The Perineum & The Placenta

37 Weeks!!!

I know our Love Child will come soon, I can feel my bones starting to shift and my body wants to slow down.  Within the next few weeks we will have a new Baby in our home.  So delightfully exciting!

I am preparing myself the best I know how and that involves my perineum and my placenta.  Perineal massage worked for me with our first 2 children, no rips or tearing, thank goodness!   Karin Rose, a mother and "kitchen witch" blends an amazing almond oil, solar infused with calendula, chamomile and rose petals, created just for the sensitive yet powerful massage that can help your baby pass through you while you stay intact.  A dear friend of mine, Joanna Papatsani of Golden Wings Wellness, gifted me a coconut oil blend infused with essential oils for perenium massage and stress relief. I have been using them both, starting around 34-35 weeks to allow ample time to make sure the delicate tissue is as supple as possible.  Massaging yourself is a great alternative to a painful tear or episiotomy that can leave uncomfortable scar tissue.  During labor make sure you have your doctor/ midwife/ or birth partner help you with this and remember you can use any edible oil including castor oil.  You do not need a fancy infusion, but it is a nice treat if you have the option and you can make your own blend.

Along with taking care of my body I know first hand how important it is to take care of my mental well-being.  I had post-partum anxiety with our 2nd, which was really awkward for me as a "yoga teacher".  Honestly I had never experienced anxiety before and it really took me for surprise and on an unpleasant journey.  I loved my baby boy from the moment I delivered him but I was grumpy and irritable with my husband and 2 year old daughter.  I felt weird, something was off.  Finally with the help of acupuncture and positive life-coaching I was able to ground and find peace.  I plan to avoid that huge hormonal crash this time by having my placenta encapsulated.  In fact I plan to take a little piece and make a placenta smoothie to really boost the positive hormone balancing effects.  Sometimes I hear or read comments that express encapsulating your placenta as yucky or gross.  For me being an un-fun, moody, wigged out, mama is yucky and gross.  If ingesting my placenta like most land mammals do can avoid a mood disorder, sign me up!  My go to girl for placenta encapsulation in the San Diego area is Trisha Olow at Zoe Bella Birth Service, check her out http://zoebellabirth.com

With a Belly full of Love,

Jen

Asana of the Month

Virabhadrasana II

The Warrioress

Stand with the legs wide apart, reaching the arms out in the same direction, the ankles should be as wide as the wrists.  Turn the big toes in feeling the pinkie toe edge of the feet root into the Earth.  Stay mindful of the orientation of your hips, allow the front of the hip bones to stay facing the long edge of your mat.  Turn your right foot to the front or short end of your mat, maintaining the angle of the hips.  If the back hip, rolls forward facing a side or forward angle you risk pinching the sciatic nerve as it passes through the piriformis muscle which can create sciatica and no one wants that!  Bend the right knee so that it lines up directly over the ankle.  Take caution to not let the knee go over the toes, this will create unnecessary strain on the knee joint.  By creating a right angle with the knee over the ankle you will activate the quadriceps and strengthen the legs.  Continue to reach through the arms opening the space between the shoulder blades and spreading through the chest.  If you turn your palms up to the sky this will allow the collar bones to roll back and the shoulder blades to reach down.  Taking the time to set up the proper alignment is very important for this asana to gain maximum benefit.  Additional tip, if you lift the 10 toes you will feel the inner arch of your foot engage, allow this lifted energy to rise up into the inner thigh, and up into the pelvic floor.  Breath smooth, calm, and steady as you gently hug your baby up and in by softly titling the pelvis.