way, as described on page 191. A baby lying anterior will make your belly feel hard, particularly down one side over his spine. The shape of your belly will be more rounded, and the kicking should be felt predominately under the ribs. A baby lying posterior will make your belly more spongy to the touch, and any kicking is easily felt at the front.

Turning a Breech Presentation
   For a woman who knows her baby has settled into a breech position, her approach needs to be twofold. The most important thing is daily Yoga Nidra for both physical and mental relaxation, to help allay any concerns that notification of a breech may bring. Secondly, the following routine can be used alone or in combination with regular massage to help encourage your baby to turn. I advise the following steps be followed in a 10 - 15 minute session, up to 3 times a day.

1. First begin with a short relaxation lying in Matsya Kridasana (as shown in Step #1 above in “Turning a Posterior”). Even better would be to follow your daily Yoga Nidra with this routine. Just spend a few minutes focussing inwardly on your baby, and relaxing in the pelvis and belly. Whenever using this pose, try to remember to alternate sides from the last time you did it.

2. Next do some Full Yogic Breathing for 5 - 10 minutes. You can use Matsya Kridasana or Vajrasana. This helps to deeply relax the abdomen prior to physical manipulation of the baby with postures or massage.

3. Next, find a version of Vipareet Karani Asana (Half Shoulderstand) from the choices below which you can comfortably maintain for 5 - 10 minutes. The following pictures are arranged from easiest (least effective) to hardest (most effective). This pose should be held for up to 10 minutes, 3 times a day until the baby turns. Be sure not to do this within 3 hours of having eaten. It works by inverting the uterus so that the baby will “fall” out of his buttocks-down position in the pelvis and bump his head against the top of the uterus. He will then bend his head forward to his chest and (hopefully) do a somersault to end head down into the pelvis! For details on how best to get into and out of Vipareet Karani Asana, see page 2133.

Figure 17 - Vipareet Karani (Half Shoulder Stand)