Le Yoga Prénatal : Une ouverture à la vie

Le Yoga prénatal est un moment privilégié de rencontre entre votre corps, votre esprit et celui de votre futur bébé.

Le Yoga prénatal est un moment privilégié de rencontre entre votre corps, votre esprit et celui de votre futur bébé.

Pour moi, Le but principal du Yoga Prénatal est une ouverture du corps, ainsi que des émotions et des sensations.

L’OVERTURE

Pendant l’accouchement votre corps va s’ouvrir profondément pour donner vie à votre enfant.  Votre col va s’ouvrir évidement, mais aussi votre basin, et tous les muscles du périnée.

C’est un acte ENORME et extraordinaire, et il faut une certaine préparation physique, mais également une préparation mentale et émotionnelle pour accueillir cette ouverture.

Dans les cours de yoga prénatal on pratique des mouvements d’ouverture du basin et de souplesse du périnée, mais aussi la souplesse et l’ouverture du corps plus généralement…

L’ACCEUIL

Pendant la grossesse votre corps est perpétuellement en train de changer, de s’élargir, de se grandir, dans plusieurs manières différents…ceci peut provoquer des émotions et sensations et sentiments des fois difficiles ou exigeants….

Les cours de Yoga prénatal se concentrent sur l’ouverture aux sensations et émotions qui peuvent se produire dans le corps pendant la grossesse : on appends comment les accueillir – dans une manière positive et avec gentillesse et compassion.

Surtout avec les exercices de respiration profond et la respiration yogique complète, on fait de la place dans le corps, et dans notre expérience, pour accueillir toutes ces nouvelles sensations, émotions et changements….

On utilise aussi des visualisations et affirmations/mantras pour se concentrer et diriger notre attention vers le positif et dans un esprit d’accueil ou d’ouverture à toutes ces nouvelles expériences.

LA CONFIANCE

En suivant les mouvements du Yoga prénatal - lentement et doucement, et en pleine conscience - on apprends à se mettre en contact avec le corps, ses changements et son évolution pendant la grossesse.

Cette perspective d’écouter et de respecter le corps- et le grand travaille qu’il est en train de faire pour faire grandir et nourrir votre bébé  - est une perspective épanouissante et nourrissante aussi pour les mamans – qui ont de plus en plus confiance en leurs corps, et en leurs instincts.

Elles s’approchent de plus en plus profondément à la sagesse intérieure de leur corps et de leur instinct.  Ce rapport de confiance, et cette perspective plutôt respectueuse du corps joue un rôle très important pendant la grossesse aussi bien que pendant l’accouchement.

LE CALME

Les exercices de relaxation profonde- ce que certains appellent le ‘yoga nidra’ -  se fait à la fin de tous les cours de yoga prénatal.

C’est peut-être l’aspect la plus important du cours, où le corps peut se relâcher complètement. Ce relâchement donne l'occasion au corps et à l’esprit de se renouveler,  pour que le système nerveux se calme complètement…

La connaissance « incorporée » de la relaxation et du calme est indispensable pour une grossesse et accouchement plus serein, doux et sain. Plus serein et libre…

Personnellement, j’introduis les techniques ‘d’hypnoniassance’ pendant la pratique de la relaxation profonde, pour aller plus loin dans cette perspective de confiance et d'assurance par rapport à la grossesse et à l’accouchement. 

Dans la relaxation profonde on pars dans un état de ‘transe’ et c’est là où on a accès au subconscient : on peut profiter de cet état pour y "planter" les associations de confiance et d'assurance par rapport à la grossesse et l’accouchement.

LA JOIE

J’emploie principalement les méthodes du ‘Birthlight’ dans mes cours de Yoga prénatal.

Cette école de Yoga prénatal est différentes des autres ‘écoles’ qui ont un regard plutôt mécanique du corps et de l’accouchement.

Birthlight se base dans une approche plutôt ‘joyeuse’ et ‘épanouissante"  de la grossesse.

Les mouvements du ‘Birthlight’ ont leurs racines dans la circulation d’énergie et de l’expression du corps ‘en spirale, ‘et en ‘boucles’ plutôt que des postures statiques.

