This is a great relaxation/meditation for mum and partner. This is a very quick (only 5 minutes) and a powerful relaxer. Very good for pregnant working mum-to-be.
Find a quiet place. Sit comfortably on the edge of a chair in an erect and stable posture with your eyes closed.
Pay attention to your breath as it moves in and out of your nostrils. Pay attention to the sensation as it passes over the skin. The breath is a great place to focus as it is always there.
Then for one minute sweep your attention through your body and watch for whatever sensations may be present.
When your mind wanders gently return to focusing on the breath. Have compassion for yourself. In the beginning your mind will wander a lot. Keep on practising. Just smile and go back to the breath.
Exercise during pregnancy
Exercise during pregnancy is highly encouraged as it can improve sleep, reduce stress, reduce fluid retention, reduce backaches, improve constipation and boost stamina and endurance levels during delivery.
Before you begin exercising in pregnancy, you should always check with your doctor to ensure it’s safe, but if you have a normal pregnancy, there is nothing to stop you from engaging in appropriate exercise. If you have not previously done much exercise, make sure you ease yourself into it. Half an hour a day is plenty and make sure you include warm-ups and cool-downs in your routine, along with stretching.
Make sure that you never exercise to exhaustion and avoid activity that may be excessively heating such as exercising outdoors on a very hot day or indoors in an excessively heated room. Getting to hot forces the body circulation to the extremities and away from the baby.
Ideal exercise would be walking, pregnancy yoga and pilates classes and some gym classes are specifically designed for pregnant women. Swimming is excellent and the buoyancy of water provides a welcome relief especially in late pregnancy.
Pelvic floor exercises are important during pregnancy to tone up the pelvic muscles, very helpful during labour and can help prevent severe perineal tearing.
As you enter the third trimester, you need to ease off exercise a little and in the nine month exercise should be restricted to walking, gentle stretching and water based exercise.
Nutrition
My
one and only tip is to get back to basics! A lot of what you should eat
when you are pregnant is just a matter of finally implementing all
those things you know you should be doing anyway.
