Author: Rohana Aisha Dewfall

A Letter to My Baby Before You Are Born

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

Dear Baby,

You have grown so much since I last sat down and thought about writing to you. All those months ago, you were a shock, and I was still not used to the idea of you inhabiting my body, let alone the major change you would bring to my life; but now, just over 1 week before you are due to arrive, I find myself reflecting on my pregnancy, and I have a few things to say before I finally meet you.

All those months ago I saw a lot of bad going on in the world, and it’s true, there is a lot of misery – the idea of it weighed me down, and I wrote that I was sad to be bringing you into a world of ‘fake news’, scaremongering, social media and greed. Months ago, I worried that when I turned on the television, all I could see was destruction. Things haven’t really changed all that much in the last 7 months, there is still a lot to be worried about – but what has changed is me.

You have helped me change.

I am only 20 and my youth left me frightened… I was scared that being so young I would not be a good mother to you; I felt helpless. The idea of you was one that while I found enchanting, seemed very surreal. Even though I wanted you, and I loved you so strongly just through the knowledge you were there, you were a being who was alien, and I feared you immensely.

Your conception was not a planned one my darling, and though I never want you to feel that you were/are unwanted, I will not hide from you that you did surprise your Dad and I. In fact, you turned our worlds upside-down. Months ago, this terrified me, but not anymore.

Today, I want to thank you.

I know now that you are the biggest blessing the universe could have ever given us and I feel privileged that you have chosen me to be your mum.

I am no longer unprepared; though I still have a lot to learn. I feel ready and excited now to meet you, and I cannot wait until you arrive. I have carried you for almost 9 full months and felt you grow and move inside me, I have felt the joys of pregnancy and soon I will experience the joy of motherhood.

You have changed me darling, in ways that I don’t think even I fully understand yet.

Throughout this time I have grown with you, both physically and mentally too – I have developed my yoga practice and hope to raise you in a yogic way, and I have worked hard at academia so that next year you will graduate with me. I wrote back then that I wanted to teach you how a smile can make the world a better place, but now, more than that I want to show you the impact a smile can have. Rather than teach you, I want to learn with you, and from you… and rather than worry about life, I want to rediscover it through your eyes.

My darling baby, I promised to love you unconditionally, and I already do. You are now the biggest part of my life, and I am excited to see you grow, and learn from you. The universe has given us to each other and so, before you are born I want to promise you once more, that no-matter what happens, I will protect you, and guide you, I will teach you and I will hold you close… my sweet baby, I will do my very best for you.

All my love,
Your mum xxx

Pregnancy Part 13 – My Birth Plan

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

“Have you made a birth plan?” …

“What does your birth plan contain?” …

“Don’t you think that’s something you should write in a birth plan?” …

“Why haven’t you made one?” …

“You should include that in your birth plan” …

These are some things I have been asked/told in the last few weeks – and while I totally understand that everyone around me is just trying to help and give advice, the reality is, advice is only wonderful when wanted.

Wait what? A first time mum doesn’t want advice!? *The world might implode…*

 

Of course this isn’t true; at least I don’t see it that way.

I do want advice – sometimes – and I have asked for it frequently over my pregnancy, but from people I trust, respect and admire. I want advice from people who I’ve seen raise their children, or whose children I know and love. I want advice from people who I hope to learn from – not from people who I don’t know, regardless of how much they want to give it.

The funny thing is, that once they ask (or interrogate) me about my birth plan, everyone says the same thing:
“Good luck! Nothing ever goes to plan anyway.” 
So what is it about a birth plan that is so interesting anyway? Especially when most people say it doesn’t actually make a difference what you plan.

I think that most of the time, it’s just something to ask about, or perhaps something to compare. Many people will do things differently to me and I to them and sometimes there is an element of judgement but other times it’s curiosity – why have I decided this? Why made me think that?

Anyway, mine is extremely basic – it does not explain things like massage or essential oils, or dictate a specific kind of music. Quite frankly, these are details that can change easily and that I have little control over at the end of the day because if things go to pot, then I won’t get any of these frills. So instead, I’ve decided that I won’t get my hopes up and request anything specific.
The role of my birth plan is to inform my husband (who may or may not be present on the day) and my midwife of the medical decisions I have made.

These include my choices of pain medication, my preference regarding delivery of the placenta and cord clamping, the decision I have made regarding the Vitamin K vaccine and most importantly the name of my birth partner who will be my advocate through the entire process (my mum!).

