Why Prenatal Yoga?

Posted by Dec 6, 2018 Birth, Burlington, Doula, fitness, Happiness, health, motherhood, Oakville, parenthood, Pregnancy, Prenatal Yoga, yoga , , Leave a Comment
Why Prenatal Yoga?

Recently a new Canadian guideline for exercise during pregnancy was released which states that not only is exercise recommended and beneficial during pregnancy, it also cuts the risk of developing major pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and gestational hypertension by 40%. These new guidelines are the result of a review of 675 unique studies that updates the previous recommendations which were 15 years old. The highlight of the recommendations is that all pregnant women, with the exception of, those who are considered high risk and told not to exercise for medical reasons, should be exercising a minimum of two and a half hours per week. It even goes on the say that women who were not previously exercising should follow the same recommendations. Exercise that involves physical contact, danger of falling, high altitudes or excessive heat should be avoided.

It is advisable that women discuss physical activity with their healthcare provider before starting any kind of exercise during pregnancy and always listen to their bodies. For some women the exhaustion and nausea experienced during pregnancy may take priority over getting moving and that should be honoured. Our bodies are amazing and at times might just need rest, food and sleep. When women are feeling well and cleared for movement I highly suggest trying Prenatal Yoga. Here’s why;

  • Prenatal yoga is safe. Classes that are designed for pregnancy and led by a trained yoga teacher* are safe for all stages of pregnancy. The risk of falling is very minimal and props are used to make the movements and poses accessible for all different body types and abilities.
  • Prenatal yoga classes are designed to address the Prenatal body. During pregnancy our bodies change quickly and drastically so we want to address the areas of tension and weakness. A class designed just for Prenatal persons will do just that and help you enjoy your changing body rather than focus on the aches and pains.
  • Yoga addresses the person’s holistic needs. Pregnancy is a time of emotional and spiritual change. Yoga provides a way for women to check in with how they are feeling and allows them space to connect with themselves and start bonding with their baby.
  • Prenatal yoga is a great way to prepare for birth and life with a newborn. Yoga poses (asanas) help prepare the body for the physical work of labour and childbirth. Breathing, visualization, meditation, mindfulness and mantras (affirmations) can all be used during birth as well. Then, after baby is born, we can continue to use these tools to help us navigate the challenges of parenthood.
  • Yoga teaches women to be intuitive. This is a skill that is being lost in our age of information yet is so useful during labour, birth and motherhood.
  • Community and support during pregnancy can be wonderful to help mothers feel that they are not alone in their journeys. Being around other pregnant women in an environment that is safe and non judgmental can enhance the experience of pregnancy. Many life long friendships are born in a prenatal yoga class.

I always remind moms that when they practice yoga during pregnancy they are planting little seeds for their babies. Someday your child will learn that you practiced yoga with them inside of you and they may too be drawn to practice in their own time.

*Not all yoga poses and movements are safe during pregnancy. Make sure that your Yoga Teacher has taken Prenatal specific training.

The Perfect Partnership: Yoga – Doula

Posted by Apr 16, 2018 Birth, Burlington, Doula, Happiness, health, kids, motherhood, Oakville, parenthood, parenting, passion, Pregnancy, yoga , Leave a Comment
The Perfect Partnership: Yoga – Doula

What is a Doula?

A Doula is a non-medical birth coach that provides guidance and support to expecting individuals and couples prior to, during and after birth. Imagine a nurturing companion by your side comforting you during one of the most transformative experiences of your life. Birth can be unknown and even feared if not approached in a positive way. A doula can guide both the birthing mother and her partner towards an enlightening experience and help navigate the postpartum weeks. Services and support are tailored to each client’s needs. In my early days of teaching prenatal yoga my students would some times ask me to attend their births. I did support one couple and it was such an amazing experience. One that I still reflect on five years later. At that time in my life I had two young children and didn’t have the family support to make an on-call situation work for us. After that I had to give referrals to my students despite wishing I could be there for them and offer continuous care. Fast forward to today…my children are a bit older and my husband has more flexibility with his job so I’ve taken the leap. I have begun my Doula training and have already started meeting with clients to support as part of my certification.

