Pregnant pilates exercises are not particularly strenuous but you should pay attention to your body and baby by pacing yourself. Your body’s energy levels will be changing and you don’t want to overdo it. Fitness professionals usually apply the talk test. If you are too breathless to talk in a relaxed tone and tempo, it is time to slow down. Other signs that you need to take a break are lightheadedness, feelings of faintness, queasiness, racing heart, shortness of breath, uterine contractions, bleeding or leaking fluid, and headache. As the baby grows, your center of gravity will change. You may find out that you need to be a bit more careful when doing Pregnant pilates exercisessuch as getting up and down for mat exercise, using pilates equipment or working out on an exercise ball.

Hormonal changes during pregnancy encourage suppleness in the joints and muscles. Pregnant women experience more strain to the muscles and ligaments because their bodies are making them more “flexible”. Be sure not to exceed your limit. A number of moderate pregnant pilates exercises can be designed for you.

Discussions about the safety of Pregnant pilates exercises are aplenty; but on the whole, sensible exercise is appropriate during pregnancy.

The compensations of pilates are evident and a great number of pilates followers have testified that doing regular Pilates classes has resulted in well balanced, toned and stronger bodies. Related benefits to pregnant pilates exercises are weight loss, increased energy levels and a general sense of wellbeing. Pilates is uncomplicated and very effective, a great complement to any exercise routine.

According to NAVA, “There is a lot of debate on the subject of Pilates and pregnancy, and exercise in general. Generally speaking, moderate exercise is safe throughout a normal, healthy pregnancy and many gentle pilates exercises are appropriate. However, keep the following cautions in mind.

• Do not over-exert the abdominal muscles to avoid diastases recti (separation of the abdominal muscles).
• Take care of your lower back, which can be strained with the weight of the fetus.
• Avoid all Pilates exercises that require you to lie on your back. The American Council of Obstetrics and Gynecology cautions women in the second trimester of pregnancy against doing any exercises that require this position as it can compromise the vascular system of both the mother and fetus.
• Do not over-stretch as relaxants and progesterone levels increase during pregnancy causing the ligaments around the joints to become lax, loose and vulnerable.
• Be aware that your center of gravity and therefore your sense of balance have changed.
• Do not start a brand new exercise regimen in the first trimester (except for Prenatal Yoga classes or Lamaze classes).

Everything considered, pregnant pilates exercises is more beneficial than detrimental to mother and child. As long as you are guided by an expert who knows how to handle a woman in a delicate condition, any pregnant woman would reap the optimum advantage of this exercise.

Author: Matt Murren
About the author: Matt D Murren owns and operates Pilates-exercises-advisor & Pilates Exercises

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“Answer: Most likely, it won’t. Most women find out that their second pregnancy differs from first one. As a rule, if there are no complications and special problems with health, second pregnancy proceeds easier, than first one. Nevertheless, it’s better for you to plan your second pregnancy in 2-5 years after delivery of your first baby. During this period your organism will be able to restore completely after bearing, delivery and breastfeeding of a baby.”
Click here to read the full article at Baby-Health.net

Most experts readily agree that a second pregnancy differs from the first in many aspects. Usually you will show sooner due to abdominal muscles that have been stretched out from the first pregnancy. The pregnancy can also be more difficult physically because you may be carrying a toddler on one hip. Proper posture is much more important if you are caring for a toddler to avoid back problems.

One of the positive points of a second time pregnancy is that many of the worries and concerns of a first time mother are no longer concerns. You already know what to expect and what is a valid concern. You have the opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Many mothers learn from their horrific hospital births to take matters into their own hands and have a midwife assisted home birth or an unassisted birth. By and large this allows for a peaceful, gentle pregnancy and a blissful, pleasurable childbirth.

Pregnancy has always been a time when I have been so thankful for my knowledge of essential oils and aromatherapy. I am not one of those women who carry pregnancy beautifully. I gain tons of weight, have heartburn and gas, swell up and sleep all of the time. Even though I am not the perfect pregnancy specimen, I still feel like one with aromatherapy.

When I lived with midwives as a teen, I first saw the results of aromatherapy on pregnancy. For my own pregnancy, I expanded upon this knowledge. I discovered that a wonderful thing about aromatherapy when pregnant and after the babies are born is that it gives you a reason to take the time to heal and pamper yourself. What could be better than pampering “medicine”?

I originally formulated the following blends for myself in 1996. Pregnant women,midwives and doulas in the United States have since used them.