Perhaps after I have had my baby, and I see other pregnant women I will feel the urge to ask about their plans too.  Perhaps I will want to know what they think or I will wonder what they will do differently… but for my own sake, I do hope that I hold my tongue unless they ask!

Pregnancy Part 12 – My Hospital Bag

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

I have done a lot of research on what should go into a hospital bag in preparation for labour. There are hundreds of articles and lists and YouTube videos and each one makes you feel like there is more stuff to take, or that there is no way you will need everything you have packed.

I finally realised, after hours and hours of lists and packing, unpacking and repacking that in the end, it’s a VERY personal part of the labour experience, and like with every pregnancy, each person’s bag will ultimately be different. Therefore, this is not a guide as to what to pack, although feel free to take ideas, but rather it is just me sharing what I have decided on for my own experience.

Of course, geography also has a big impact. In the UK, women may be discharged as early as 6 hours after pushing their tiny human outside their bodies but here in Gibraltar, I will be offered the change to spend 1 or even 2 nights in the postnatal ward so that I have 24 hour support and can bond with my baby without the distractions of home. Personally, I think being discharged after 6 hours is scary, especially for a first time mum so I am genuinely pleased that I will be in Gibraltar when my baby arrives.

With this in mind – here is what I will be taking to the hospital (picture at the end)… hopefully, most of it will be put to use:

For Baby:

  • Nappies x 22 (can pop home in 5 minutes if we need more)
  • Cotton wool
  • Baby wipes
  • Muslin squares x3
  • Baby vests x4
  • Sleep suits x2 (one of them is the one my parents had for me)
  • Towel
For Me:
  • A beach dress to give birth in
  • Water spray (also for labour)
  • Maternity pads x10
  • Disposable underwear x5
  • Normal underwear x2
  • Breast pads x4 pairs
  • Nipple cream
  • Towel
  • Nightgown
  • Day outfit
  • Going home outfit
  • My diary
  • Hair brush
  • A little bit of make-up
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste
  • Soap/Shampoo/Conditioner (travel versions)
  • Body lotion
  • A spare hairband in case mine breaks

The only thing I am currently missing from my list is 1 or 2 nursing bras – because I don’t have them. I need to go shopping but have been so comfortable without wearing a bra through the entire pregnancy basically that I haven’t bothered yet! Also, I will be taking my phone and camera, but those are things I use daily so will get taken last minute with their chargers.

My flat is only a 7 minute walk from the hospital, so if I feel like I have forgotten anything or we need more stuff, I can always ask someone to pick it up. Also, there is a Morrisons literally opposite the hospital so snacks are available there (hence them not being on my list). As for my birthing partner, it’ll be my mum and if I’m lucky my husband too – but they won’t be able to stay overnight so they don’t have a bag of stuff…

I feel like I have everything ready, and I have 3 weeks left to wait so I am glad it’s done… If I wish I’d taken something or found some stuff entirely useless, I will post it as an update after D-day has come and gone. Until then… I will keep busy and hope for the best. 💗

Pregnancy Part 11 – Prenatal Yoga

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

Yesterday I went to a yoga class – Not a prenatal one, but a normal one and I adapted it. It was the most normal I have felt in weeks! I did a lot of prenatal yoga in my room, on my own at uni which was wonderful, but it is a completely different experience to do a class.

If you can’t get to a prenatal class, I strongly recommend going to a normal class and asking for modifications. Once you go a few times, you learn what you can and can’t do, and you can still benefit from the group activity.

This s a sequence I used a lot on my own in my room:

Sit up in a straight but comfortable position. (I chose to be in Sukhasana) 
Take a few nice deep breaths and fully exhale… employ Deerga Svasam, the 3 part breath when possible.
Bring feet together into cobbler pose and do butterfly legs (flap your knees, opening your hips).
Rock the baby (one leg at a time, cradle it and then stretch it out).
 
Change position to sit with feet apart as far as possible.
Do some neck rotations. 
Do some shoulder rotations.
Stretch up tall (hands towards the ceiling).
Do side stretches to the left and right, keeping head in-between elbows. 
Holding arms above head, stretch forward with an elongated spine – do not compress baby bump. 
 
Bring feet together and come into standing. (Tadasana).
Squats! – X8 with forward facing feet, and X8 with feet outwards. (If feeling good, can repeat).
 
X10 wall press ups. (Again, can repeat if time and energy permits).
 
X3-5 Sun Breaths. 
 
From standing, bend forward to bring palms on the ground and walk back into Downward Facing Dog. (Adho Mukha Svanasana).
Come onto knees for cat/cow. 
Child pose (Balasana).
 