On joue également avec les sons pour faciliter cette ouverture de l’esprit et surtout l’ouverture du cœur, nécessaire pour accueillir les énormes sensations et émotions à venir avec l’arrivée du bébé.

Surtout on se prépare pour bénéficier au maximum de ce moment merveilleux, sacré, précieux, dans la vie et le corps d’une femme, et découvrir la transformation qui se présente aux femmes pendant les neufs mois des grossesse… quand on se permet réellement de s’ouvrir à la vie. 

Heart to Womb breathing video

Mindful breathing technique for birth preparation. Helps focus the mind, connect with baby and set positive intention.

Mindful breathing for life - and birth!

Over the coming weeks I am going to be sharing a series of short videos demonstrating some mindful breathing exercises,  which you may like to use as part of your birth preparation.

These simple techniques can equally be used in any aspect of life ! Not just pregnancy ! They will help to calm and focus the mind, releaving anxieties and stresses.

Our minds are often busy and can easily run away with us into a state of constantly thinking, planning, anticipating, judging, and equally lead us into a spiral of worry or anxiety.

As we tune into the sensations of the breath, we can allow the mind to rest, as well as gradually learning how to re-directing our actions and reactions.  Taking control and re-orientating our experience and feelings, as apposed to letting the mind run into overdrive and off in it’s own (sometimes harmful) direction !

Connecting with the sensation of the body and the breath helps to draw us into the present moment, and over time develop gratitude and appreciation for the subtle yet powerful sensations of simply ‘being.’

Coming back to the breath can feel like coming home, back to our true nature or essence : the simple fact that our heart continues to beat, and our chest continues to rise and fall - we continue to feel very much alive -  can be both humling and nourishing.

Breathing for birth

Such an understanding of harnessing the breath can be be a particularly powerful tool in birth, as well as in life at large.   Long deep breaths in labour will help to calm the nervous system and aid the release of lots of lovely oxytocin – which assists the natural and swift progress of birth.

At the same slow gentle breaths can help to calm the mind , thus helping us to avoid drifting into a fear response  - which ultimately provokes adrenaline, slows the birth process, and can make it less managable or comfortable.

By practicing these connections through mindful breathing exercises in pregnancy, and integrating them into your way of living, they will come more naturally and freely to you in labour.  

I often use these techniques during my pregnancy yoga classes as a way to start bulding connections with the body and breath, in preparation for birth.  I also use them as a starting point to my hypnobirthing classes if a mum or dad-to-be struggles with staying alert or focusing the mind, ready for guided visulaisations and deep relaxations.

PLEASE READ MY BLOG HERE FOR GREATER DETAIL ON THE USEFULNESS OF MINDFUL BREATHING TECHNIQUES IN PREGNANCY AND BIRTH

With these video’s I hope to provide you with different techniques to try out and experience the different ways in which you can connect with the breath and the body ! They are by no means prescriptive so the idea is to use them as a starting point for your own personal journey and exploration.  Gradually you might  add your own visulations / affirmations or adaptations to them which is wonderful !  Once we make these connections we often find that our intuition guides us to focussing on a certain aspect that we particularly need to build on or strengthen, especially where labour and birth are concerned !

I hope you enjoy them ! I would love to hear back from you if there is anything you find particularly powerful or useful so please do get in touch !

Happy breathing !!!

 

 

Breastfeeding essentials workshops with Nicola

Mums-to-be in Paris! You can now book your place at Nicola's breastfeeding essentials workshop on May 17th!
This comprehensive workshop will cover everything you need to know to prepare for successful and confident breastfeeding. We believe that it is so important for mums to have this information antenatally and that's why Doula Paris has teamed up with breastfeeding expert Nicola to share her extensive experience and knowledge with you - Highly recommended! 

Read more about Nicola and this workshop here

Reserve your place here


 

Interview avec Magrossesse.com: Qu'est ce qu'une Doula?

Merci a magrossesse.com pour cette super rencontre! J'etais très hereuse de partager ce moment autour du beau métier de Doula. 

