Neha's Prenatal Sequence

Om

My sweet friend from the ashram, Neha, a very very good yoga teacher in Dubai, taught me this Prenatal Sequence. One gets to learn so many new things at the ashram & so many different ways of doing it... I love the ashram life !

Teaching the Prenatal class can be very tricky. If you dont have the right attitude, right frame of mind. And thanks to Neha she made it sound so simple that I fell in love with the sequence. So Thank You Neha !

I have seen my students benefitting from Prenatal Yoga. It really does wonders to your the lower back. But of course, needless to say, please practise with expert guidance - qualified Yoga Teacher / Therapist.

Here is the Sequence for for the ones who are already doing Prenatal Yoga.

                                    NEHA's PRENATAL YOGA PLAN

•   Sit on the floor in Sukhasana ( easy seat) . * You can use a blanket to help you lengthen you spine and hold your hand together at your centre, the location of your heart essence. Yoga is a practice of unification, bring your attention to the rhythms of breath placing one palm on the chest and the other on the belly.

•   Mentally scan the body for areas of tension and divert the flow of oxygen to melt away the stress. Once you are totally relaxed prepare for ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING.

•   You can practice 5 rounds to clear the energy pathways preparing for the ASANA practice.
1. ANKLE AND WRIST ROTATIONS- 5 times in each direction.
2. HEAD AND SHOULDER ROLLS -  Carefully roll your head to one side – your ear toward the shoulder, and then roll to the other side, feeling your neck muscles ease out.DONT drop your head back. Repeat 5 times.
                   Inhaling, lift your shoulders toward your ears. Exhaling, roll them back and down.
                   Repeat 5 times.
   
            CAT CURLS and Diagonal stretch – 10 cycles and 1 stretch for 5 deep breaths.

             DOWNWARD DOG – Pedal feet in place to open up the hamstrings and slowly walk   forward...feet to the hands...hands to the feet...rising one vertebrae at a time to a standing positing.

                                                   SUN SALUTATIONS

             MOUNTAIN POSE- Body alignment check
             BIG BODY STRETCH- gentle arc in the lower back
              FORWARD BEND- knees soft!
            LUNGE LEFT LEG- right foot to the edge of the mat – no compression!
            PLANK POSE – half between 5-10 counts – full only 3 counts.
           DOWNWARD DOG – shoulder stretch and backs of the leg
           LUNGE FORWARD RIGHT LEG- left foot to the edge of the mat
           CHAIR POSE – 5 counts

          BIG BODY STRETCH – gaze at the fingertips

         MOUNTAIN POSE – palms close to the heart.

REPEAT THE SUNSALUTES BETWEEN 5-10 TIMES -don't over exert.

SUPINE POSES- hip circles and bridge pose. Gently twist to each side before you take a sitting position.

SITTING POSES- Wide angle pose – spread legs hip distance apart and sit tall for 5 deep breaths.

                               OPEN TWIST on each side

                               ONE LEG forward bend each side

                               PIGEON POSE on each side.

STANDING POSES – TRIANGLE to TEMPLE 3-4 times on each side.

                                      WARRIOR 1 to WARRIOR 3 – 2 times on each side

( try to hold each poses for 3-5 breaths)

BALANCING POSES- TREE POSE – 10 breaths on each leg

Finish of with 10 rounds of Ujjayi Pranayam, 5 rounds of alternate nostril breathing and 5 rounds of the Humming bee.
                                        -------------------x-------------------