The first pre- and postnatal book geared specifically to experienced yoga practitioners—from an established author, with contributions from the leaders in the field. You've been practicing yoga for years. It is a part of the way you live, move, and breathe. And then . . . you get pregnant. Pregnancy can throw any woman a curve ball. Even established and experienced yoga practitioners will likely find that their body, mind, and practice are challenged during pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. This book is the yoga practitioner's companion through this period, offering practical advice, step-by-step asana sequences, pranayama practices, and meditation techniques, all of which are designed to help new mothers connect more deeply to their experience and prepare for their journey—physically, mentally, and spiritually. Grounded in both ancient wisdom and contemporary knowledge, Yoga Mama covers each trimester, labor and birth, and the postpartum years. The beautifully photographed sequences include modifications and suggestions to accommodate a growing belly and to address the concerns or challenges that may arise during this time. Holistic and ayurvedic medicine perspectives help women understand what is happening in their bodies at every juncture, and personal stories connect them to pregnant women everywhere. Through practice, self-reflection, and learning how to let go, yoga gives us the opportunity to be an active, informed participant in the birthing of our baby and a healthy, happy parent. Yoga Mama is the perfect companion for the experienced yoga practitioner during her pregnancy and on into motherhood. This pre- and postnatal book offers practical advice and inspiration, asana sequences, pranayama practices, and meditation techniques, all of which speak to and help new mothers connect more deeply to their experience and prepare for their journey--physically, mentally, and spiritually. Grounded in ancient wisdom and contemporary knowledge, the book covers each trimester, labor and birth, and the postpartum years. It includes: • Flowing sequences that emphasize self-awareness and promote strength, flexibility, and balance • Modifications that accommodate a pregnant woman's growing belly, recalibrate her balance, and honor fluctuations in her energy levels • Mini sequences for specific trimester challenges: morning sickness, fatigue, anxiety, low-back issues, etc. • Asana, pranayama, and meditation practices designed to deeply connect mother and baby from the beginning of pregnancy through the postpartum years • A dedicated section on the pelvic floor to encourage women to let go and prepare for labor and birth • Special breathing techniques for labor that encourage natural childbirth • Deeper practices and ancient teachings that can help women tap into their strength and create a prenatal and birthing experience that is empowering and unique • Postpartum advice and sequences designed to help knit things back together, address postpartum challenges, and offer tips for bonding, nursing, self-care, and nutrition • Information (from a Western holistic and ayurvedic perspective) on what is happening in the body at every juncture--prenatal, labor and birth, and postpartum • Personal advice and stories from a wide array of pre- and postnatal experts With contributions from: • Elena Brower: founder and director of Virayoga in New York City, prenatal teacher for YogaGlo.com, and author of Art of Attention • Stephanie Snyder: teacher in San Francisco, pre- and postnatal teacher for YogaGlo.com • Jane Austin: pre- and postnatal yoga teacher, midwife, childbirth educator, and director of Mama Tree prenatal teacher training programs in San Francisco • Margi Young: OM yoga teacher in New York and San Francisco • De West: pre- and postnatal yoga teacher and childbirth educator in Boulder • Dustienne Miller: certified physical therapist and Kripalu yoga teacher in Boston • Kate Hanley: OM yoga teacher, mind-body coach, and author of The 28 Days Lighter Diet • Melissa Billie Williams: pre- and postnatal teacher and director of Yoga Junction studio in Louisville, Colorado

A dynamic yoga program for new mothers and their babies How does a new mother get back her shape without giving up precious time with her baby? In Baby Om, authors Laura Staton and Sarah Perron -- both dancers, yoga instructors, and moms themselves -- answer the new mother's need for a calming and rigorous way to align and strengthen her body while having fun with her baby. Based on their popular New York classes of the same name, Baby Om takes mothers through a yoga practice they can do with their infants -- anytime and anywhere. The techniques help new mothers enjoy the spiritual and physical benefits of yoga, allowing them to nurture themselves as well as their babies. This easy-to-use book includes: --Baby Om basics -- the practical information you need to get started --baby engagement -- how to play with and stimulate your baby during yoga --four step-by-step Baby Om classes -- each concentrating on a unique stage in your child's development The beautiful illustrations and photographs in Baby Om capture the intimate sharing between mother and child, and create a visual model for how to achieve the poses at home. Safe, effective, and easy to learn, Baby Om brings mother and baby together, ensuring the health and happiness of both.

Pregnancy is an extraordinary time of transformation and a profound rite of passage that requires special care and guidance. The complementary tools and practices of Ayurveda and yoga have been used together for thousands of years to support a healthy body, balanced mind, and higher consciousness. With Yoga Mama, Yoga Baby, Margo Shapiro Bachman brings readers the first book to show how these "sister sciences" can support the miraculous journey of pregnancy. This thoroughly detailed guidebook shares practical and easy-to-apply teachings and information to help women experience pregnancy with radiant health and abundant joy, including: The basics of Ayurveda, yoga, diet, and lifestyle—cornerstone principles, basic terms and concepts, essential self-assessments, and more • Month-by-month exercises and practices, including meditation, mantra, breathwork, asana, journaling, and massage • Practical tips to encourage natural labor and delivery • Guidance on staying healthy and happy in the precious first postpartum weeks with baby For women everywhere, Yoga Mama, Yoga Baby is an indispensable resource for treasuring every moment of pregnancy and blessing the mother and child with health, happiness, consciousness, and love.