Vous pouvez lire l'article complet en suivant le lien ci-dessous: 

http://www.magrossesse.com/fr/dossiers/mes-copines-de-grossesse/portraits-de-femmes/rencontre-avec-jodi-doula-a-paris-11255

Video clip: Using Hypnobirthing techniques in Labour

"Birth is Beautiful not painful!"

Here's a short clip of some of the Hypnobirthing  - and other relaxation techniques -  that I used during a Homebirth in Paris last week.

Hopefully this visual demonstrates how easy and effective these techniques are to use, in supporting women to staying calm, focussed and positive during labour!

Hypnobirthing techniques really are very simple to learn! And the beauty of the course is that you and your birth partner can practice all of these tools throughout your pregnancy  - so they are very well prepared to support you on the day!  

"You're all dreamy now!" Renata feeling like a Goddess in Labour; calm, confident and completely relaxed!

"You're all dreamy now!" Renata feeling like a Goddess in Labour; calm, confident and completely relaxed!

This short clip shows just a few examples of the many hypnobirthing/yoga/and relaxation techniques that can be used to help to support a gentle, relaxed and comfortable birth; I hope that it will be useful as a teaching/learning tool to show how these tools can work beautifully on the day of the birth!

And you don't HAVE to have a hypnobirthing Doula to practice these hypnobirthing techniques during pregnancy and birth - although of course it helps! 

My enormous thanks to Renata Rodrigues for allowing me to share these clips and help to promote a more realistic and positive image of birth! Renata says she wants everyone to know that: "Birth is Beautiful not painful!"

The full documentary film of this birth "My Choice: A homebirth in Paris" is currently being edited by @BeaMoyes and we are super excited about sharing it with you all soon! 

During this clip I am reading some extracts from a KG Hypnobirthing script "Story for Childbirth," from "The Hypnobirthing Book." Many thanks to Moira Campbell for this beautiful extract, and to Katherine Graves for teaching me this  - and many other wonderful techniques -  to support women in pregnancy and childbirth.

More thanks and gratitude to @BeaMoyes for capturing these wonderful images!

To read more about Renata's beautiful Homebirth please visit my blog here:

 

Hypnobirthing Testimonial from Paris

"Jodi is amazing!  I can't recommend her hypnobirthing course enough.  My husband and I both learned so much and the course gave us both the knowledge of the physiology of the natural birth process that we needed to face a drug-free birth without fear. We wanted to labor at home for as long as possible before going to the hospital to avoid the constant monitoring and to lessen the possibility of intervention.  Labor lasted 9 hours from the first contraction to the arrival of our son, Bennett.  Thanks to Jodi's instruction, I was able to calmly and confidently labor at home for most of it and ended up spending only the last 1 hour 15 minutes at the hospital.  I arrived at the hospital already dilated to more than 8cm!  As a first time mom, I have no doubt that without Jodi's help, I would not have had the same ability to trust in the natural process and tune in to my body through all the stages of labor.  We are so grateful!"  Elli & Taylor, Paris

I am so pleased to have received this wonderful testimonial from a lovely couple I worked with in Paris recently!  It's such an honour and privilege to work so closely with parents and to know that my support and teachings make a difference

Elli and Taylor were first time parents and they came at the Hypnobirthing with really open minds. They truly believed and trusted in the Hypnobirthing techniques - and they practised hard!  Since they were so well equipt - and Elli's partner Taylor was so onboard and supportive of both her and the hypnobirthing - I was confident that Ellie would have a smooth and swift labour and birth (although I had no idea it would be quite so swift and straightforward!).  I am so over the moon for them both!

Hypnobirthing works people!!

Blanket Rules: The secret world of Co-sleeping

For a number of years Midwives - and other healthcare professionals - have been advising women NOT to share beds with their babies, as a point of best practice. But many women continue to ‘bed-share’ all the same…So what is this secret world of Bed-sharing all about? And why are mums choosing to ignore the advice of the ‘experts?’

