Nourishment (noun): the food necessary for growth, health, and good condition. It is not just our babies that need nourishment. The first weeks and months of mothering can be like a rebirth for ourselves as we grieve for the woman that was and get to know the new mother in her shoes. It is a… Continue reading Postnatal Yoga Part 1 – Nurture
Stability (noun): the state or quality of being stable / firmness in position. This is an image of my favourite baby toy - it perfectly represents the subtle balance of alignment, strength and tone required to keep a body in good shape. If one of the elastic bands (muscles and ligaments) gets too tight or… Continue reading Postnatal Yoga Part 2 – Stability
Vitality arises as the result of adequate nourishment and stability. Even when we are very tired, yoga offers us tools for focusing on the vitality in the body and literally locking it in! Vitality-boosting practices include opening the chest and mobilising the shoulders to welcome inhalation and all that life has in store. Vitality-locking practices… Continue reading Postnatal Yoga Part 3 – Vitality
Back pain of various types is a common story in my Mother Nurture Yoga classes for pregnancy and postnatal recovery. From slight niggles to debilitating aches I have met a lot of women who are managing back pain and offer you here three possible solutions: RestMoveStabilise Mother Nurture Yoga classes are ‘safe’ for many common… Continue reading Three Back-care Solutions for New Mothers
If I have learned anything in over ten years of Mother Nurture Yoga it is that everyone does ‘Mothering’ differently, but however you do it, it is just so spectacularly beautiful and generally so spectacularly undervalued. Here is a virtual High Five and some (positive) judgements I’ve already made about you.
This model of what it is to be human comes from the Taittiriya Upanisad, and is a helpful way to understand what a 'nourishing' yoga practice might look like (something for every level), and what a holistic, balanced lifestyle include. I am nourished by food (physical body)I am nourished by breath (energy/vitality)I am nourished by… Continue reading Postnatal Yoga – The Five Bodies