Deep Relaxation (Yoga Nidra). 
Breathing (Pranayama).
Short Meditiation. 
The biggest thing I found was that some days this was a wonderful sequence and other days I didn’t want to do it, so I changed bits or only did some breathing, or very few postures. I made it up as I went along, with my teacher training manual as a guide for safety. Here are some pictures of me doing bits of this sequence and bits of others that I made up:

Pregnancy Part 10 – We Are Blessed

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

This weekend I spent time away from Portsmouth in Swindon with the wonderful yogi’s there. There is a group at the moment taking their Teacher Training and because my mum was coming over to help teach some of it, I asked if I could sit in. It was both a wonderful re-cap for what I have learned over the past year, and taught me some more too, as well as a chance to see mum.

I know I was home only 2 weeks ago but my gosh it seems like much longer, and because the weekend held no other plans, I travelled to meet mum and some of the Gibraltar yogi’s on Thursday and was with them until yesterday before they flew back home. Even though they are all mums age and older, I genuinely felt like part of the group and am so lucky that they let me be there. Spending some quality time with mum was also brilliant – I miss her a lot when I am away. We have a special bond that I can’t quite explain but is something I cherish dearly and I am glad that I could see her.

The days were long, and quite intense because they started at 8 and didn’t finish until about 7pm, but there was such good energy and so much love and willingness to learn that it didn’t matter. Of course, as with anything that is difficult there were tears and stressful moments, and doing so much Hatha also meant that most students were moving a lot more energy than they would in a day – but it is a wonderful thing to do in a safe space with people who all understand. Honestly, I wish I could have been more involved, but with my ever-growing bump, most postures are fairly difficult.
That said, I learned a great deal by watching, and even when I didn’t feel great, managed to stay awake and listen while I curled into a blob.

During the weekend, we had not only Hatha and lots of Asana, but also a numerology talk – super interesting! – and a Kirtan workshop. I love Kirtan so this was definitely one of the best bits of the weekend for me and I have got my lovely Kirtan CD music playing as I write. There is something beautiful about being free to play with the chants and experiment… and as long as you feel while you do it, nobody can really say that its wrong. I definitely want baby to enjoy these chants the way I do, and I must try and make it more of a habit to sing to him.

Along with some books that I was gifted about babies and birth (which I will start after my exam today, I was blessed – quite literally.

Based on a Navajo Ritual… the students did a blessing for my baby and I. It was beautiful, and true to fashion, I cried. We all sat in a circle and starting with my, I wrapped a thread around my wrist a couple of times, and threw it to someone opposite me. From there the string got thrown around until everyone had a little bit of it on their wrists and it came back to me to close of the circle again. Each time somebody got the string, they said a few words or gave a wish for baby and I… considering I had only met most of these people a few days earlier, it was really touching how much love and good wishes we received, and so I was very overwhelmed, cried and was a little bit speechless for a while. I don’t think I am good at expressing my emotions when I am overwhelmed with them, but I have a lot of gratitude and love for every single person who was there this weekend – even though I may not have said it in those words, I am thankful to them all.

The weekend was wonderful and one to remember. I hope there will be more like this in the future, so baby can come and enjoy too, and maybe, if we are lucky, my wonderful husband will come with us. It’s not really his scene but he has enjoyed Kirtan before, and sometimes really enjoys yoga too so we shall see. For now, I want to try and keep this feeling of fullness and love I have after the weekend and enjoy the next few weeks as much as I can. 💗

Pregnancy Part 9 – Leaving the Second Trimester

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

So today marks the start of my third trimester – where on earth has the time gone?

I am a bit nervous about this new phase, mostly because it means that in about 12 weeks my little Theo will arrive and 12 weeks is NOT a long time.
12 weeks is one term at university.

So far… I have had a roller-coaster time, I have got married, passed my yoga exam and I finished the entirety of the teaching blocks of my second year at university. Doesn’t sound like much but it feels like a lifetime.

