Getting pregnant is such a stage of life that when we have to take all the patience, prayers and will power. It is no doubt that it is the most irreversible transition that you make in your life time from being a child to becoming a parent. It is truly like a rebirth.
For a woman it is great experience when life grows inside you.
It is the time when your schedules thinking and experiences influences the life inside you. So you should be very careful about this.
This is the time when instead of get worried you can enjoy it a very beautiful and pleasant experience of carrying a life inside you. You can observe all the day to day changes inside you and enjoy the pregnancy.
Here are some lifestyles, yoga which can make you life heaven in this precious stage.
There is a common misconception that once you are pregnant you cannot do yoga . It is precisely at this stage that you need the yoga more. The most essential part of yoga which can help you at this stage are like pranayama, om chanting and meditation.
The following schedule can help you during pregnancy and the duration of pregnancy of nine months can be divided as
- The first trimester
- Second trimester
- Third trimester
The first trimester schedule
First trimester means the starting three months of pregnancy which is very difficult for the new pregnants.
This is the time when you start with the symptoms of nausea, morning sickness, vomiting and hormonal imbalances. The schedules which can help you during these months or the days when you can do is
Step 1
Pranayama
Start with cleansing the nasal passage with the ‘moon pranayama’ wherein you sit in any comfortable position with your spine straight. If it is tough to sit on the floor, then you can even sit on the bed or a chair. Keep your hands in the anulome-vilome mudra, that is first two fingers in under the thumb. Close your right nasal passage with your thumb and begin breathing nice and easy only through the left. Repeat the inhaling-exhaling set about 4 times and relax.
Benefits: The benefit is that since the left nasal passage carries the cooling energy by activating it, the entire system also cools down. Being cool, calm and collected is all that really matters at this stage.
After relaxing sometime start the ‘sun pranayama‘. Continue to sit in the same position, the only difference this time over is that you have to keep the left nasal passage closed and only breathe in and out through the right. Repeat the cleansing 4 times and then relax.
Benefits: The benefit this time around is that since the right passage carries the heat energy (pingala), it activates the heat energy, enhancing your rate of metabolism, breaking down and flushing out all blockages and congestion.
Once both the nadis are balanced, then we have to reach the precision state of sushumna – where all imbalances cease to exist. All you have to do is perform 4 sets of anulom-vilom pranayama (alternate breathing). You may refer to this pranayama (Alternate breathing).
Step 2
Om Chanting
You can sit in any comfortable posture. Sit with crossing one foot on the opposite thigh and the other foot placed on the other thigh. If you cannot manage both, then even one foot would do. Slowly take a deep breath and say ‘om’.
Om possesses the innate ability of piercing through all the layers reaching your core, your true self, thereby helping you reconnect with your soul. So repeat it as many times as you like with faith, belief and conviction. You will literally feel as if you have reached a floating, weightless state of existence. I am sure you would not mind reaching cloud nine.
Step 3
Meditation
Make it a regular habit to meditate for a little while every single day. You could start with just a few minutes and build it up to at least an hour or so over a period of time. This will help to maintain balance in your physical, mental and emotional transformation.
To be able to make this serene connection, you must ensure that first put your mind out from the external world out the clutter, this relaxed physical level you can meditate.
There are no efforts or forceful tactics required, once you have made peace with what you are what you believe in. Contrary to the popular belief, where meditation is considered the art of focus and concentration, I believe that it is mastering the art of being free and fluid that defines the true purpose and essence of meditation.
It all depends on how much time you can devote to just being with yourself. So the first step is to make peace with yourself.
Step 4
Stretch out
Stretch out every now and then, especially while lying down, out your hands on top, toes in front and breathe nice and deep as you stretch through the length of your body. It helps in reducing out all the stiffness, tension knots and strain. As these mothers are very sensitive strictly follow your comfort level.
Step 5
Massage your feet and hands
Follow the regular regime of massaging your feet and hands with special focus on your soles and palms, because this is where the roots of all your organs are located. Each part of your soles and palms correspond to an organ in your body. These highly sensitive nerve endings, if massaged regularly, boost your blood circulation which in turn activates your energy level and mobilizes your digestion. it also relieves undue stress or strain which is bound to build up along your spinal channel or neck muscles.
Second Trimester
Once you have crossed the first three months, now you enter into the safe sound zone.
Even though consistent care is always needed but it is the time that you can enhance your activities gradually. To make the second trimester comfortable and healing continue following schedule of the first trimester and add the following steps to make your regime.
Steps 1-5
As mentioned in the 5 point schedule of the First Trimester Schedule.
Leisure Walk
The middle three months are the months when you are allowed to move around relatively more than the first and the last. Make sure you go for a walk, depending upon your ease. Do not stick to a hard and fast regime, first walk whenever you get time and try to feel the beauty of nature and free your mind.
This daily small walk is an excellent remedy for sugar problem and liver disorders that might grow up during this period.
Third trimester
The last trimester is again becomes a challenge. This is the time where the real patience began. As there will be physical, mental and hormonal imbalance.
As performing asanas is not possible in this trimester but you need to focus more on the aspect of prayer, ohm chanting and meditation all of which you have been performing in the first trimester stage. These all are the key factors which play a key role in balancing you.
Deep Breathing
To keep your cool and battle all those nasty cramps and contractions, here is the perfect remedy. Sit in any comfortable position with straight. Keep your eyes closed and only orient your energies towards the rhythm of your breathing.
As you take a deep and long breath in through the nasal passage and release ith through the mouth. Your mouth should be in a funnel shape as you release the breath with a little bit of force so as to flush out the hypersensitive, clogged up heat energy from your system. By the end of it, you will be a feeling this soothing cool sensation through your breathing passage right from the base of your abdomen till the top of your head.
Body massage
At this stage, it is not enough to only keep up the hands and feet massage routine but it is your entire body that needs to de-stress. So oil massage from head to toe is good. Just make sure that the massage is soft and gentle and not the usual power-pressure. You could top it up with a hot water soak in the tub or a hot water shower.
By now you are wondering how all these steps measure up to being part of a yoga-based schedule. It is pretty simple if you understand, that all this schedule is to give you a lifestyle by refining all those small yet significant aspects of your daily routine that can make your life heaven or hell in this precarious stage that you are in. Coming up next as part of this lifestyle refinement programme are the ideal postures that you need to incorporate consciously into your routine specially while resting or sleeping.
Sleeping or resting postures
First of all, always keep your feet and lower legs at slightly raised level, while you are lying down or even sitting for long hours by placing 1 or 2 cushions or pillows underneath. This simple measure, if followed religiously, can be greatly beneficial in enhancing your blood circulation and avoiding the swelling syndrome. Combine this with drinking 8-10 glasses of water to avoid excessive water retention, which is a common phenomenon at this stage.
Secondly, make it a point to lie down on your left side most of the times by keeping your left leg straight and overlapping it by the right leg straight and overlapping it by the right leg as you bend it a bit. Not only is this posture ideal to drain out the stiffness and tension from the spine but at the same time, it is excellent to mobilize your digestive machinery. There is no perfect or easy way to go through this nine-month marathon. But the least that you can do is to make the ride smoother and more enjoyable and that is precisely where these schedules fit in.