Plan a childbirth that's calm, natural, and self-empowered with The Yoga Birth Method. This easy-to-use guide will help you prepare for a positive and joyful childbirth.

Two leaders in pregnancy yoga share useful yoga techniques to guide expectant mothers from bump to birth and beyond Authoritative yet thoroughly accessible, this user-friendly book provides yoga techniques for pregnancy and beyond, helping expectant mothers to deal with all the physical and emotional changes you experience along the way. Authors Tara Lee and Mary Attwood—both leaders in the field—explain the important fundamentals of pregnancy yoga, such as: • Using breathwork to relax your body and reduce stress • Guided meditations and visualizations to help you feel calm and positive • Illustrated step-by-step routines to energize you and relieve muscle tension and pain • Beneficial postures for a range of common pregnancy-related conditions, including back pain, breathlessness, and swollen ankles • Advice on preparing for labor and childbirth • Post-natal exercises to get you back in shape and energized as a new mother Most importantly, Tara and Mary emphasize how every woman can take charge of her whole self to ensure a happy and healthy pregnancy and birth. The foreword by internationally celebrated Dr Gowri Motha, creator of the Gentle Birth Method, reinforces the message that pregnancy and childbirth is a positive experience to cherish and enjoy.

This work offers guidance and instruction in yoga for a healthy pregnancy and gentle birth. The central section of the book is devoted to detailed descriptions of postures and movements and includes photos illustrating the postures. Throughout, the author offers advice to the mother-to-be and promotes a woman's right to make her own choices about the birthing environment and the method of her baby's delivery.

From internationally renowned yoga teacher Gurmukh comes a book on pregnancy unlike any other. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful is a treasury of wisdom, information, and inspiration for pregnancy and motherhood based on the spiritual and physical practices of Kundalini yoga, which Gurmukh has taught for the last thirty years. With illustrated, step-by-step instructions, she teaches time-tested techniques, meditations, and exercises that will help you physically, mentally, and spiritually. In the timeless way that women have passed down wisdom surrounding birth and child rearing to one another for centuries, Gurmukh weaves folk stories and contemporary testimonials into a program designed to help you get profound results in the shortest possible time. The sections in this book cover each trimester of pregnancy as well as delivery and life with the baby. In her wise, gentle, and comforting voice, Gurmukh suggests meditations, exercises, and yoga positions to respond to the various needs of expectant and new mothers as you undergo dramatic body changes. Gurmukh also helps you explore and, when necessary, heal your own history and unconscious attitudes about pregnancy, birth, and parenting. In Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful, Gurmukh gives you all the tools you need to have a healthy and happy pregnancy while increasing your connection to your partner and building compassion and prosperity. The ancient practices of yoga can lead you back to your own power as a woman, capable of more than you ever dreamed. All you need is a belief in the possibility of change and a commitment of as little as three minutes a day. Gurmukh has helped thousands of women and their families find fulfillment through the healing movements and meditations of Kundalini yoga---and she can help you, too!

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

Yoga, with its emphasis on body awareness, breathing, and relaxation, is helping growing numbers of pregnant women adjust to the physical and mental demands of labor, birth, and motherhood. Provided here are 92 Iyengar poses carefully chosen as being safe and effective during and after pregnancy. Photos.