Leg Cramp Oil
This oil is so soothing and relaxing on tired muscles. It is not only great for leg cramps, but also for varicose veins, varicosities and sore backs. Put the following ingredients into a container and shake well before using:

• 2 ounces St. John’s Wort oil
• 5 drops neroli essential oil
• 5 drops grapefruit essential oil

Belly Balm or Stretch Mark Prevention Oil
This oil feels wonderful going on. It is smooth and moisturizing and can help with the itching that so often happens when the skin starts stretching. In a double boiler, melt the carrier oils listed below. Carrier oils are nut or seed oils, like almond oil, shea butter, coconut butter and olive oil, for example. These are pressed and not distilled.

• 1 cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup cocoa butter
• 1/8 cup apricot, almond or grapeseed oil
• 1/8 cup Kukui nut oil, shea butter or mango butter (I love using mango butter.)

When these oils have melted completely, remove the mixture from the heat. Allow it to cool for 15-20 minutes, then add the essential oils listed below. Essential oils are distilled from leaves, seeds, roots and flowers that are very concentrated and fragrant. Transfer the blend to a container and allow it to cool completely before using.

• 10-20 drops sandalwood (try to purchase from an ethical source*)
• 15 drops patchouli
• 15 drops sweet orange essential oil

There are additional options for essential oils. Use what you like and/or can find locally. You can also try rosewood, rose, lavender, tangerine and neroli. If you blend your own mixture, be sure to keep the amount of essential oils used at less than 50 drops total.

Massage the balm all over thighs, breasts, stomach and anywhere else that needs nourishing and moisturizing. I have also used this on my face. Living in the Green Mountains, I often need a protector from the frigid winds for my fair skin.

Nausea Spray
Add the following to four ounces of distilled water and use in a spray bottle:

• 20 drops spearmint essential oil
• 15 drops lemon essential oil
• 5 drops sweet orange essential oil

Shake the mixture well and mist the air with it when a woman feels nauseous. You may find that different women prefer other types of scents, so you can also try ginger, neroli and rosewood. Experiment to find the mixture that works best. When making an alternative blend, keep the amount of essential oils used at less than 60 drops.

Labor Mists
The point of using mists during labor is to be as noninvasive as possible. Every person is different and has individual needs. Make sure that you understand and know the person you are making a blend for because the wrong blend can assault the senses. In our need to help, we do not want to create something not so beautiful for a mother.

Relax and Focus
This is a relaxing blend to promote clarity and focus. Fill a four-ounce spray bottle almost full with distilled water and add:

• 20 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 15 drops sweet orange essential oil
• 10 drops spearmint essential oil

Shake well and mist labor room. You can also make a compress by misting a wet cloth with the blend and applying it to the laboring mother’s forehead or back. This mist is great for fathers, too.

Uplift
Transition can be a trying and tiring time for the mother. We want to support her and use a mist blend that will ground and calm her and help lift her spirits. Add water to spray bottle as
above and add:

• 15 drops mandarin essential oil
• 10 drops bergamot essential oil
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops Clary sage essential oil

This is a strong blend and it should be used away from the mother. Never spray the mother directly. Always remember to use essential oils with education and care. Research each oil before use, especially in regard to pregnancy and labor.

* Companies that are ethical sources try to use plants that are sown and harvested for essential oil use specifically. When plants are taken from the wild, these companies insist that they be taken from a sustainable source only.

Author: Demetria Clark
About the author: Demetria Clark is a childbirth doula and runs Heart of Herbs Herbal School in Vermont (see her Web site at Heart of Herbs ). She lives with her husband and two sons, and is currently writing an herbal sourcebook for mothers. Originally printed in BirthKit www.midwiferytoday.com

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This short video clip shows the basic prenatal yoga positions including stretches, pelvic floor exercises (Kegels), strength building poses, standing poses and sitting poses.

This is an excerpt from Gaiam’s prenatal yoga DVD. You can follow along with these poses and if you decide you enjoy the poses you can sign up for a local pre-natal yoga class, get a book to follow along or buy a prenatal yoga DVD. Prenatal yoga is an excellent and safe way to maximize maternal and fetal health and prepare for childbirth.

Shop the Natural Pregnancy Store for natural pregnancy books, prenatal fitness DVDs, prenatal vitamins and supplements and organic pregnancy items. ]]> http://pregnancy.amuchbetterway.com/gaiam-prenatal-yoga-dvd/feed/ http://pregnancy.amuchbetterway.com/prenatal-belly-dance/ http://pregnancy.amuchbetterway.com/prenatal-belly-dance/#comments Sun, 13 May 2007 19:48:27 +0000 Natural Pregnancy http://amuchbetterway.com/pregnancy/2007/05/13/prenatal-belly-dance/

Source: www.PRWeb.com

Prenatal Belly Dance Fitness DVD — Make Your Pregnancy Fun and Sexy

New York, NY (PRWEB) — “Prenatal Bellydance Fitness” — now available on DVD (WorldDance New York) — The ancient art of bellydance is a natural and graceful way to stay active during pregnancy and prepare for motherhood.