Most importantly, I have grown a tiny human from not even a thought, to a person who weighs as much as a kabocha squash and I have learned to marvel at the tiny human growing inside me. I have fallen in love with someone I haven’t even met yet.
But… I am not going to pretend that things are all beautiful and the sunshine is always out. Being pregnant has been wonderful so far and I love my baby, I have marvelled at his movements and laughed at myself for needed a wee every time I sneeze… and I have learned that carrying a human inside you comes with a fair amount of discomfort and it’s not usually talked about.
I think I have been quite lucky, but I have suffered from a bunch of pregnancy symptoms that I didn’t realise would happen… here are my 9 top examples:
Being sick is normal – morning sickness did not go away after my first trimester, and I still get sick even now… or when I’m not sick, I suffer from huge waves of nausea… It is not something I was prepared for, but I have learned that it is something that happens and is normal.
Diarrhoea is also normal – yeah! Most of the time, we tell pregnant women to be careful and eat right because getting constipated is both common and a pain, but your body is changing rapidly and hormones are shifting so the opposite is normal too.
Heartburn! I never understood what this was until now… and now, I have a deep sympathy for those who suffer from it.
 
Boobs hurt (really early on). Bras are not my friend! This one is not applicable to everyone I am sure, but personally, I hate wearing a bra… they are uncomfortable and quite frankly, I don’t care if you can see my nipples through my top, the are part of my body just like my arms or legs. But, breasts grow and become heavy… in the last 12 weeks I have gone from a 32C to a 34D and still growing. My husband has quite enjoyed this change but I have been less keen…
Cars are also not my friend … in fact, most forms of transport other than walking don’t agree with me. I have always suffered from a bit of motion sickness, but being pregnant on a plane is a lot more uncomfortable than not being pregnant on a plane… and in a car when the heating is one – I honestly would rather walk! Luckily, in Portsmouth I cycle most places, and when I am home in Gibraltar, almost everything is within walking distance.
I could sleep for days .. I have never felt so physically tired after a day of doing nothing as recently. Lucky for me, I am taking the advice and resting more because when Theo arrives I know I will be tired 24/7.
Yoga is NOT always good – even prenatal. I have had to check and change my routine because all those hip openers may not be the wisest idea.. I have the knowledge and resources to change this which is good, and my mum is wonderful because I can talk to her and share and we will figure out what might work better. I love my yoga sessions and I feel 10x better whenever I do them, but I definitely have noticed the subtle differences and pains when I walk after some postures… Maybe I’ll do a post with an example prenatal yoga class structure when I am back home.
People touch your belly – even when you wear jumpers saying not to. This is a weird one.. I don’t usually mind, but it’s strange because what happened to the personal space bubble? Apparently when you grow a person, it goes away because everyone wants to feel the miracle inside you.
And lastly….You are allowed to be sad sometimes. At first I thought there was something wrong with me, and that I was being selfish and horrible but I have learned that giving up my body to another person, while beautiful, is inherently difficult. When I gave myself permission to be sad or worried, it allowed me to realise that I’m probably not the only one who’s ever felt like this and it meant that I could feel my emotions without being angry at myself. It doesn’t mean I don’t want my baby, or that I won’t love him… but it does mean that I am going through a scary time and have feelings about it.
Overall, my first trimester was a massive roller-coaster, and my second trimester was really busy. I am a student which means essays; studying abroad means a fair amount of travel, and having a husband who works away means lonely nights sometimes. That said, the time has flown by and now I am entering the final phase… I am nervous and excited and altogether a little bit uncertain… but I know that the time will pass quickly so I want to enjoy it as much as possible. For now, I will focus on my uni exams and look forward to going home in 3 weeks. 😄

Pregnancy Part 8 – Studying the Mind of Babies

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

Futurelearn

I am back at university now and have just completed a Futurelearn course called ‘Babies in Mind’.
Futurelearn is an e-learning platform and honestly it is wonderful! There are hundreds of courses offered on there, entirely for free – unless you want the certificate, then you gotta pay for that. The site covers a range of courses from learning languages to tips about university life (I probably should have done that one) and lots of stuff on science and literature.

I learned about it years ago, but truth be told, this is the first time I have stuck to it and completed a course – and I am very glad I did. I have learned a lot and I hope that when the time comes, I will be able to put into practice at least some of the bits about raising babies that I now know about.

I learned:

About what extreme environments do to children – it is heartbreaking and was hard to watch/read because all I could think about was that I want better for Theo… and I hope I will give him that. I learned about how attention deprivation is a consequence of extreme environments and that children can go from very interactive to uninterested in a short space of time.

I watched videos on different types of attachment formed with babies, and how these can affect interactions and personalities formed in later life. The course also covered pregnancy and how we can affect our babies in the womb. I have recently watched a few TED talks on pregnancy and parenthood and I will at some point make a post about my favourite ones.

