Yoga Music for Labor – 10 Songs I Prepared (But Never Got To Use!)
Although I had planned on it, I didn’t actually get around to listening to music during my 2 labors, even if I had prepared some for both occasions. The first time around, the labor was so intense from the get-go with contractions every 1-3 minutes, that I didn’t even think of the idea of having music playing. All I needed and wanted was silence, and the reassuring presences of my midwife and partner around me.
And my second labor went so fast that by the time we made it to the birthing center, my baby girl was already in my arms within a few minutes.. bliss. 🙂
But I would have loved to experience the soothing effects of music while laboring.
Relaxation during labor can help to lessen the sensations of pain, as well as create a climate of safety and trust, which in turn helps the body and mind to relax and let go.
It is even recommended to try dancing during labor. I did not get around to that one. LOL. But if you are able to, dancing, alone or with your partner during labor, can help us connect to the joyous nature of pregnancy and birth, create mobility in the body and help to relieve stress and anxiety by releasing endorphins into the body (the powerful pain-relieving and pleasure-enhancing hormone that our bodies produce during labor to help mediate the pain of contractions).
Here are 10 pieces of music that I would have liked to have included into my labors. There are no words, just sounds and melodies.
Note: Some of these are also pieces that I love to use while teaching or practicing yoga.
12 Birth Affirmations That Gave Me Strength
Because sometimes words, spoken or thought, have the power to carry us through one contraction after another, and even childbirth itself, positive birth affirmations truly can play an inspiring and invaluable role during labor and delivery.
After my first labor, I realized the importance that encouraging words had played in helping me to cope and stay focused during birth. Bringing me “into” myself, they allowed me to let go of tension and fear, and to just let the amazing birthing process occur…
..What wonder!..
When it was time to prepare for my second labor, I remembered and noted the words and phrases that had made a difference for me during my first labor, and I also sat down to find some other words that seemed meaningful and might help me get by, this second time around.
Here are some of the encouraging, empowering, or just plain and simple words that I thought or heard during my two labors, and that gave me strength.
11 Natural Ways To Manage Pregnancy-Induced Eczema
I suffered from pregnancy-induced eczema during both of my pregnancies. It was a painful and maddening experience, with flare-ups so intense it was hard to think about anything else, and even sleep. I remember crying out of frustration on more than one occasion, not knowing what to do about the relentless urges to scratch and scratch some more. 🙁 This is probably what I found the most difficult about both of my pregnancies.
During these weeks of my life, I did a lot reading, and I tried many different tips and options looking for natural ways to manage pregnancy-induced eczema.
I had flare-ups on my hands, belly and legs. Not everything I tried was successful, as finding solutions to eczema is indeed such a personal journey, but here is the list of things that did help me to find some peace, appease the flares-ups, and allow me to enjoy the beautiful life growing in my belly!
Yay!
If you are presently experiencing pregnancy-induced eczema, I send you my sincere love. Please know that this too shall pass. Now that I’ve had my baby, the flare-ups have once again subsided, if this can be of any encouragement. 🙂
Sunflower Seed Veggie Pâté in 4 Easy Steps
(If you’re not familiar with Veggie Pâté, it is somewhere between a paté and meatloaf, but made with veggies and sunflower seeds instead. It makes wonderful sandwiches and wraps, can be used in a salad or simply enjoyed on its own. A perfect snack during pregnancy and breastfeeding.)
There are a few things that I craved like mad during both my prenatal and postnatal phases, and one of them was Veggie Pâté.
I love Veggie Pâté. I really just can’t get enough. Seeing and tasting Veggie Pâté fills me with a feeling of warmth, an urge to write songs, or say.. an ode.. in fact..
Veggie Pâté
Savory love
I crave your tasty presence
I covet your tender essence
No other is above
Ughh… Ends up there would be good reasons for this deep love and endless craving! Veggie Pâté is a significant source of Protein, Iron, Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A and Vitamin C (as well as a source of Calcium, Vitamin B6, B12 and Magnesium) and therefore a wonderful way to help nourish the pregnant and postnatal mama. 🙂
10 Tips For Good (and Happy!) Posture During and After Pregnancy
Whether you just had your baby or are about to, you’ve probably never felt this tired in your life.
So thinking about having a good posture is most likely, well, so not on your list! 🙂
But good posture is not only essential for the health of the spine and for the proper functioning of the organs, it also has a direct effect on our outlook on life, usually bringing upon a more positive frame of mind.
For the prenatal mama, a healthy posture encourages baby’s optimal positioning in the womb, and can help mama find more comfort during pregnancy.
For the postpartum mama, a healthy posture can help to stabilize the structural imbalance that pregnancy and postnatal carrying / feeding baby may have created in the body, and is a part of healing diastasis recti, thus playing an important role in postnatal recovery.
Such a powerful tool!
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On 10ThingsYogaMama you’ll find the tips and tools that have worked for me during pregnancy, labor and when I became a mama, everything from my yoga and dance background that has been useful in helping me to get by. And a bunch of cute stick figures too.
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