MINI CHECK~IN & INTRODUCTIONS

6:30-6:45pm

Sit - LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING
Sit - SUFI GRINDS
Sit - MEDITATION FOR COMMITMENT (Spinal rock)
Arms - BEAR GRIP CHEST SEE-SAW
Arms - BEAR GRIP THROAT TO OVER HEAD
Twists - ULTIMATE EXERCISE FOR BETTER NURSING ~ Spinal Twists
Arms - EXERCISE FOR STRONG, LOVING ARMS
Arms - PRACTICE FOR OWNING YOUR BIRTH SPACE
​Shoulders - MEDITATION FOR CONNECTING TO FAMILY ~ Shoulder shrugs
Arms - BANISHING FEAR
Legs - LIFE NERVE STRETCH
​Arms - “THERE’S LOVE ENOUGH FOR EVERYTHING” EXERCISE
Stand - EXERCISE FOR CASTING OUT DOUBT (spinal)
​Stand - EXERCISE FOR ENERGY AND CIRCULATION (calf Streatch)
Stand - CREATING STAMINA AND POWER (rolling Squats)
Arms - MEDITATION FOR TRUSTING AND LETTING GO
​Sit - MEDITATION FOR BEING ENOUGH JUST AS YOU ARE
Sit - MEDITATION FOR CREATING A BEAUTIFUL WORLD

​Become aware of breath - Long deep breathing
Tune in with 3 Oms

LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (3min)
Breath: Sit in Easy Pose. Close your right nostril with your right thumb, your other fingers are stretched straight up as antennas. Your left hand is in Gyan Mudra (illustration) on your left knee. Close your eyes and concentration at your 3rd Eye. Begin to breathe long and deep only through your left nostril. Continue for three minutes.
activates the Ida Nerve Ending in the left nostril, which relates to calmness and relaxation. Left nostril breathing is associated with the moon energy, which is changeable, feminine, yin, giving, and cool. Breathing through the left nostril can calm you and lower your blood pressure.

SUFI GRINDS - 3min
This practice helps to raise the energy from the lower to the higher, moving from the first chakra upwards.
It helps to activate and move the kundalini energy that lies at the base of the spine.
This energy is said to be dormant and inactive leading to imbalance in the body and mind. 

MEDITATION FOR COMMITMENT (3min)

• ​Come sitting comfortably on the floor in Easy Pose.
• Hold your ankles with both hands and inhale.
• Flex your spine forward and lift your chest up.
• As you exhale, flex your spine backwards, and keep your head level so it doesn’t flip-flop with the movement.
• Repeat one hundred and eight times, about three minutes. 

​
This will keep your spine strong so you have the backbone and energy to accomplish what you want.
This will release tension and send energy up your spine. Every vertebra will awaken. This can help you feel calmer and more powerful, ready to take on anything.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

BEAR GRIP CHEST SEE-SAW (1min)

• Lock your fingers in Bear Grip at your heart centre (4)
  • Left palm faces away from your chest with thumb down.
  • The right palm faces the chest with thumb up
  • Curl your fingers and grip the fingers of the other hand
  • Pull your hands away from each other
• Move the elbow in a see-saw motion, breathing long and deep with the motion
• Continue 26 times
• To end, inhale in the centre, exhale, pull on the Bear Grip
• Relax & rest with hand in lap - 30 seconds

Conscious Pregnancy Yoga Manual pg72

BEAR GRIP THROAT TO OVER HEAD (1min)

• Lock your fingers in Bear Grip at the throat level (8)
• Inhale and contract your pelvic floor muscles
• Exhale and contract your pelvic floor muscles
• Then raise your hands above your head
• Inhale and contract your pelvic floor muscles
• Exhale and contract your pelvic floor muscles
• Repeat the cycle 3 times

Conscious Pregnancy Yoga Manual

ULTIMATE EXERCISE FOR BETTER NURSING ~ Spinal Twists (3min)

• Sit in Easy Pose on the floor.
• Grasp your shoulders with your fingers in front, thumbs in the back.
• Close your eyes.
• Inhale through your nose and twist to the left, exhale through your nose and twist to the right.
• Inhale the sound “Sat” silently as you turn to the left, and exhale “Nam” silently as you turn to the right.
• Do this for three minutes. (or x26)

This opens your heart centre, improves circulation, and purifies the blood that makes milk. 
As you practice this pose feel confident that you have all you need to produce complete nourishment for your child.
Plan on being rather dreamy for the first year of your child’s life, if only because the energy to produce milk is so internal and miraculous.
Live life slowly and as simply as possible for your new family, giving your child the security they need.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