It was enlightening to learn about how a mothers mental and physical state can affect her unborn child in such unforeseen ways; I am not talking about drug abuse but rather stress during pregnancy and it contributing to having a child more likely to be anxious or have mental health problems. Interestingly, we learned about how in the Danish famine mid 20th century, the babies of mothers pregnant during that time were likely to develop health conditions of the heart or be obese – and apparently this is because of the rewiring of development while in the womb.

My lessons and ambitions

The material in the course really strengthened my resolve to keep calm and be happy about my pregnancy. This isn’t always easy but I am doing my best and I know that more than anything I want to give my baby a good life.

It reiterated the importance of attention and reactions to a baby, in terms of mirroring their expressions to help them understand and feel safe. I want my baby to feel safe with me and I hope that even though it might not come easily all the time, I help him feel secure and loved in the world around him.

We also talked about post natal depression and while I know that I have a 9/10 chance of not experiencing it, I also know that it is something that could happen. The course hit home how much having PND can affect a baby if untreated so I am now much more aware of how important it is to seek help… and also acutely aware that it really can happen to anyone.

I didn’t buy the certificate for the course… I did it for my own personal knowledge and I am glad that I did. I would also recommend it to anyone who is interested – it helps reflect on personal experiences with childhood, ambitions for raising children or perhaps also reflections on how you have raised/are raising them and generally is quite an interesting nugget of information.

Pregnancy Part 7 – Spending Time With Hubby

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

Flying visit

I dropped my husband off at the airport yesterday … I think I will refer to him as ‘H’ at points because if not saying husband or significant other etc. all the time is a bit odd.
He literally came to Gibraltar for a flying visit… arrived on Tuesday and left Saturday so we had 4 nights together. Still, in such a short space of time we did make the most of it and tried to get a few bits done… we talked a lot and of course, as is us, we argued too, but at the end of the day I am really really glad he made it over because I missed him.
I miss him again already.
He’s back at work now and I am not sure that I’ll see him again before the baby comes. In many ways, I resent this, because I see couples who, admittedly have had better timing, get loads of time together, and they experience the wonders and woes of pregnancy and birth and babies and family life all as a real couple. I sometimes don’t feel like we are a real couple because he lives away.

Party time

When he was over we had a party of sorts to celebrate baby and marriage and generally us… it was really lovely, even though he probably thought it was a bit useless, it was something we needed to do because my family/family friends didn’t really get to celebrate our wedding with us.
We hosted a small event at Bistro 292 in Main Street and hats off to them because they did a fantastic job! The food was wonderful and the staff are always friendly. We would have loved to put some music on and have a wedding slide show – which I made but didn’t work 😞. Still the evening was good… H interacted with a few people and the men mostly segregated themselves in conversation so we left them to their corner and I socialised mostly with the women’s table but tried to talk to everyoen as much as possible. The photo below is most of us, although some people left early.
Bless them they are all so lovely and have been so supportive with all the surprises recently. I am especially grateful to them for this for my mum because I know that we were both quite worried about how my baby news would be received. These people are my extended family, even if they are not blood relatives and have been so influential as we have grown up… but they are also traditionalists in many ways, and while we are together as a group, we have a lot of differences too! I had initially worried that they would judge my surprise but they have been wonderful and I think that they are partly the reason my mum was on board so quickly. Times like this do truly show us who the closest people we have are.

Our Short Days

The rest of the days with my hubby honestly went by in a blur. I had my Yoga exam on Wednesday and he was absolutely exhausted from travelling and the party so he slept in the morning and spent time with my grandma in the afternoon while I took my exam. Then bless him he dressed up all smart and proper to meet me for a photoshoot and dinner – we did the first part but it was so bloody windy that we ended up having a snack and eating at home.
I will put the photos (as many as I can) up of the shoot when I get them. My mum’s friend Gerry did it for us, and she is going to do another one of my when I am massive and waddling 😂. I truly am lucky to have so many wonderful people supporting and helping and getting excited for me. In many ways, it is through them that I have given myself permission to feel happy and excited too.
We didn’t do much else really… watched a movie, went for lunch (H treated me which was very lovely of him), and we cuddled, talked, argued a little and made love. The few days we had were not enough, but we are used to having short hellos and long goodbyes… unfortunately that is what long distance relationships are like. Still, it was worth it.