Why midwives say no

“For many years, the Department of Health has advised that the safest way for a baby to sleep is on its back, in its own cot or moses basket in the parents’ room for the first 6 months”  Professor Mark Baker, Director of the NICE Centre for Clinical Practice

Midwives base their practice on the most up-to-date, ‘best available’ evidence, which is what informs NICE Guidelines and Department of Health guidelines.  So any Midwife who is commenting on safe sleeping will be singing from this hymn-sheet, as it were.

It is a Midwive’s professional obligation to provide you with this information.  However, what you chose to do with this information is ultimately your choice.

So what’s the evidence?

The Information and advice on co-sleeping largely relates to its association with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – where babies die suddenly and seemingly inexplicably.   However, the exact causes of SIDS are unknown.

The most recent NICE guidelines on SIDS and co-sleeping was updated in 2014.  The evidence reviewed for this guideline showed that there was a statistical *relationship* between SIDS and co-sleeping, but there was no clear evidence to say that co-sleeping directly causes SIDS.

Consequently, since we have some evidence to suggest that there *may* be a relationship between co-sleeping and SIDS, the party line is to err on the side of caution, as it were.

Blanket Rules; Your choice

As with every aspect of maternity care – and life at large! – there is no one size fits all policy.   Different parents will chose to negotiate information differently; everyone couple and every situation is unique. 

However, what the 2014 guidelines do tell us, is that the association between co-sleeping and SIDS is likely to be greater when certain additional risk factors exist:

-       When women or their partners smoke

-       Parent or carer has recently consumed alcohol

-       Parent/carer drug use

-       Low birthweight or premature infants.

Given that a number of these factors may be present in any case, at any one time, it is difficult to come to any conclusions about the absolute risk of bed-sharing, in relation to SIDS. Indeed, La Leche league emphasises that we must be cautious when interpreting this data, as there is little consistency in accounting for other factors which we know may also significantly increase the likelihood of SIDS.

“The four biggest issues associated with SIDS are smoking, laying a baby facedown for sleep, leaving a baby unattended and formula feeding” La Leche League

Underworld or real world? Reckless, Realistic, Pragmatic?

In reality, we know that many women (and particularly breastfeeding women) do choose to co-sleep with their babies for a variety of reasons: from comfort and bonding to sheer practicality.  There has thus been a move towards giving advice and information to parents on how to do this more safely.

infants should always sleep on their backs, on firm surfaces, on clean surfaces, in the absence of (secondhand) smoke, under light (comfortable) blanketing, and their heads should never be covered…. The bed should not have any stuffed animals or pillows around the infant and never should an infant be placed to sleep on top of a pillow or otherwise soft bedding.” The baby sleep laboratory (see links below for more information on safe co-sleeping)

Could co-sleeping actuality be safer?

There are many advocates of co-sleeping that suggest that *if practised safely* co-sleeping may actually be safer for babies.  Dr James McKenna from the mother and baby sleep laboratory is one such advocate.  He focusses on the advantages of co-sleeping in relation to bonding and attachment, as well as the evidence demonstrating it's physiological benefits, such as infant breathing regulation and more successful breastfeeding.

“Infants and children sleeping in isolation is a recently devised cultural practice to which the human species is not adapted…Our young thrive and grow optimally when they feel safe — in close proximity to familiar, nurturing caregivers.” Dr Mckenna

My own personal gripe with co-sleeping advice is that it AGAIN undermines mothers, and their ability to instinctively care for their own babies, perpetuating the trajectory that women, and women's bodies, are somehow a danger to their own babies.

Professor Helen Ball’s research at Durham Univeristy has gone some of the way in dispelling such myths: her research shows that when sleeping with their breastfed babies mother’s actually adopt ‘protective’ positions in bed that makes smothering a baby with bedding, or 'overlaying' them actually rather difficult and unlikely.  Similarly she highlights the significant health benefits to both mother and baby as a result of bed-sharing mums breastfeeding more successfully, and for longer.

Ultimately, every woman, and every couple will come their own conclusions about what works for them.