Originating in ancient dances and rituals related to fertility, family, life cycle and childbirth, bellydance is based on movements that come naturally to the female body. Some bellydance movements mimic the intuitive natural motions associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Others have been traditionally used to move the baby into the best position or to relieve the discomfort of labor.

The organic, flowing, energizing movement of bellydance helps to improve abdominal control and awareness, relieve aches and discomfort associated with pregnancy, promote better circulation, avoid swelling and cramping and prevent excessive weight gain.

Bellydance hip movements will tone the muscles of your pelvic floor, whose strength is all-important for the birth, as well as for your postnatal recovery. And, beyond these benefits, it offers women a fantastic motivation to stay beautiful and graceful throughout the pregnancy — remain in touch with your inner goddess.

The unique prenatal fitness and dance instruction DVD based on the movement vocabulary of bellydance. Safe and effective for pregnancy, the fitness program and features a 25-min workout including warmup, cooldown, and 3 exercise sections: lower body, upper body, and aerobics composed of faster moves and steps.

Benefits include improved abdominal control and awareness, relief of aches and discomfort associated with pregnancy, and the prevention of excessive weight gain.

This unique dance/workout program has been designed to be safe and effective for pregnancy and follows the guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists.

“Prenatal Bellydance Fitness” DVD is available at Amazon.com, and distributed to retailers by Navarre Corporation (www.navarre.com)

Buy the Prenatal Belly Dance DVD from Amazon.com

Prenatal belly dancing is also an excellent exercise during early labor to help move your baby into position, relax and energize you for the coming event.

Socioeconomic status was a factor in the incidence of postpartum depression. This factor seems to be even more significant than race in raising the risk for postpartum depression. When income was considered, low income women were significantly more likely to experience depression after the birth of a baby.

Of study participants with a household income of less than $20,000, approximately 40 percent suffered from postpartum depression. Only 13 percent of women with a household income above $80,000 per year suffered from clinical depression. Pregnancy.families.com

Many attribute the stress of money, bills and increased baby care costs with the increased risk of postpartum depression. Another possible cause that is rarely considered is the increased birth trauma that African American and low-income (read Medicaid) women often face. African American women have an absolutely appalling rate of cesarean sections and many unscrupulous doctors may take advantage of women who fail to educate themselves on the dangers of childbirth interventions, while simultaneously seeing Medicaid reimbursement as a free for all.

Invasive and dangerous childbirth interventions are damaging to the mother’s physical and psychological state. Many interventions are demeaning and degrading, while others, such as cesareans incapacitate a woman, not only inhibiting her ability to exercise and get fresh air and sunshine postpartum but also to care for and bond with her baby.

In addition, childbirth interventions regularly impede breastfeeding efforts. Breastfeeding releases a number of “feel good” hormones that help a mother bond with her baby and counter PPD.

There are many reasons other than simple money matters that can contribute to postpartum depression. The easiest way to avoid childbirth related depression is to have a gentle, loving lay-midwife assisted or unassisted homebirth. Breastfeed around the clock and wear your baby to facilitate breastfeeding. Cosleeping is also essential during the first few months to ensure successful breastfeeding. Turning lights on in the middle of the night (to go the bathroom or a nursery) is also proven to contribute to PPD. Avoid the lights and cosleep. Lastly, make sure to eat well(avoid soda, sugar and junk food) both during and after pregnancy. Take walks with your baby to get sunshine, fresh air and exercise. PPD is not a sentence that low-income women should simple accept. Take matters into your own hands to not only prevent, but overcome this crippling disorder.

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“One the top reasons Pilates and pregnancy go together so well is that Pilates is great at building core strength. If your abdominals, back, and pelvic floor/Kegel muscles are toned, they will support a more comfortable pregnancy and delivery.” Pilates.about.com

Author: Tracey Mallett

Most people think of Pilates as a new form of exercise because of its recent surge of popularity in the fitness and healthcare industry. In reality, Joseph Pilates invented the practice about 80 years ago by necessity.

