Brahmacharya – Restraint or Self Control: Traditionally Brahmacharya is defined as chastity or sexual restraint. Although that may be applicable during certain aspects of pregnancy, such as the first six weeks postpartum, it is not practical, realistic or helpful to your relationship to take Brahmacharya to its strict definition. So, for our purposes, we’ll use […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Part 3 – Asteya
Asteya – Non-stealing: When we think of stealing, we think of pickpockets, breaking and entering or eating someone else’s lunch out of the office fridge. Although Asteya refers to stealing of that nature, it also refers to not coveting, nor hoarding, as well as not obstructing other people’s desires in life (emotional stealing). Again, we’ll […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Part 2 – Satya
Satya – Truthfulness “Honesty is the best policy.” We teach our children not to lie, but as adults we do it all the time. “Oh yeah, I’m OK…” “Of course I have time to help with that.” “No, no. It’s not your fault, really.” Sometimes we lie to protect others. Sometimes we lie to protect […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Part 1 – Ahimsa
There are two perspectives through which we can view Ahimsa with regards to pregnancy and birth; the point of view of the pregnant woman and the point of view of her care giver. To get us started, let’s understand what Ahimsa means: Ahimsa is the first of the Yamas, or Precepts of Social Discipline. It […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth – A Bit of Background
This is the background information for an upcoming 10-part series. Shining Light Prenatal Education is a blend of Yoga and Lamaze, as I am both a certified Yoga (and Prenatal Yoga) Instructor as well as a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. Once you’ve taken a few Yoga classes, you can start to see how the asana […]