Tag: Matrika Prenatal

Prenatal Yoga Pittsburgh

February 14, 2011
Posted by Sharon
Leave a comment

MATRIKA PRENATAL YOGA & EXERCISE

Group Class:
Sundays from 12:15 to 1:15 pm at Mookshi Wellness Center
$5 for your first class

Private Classes:
Available at your convenience.  Schedule by calling Sharon (412) 855-5692.  FREE phone consultation for all expectant women.  Call to schedule yours today!

Matrika Prenatal is a practice available to women in all weeks of pregnancy and does not require any prior experience with yoga or meditation.  This unique combination of yoga, meditation, exercise and childbirth preparation supports expectant women through a healthy pregnancy, labor and birth preparation and beyond.  Gentle stretches and movements ease tension, improve circulation and help relieve common minor pregnancy complaints from insomnia to low back pain. Strengthening exercises and squatting help prepare the pelvic floor for labor and help mom maintain excellent cardiovascular health and endurance. We visualize birth, practice breathing and sounding techniques and discuss birth options including pain management through movement, breathing and sounding.  Of course, we also have a lot of fun and it’s always lovely to connect with other pregnant women in your community!

Benefits of Yoga and Meditation During Pregnancy

Physical

  • Gentle movements improve posture so that you carry baby correctly and prevent backache
  • Improved circulation mean less varicose veins, hemorrhoids and fluid retention
  • Relieve fatigue
  • Alleviate minor discomforts such as heartburn, pain in hip joints and ribs, muscle cramps and headaches
  • Strengthen the body and learn poses that you can use during labor for comfort
  • Learn pelvic floor exercises and other techniques for strengthening your body for birth
  • Stay toned and fit during pregnancy. Fit moms recover faster from birthing.

Emotional

  • Balance mood and learn to center body and mind
  • Connect deeply with your baby before they are born

Social

  • Meet other expectant mothers
  • Be a part of a supportive community
  • Have fun!

Spiritual

  • Take the time to be quiet during this pregnancy
  • Access your own strength
  • Become aware of your fears and learn to work with yourself, your baby and your care providers with confidence
  • Know yourself and be better equipped to communicate your needs and desires to your birth partner, care providers and family
  • Create a sacred and special time to relax, hope and dream

What to Expect in a Matrika Prenatal Class

We do not expect prenatal yoga students to have any experience with yoga. Our prenatal yoga classes are appropriate for women in all weeks of pregnancy. Although each instructor has their own style and may provide a different emphasis or tone to their class, all classes include some stretching and breathing exercises, some asana (yoga poses) that will tone and strengthen the body and relaxation. There is no wrong way to do yoga and the more often you practice, the more familiar you will become with the poses. As you become more familiar with the poses and exercises, then you can turn your focus inward. Although some poses may be challenging and you will feel the stretches as you create greater flexibility in your body, you should never feel pain in a yoga class. This is true in any yoga class and not just prenatal yoga! If you are ever uncomfortable or have questions, your instructor can help you modify a pose or answer any questions that you might have. Our classes are intimate and non-competitive so you can receive personalized attention from well-trained instructors.

Our classes are not just gentle yoga classes modified for pregnancy. Our prenatal programs are designed specifically for pregnancy and we use yoga to prepare for birth and for being a mother. Labor, birth and mothering a newborn are not easy tasks. The focus, strength and awareness that you learn in prenatal yoga classes will give you the skills you need to meet these tasks with confidence. We support one another and the entire Matrika community is here for you now and after you have your baby.

Mom & Baby Yoga

February 14, 2011
Posted by Sharon
Leave a comment

Mom & Baby Yoga

Thursdays 11:15 to noon 
$10 (exact cash, check or credit cards accepted on site)

This is a class for moms to share with babies up to 6-months or crawling (whichever comes first).  We start our practice with some gentle stretches for mom to relieve head, shoulder, neck and head tension and some exercises to prevent or support healing of carpal tunnel pain.  Then, we move on to yoga for baby.  Yes, you read that correctly—yoga for your baby!  Babies love being gently touched, singing songs and mindful movement.  Then, we close with some stretching and stretches for mom and a deep relaxation for everyone. No experience required!  Just pack some diapers, be prepared to feed your baby on demand during the class and bring a blanket for baby to lie on during class.

Doing Yoga Together: Preparations and Expectations

You love yoga and now you want to make it a part of your child’s life too. We are delighted that this is the case and we have a few things to keep in mind that will help you and your child enjoy the experience.

Keep an Open Mind

We find that it takes a couple of visits to the studio for children (ok, it’s actually true for adults too!) to understand what the activity is and what is expected of them. You might find that your child acts bored or is not interested in doing yoga. The way that babies and children enjoy yoga classes may be different from the way that you enjoy them. What we know is that, over time, sharing yoga together with your child creates beautiful memories and is time that you will cherish forever.

Prepare for Class

As much as possible, make sure that you and baby have had a snack and are wearing comfortable clothing. Try to leave enough time to get the studio so that there isn’t a lot of stress before class. Bring your little ones favorite toy or comfort item and some snacks as appropriate. Bring a receiving blanket for newborns and pre-crawling infants and a change of clothing and more diapering supplies than you think you need. For young children, after the first class, make sure that you talk with them about it and start talking about it again a few days before class—–remind them of the teacher’s name, another child’s name or some feature of class that they remember (a story, a sound or ritual).