Here’s my take on why my yoga teaching is the perfect complement to doula support;

  • I regularly guide my students towards peacefulness and relaxation. I have studied the nervous system and how our breathing affects us physically and emotionally. This can translate very easily to labour.
  • Becoming a yoga teacher requires a strong background in anatomy and this knowledge will be very helpful during pregnancy, birth and in the postpartum period.
  • Practicing grounding ourselves in a yoga class is helpful when labour gets challenging and we start to doubt our bodies and abilities.
  • Most prenatal yoga poses are meant to prepare the body for labour and birth. Students who attend my classes become familiar with these poses and their bodies are very receptive to them even at 40+ weeks gestation. Practicing these positions and movements together before birth makes it very organic to use them during birth.
  • We share. Students share their experiences during class and we develop a trusting relationship.
  • Teaching yoga has helped me develop my intuition and ability to read energies. Maintaining a positive energy in a birth environment is key to supporting couples in whichever birth location they choose.
  • I often have to “read” bodies in class to see how I can support them with comfort measures or modifications. Birthing women won’t always communicate through words that they need guidance to become more comfortable.
  • Yoga is identified with the mind/body connection and this is something I understand and can teach to my students and client

There are so many other ways that yoga and birth are a perfect fit. If you would like to discuss further let’s grab a tea, a bolster and have a chat!

Namaste, Angela

The gift of my mother’s death

Posted by May 12, 2017 Happiness, health, motherhood, parenthood, parenting, passion, yoga Leave a Comment
The gift of my mother’s death

It’s that time of year again; Mother’s day. That time during which the unspoken tribe I belong to, the one of Motherless daughters, struggles to celebrate themselves as mothers (or other mothers in their lives), and honour their loved one without allowing themselves to be overridden with grief. On a whim I decided to write this blog and it is my gift to all those who have a mother with them and even those whose mothers live in heaven.

My mother’s death was a gift. A gift of spiritual awakening. Of course I didn’t see it that way at first. Like most who experience the loss of a loved one I had waves of anger, sadness, immense grief and even physical pain. I was unable to even function as a normal person would for a very long time. I resolved myself to the thinking that my life would probably follow the same path as hers and I might as well give up. Those days lasted for weeks and months but eventually became only hours and minutes of emotional pain. Somewhere between the grief and acceptance that I would live the rest of my life without her came a spiritual awakening. One, I believe, may not have occurred if she were still alive today. There are still moments of intense sadness but they are taken over with spurts of desire to live my life to its absolute fullest. To lose a parent means you take nothing for granted, you can almost hear the proverbial clock ticking. Not long after my mom passed away I got married, had two kids, and made a complete career change (all of which wasn’t the same without her). I know that my mom had regrets before her death. We spoke daily about life and things she would have changed. When you go through that experience with someone you can’t NOT live life with urgency. I wonder where I was spiritually before this experience. I remember thinking I had time to do the things I dreamed of with my life. Then I suddenly realized I didn’t have time.

So here’s my gift to you. If you are blessed to still have your mother with you, spend time with her. Spend time doing the most mundane or simple things. Go grocery shopping with her, gardening, house cleaning. Talk about nothing and everything. Enjoy her as much as you can and forgive her when she upsets or frustrates you. To those in my tribe, take some time this weekend to honour your mum. Reflect on how her passing has changed you in a positive way. It sounds horrific at first but I promise it will change everything.

Happy Mother’s Day!

