An Experience with Homebirth

Of course, I got a beautiful, angelic baby out of the deal, but a rushed Cesarian with a half-asleep doctor and being told that I was not able to see her for a full hour as I “recovered” in a different room was not my idea of the ideal experience.

I knew that I needed to actively seek out an alternative way for my next childbirth.

With my second pregnancy, my original doctor told me that I would need a C-section again.

Once a C-section, always a C-section, I guess. No thank you.

Unless either myself or my baby was in grave danger, I wished to avoid another surgery at all costs.

I had too strong of a belief that childbirth was a natural, normal experience that a female body was well-equipped to handle to sign right up for another one of those.

Friends pointed me to a midwife, Yolanda, who was willing to work with me. She had delivered over 2000 babies in people’s homes, many v-backs, and was a well-respected legend in the community.

Going into my first meeting with her, I was skeptical, nervous, and excited.

No one I knew had had their baby outside of the hospital. Was I being true to myself, or irresponsible and stupid by investigating this path?

Throughout the next nine months I had the time to become fully convinced that I was making the right decision for me to have my baby at home.

Each office visit was leisurely, and over time the midwife became a close family friend.

The visits were spent talking candidly about the pregnancy and drinking chamomile tea in addition to weigh-ins and other medical check-up procedures.

I felt that by the time I went into labor, this woman knew me, my personality, my fears, my strengths and was ready to guide me through this experience in a way that would work best for ME.

My labor was an excruciating 28 hours long, but was actually beautiful , enjoyable, and empowering with Yolanda by my side.

She reminded me that I was one of billions of women in history to have my child naturally at home, that childbirth was a special bond shared between all of the women in the world.

She gave me strength by teaching me to choose to not view the sensation as pain, but just as intensity of energy (this somehow miraculously worked!).

She was familiar with yoga and guided me through pranayama.

She was able to keep me fully present throughout the entire experience, so that I was able to remember and enjoy every single moment.

She treated me as a whole person with fears and emotions and unique quirks, not just as a patient in the hospital line-up. She was by my side from the first contraction to the last, sharing each tear, each giggle, each sigh of exhaustion with me.

Homebirth is definitely not for everyone, and even Yolanda is the first to admit that there is a time and a place for the hospital. But for me, it was a conscious choice to trust in the wisdom of my body, to believe in myself and my own strength, and to welcome my new baby girl into the most relaxed and peaceful environment as possible.

Pranayama and Childbirth

While a woman may have a solid yoga practice, sometimes during the intensity of childbirth she forgets everything that she has learned!

A yoga practice, including pranayama, provides a woman with a solid foundation to go into childbirth empowered, strong, and focused on the amazing task at hand.

Experiencing childbirth, especially for the first time, can be scary and stressful to a new mom (and for other family members, too!). But when a woman is afraid, her body produces adrenaline and shuts down the production of oxytocin, a hormone that helps labor progress.

By remembering to practice simple ujayi breathing at all times during labor, a woman can stay focused and feel more in control of her pain-response.

She can dissolve away fears through regular pranayama. Women have a tendency to hold their breath when they push, which cuts off oxygen to the baby, tightens the whole body, and makes the entire process more painful.

Instead of tightening up, pranayama will help her to relax and open up, facilitating an easier childbirth. Deep, regular breathing not only nourishes the baby with oxygen, it also helps to conserve energy for the new mom.

Only simple breathing techniques should be used.

This is not the appropriate time to test out all kinds of new and fancy exercises!

No pranayama should be practiced that involves holding the breath for long periods of time, nor should any exercises be done that contract the stomach muscles tightly. Ujayi breathing, which is slow, deep breathing through the nose and out the nose, works the best in this case.

By remembering pranayama throughout labor, a woman can feel more connected with her body and can lessen her fears, creating emotional space to actually find joy in this process of labor. At the same time, her baby is being nourished with fresh oxygen and gets to be come into the world welcomed by a calm and centered mother.

Yoga and ADD

The practice of yoga can be a very complementary therapy.  Implementing a yoga practice is by no means an overnight fix, but instead slowly teaches a person with ADD lifelong skills to help manage the disorder long term.

It is important to take special consideration with choosing the teacher of yoga and the location where the yoga will be practiced.

In the beginning, private classes may be more effective, until certain routines can be established and self-management skills can be developed.

A 30 minute private class in a very basic, relaxing room would be ideal.  The room during the practice should be free of props, musical instruments, anything that could be distracting to the ADD brain.

The teacher should be incredibly patient, and must be able to think even more quickly and creatively than the student, to keep one step ahead and always have something to offer.

A style that is very consistent, with systematic and predictable movements such as Vinyasa or Ashtanga can be helpful to set routines and help to keep the brain organized.

The biggest benefit of yoga for someone with ADD is self-awareness.

The ADD brain is always struggling with an overload of mental stimuli, lacks mental space for introspection.

It seems at times that a person with ADD is aware of every single detail in the room except themselves.

A teacher that will ask questions such as “How warm do your muscles feel?” or “Do you feel like you are exerting more than you are relaxing in this pose?” will help prompt the student to develop awareness.

Overall, a predictable practice which incorporates a lot of balancing and standing poses would probably be the most effective.  Instead of traditional savasana at the end, a chime or Tibetan singing bowl that the student could play could be brought out so that the student could relax while still being engaged.

Yoga should not be seen as a quick fix for ADD.

Self-awareness, relaxation, and focus are hard enough concepts for someone without ADD to master!   But with patience and consistency with the practice, a person with ADD can make huge leaps in a positive direction towards self-control, introspection, and the ability to focus.

Yoga For Anxiety

When the anxiety gets the best of us, we have a choice – we can either medicate, or look for alternative methods of getting our mind back under our control.

A practice of meditation and yoga can give one the self-awareness and detachment to see the anxiety for what it is.

Most of what we worry about never actually happens, and if it does, the consequences are usually not nearly as bad as what we expected.

Seeing certain thought patterns arise time and time again in meditation or yoga is the first step to getting them under control.

With the practice of detachment, we can watch the thoughts, see some of the tricks that our mind plays all day long, and recognize harmful patterns as just that – habits that can be changed for the better.

Sometimes we can recognize anxiety as a way that our body or mind is telling ourselves that something is not right.

If you are overly anxious about a new job or a move, maybe re-assess the decision honestly to see if it really serves you or not.

And sometimes what we perceive as a bad situation is exactly what we need at that moment to grow, learn, or transcend.

The practice of yoga will help you to see more clearly if this is the case or not.

Yoga can also help us differentiate between that which is within our control and that which is not.

We can never have full control over outside circumstances, or of other people.  Trying to control these things is futile, and enough to drive anyone crazy!

But yoga teaches us that we always have control over our internal responses to external happenings.

Anxiety is a response when we are overly concerned over what may or may not happen in the future.

In the words of Ramana Maharshi, “If we take care of the present, the future will take care of itself”.

Posted via email from yogaxo’s posterous

Posted via email from yogaxo’s posterous

Posted via email from yogaxo’s posterous

Posted via email from yogaxo’s posterous

Posted via email from yogaxo’s posterous

Posted via email from yogaxo’s posterous