SOULAR POWERED PRENATAL YOGA & BIRTH
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THE AMAZING BENEFITS OF PRACTICING PRENATAL YOGA
Discovering yoga during pregnancy -- as your body changes and new life grows within you -- can be a wonderful experience. This ancient practice teaches you how to bring the mind and body into balance, which can help ground you during this time of change.
Yoga designed specifically for pregnant women offers a wonderful way to keep your body in peak shape as you get closer to labor while also serving as a foundation to begin yoga soon after you give birth.
Here are some of the rewards:
* The stretching and strengthening of your muscles will help to lessen the aches and pains due to added weight and your shifting center of gravity.
* The strength building and added flexibility, obtained by holding various yoga postures, tones muscles, improves posture, and helps you to maintain a sense of control as your body changes.
* Yoga helps to relieve stress and tension by training your body to relax, which can be very helpful during labor.
* The focus on breathing, an integral part of yoga, is both energizing and relaxing and can be applied in many different contexts, from simple stress management to breathing during child birth.
Whether you have practiced yoga previously or are new to it, now that you're pregnant, check with your doctor first before starting, just as you would with any exercise routine.
While the movements of yoga are safe, whenever you exercise or stretch, there is always the risk of overdoing it, so it is important to listen to your body. If a move is too difficult or if there is the slightest bit of pain in any stretch, stop! A gentle approach over time yields the best results.
Many women, with their doctor's approval, are ready to continue their yoga practice soon after giving birth. Yoga can help with getting your body back to "normal," and also enable you to better cope with the demands of a new baby.
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YOGA IN LABOR
If you have been taking Yoga or Prenatal Yoga classes throughout your pregnancy, you will be armed with many skills to help you give birth.
Several postures, or asanas, can be used in various stages of labor. A woman may find that sitting in the Meditation Pose helps her to focus on her breathing in early labor, or doing the Cat Posture helps to ease the pain of back labor. The way you learned to listen to and work with your body and breath, and with gravity, as well as your improved ability to focus, will all combine to help you cope more confidently with the demands during labor.
Because Yoga promotes flexibility and strength, it will also help you to move more naturally and with greater ease during contractions. This, in turn, will help your labor progress more smoothly and make it less tiring.
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Labor Doula Services
WHAT IS A LABOR DOULA?
A Doula is a woman who attends the birthing family before, during, and just after the birth of the baby. The Doula is trained to deliver emotional support from home to hospital, ease the transition into the hospital environment and be there through changing hospital shifts and alternating provider schedules. The doula serves as an advocate, labor coach, and information source to give the mother and her partner the added comfort of additional support throughout the entire labor. There are a variety of titles used by women offering these kinds of services such as "birth assistant," "labor support specialist" and "doula" .
WHAT DOES A DOULA DO?
Typically, doulas meet with the parents in the second or third trimester of the pregnancy to get acquainted and to learn about prior birth experiences and the history of this pregnancy. She may help you develop a birth plan, teach relaxation, visualization,and breathing skills useful for labor. Most importantly, the doula will provide comfort, support, and information about birth options.
A doula can help the woman to determine prelabor from true labor and early labor from active labor. At a point determined by the woman in labor, the doula will come to her and assist her by:
* Helping her to rest and relax
* Providing support for the woman's partner
* Encouraging nutrition and fluids in early labor.
* Assisting her in using a variety of helpful positions and comfort measures.
* Constantly focus on the comfort of both the woman and her partner.
* Helping the environment to be one in which the woman feels secure and confident.
* Providing her with and information on birth options.
A doula works cooperatively with the health care team. In the event of a complication, a doula can be a great help in understanding what is happening and what options the family may have. The doula may also help with the initial breastfeeding and in preserving the privacy of the new family during the first hour after birth.
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PRE/POST NATAL YOGA & FITNESS
Melinda is currently working with 4 different Yoga Studios and Fitness Centers around the Dayton Ohio area, setting up days and times for Pre/Post Natal Yoga and Fitness classes.
For more information concerning Prenatal/Post-Natal Yoga (Private or Group) and/or Labor Doula Services, please contact :
Melinda Allen's Email
Note: A Doctor's approval letter of health must be presented before taking these classes.
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________________ BIO Melinda Allen is a Yoga Alliance (500 Hours) Registered Yoga Instructor, American Council on Exercise (ACE) Certified Fitness Instructor, American Fitness Professional Assoc. (AFPA) Trained Pre/Post Natal Exercise Consultant, with over 26 years teaching experience. She is also a Labor & Birth Doula (Birth Coach) and Member of CAPPA : Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association. She has assisted 10 births to date. Please contact her if you have any questions. Listed at DoulaNetwork.com
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