What I want All Hockey Parents to know

Posted by Dec 2, 2016 fitness, health, Hockey training, kids, parenthood, parenting, sports, workout, yoga, yoga for athletes, yoga for hockey players , , , , , Leave a Comment
What I want All Hockey Parents to know

First off, I am not a surgeon, physiotherapist or medical doctor of any kind. I am a yoga teacher and a student of bodies. I have worked with countless individuals through yoga with varying degrees of athleticism but can say that I have seen hundreds if not thousands of young (13-25 years old) hockey players move on their mats. When I teach yoga to these athletes I am observing and learning by watching their movements. Over the last seven years I have seen noticeable trends that I want to share with you in the hopes that you may find this information helpful and possibly prevent a serious, even career-ending injury. You can choose to disregard my recommendations and opt to hear this from a medical doctor but by the time your son/daughter is in front of one the condition might be so severe that surgery is needed.

I am assuming you are still reading because you are a concerned (and even proactive) parent who wants their son or daughter to be in the best physical health and secondarily have a enjoyable hockey career. As a former athlete and now parent myself we want to see our children thrive in athletics into adulthood. The trends in youth sports now is early specialization. And as it pertains to hockey, year round, versus seasonal participation. This fact makes the following information even more valuable.

Here are the trends I am seeing over and over;

VERY TIGHT ANKLES AND FEET

Hockey skates are designed to be very restrictive and supportive and do not allow for much flexion and extension in the ankle. This is very helpful for skating biomechanics but what happens over time, especially with frequent on-ice training, is the ankle loses it’s required mobility. Without any sort of counter exercises to balance this the athletes develop very limited range of motion in the ankle joint. Why does this matter? Well over time as we age this mobility decreases anyways which makes activities like running or walking more challenging and in our senior years will lead to instability and falls. And if your child participates in any sports or activities other than hockey, or even running/speed tests on dry land for hockey camps and testing, there will be some running involved. A foot that is tight and unable to perform the range of motion needed for speed and acceleration means that the surrounding muscles and joints will bear the burden and this will lead to imbalances in the body and injuries. Want to test this out for yourself? Ask your son or daughter to kneel on the floor and sit back on their heels, now watch their face and body language. If they complain of pain or severe discomfort then they already have limited range of motion. I see this develop around age 12-14 and often quite severe in athletes aged 18 and up when not addressed.

SORE AND TIGHT HIPS

Hockey players of any age will likely identify their hips as a problem area because of the skating stride. When skating the hips are called upon to stabilize the athlete, abduct, adduct and flex the hip and so the muscles that are needed to perform these different movements get very stiff and sore. The amount of time spent on the ice and off the ice strengthening the quadriceps, gluteals and hip flexors is not usually off-balanced with lengthening and recovery time needed for these muscles. In young athletes especially this is even worse due to the amount of time spent sitting during the day. As a result imbalances occur, scar tissue develops and injury to the back and groin.

TIGHT BACK AND SHOULDERS

Posture in most teenagers and even adults for that matter is poor. Add into the equation the rounded, athletic stance of a hockey player on the ice and you get slumped shoulders to say the least. I have done posture assessments on NHL level players and let’s just say it’s a good thing they aren’t getting paid to stand properly. But poor posture overtime again contributes to imbalances and injury. Most off-ice training programs focus on exercises that strengthen the larger muscle groups of the back and chest and aren’t refined enough to target the muscles needed to properly support a healthy posture. The end results is very limited mobility throughout the back, chest and shoulders.

So what does all this mean? My answer to off-set hockey training on and off the ice is to incorporate a recovery program. This should comprise of yoga, massage (either self-massage using therapy balls and/or by a trained professional) and rest days. Now if you think the 2 minutes of stretching you do after a training session is enough, think again! Yoga is not just stretching. The body needs to also recover through proper breathing and relaxing the mind. A trained yoga professional can guide you through all the benefits and coach you along the way. Some might say “there is not time for recovery, we need more training and practices to get better at hockey”. Well I would challenge that! Finding a balance of rest, recovery and activity will go a long way to improving any athlete’s overall health and performance. If you start practicing yoga and don’t see results right away remember to have patience. It took years to create these imbalances and it takes time to undo them.

Invest in Rest!!