EXERCISE FOR STRONG, LOVING ARMS (26 times - 2min)
This gets your arms strong, and your heart open, ready to receive your baby.
• Begin by stretching your arms out in front of you with your palms firmly pressed together, elbows straight, arms parallel to the floor.
• As you inhale deeply through your nose, open your arms out wide in a large, expansive gesture. Feel the area of your heart open and expand as your lungs fill with air.
• Keep your arms opening and stretching, eventually stretching back as far as they will go, stretching your shoulder blades to touch each other. Really feel the stretch as though your arms were giant wings you are stretching in the bright morning sun. Feel the stretch across your chest, under your arms and your ribs, down the arms and out through the fingertips. Keep your arms parallel to the ground the entire time.
• When your arms are stretched as wide as they can go, begin exhaling through your nose, and bring your arms back to the original position, ending with your palms pressed together once again.
• Do this twenty-six times with your eyes closed and rolled up to your Third Eye point.
• Remember to inhale and exhale powerfully, silently reciting “Sat” on the inhale and “Nam” on the exhale.
• Move at a moderate pace. Your arms and heart will be so ready to receive the one. This is good for Dad to do also.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful 

PRACTICE FOR OWNING YOUR BIRTH SPACE (3-8min)
​• Sit in Easy Pose, eyes closed, and extend your arms out to your sides, parallel to the ground.
• Close your hands, bringing the fingertips only to the base of your palm, thumbs up.
• Keep your spine straight and your chin slightly tucked.
• Inhale and begin rotating your hands around your wrists, thumbs revolving full circle, up and back to down and back.
• Maintain a tight grip on your fingers and continue for seven to eight minutes with powerful breathing. Start at three minutes if you like. The power of fearlessness will come to you!
Kegel exercises can help you start to own the space in your body from which you will birth: During urination stop and start the flow of urine four to eight times, isolating the muscles of the birth canal from those of the abdominals and the rectum. This meditation will help you break through fear when it threatens to overwhelm you:
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

MEDITATION FOR CONNECTING TO FAMILY ~ Shoulder shrugs (3min)

• Breathe in and out deeply through your nose a few times.
• Then scrunch your shoulders up tightly to your ears, then relax and lower your shoulders. Do this at least five times.
• Next, close your eyes and roll your head around, first to the right, then to the left, inhaling and exhaling deeply through your nose.
• Bring your head up and roll your eyes up to your Third Eye point. Start singing the sound “Ong,” curling your tongue and pressing the back of the tongue against the back of the throat firmly. Do this for three to seven minutes.

It will sound as if you are singing “Onnnng” through your nose.
Feel how good this sound feels running through you. “Ong” means Infinity in its most creative form.… Hey, that sounds a lot like you right now!
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

BANISHING FEAR (2min)
• Sit in Easy Pose, with your eyes closed and rolled upward, and extend your arms out to the side, parallel to the ground.
• Close your hands, bringing the fingertips only to the base of your palm, thumbs up.
• Keep your spine straight and your chin slightly tucked.
• Inhale and bring your thumbs to your shoulders, returning your hands to the original position with an exhale.
• Go as fast as you can and don’t let your thumbs touch your shoulders.
• Continue with powerful breathing for two minutes to stimulate your pituitary gland. Work up to seven minutes.

LIFE NERVE STRETCH (1-3min)

• courage and endurance (high strung & anxious)
• V legs straight in front
• Palms facing above head
• exhale bend to left
• inhale up
• exhale bend to right, etc…
• 1-3min
• Graceful breath rhythm

“THERE’S LOVE ENOUGH FOR EVERYTHING” EXERCISE (3-7min)
This exercise stimulates the heart chakra, reminding us of the limitlessness of love:
• Sit on your heels or in Easy Pose with a straight spine, your hands at the center of your chest in Prayer Pose.
• Focus your eyes at the tip of your nose.
• Begin to extend your arms fully out to your sides as if you are pressing against two walls, then return to the starting position.
• As you move your arms, repeat the sound “Hummmmmm” out loud, with your lips coming together as if to create a gentle buzzing, like the sound of a bee. “Hum” is the sound that opens the heart. Continue for three to seven minutes.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

STANDINGSTAND ~ 7:20pm

EXERCISE FOR CASTING OUT DOUBT (3min)
• Stand, and then place your hands firmly on your thighs above your knees, keeping them slightly bent.
• Exhale and bring your chin to your chest, tucking in your tailbone. This is called Standing Cat Pose.
• Then inhale, raise your head and tip your pelvis up, creating a sway in your back only as much as is comfortable. This is called Cow Pose.
• Alternate these poses for a minute, or as feels good.
• Then, begin to grind your pelvis in a circular motion clockwise.
• Do this for three minutes; reverse and continue, keeping your knees bent and the pressure off your body.
It must feel good. This is a posture to take a few minutes to clear your mind and receive clarity, passing through the valley of doubt to clarity. Keep your eyes closed and focused upward if you can and still feel balanced. Keep them open if you can’t.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

