Are there advantages in yoga for pregnant women?

Are There Advantages In Yoga For Pregnant Women

Fatigue, weight gain, mood swings, tenderness, swelling, cravings, constipation, cramps, headaches. Pregnancy can really get you down. However, many women are turning to yoga for the duration of their pregnancies to alleviate many of the unfortunate symptoms, for keeping excess weight off during those trying months and to provide their babies with the healthiest possible start.

Pregnant women practice yoga for physical benefits. For instance, yoga practice can teach techniques that will be helpful during labor, such as breathing and relieving tension around the cervix and birth canal. Additionally, prenatal physicians recommend combining a light cardiovascular exercise (like walking) with a relaxing, muscle-toning exercise (like yoga) to maintain your physique, in spite of the intense cravings and normal weight gain associated with pregnancy.

Other pregnant women practice yoga for mental benefits. For one, it can be a great support to meet other women going through the same thing you are. Also, there is much emphasis on focusing on the moment and deriving happiness from each and every day, which can be vital when your hormones are out of whack. Yoga has been known to stimulate beta-endorphins, which also brings comfort and a sense of relief.

Yoga for pregnancy improves circulation, leg strength and increases energy. Sitting and standing positions are the most recommended, with pressure put on the shoulders and back, rather than the abdomen.

Yoga videos can be previewed at YouTube.com — or you can read user reviews on Amazon.com as well. There are many options featuring yoga for pregnant women, so it’s all a matter of your personal preference regarding setting, instructor, technique and comfort. Some focus more on emotional benefits, whereas others are designed to help strengthen muscles. You may also want to look into communal yoga classes at Yoga.com. Either way, this is a special time to bond with your baby — don’t pass this up!

It may surprise you to learn that Yoga dates back to 3300-1700 B.C.E. and has long been a practice of Buddhists, Hindus and other Eastern religions. But what should not be surprising the tremendous benefits that this form of exercise and meditation can bring to your life. Working professionals, students, home-makers and the retired alike are finding how wonderful they feel after participating. The sense of calm that prevails as well as the satisfaction of muscles well worked all make Yoga the perfect blend of philosophy, religion and exercise. Even if you do not practice the spiritual aspects of this ancient practice, you can still benefit.

Original article can be found at: http://broadcastarchives.net/health-blog/?p=146

Gestational Diabetes - Prenatal Yoga - Walking

Did I mention that I tested positive for Gestational Diabetes at 28 weeks?

Hoo Boy! I had earlier in my pregnancy went to the diabetes nutritionist, so I had an idea about the small meals all days long, count the carbs, etc.

But, now it was serious! No way did I want the doc to have an excuse to do a C-Section.

My fingers sure did get sore for those last weeks in pregnancy. I tested when I got up.

• I tested after breakfast.

• I tested after snack.

• I tested after lunch.

• I tested after snack.

• I tested after dinner/supper.

and yes,

• I tested after my last snack.

I did really well actually, in writing everything (yes, everything) down that I ate, the carb count etc. Whenever my blood sugars got above 160, I had to go and walk for 20 minutes, retest, and if they didn't go down, call the doctor. My blood sugars always went down.

Well, let me tell you, that 20 minutes of being either outside walking around in my backyard/neighboorhood or on the treadmill really did the trick.

I taught yoga4 times a week by then, too, and I'd go in on my days that I didn't teach, and get on the recumbent bike, and then go the mats, and do more yoga stretching. I really felt strong and in control of what was going on.

Doctor said, he wished his younger patients, would get serious and take care of their health like I did at the "Advance Maternal Age" of 46!

Course he said that I had 1/3 chance of getting diabetes later in life, since I had it while pregnant, so I needed to be retested within 6 weeks, and then on a regular basis after that.

So, little Grace turned out to be the smallest baby, that I had ever had. Only 8 lbs 4 ozs. After I got to 10 cm, she was the quickest to come out.....4 pushes! The birth ball, the breathing, the redirection of sense through Yoga and Bradley Childbirth techniques really works.....even though I had to be induced....no pain meds....quick recovery too....

gaileee

p.s. Be sure to ask your doc/midwife for a referral to a diabetes nutritionist. Often a hospital around you will have one, and even if you have to pay for this yourself, it is information worth having!

Prenatal Yoga Site and UPdate to Beth Shaw's Book!

Howdy!
Here is a site to look at for some prenatal poses.
http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/fitness/prenatal-yoga-workout/

The pose cards you can also purchase on amazon dot com. I have a copy of those,
and they are great!