Given the dubious causality in the evidence; and in light of emerging new research -demonstrating the physiological and psycholigical benefits of co-sleeping - we must stay open and responsive to the possibility that what we know - or what we think we know about co-sleeping - could in fact be misguided.

After all, this wouldn't be the first time that 'the experts' have been proven wrong, revealing that Mums know their bodies, and their babies best….

 

 

 

 

 

What mums say:

 Emma:  “My first baby is 4 months old and we co-slept from day 1, despite every health professional I encountered telling me not to. They also told me I shouldn't breastfeed her to sleep. And some even said I should leave her to cry because she needs to learn to be independent (Wtf?!)  I chose to co-sleep partly because it's easier to feed her at night, but mainly because she won't go to sleep unless she's in physical contact with me - which I've learnt is completely normal and not a sign of a 'sleep disorder'.

I think if I were less confident and didn't have the support of my mum (she's a psychologist and mother of four) then the opinions I encountered may have made more of an impression on me. The NHS should give a more balanced view of these issues and not allow midwives and health visitors to present their own opinions as facts. They should also accept the fact that most parents will co-sleep at one time or another, often by accident, and the best way to prevent SIDS is to educate people about how to do it safely. (The current attitude is a bit like teaching abstinence as the only form of contraception!).”

Marilena:  “I co-slept with my daughter, from birth and I currently sleep with my baby boy. It's been my saviour. I have no idea how mums who do not do it, survive the early weeks.  For both of my children, I was advised not to bed share by some professionals. Others were much more open.

There seems to be a real gulf of confidence and widely polarised views.  My experience of sleeping with my babies has been nothing but positive. I didn't dread those first 6 weeks like everyone else. My babies slept well at night, they nursed when needed without waking me up too much.

I always know where my baby is. Both of them just nestle up to me. We sleep right on the edge of the bed with baby on the side. I've never once had an issue with baby possibly falling off. They were/are glued to my side. And equally, smoothering them is pretty impossible if you follow good practice. I wear clothes to bed and do not pull my duvet over my waist. The baby has his own sleep bag. If I ever feel over-tired I place him in the Moses. I never put him in the middle of us, and my partner doesn't co-sleep with baby.

When I sleep close to my baby, their breathing matches mine and feels calmer. We both sleep much better, which means I am a better mother in the morning and my child a dream to manage the next day as they are well rested.

I get so frustrated when I hear terribly sad stories of babies dying in the parents bed and co-sleeping gets the bad rap. But if one were to look into the incident more, you'd probably find out the parents were not following the guidelines.”

Claire, Midwife and mum of 3: “I did it with all mine, initially by accident as I fell asleep when they where breastfeeding for the millionth time, mine were all bad sleepers (they were all 1 year plus when they slept through). It meant I was able to stay reasonably sane and got the most sleep I was ever going to get. As a Midwife I always explain how to safely co-sleep and say they will probably end up doing it unintentionally."

Kasia, mum of Mia (5) & Masimba (1):  When Mia was little, I would get up at night, pick her up, sit up, and feed her sitting completely upright (while reading a book or watching something), which meant I had to wake up completely, be aware of what I was doing for at least 30 minutes and then fall back asleep. By the time I fell asleep Mia was usually ready for her next feed (or that's how it felt). So one night I felt I was nodding off and my arms relaxed. And while I always had her on a pillow and didn't sit right on the edge of the bed, I felt like she could have potentially rolled out of my arms and hurt herself or end up sleeping in conditions that would be unsafe (for example on a fluffy duvet or with her face towards the mattress.) It never occurred to me to feed her while lying down until that night. But from that moment on that was what I did - if I was awake enough I would put her back in the Moses basket, if I wasn't, we just both fell asleep. 

After a few nights I realised I am very aware of her at night and just left her in our bed. I nursed her to sleep until she was over a year. After that she started to feed, then fuss about a bit and falling asleep without nursing and one day I just realised she's not nursing to sleep anymore. The process was very child-led and gradual. 

The same is currently happening with Masimba - he nurses, and then he sort of rolls about, cuddles up and either falls asleep on his own or nurses for a few more seconds before dozing off. With him, I wasn't worried at all about squishing him. I just knew I would know where he was. 