EXERCISE FOR ENERGY AND CIRCULATION (2min)
• Brace yourself against a wall with your arms out and your palms flat on the wall.
• Lift your weight up onto the ball of your foot, squeezing the muscles of your ankles, your calves and knees, thighs and buttocks.
• Release and lower your weight to the floor slowly so the entire foot is on the floor. Do this twenty-six times, building up to fifty-four if you can.

​As the circulation increases your legs will burn, guaranteed!
To create new circulation in your home, begin by infusing your own body with more energy and circulation:
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

CREATING STAMINA AND POWER  - 15min
• Put your feet parallel to each other, hip-width apart, hands in a prayer position in the centre of your chest, and your eyes slightly closed but opened enough for good balance.
• If your heels come off the floor when you come down, double up a blanket and place it beneath your heels.
• At the bottom of the squat, make sure you tip forward, placing your hands on the floor and pushing your buttocks up, then slowly rolling your body up, raising your head last.
• Sweep your arms up over your head, pressing the palms together in a prayer and lowering your hands to your heart.
• Begin again, taking your buttocks each time as low to the earth as they will comfortably go while your entire feet remain on the floor.
• Always use your hands to push up; don’t just come up with your legs because that puts too much pressure on your uterus.
• Inhale “Sat” as you raise your arms up above your head, and exhale “Nam” as you bring your hands to the floor.
Squat fifteen times. Make sure you do them correctly by squatting with the entire foot on the floor.

Yoga is how we build our stamina for labor. Go through the discomfort to the other side. Become sensitive inside yourself to know the difference between stretching & strengthening, and straining. Then keep going. Don’t run from it, breathe into it. Then when you get to your labour you don’t have to run away because you don’t know what to do. 
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

MEDITATIONS - 7:20pm

MEDITATION FOR TRUSTING AND LETTING GO (7min)
• Sit in Easy Pose and raise your arms parallel to the floor with palms facing down.
• Split the fingers of each hand so that the index and middle fingers are together and the ring and pinkie fingers are together, thumbs relaxed.
• Close your eyes and breathe for seven minutes.
• To finish, inhale deeply as you stretch your arms and tighten your whole body. Exhale and repeat this sequence twice more.
This meditation is very powerful. It will help in letting go of fear and resentments, all the mental blocks that hinder the baby’s arrival, by trusting and letting go.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

MEDITATION FOR BEING ENOUGH JUST AS YOU ARE
• Sit in Easy Pose and relax your right arm on your right knee.
• Take your left hand and have it face your heart center about six inches from your chest.
• As you say “I am,” move your hand toward your chest until it is only four inches from your heart.
• On a second “I am,” take the hand twelve inches out from the chest. Inhale and draw the hand to the original position. With each movement of your hand you are extending yourself beyond all the limits you have set for your body.
• Continue this cycle for eleven minutes, starting at five if you like.
• As you do this, imagine that when your hand is close to your heart it is representing the “little me.” When your hand is furthest away from you, it represents the big, ever-expanding nonlimited Self. In this meditation it’s as if the “little me,” the finite, limited self, merges to become one with the “big me,” the infinite Self, over and over again. You will have an experience of how great, strong, and vast you really are.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful

MEDITATION FOR CREATING A BEAUTIFUL WORLD
This powerful meditation helps to bring healing and peace to our planet, and is meant to be done for forty days.
• Sit tall with a straight spine, pulling your chin slightly in, chest out, shoulders relaxed.
• Place the hands in Prayer Pose at the center of your chest, pressing your palms firmly together.
• Roll your eyes up to your Third Eye point and imagine you are sitting atop a tall mountain overlooking all of humanity, and sending waves of peace over the entire globe.
• The mantra, “Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung,” is a very powerful sound current and has immediate effects to bring healing to yourself and others. The sounds translate as: Ra = Sun Ma = Moon Da = Earth Sa = Infinity Say = Totality of experience So Hung = I am Thou “Ra Ma Da Sa” melody bar
• Chant out loud for twelve minutes, chant in a whisper for five minutes, and be silent for one minute. End by inhaling deeply, and as you exhale sit for a little bit and give this prayer to those who need it.
Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful 

SAVASANA ~ 7:40pm

END