Pregnancy yoga

Sanne Kerkhof is our specialised yoga teacher for pregnant women and for restorative yoga after birth.
She also gives a special class for new mom’s with baby massage and postnatal yoga in one. She has helped many women to prepare for birth. Her classes are warm and concreet.
Once a month at Samana there is a partner class: what you both need to know and how to go through child birth together.

At Samana you can join:

• Pregnancy Yoga
• Partner class – once a month on friday evening
• Baby massage and postnatal yoga in one class
  Check the schedule for times and dates.

About Yoga and Pregnancy

Pregnancy yoga helps you go through the nine months of pregnancy in a healthy way: feeling vital and flexible.
This special Yoga will give you time and space to experience your pregnancy consciously.
You will become aware of the physical changes and you learn to appreciate the hormonal changes. Sanne teaches you how to listen to your intuition and inner strength.

Strong lower back and pelvis
The yoga poses – asana’s – help build up strength and flexibility. In pregnancy yoga we focus on the pelvis in two ways.
Some  asana’s help you to keep the pelvic floor strong and the bone structure compact. Pelvic openers help to keep you flexible. This is of great help in the process of giving birth.

Good for the baby
Your child will benefit from the asana’s. The quiet mind you practice in yoga and the calm breathing you learn all have a relaxing effect on your unborn baby. The conscious asana practice brings you in direct contact with the child.

In balance, never unstable
Some asana’s focus on mindful and stable postures in standing, sitting and laying down. This will help your changing body to find the natural balance in every stage of your pregnancy. In balance you feel stronger and more vital.
If you’re posture is well balanced you can avoid pregnancy problems like lower back pain or pelvic instability.

Well grounded and energetic
In the classes you will explore the dynamics between your body and the earth: gravity pulls us to the earth, our feet push the earth.
We play with our centre of gravity, located in the lower back and the belly.  In every asana we bring back our attention to this center of gravity and to the body parts resting on the ground. This is called grounding.

Breath as a tool
This focus can be enhanced by conscious breathing. Together these techniques you bring back the balance with gravity in any posture, in any stage of your pregnancy. With a good balance, you can relax mind and body, which helps you feel energetic.

Strong and flexible basis
The asana’s have two physical targets:
to strengthen the basis -your feet, legs, lower back and pelvis
and to keep your body flexible and light –with focus on your feet, hips and shoulder  girdle.

About the partner class 

Once a month on friday evening Sanne gives this class.
Your partner is also involved in the pregnancy and birth.
Partner classes are active, informative trainings covering the phases of pregnancy, anatomy, active role of the partner, birthing positions and requirements for an optimal birthing preparation.

About Baby massage and post natal yoga

Touching is giving life

A great time for mother and baby
We start the class with half an hour of baby massage. Then there is time to feed the baby and put her on a mat in the middle of the room to play or sleep. The new moms will stand around them to practice yoga for one hour.
These sessions are a treat for both baby and mother.

Baby massage: less stress, more contact
Massage is great for babies. They become relaxed and more alert and it helps their development.
A baby becomes more relaxed in this new and challenging world after a massage. S/He will produce less cortisol, a stress hormone, and more oxytocine, the hormone that stimulates feelings of connectedness.  Sanne teaches ayurvedic shantala massage in which you touch the whole body of your baby.
During the massage you have physical contact with your baby. You also talk to your child. This deepens the contact.

Trust through Touch
During your pregnancy you touch your belly frequently. That’s a way to make contact with your baby. The baby massage is a natural step after birth. It brings a warm sense of security to both the mother and the child. Tactile sense is the strongest sense of a new born. With massage you stimulate this important sensor for your baby. Baby massage gives your baby a fundamental feeling of trust and security, essential for a full physical and mental development. But maybe even more important: the baby massage class is a very nice way for mother and child to enjoy and to get to know each other.

Baby massage is not new. It is common and a tradition in many cultures. The positive effects are evident both mental and physical: it activates the muscles, helps to ease belly cramps and takes away tension. It stimulates circulation in the skin and helps your baby to sleep well.

Postnatal yoga
After giving birth it’s nice to regain your strength in a safe way.
Postnatal yoga will focus on the most important body parts that need restorative yoga: your pelvic floor, lower back and belly muscles.
Your belly needs some time to fall back into its former shape. We train the belly muscles very softly and careful, building it up slowly.  For those with a caesarean the postures are adjusted to be healthful and safe.
The pelvic floor needs restorative asana’s too. It will be another point of focus. Every week you well feel your pelvic become more stable. 

Take care of yourself after birth
For many women it is normal to take a course when pregnant. This way you prepare for all that is to come. But after birth your body goes through a lot of changes. It is important to take care of yourself at this stage as well.
Postnatal Yoga helps you to restore in a safe and well balanced way, physically. You also learn the natural healthy positions to feed, sit and walk to prevent injuries and discomfort.  The yoga practice also helps you regain your energy in a time with broken nights.

With a newborn you find yourself in new postures daily: feeding the baby, carrying her around. Your body once more changes, with heavy breast. You use the muscles in your back, arms, neck and shoulders differently. Many women develop pain in the upper body. In the postnatal yoga classes we will look at de best postures for feeding and carrying your baby. With the right postures your muscles can stay relaxed, your body will not cramp but stays open. We will also train these muscles to become stronger.

Please bring…
Please take a towel, hydrophilic diaper, extra diaper, massage oil and breast or bottle.