Читать книгу New Active Birth: A Concise Guide to Natural Childbirth - Janet Balaskas - Страница 29

Choose a time of day when you have an hour to yourself – first thing in the morning or perhaps last thing at night. It is best not to eat a large meal beforehand.

You will need a carpeted space with one free wall, two pillows and a low stool or pile of large books.

The exercises are arranged in eight sequences which include six basic exercises to be practised daily (these are starred and labelled ‘Basic’ I–VI). The whole programme should take about 1½ hours to complete but you may devise your own personal programme concentrating on the basics and then adding others according to preference or need.

For best results, start doing these exercises as early in your pregnancy as possible – any time after the twelfth week, unless your doctor advises you that it is all right to start sooner. However, it is never too late to benefit.

Start off in any easy way, holding each position for as long as you are comfortable, gradually lengthening the time as you become familiar with the movements. Start with a few of the movements and gradually build up until you are able to go through the full programme. The first thing you may feel when you start is your own stiffness, so expect to spend two or three weeks getting to know the exercises. Gradually, as you loosen up, the movements will become pleasurable.

You will probably find that some of the movements fit comfortably into your daily habits, that there are some you can practise while watching TV, reading or talking to friends, and some you would like to concentrate on. All the exercises are perfectly safe for pregnancy and, once they are familiar to you, you may safely spend longer periods in each position. If any exercise is uncomfortable after you have tried it out for a while, then leave it out and concentrate on the others.

At first you will find that, following the instructions carefully, you can go up to a certain point and then you begin to feel the stretch. In each position, reach this point and stay with it, breathing deeply, until the stretching sensation eases. Gradually your range of movement will increase and your body will become more flexible and relaxed.

‘The exercises I had done during pregnancy were invaluable and made such a difference to the birth and after. I felt more confident and in control of my body and, as I write now, I realise what a benefit they have been in getting back to shape afterwards.’