In terms of advice - it seemed to me that there was loads of advice on babies' sleep, but all of it on how to make baby sleep safely in a cot bed and nothing about safe co-sleeping. But I never actively seeked advice on co-sleeping, so I don't know what would have been offered if I asked.”

Sharron: "I cannot imagine missing out on all of those sweet moments together drifting off to sleep, watching her sleep or waking up with her.  If she had not been in my bed for the past ten years, I would have missed so much."

Phillipa:  “We had our daughter in with us many times, as she was a poor sleeper and used to go into instant melt down if you weren't there within 3 seconds of her waking and then it would take an hour to calm her down. My husband is a very heavy sleeper but there was no chance he would squash her. For years, even if there was just a stray teddy in the bed, he would wake right on the edge of the bed. We all got a better night's sleep, and my daughter has turned out fabulous!”

 

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A good memory of birth? Women remember...

  

You will always remember your birth

What Penny Simpkin says about birth memories and compassionate care in this youtube clip is so very poignant.

One of the strong messages I receive from birth stories that are sent to me - and other comments I receive from women about their births -  is that they remember in great detail every dimension of their birth, down to the minutest detail; years later, decades later...

I vividly remember when I was first contemplating training as a Midwife, and I spoke to many women who re-inforced this: "Women always remember their birth." They remember every smell, every sound, they remember the EXACT words spoken to them...

Speak to women in their 50's, 60's, even 70's, about their births, and they can still tell you exactly what they were doing when they went into labour, what they were wearing, what they had for supper, what was happening in the world at the time…but most of all they will remember the way they were treated by their caregivers; be it positive or negative.

They remember the kind words, the reassuring touch - of a Doula, midwife, doctor, or family member - and they equally remember the unkind words or treatment....

That care means so much to women, and I think it is illustrated so beautifully in this extract from Amanda's birth story here:   

"When it felt as though I had been pushing forever, the student midwife was kind and calm, and every time I pushed she would encourage me - I felt like I tried hard for her because of the encouragement.   The other midwife was like the Trunchbull in Matilda and kept telling me that I had to push for longer because it wasn’t doing anything – this made me want to give up."

These are the stories that women carry with them forever, they carry them out of the birth room and they penetrate so many aspects of their lives...

They are the stories we tell to our friends. our families, our children and our grandchildren.  

They are life long memories, let's make them good ones.

 Respect, Honour, dignity, compassion…they matter to women not only on that incredibly profound day of their birth; the day they become mothers…but they matter because those words and those actions reverberate and resonate for the rest of their…

 

Respect, Honour, dignity, compassion…they matter to women not only on that incredibly profound day of their birth; the day they become mothers…but they matter because those words and those actions reverberate and resonate for the rest of their lives.

Nurturing positive birth memories; nurturing strong mothers.

Penny Simpkin's clip (below) illustrates beautifully why preparing for a positive birth, and having excellent emotional care during labour and birth is so important to women.

Penny is an American childbirth educator, and was a major proponent, and developer, of the role of the 'Doula' in providing emotional support, and compassionate care for women during pregnancy and birth.

One of the wise women of modern childbirth, Penny has an INCREDIBLE wealth of knowledge around pregnancy and birth, which she has developed through decades of working closely with pregnant women and new mums across the US (it is estimated that she has worked with over 13,000 parents!)

Luckily for us she has now created a wonderful series of short video clips on youtube where we are able to absorb some of this wisdom - sent direct from her living room in Seattle! 

These clips are a great resource for parents, childbirth educators, doulas, midwives...and anyone else supporting women holistically during birth.

Interview for Kin Magazine

Thanks to London parents mag Kin for featuring me in their Winter edition!

I absolutely love talking about normal, physiological, birth so I was in my element!

I also learnt that being interviewed essentially consists of me sitting with a glass of red wine and harping on about birth for a couple of hours; if this is what interviews are all about then I'm totally up for more of the same! 

You can see the full winter edition of the magazine here and past editions of Kin magazine are also available on their website www.kinlondon.com

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