New Year Greetings!!!

p.s.
Beth Shaw has her new book out!
Here is the scoop!


Famed YogaFit® Principles Outlined in Updated Book

Eight years after the release of the first edition of Beth Shaw's YogaFit, the woman responsible for the trademark combination of cardiorespiratory exercise and yoga poses brings more detailed instruction and content to the unique book. The new edition of Beth Shaw's YogaFit (Human Kinetics, 2009) expands on YogaFit's methods, providing a total-body workout that emphasizes strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness.

Champaign, IL (PRWEB) January 1, 2009 -- Eight years after the release of the first edition of Beth Shaw's YogaFit, the woman responsible for the trademark combination of cardiorespiratory exercise and yoga poses brings more detailed instruction and content to the unique book. The new edition of Beth Shaw's YogaFit (Human Kinetics, 2009) expands on YogaFit's methods, providing a total-body workout that emphasizes strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness.

Beth Shaw founded YogaFit in 1994, creating a program that addressed the difficulties yoga faced in the health club setting--bright lights, cold rooms, and clients of various sizes and fitness and flexibility levels. Since its inception, YogaFit has trained more than 75,000 fitness professionals and yoga instructors at facilities in the United States and Europe, and it has been integral to yoga's adoption in health club and spa programs throughout the world.

Shaw highlights YogaFit's immediate popularity among Americans who might be intimidated by conventional yoga. "While traditional yoga has much to offer, it isn't necessary to speak Sanskrit, chant, or even become vegetarian to enjoy the multidimensional benefits of this ancient practice," she explains. "Nor do you have to be flexible or familiar with any aspect of yoga. YogaFit will enrich your exercise program and your ability to enjoy life."

Beth Shaw's YogaFit, Second Edition, has been updated to include more in-depth instruction, illustrated poses, and focused workouts. Shaw also provides new information on warming up and cooling down, building core strength and stability, eating healthfully, and integrating YogaFit principles into daily life.

YogaFit promotes living a balanced life and is active in giving back to the community through outreach programs from their corporate headquarters and partner studios. To gain a certificate of completion, participants in the YogaFit Teacher Training must donate eight classes to a group of people who normally would not have the opportunity to take yoga.
For more information on Beth Shaw's YogaFit or other fitness books, visit http://www.humankinetics.com/ or call 1-800-747-4457. (Actually go to her website at http://YogaFit.com/ and order....thats an order!! (LOL))

About the author:Beth Shaw, president and founder of YogaFit Training Systems Worldwide, Inc., is recognized throughout the United States and Europe as one of the leading experts in fitness today. She also stars in her own exercise video, Beth Shaw's YogaFit Workout.
Her accomplishments don't stop there. She is also an award-winning producer of YogaFit TV and a recipient of the Enterprising Women of the Year Award. She has been published in numerous consumer and fitness publications, including Shape, Athletic Business, Fitness, Yoga Journal, CBI, Fitness Product News, Recreation Resources, IDEA Today, and LA Parent.

With 15 years of experience in fitness training and 11 years of yoga practice, Shaw has received teacher certifications from Yoga White Lotus Foundation, Integrative Yoga Therapy Association, Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing, and Reebok University. She has also completed course work in the UCLA Fitness Instructors Certification Program. She also holds a bachelor of science degree in health marketing from Long Island University.

Shaw founded YogaFit in 1994 and opened her own signature studio in Hermosa Beach, California, in 1998. Her studio currently serves more than 2,000 students a month. Offering an ACE-, AFAA-, and IHRSA-approved teacher training and certification program, YogaFit has trained more than 50,000 fitness instructors from the United States and Europe.
When not teaching and lecturing internationally, Shaw enjoys reading and taking long bike rides along the beach. She resides in Redondo Beach, California.

CONTENTS
Part I Preparing to Be YogaFit
Chapter 1 YogaFit Essentials
Chapter 2 YogaFit Breathing
Chapter 3 The YogaFit Lifestyle
Chapter 4 Warming Up and Cooling Down
Part II Purposeful Poses
Chapter 5 Core Stability and Strength
Chapter 6 Standing and Balancing Poses
Chapter 7 Forward and Backward Bends
Chapter 8 Twists
Chapter 9 Deep Relaxing Stretches and Inversions
Part III Putting It All Together
Chapter 10 Workouts for Fitness and Sports
Chapter 11 Diet