Great for yoga lovers who want to involve their little one in the fun, Yoga Baby helps parents and children grow closer through a delightful series of baby-friendly yoga moves. Reaching, bending, rocking, and swaying--these are just a few of the moves a bouncy little baby tries when her mother practices yoga throughout the day. In the midst of a busy day, yoga turns out to be a surprising source of connection, fun, and giggles for mother and child. Surprising and silly, Yoga Baby proves that it's never too early for parents and children to explore together what their bodies can do--never too early, in short, for the life-giving practice of yoga! A guide in the back of the book provides tips and tricks for incorporating yoga practice into daily life with a young child.

A unique way to see and process the motherhood experience through the lens of yoga, Whole Mama Yoga covers all phases and stages of becoming and being a mother or birth parent—offering a way to extend yoga’s gifts and tools for all who parent. Women are drawn to yoga for its physical benefits, its ability to induce calm and presence, and its offering of spiritual depth. Whole Mama Yoga offers a way to extend yoga’s gifts into the motherhood experience and offers guidance that eases not just physical discomforts but existential ones. Many moms and birth parents balance boundless love and boredom, overwhelming joy and moments of isolation, self-confidence and self-doubt. Yoga provides an opportunity to practice the much needed body love and self-connection many parents need. Accessible to new yoga students, advanced yoga practitioners, and yoga teachers alike, Whole Mama Yoga is for parents with children of all ages. It is for those just thinking about beginning a family, those in the early stages of pregnancy, those getting close to labor and delivery, and for those new moms, who often feel harried and overwhelmed. This is a book to reference as children grow, change, and become little (and big) people. With yoga poses at the core of the text, yogi moms and instructors Alexandra DeSiato and Lauren Sacks offer helpful information in movement offerings that meet all moms and birth parents where they are. Organized into sections titled Relate, Move, Reflect, Wisdom, and Breathe, Whole Mama Yoga provides breathing techniques, suggestions for meditation and mantra, inspiring tidbits of yoga philosophy, funny and uplifting stories from yoga-moms, and journal prompts that allow readers to reflect on their own experience of parenthood.

Parents who want to better understand the energies that inspire and motivate their children will find Jenny Bees A Yogi Mamas Guide to Yoga, Ayurveda & Your Child a creative and helpful tool along the way. Jenny takes you on an empathetic journey relatable to every parent. What makes my child tick? How can I help them fully become their happy healthy selves? Jenny, in her own journey with her children, has found good answers through Ayurveda and yoga, and even better, she shares those with you with humour and love in this very special book. As a lifelong yoga practitioner, parent and teacher of children, and follower of the Ayurvedic diet, I am confident that you will enjoy your relationship with children even more once you read this book and, to the best of your ability, follow the practices and tips given within its pages. Shakta Khalsa, founder and director of Radiant Child Yoga This is a unique book written for parents and children and is about kids, yoga and Ayurveda, and how we can all become better, more intentional parents with the help of the intuitive five-thousand-year-old sister science of Yoga. The heart of the book is three beautifully illustrated poems, each written to clearly explain one of Ayurvedas three doshas, which in combination make up a persons prakriti (their nature). The text is simple enough that children of all ages will have a sense of what this Ayurveda thing is. And it wont be lost on Mom or Dad either.

For more than 30 years, Yoga Journal has been helping readers achieve the balance and well-being they seek in their everyday lives. With every issue,Yoga Journal strives to inform and empower readers to make lifestyle choices that are healthy for their bodies and minds. We are dedicated to providing in-depth, thoughtful editorial on topics such as yoga, food, nutrition, fitness, wellness, travel, and fashion and beauty.

Self Care During Pregnancy: Self-care is gentle; it is not strict or regimented. It is not another line item to add to your to-do list. It is moment-by-moment, day-by-day, relaxing into what is and allowing yourself to feel loved and taken care of. Just as you will love and take care of your baby, you first give the same care and attention to you.

Find a deeper sense of wellness fueled by self-care, nurturing routines, healing foods, and herbal remedies—for women of any age. Learn the ancient wisdom of Ayurvedic living through 60+ recipes and practices, including 50+ photos. The ancient science of Ayurveda brings us back into relationship with the rhythms of our lives, streamlining our daily habits and attuning our activities by time of day and seasons. Everyday Ayurveda for Women's Health delivers insights into personal health, hormonal balance, and connection to nature, all from the simplest practices: what we eat. Food and herbs are medicine for body, mind, and soul. Kate O'Donnell empowers women of any age to become intimate with their body, how it works, how it changes over time, and how to listen to its messages. Her practical guide will inspire you to experience radiant health from the inside out. With Everyday Ayurveda for Women’s Health you can: • Reclaim your health by adopting a more healing diet • Balance your hormones by choosing foods, herbs, and healing practices that are right for your constitution—60+ recipes, including herbal ghees, shatavari, beneficial oils, and more • Become more luminous and empowered with divine feminine and lunar energy, the subtle body, and more • Understand your current season of life—whether it involves menstruation, pregnancy, infertility, perimenopause, or menopause The traditional Ayurveda wisdom in this book is accessible for all and will help you navigate any stage of life with grace.