Mr. Pilates was a sickly child with asthma. To help fight his illness and build his strength, he experimented with various mind-body disciplines and later became an accomplished skier, diver, gymnast, and boxer. While in internment during WWI in England, he taught fellow interns his concepts and exercises that he developed over 20 years of self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen, and ancient Greek and Roman physical regimens. During this time, Pilates began devising the system of original floor exercises known today as “Pilates matwork”. Within a few years, he became a nurse to the many internees under care with wartime disease and physical injury. Here, he began devising exercise apparatuses to rehabilitate the patients by taking springs from the beds and rigging them to create spring resistance and “movement” for the bedridden. This “system” formed the foundation for his style of body conditioning used today.

In many ways, Pilates equipment today is not much different than it was back then. The use of spring tension, straps, supports for back, neck and shoulders are the same uses for the equipment today. The nature of the equipment is to both challenge and support the body as it learns to move more efficiently.

With the determination to help others achieve better health, Pilates opened his first studio in New York in 1926 where he used his exercise apparatuses and more than 500 movement therapy exercises to help rehabilitate athletes and dancers. For over 60 years this form of exercise was a well kept secret - but dancers, athletes, physical therapy patients and fitness enthusiasts have relied on this Pilates method to attain and stay in top physical form.

The benefit of Pilates’ movement therapy exercises for women during pregnancy and post-partum is mostly misunderstood. Simply put, Pilates is a safe and effective approach to exercise for pregnant women to assist with breathing, body alignment and to recover body shape and tone after birth.

“Pilates can also be beneficial to your baby. Pilates is a gentle exercise that will encourage extra oxygen and nutrients to flow to your unborn child, and the breathing techniques learned can contribute to a smoother delivery. Pilates is also well known for focusing the mind, so using it as a way to take time for yourself, away from your busy life, to help you relax, reduce your stress and ultimately benefit your bump!”Pilatesinsight.com

Pilates focuses on breathing, which promotes relaxation and helps activate the transversus abdominus. The transversus abdominus is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and is responsible for supporting the lumbar spine and pelvic area at a time when ligaments are lax due to the natural hormone relaxin excreted by the body during the pregnancy and breastfeeding stages. Lateral breathing also inherent in Pilates fitness, which improves rib cage mobility when the range of motion in the diaphragm is limited due to the high position of the baby in the third trimester.

Back pain is a common side effect of pregnancy. Unless the abdominal muscles, pelvis and spine are strengthened, problems with the back can occur. Strengthening the transversus abdominus (”abs) through guided Pilates movements will not only improve back pain and postural alignment, but will aid women during labor for a much quicker & safer delivery. Research has shown that activation of the transverses abdominus also activates the pelvic floor, keeping these muscles strong and supple for childbirth. This can also help with any incontinence that you may experience during and after pregnancy.

The nature of movement in Pilates exercise is low impact and allows pregnant women to exercise effectively without experiencing any undue stress on the now lax joints, or an increased heart rate. Pilates also involves many stretching and toning exercises that helps to maintain hip flexibility and stamina, which is essential for well-being and preparation for childbirth. These exercises are aided and supported by Pilates apparatuses such as the reformer: a moving carriage on a bed; the wunda chair with springs to create resistance and the trapeze table to hang from. Pilates exercises also can be performed on a mat with small props such as pillows or cushions which supports the head, the magic circle, foam rollers and therabands for extra resistance.

Most exercise modifications happen during the second and third trimester due to the ever-increasing belly. All Pilates movements, at this point are best done seated up right or side lying. However, you can work supine as long as the head is elevated with pillows at 30 degrees above the heart for no longer than 5 minutes, turning to the side for a break. This ensures natural blood flow and oxygen to the A popular exercise among pregnant Pilates enthusiasts is legwork on the wunda chair. It involves sitting on a small stool with springs attached to a lever and pushing the lever down with your feet. This Pilates movement provides conditioning for the legs and activation of the abdominal muscles, which stabilize the pelvis.

Remember it’s very important that your Pilates instructor is certified and has experience in working with pregnant women.

“Pilates is an incredible tool to help your body get back into shape after pregnancy….One of Pilates goal is to pull everything (including the abdominals) back to the center and up. After 9-10 months of things moving South, it will feel great to move things North away from gravity! Remember….we are trying to defy gravity. The improved stability, strength, stamina, posture and flexibility achieved through Pilates will also help you handle your new caretaking roles.” Pilates After Pregnancy - Powerpilates.com

About the author:
As Co-owner of ATP Specific Training, a Pilates and physical therapy center in California, Tracey Mallet specializes in Pilates training and women’s issues. Tracey’s patented 3-in-1 Pregnancy system is discounted for a limited time only at http://www.traceymallett.com

Buy: Pilates Pregnancy Guide

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