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common feeling many a pregnant women has of being the sole provider for a gestating child, can be greatly relieved. As the baby increases in size, breathlessness can be experienced as the diaphragm becomes inhibited thereby limiting breath only to the chest breath. Chest breathing is associated with emotional tension, shallow breathing and poor cardiovascu-lar health. Pranayamas can help prevent these disorders. During pregnancy and labour, it is common for the blood pressure to rise to some degree, but usually this rise is within manageable levels. High blood pressure can become a serious development during pregnancy which, if extreme, can result in hospitalisation. The outcome of high blood pressure in pregnancy can be toxaemia, and ultimately liver / kidney failure in the mother and death to the unborn child. Pranayama is a most effective way of managing blood pressure, both during pregnancy and during the labour.  Mudras and Bandhas are little known or practised aspects of yoga. They are most often performed in conjunction with pranayama and meditation techniques to increase the effect of that pranic energy and to then re-direct it to particular physical organs as well as psychic centres (chakras). On a purely physical level, they help to increase the quantity and quality of vitality. In other ways they influence the mind and assist in preparation for meditation. Mudras
The term Mudra means a gesture or bodily position indicating some inner, otherwise invisible, state of mind or aspect of conscious-ness. One simple example of a Mudra would be the use of an open hand facing towards someone to indicate "STOP". Another example, but of a whole body mudra, is the Muslim prayer | |
position of kneeling and bowing one's body and arms forwards in reverence and worship. Those familiar with classical Indian dance would know there are many hundreds of hand and body mudras which are used to tell the stories of the Gods and their activities. The meaning of such archetypal gestures can be understood by all people, irrespective of language or culture.
In yoga practise, Mudras have great spiritual significance and are used, not so much to convey a message to an outsider, but rather to create a particular pattern of consciousness within the practitioner. By performing a particular gesture, over time, the student becomes more and more disposed to that way of being. The Mudras, as well as having therapeutic value, are also tools to assist in deepening meditation. Bandhas
Bandha means "to hold, tighten, lock or block". Bandhas are muscular contractions in different parts of the body which are used to control the flow of the energy at that point. Like compressing an artery to restrict the flow of blood, or like squeezing a balloon full of air to increase the pressure inside it, Bandhas create heat and a temporary tension, leading upon release to a deeper level of relaxation. The energy which is being manipulated by any Bandha can be physical or psychic in nature.
Yogis are always interested in ways of better harnessing their energy, both bodily and mental. Bandhas are powerful methods to conserve it, increase it and direct it to where it is most needed. Bandhas control the "gateways" to some of our most vital organs and, most particularly, they control the central spinal energy needed for successful meditation. The Benefits of Mudras and Bandhas
For Women's Health and Pregnancy
Although there are many hundreds of mudras and bandhas, I have included only a few in Chapter 10 - those which are of greatest relevance to women's health and pregnancy.
The psycho-physical stimulation of the repro-ductive organs brought about when performing the mudras and bandhas are particularly effective for many women's health related issues. Most can be done safely throughout pregnancy and are particularly recommended during the post-natal phase for restoring the pelvic functions and general energy levels.
Used either separately or in combination with pranayama, mudras and bandhas are recom-mended to relieve asthma, constipation, dysmenorrhoea, haemorrhoids, leucorrhoea, fatigue, prolapse, PMS, post-natal depression, |