Our Arguments

I honestly don’t know why I get so annoyed sometimes. I feel like a terrible yogi when I look back because the practice of Ahimsa (non-violence) is not one I follow with ease – but it is all part of the journey I know. I am not saying I am physically violent, but I think emotionally, I get worried and annoyed and mean… it is something I most definitely have to work on.
Part of it is because he isn’t around so I am scared he won’t be involved – in fact, I know he won’t and that really hurts. Rationally I know it bothers him, but sometimes I feel like I have the short end of the stick. I want to work on that… practice my Yamas and Niyamas and show him that I care much more about the person he is that what my friends or family think… and show him that I know he wants to be involved. I want to be a wife he is proud of.
We are always going to fight… I have a very short fuse and he knows how to irritate me without trying… That said, my husband is a saint in his reactions to me… He very rarely reacts badly, and if he does, it’s a look of frustration or a slight change in his voice. He is calm and lets me go on and on until he can see I am done and then gets up and hugs me… His hugs make the world melt away and everything gets better. Even if I am still annoyed, I know that he loves me and that the is telling me that things are going to be okay… he is NOT a communicative person but his subtle actions are his way of talking I think.
It’s a wonder he ended up with me because I am not at all like him. I do know however, that even though we are dissimilar, I am so lucky to have him as my rock.

Future Plans

I hope to see him before August but at the moment we have no plans. If I don’t then the next time we get to say hello there will be a tiny human that is a bit of him and a bit of me in the world…. it’s actually an entirely scary but beautiful thought.
Theo and I miss him… I think Theo does anyway – through me I feel like he does sense a change in mood or presence. I definitely miss H, but I know that we are stronger than the distance between us and eventually, things will work out… for now our future plans are uncertain but we do know that our baby is coming and we love him. For now, that is enough.

Yoga – My Hatha Exam

| Rohana Aisha Dewfall

Despite my blog name relating heavily to yoga, I have failed to so far explain my relationship with yoga. I do intend to do so, but, that is for another time.

I am training and will hopefully pass my exam to qualify as an Integral Yoga Hatha Level 1 teacher on Wednesday – i.e. tomorrow! And while I have been teaching for a few months at uni, I am now really nervous.

Yoga, class and my brief background:

The basic integral yoga class is wonderful, it works with the bodily systems in a straightforward order and through the asanas, a student is encouraged to tune in to their body and listen to what it tells them. As someone who grew up doing yoga and attending satsangs with my mum, this feeling is a beautiful one that I have learned to appreciate as I got older. I love that yoga has taken off and people are interested in it, but for me, yoga has always been more than posture and I am blessed that my mum has brought me up with the Yoga Centre in Gibraltar playing a big part in my childhood life.

Now as a teacher in training, the joy I feel when I can see my students reach this peace and comfort is immense. In some ways, I actually prefer teaching to my physical practice because I love sharing yoga with other people.

Yoga Society:

I started a society at uni with a couple of other students and we have really enjoyed it, plus I have been privileged to develop a lot of friendships through it.
If my classes continue next year with the baby that will be wonderful… but at the moment I am not committing 100% to anything because I have no idea what Theo will be like and I of course want to put him first. That said, I hope to have a yogi baby so maybe he will just come to class with me and inspire others until he can join in.

My course:

The course is a basic 200 hour qualification… encompassing Raja Yoga (science of the mind), Hatha (physical) postures or Asanas, aspects of the yogic diet, lifestyle, meditation and much more.
There is chanting which I absolutely adore and being pregnant I am trying to encourage chanting with my baby – for example my alarm in the mornings is the ‘Hari Om’ chant so I can wake up connecting to higher energy fields.
We also, of course, do a lot of pranayama and right now I am nervous about teaching kapalabati (the skull shining breath) because during pregnancy it is recommended that women refrain from the breath so I haven’t taught it at uni BUT I have to teach it for my exam.
So now, I am studying for my written theory exam which has a lot of Anatomy and Physiology in it as well as general knowledge about Integral Yoga; and, I am also preparing for my oral exam where I have to demonstrate teaching a class to a few students and my teacher.
Luckily I have my mum! She has been a teacher for over 20 years, has helped with the training for various other groups of students and has been my personal guide through the entire training. Since I have done a lot of it long distance at university, this has meant lots of Skype sessions and late night chats about body systems, Sanskrit names and other yoga related things. Basically mum has been my saviour and she is about to go over some last minute bits with me now too.
I will write more about yoga and what it means to me, and yoga during pregnancy too… but for now, I am going to practice and hopefully I won’t over think and complicate my life.

Post script – I passed!

I took the exam and barring the Kapalabati breath, which of course I was so worried about that I entirely messed up, I passed the exam and got some wonderful feedback.
Thank you so much to my mum and Aunty Nalanie for encouraging me and training me through the last year. I definitely feel like going back to uni there is a lot more I have to offer now as well.