YogaBellies Spring Newsletter

YogaBellies®

Spring 2013

Our Spring update April 2013

International Birth ROCKS Day To celebrate International Birth ROCKS day , YogaBellies® Glasgow hosted a Birth ROCKS Day event celebrating empowering women in birth and in life. We showed film screenings of “Freedom for Birth” and “Red Tent” both portraying the struggles women have had to overcome in life and the importance of having a support network such as that offered

by YogaBellies®.

The event was a great fun evening

YogaBellies Articles for you

of bonding and laughter, and included a Birth Art Session, paired

You will find some links to some of our lovely articles below… 

Read YogaBellies founder Cheryl MacDonald’s article on ‘Why Birth ROCKS’ on The Green parent website.

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Read another article by Cheryl on yoga practice during her own difficult pregnancy published on Mind Body Green.

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Five things you didn’t know about yoga with baby, featured on the Wellicious blog page.

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10 Great tips about Yoga for Pregnancy blog on Whatson4littleones

massage and also guided medication and relaxation.

Across the UK, YogaBellies Birth ROCKS mentors took part in celebrating mothers everywhere. Bobbie Challenger from Putney took part in a meditation flash mob on the evening of Birth ROCKS Day to let everyone know that BIRTH ROCKS!

Where can you find YogaBellies in 2013?

Comfort Measures for Birth

by Iza Bielnicka

There is one simple rule when considering comfort measures for your own labour - think about what relaxes you. Most women prefer to focus inward. Some visualize their cervix opening wider and wider with every contraction. Others prefer to focus on a pleasant memory or a beautiful place. It could be a beach by the ocean and waves coming in and out or maybe a chalet in mountains with a waterfall nearby.

The breathing techniques that we practice in YogaBellies prenatal classes are an amazing way to focus your mind. One of my personal favourites is the Golden Breath, where on each exhale you imagine a golden thread spinning out of your gently opened mouth. This is a beautiful and a very effective technique.

Another option is to repeat over and over a prayer or affirmation. It could be: “I trust my body to birth my baby”. Chanting, singing and vocalization (e.g. name of your baby) are excellent way to move through labour.

Another brilliant and also very versatile comfort measures are massage and touch. Some women do not want to be touched during labour at all. Others find massage extremely relaxing.

Warm water applied in the form of bath or shower is considered to be one of the most effective, drugfree forms of pain relief. Immersion in warm water gives a sense of privacy and relaxation, which can speed-up labour.

In order to keep high energy throughout labour it is important to stay hydrated. Here is a recipe for a yummy, energy-boosting, hydrating drink: 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice ¼ tsp sea salt Water up to 2 cups Freedom of movement and position changing is another way of bringing comfort and progressing through labour in an efficient way. It is recommend to change position about every half an hour. In one of the YogaBellies prenatal yoga classes we demonstrate many positions you could choose from: walking, standing, kneeling, sitting, lying down or coming onto hands and knees. They all can speed up labour by promoting changes in the shape of the pelvis and, for some of them, by working with gravity. Swaying from side to side, rocking, slow dancing and other rhythmic movement can bring comfort and can help your baby manoeuvre through pelvis.

Even though it is not possible to control the process of labour, we may still feel in control. We have control over comfort measures and we have full control over our responses to contractions and the flow of labour. Trust your body and enjoy this wonderful process. Good luck!

Contributed by Iza Bielnicka MS (HONS), CYT, CD. Iza is a birth doula, shamanic healer and Certified YogaBellies Teacher. She teaches classes on Glasgow city, Bearsden and Bishopbriggs and can be contacted on iza@yogabellies.co.uk

YogaBellies® Nominated for Awards YogaBellies® have been nominated for the 2013 “What's On 4 Junior Awards” for “Best pre/post natal activity” and “Best National Baby & Toddler Development Activity (new-born to 2 years)” This year the LIVE “What’s on 4 Junior Awards” will take place on the main stage at BabyExpo Brighton - The South Coast's Biggest & Brightest Baby Show and Family Fun Day which will take place on June 30 at Brighton Racecourse. By nominating or voting you could win 2 VIP tickets to join us for the awards on June 30, free tickets into BabyExpo and to mingle with all the finalists and winners along with other VIP guests at the Champagne Reception!

Please vote for us at: http:// www.whatson4littleones.co.uk/awards-voting2013.asp?u

Welcoming our new YogaBellies Teachers across the UK! Since the start of 2013, 21 new YogaBellies teachers have joined us, running their own successful, ethical YogaBellies business. If you’d like to help other women and work around your family your family visit www.yogabelliesteachers.co.uk

Kidz YogaBellies have launched a brand new Children’s Yoga program called YogaBelliesKidz which is aimed at children aged 3 to 12 years old.

We are excited to be offering these classes to schools and nurseries across the UK who would love to use Yoga as part of their school curriculum.

Our Kidz classes are based around the National Curriculum for Excellence and teach yoga in a fun and exciting way using topics such as Spaceships, Artic exploration, Romans and even learning about our climate whilst still promoting the true benefits of yoga which are flexibility, strength, calming and good health.

And since roughly 5% of school age children have ADHD and there is a rise in Autism and Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis, we hope that our program will help manage some of these conditions in schools too.

We will also be running private classes soon and eventually holiday classes throughout Glasgow! So watch this space. To enquire about YogaBelliesKidz please visit our new Kidz website or contact Lisa@yogabellies.co.uk

YogaBellies are delighted to present our new YogaBELLES classes created especially for women at every stage of their life. Yoga originated thousands of years ago in India and was designed with the male body in mind. YogaBELLES yoga has been designed around the natural flexibility and intrinsic life stages that women experience throughout their lives. We acknowledge the subtle energies surrounding feminine intuition and also the female ability to tune into and work with their emotions. Our classes are open to all levels of yoga practitioner.

There are four different types of YogaBELLES class offered as part of the YogaBELLES ‘Elements’ series: Fire: Core Strength Yoga Air: Chakra Balancing Yoga Water: Lunar Flow Yoga Earth: Restorative Yin Yoga To find out more about YogaBELLES classes now being offered across the UK, or to find your nearest YogaBELLES teacher, visit www.yogabelles.co.uk

YogaBellies Sakhya Pass We have added lots of new offers to our Sakhya Pass that all YogaBellies clients receive in their packs. Recent additions to the Sakhya Pass include:    

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10% off Wellicious clothing with the code welliciousyogabellies.

15% off Asquith London’s gorgeous new summer collection. Quote YOGABELLIES30 at check out.

15% off all orders from the online shop using code YOGABELLIES at www.snugglemuffin.com £150 discount on umbilical cord stem cell storage - quoting YB150 to receive this discount at the time of booking at www.biovaultfamily.co.uk 10% discount off your items when you use code YB33 at online checkout at http:// www.more4mums.co.uk

If you would like to provide a Sakhya Pass offer for our lovely YogaBellies ladies please email maryfrances@yogabellies.co.uk