Enjoy the Moment

When we release our expectations, we can enjoy whatever is happening. This is yoga! Yoga together is very different from adult yoga, but it allows us to stay fit and take time to meet our own needs as adults while sharing something that is very important to us with our children. Sometimes it goes as planned and sometimes it is a bit of a disaster, but know that you and your child are never judged at Yoga Matrika. There isn’t one of us who haven’t had a child tantrum during a Mom & Baby class or who didn’t have a baby who cried through an entire class——we welcome you and your little one, even if you are having “one of those days.”

Holiday Yoga: A Prenatal Practice

December 19, 2010
Posted by Sharon
Leave a comment

Yoga Matrika is going to be offering a limited number of prenatal yoga classes during the holidays.  In case you don’t live in Pittsburgh and have found this practice online, Yoga Matrika offers prenatal yoga classes in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The good news about this practice is that you can do it anywhere!

We all know that even a few stretches and relaxation exercises can make a huge difference in how we feel during pregnancy.  During the holidays, our diets and schedules change and this makes it even more important that we maintain our practice.  Here is a very short practice that is appropriate for pregnant women that you can do at home, if you are traveling or wherever you roam.  For all you Pittsburgh-based Matrika Mammas, I look forward to seeing you again in person for class in the new year!

Center & Breathe

First step, find a comfortable seat.  You do not have to be sitting on the floor and if you are at all swollen or feel any aches, it may be best for you to sit in a chair.  If you are seated in a chair, you want to just sit on the front edge of the chair (not leaning back and resting on the seat back) and make sure that your feet are firmly placed on the ground.  If this is uncomfortable due to the height of the chair, you can place support under your feet (yoga blocks, phone books, etc.).  Just make sure that you have balanced support under each side of the body.  From here, take one palm and rest it over your heart center and another hand over your belly.  Very gently start to take deep breaths.  Feel the front of your body rise with the in-breath and as you exhale, release the full breath and any tension you might be holding in your body.  You can do this for as long as you like, but even taking 5-10 deep breaths will help you feel much more centered and relaxed.

Relax Back and Hips

Come down onto your hands and knees and practice cat/cow.  Keep your neck relaxed and focus on the gentle forward and back sway of the pelvis.  You can do as few of these or as many of these as you like.  If you feel tight through the hips or have low back tension, you may also want to take your hips in circles.  It can be helpful to imagine that you have a paintbrush dangling from your navel and that you are making perfect circles on the floor beneath you.  Move as slowly or as quickly as feels right to you.

Energize the Body and Release Tension

Practice Warrior II pose on the right and left sides of the body.  Focus on opening your heart, relaxing the shoulders and keep your bent knee (the front knee) coming out directly over the ankle.  Use your inner thigh strength to deepen the stretch and keep your knee in a healthy position.  The back leg is straight and you are opening through the pelvis.  Gently tuck your sitting bones under you to lengthen the low back and release low back strain.  Breathe!

Relax the hips & Stretch the Back

Come into Cobbler’s Pose.  With the soles of your feet together, take deep breaths into the body.  If you are rounded through the low back, place a folded blanket, towel or pillow under your sitting bones.  You can sit here and breathe for as long as you like.  If you would like to stretch the back body, then allow yourself to round forward as far as you feel comfortable.  Keep your shoulders relaxed and breathe.

Deep Relaxation

It is very important to actively relax the body for a few minutes each and every day.  This is different from napping or sleeping.  Find a comfortable position for your body lying on the floor—-if it feels good, then it is safe.  Bring your awareness to your feet and actively and systematically relax your body from your toes to the crown of your head.  You may want to purchase a deep relaxation tape or download a Yoga Nidra from iTunes.  It can be helpful to choose some beautiful music or chanting that you enjoy and play that while you relax.

Enjoy the holidays and new year Matrika Mammas!  Check out our new Pregnancy and Postnatal website.  Please do not practice yoga if any of these exercises make you uncomfortable, cause pain or if your care provider has put you on bed rest or encouraged you to limit physical activity.  You should never feel pain in your yoga practice, pregnant or not, and these are not exercises you should “push through” or force yourself to do.  All of these suggested exercises should feel good and relieve tension and strain in your body.

This practice was designed with love by Sharon Fennimore Rudyk, the owner of Yoga Matrika and director of all Matrika Prenatal programs.  Currently, our classes, workshops and Childbirth Education programs are mostly held in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Please feel free to contact Sharon directly with any questions (412) 855-5692.

Matrika Prenatal

December 14, 2010
Posted by Sharon
Leave a comment

As Yoga Matrika was inspired by the birth of my sweet and passionate son and my interests and expertise in prenatal yoga and supporting moms with young children continues to grow, it is only fitting that our programs in this area now have their very own beautiful website.  Please check out the brand new: www.matrikaprenatal.com

Yoga is a practice that supports transformation and pregnancy, childbirth and parenting a newborn are certainly transformative experiences!  It is my sincere desire that every pregnant woman in Pittsburgh have access to a supportive yoga community that will provide the love, guidance and support that make such a positive difference in the experience of pregnancy.  There are many wonderful prenatal yoga instructors here in Pittsburgh and a wide range of options in terms of style, location and personality.  The resources page of www.matrikaprenatal.com lists classes that are outside of the city and I hope that expectant moms will seek out classes that are convenient and reasonable for them.  We will continue to update the resources section of the website and would love any input that you might have.

Matrika Mammas are strong, intelligent and delicious!