Prenatal Yoga reminds me of how I always hope to practice yoga. Any goal of posture is completely out. We’re free to be in a space of yoga.

Prenatal yoga is not only a typically safe and healthy way to exercise and relax during pregnancy, but it is also a unique time in a woman’s life when it is nearly impossible to ignore the messages of her body. I’ve often in the past disregarded the messages of the body and let my own agendas about being fit, exercising, and doing advanced asanas plow through and against the current of what feels right. The mind conversation takes the lead over the body, and rather than merging, they’re arguing. I remember feeling blessed and so tuned-in when I began to surrender these beliefs and listen to body messages while being pregnant. The body is a piece of the universe – it is tuned-in to universal wisdom. It has the potential to tap us in. It can be a source of infinite now-ness and spark.

Continue reading “Prenatal Yoga: One of the Ultimate Forms of Hatha Yoga” →