Greetings,
Without equivocation, a highlight of my pregnancy included attended weekly pre-natal Pregnancy Goddess classes at Yoga West in Beverly Hills! I vowed to develop a champion health and wellness regime so yoga fit into my goal.
I did my research on yoga studios in LA and decided to attend Yoga West. I made the right decision because the first yoga instructor I encountered was Sada. During introductions, Sada sensed immediately I needed to change doctors/hospital to an environment that would be more supportive of a first time mom. By offering such advice, Sada enhanced the trajectory of my pregnancy experience by matching me with Eisner Medical Family Center with delivery at California Hospital. The Eisner Clinic offered a team of mid-wives to low risk pregnant mamas and they have an amazing educational health program with compassionate health educators. I took a series of classes which included Breastfeeding, Nutrition, Prenatal exercises, Lamanze classes, Birth of Your Child and the Hydrotherapy Water Immersion class. One of the health educators suggested I look into having a water birth at California Hospital so I attended the class. And as a bonus, Eisner offer incentive gifts to complete classes, keep certain appointments and they gave patients a glorious baby shower with plenty of gifts.
On the medical side with the mid-wives, they immediately reviewed my chart and classified me as low risk. It's ironic, what my doctor at Cedars Sinai considered high-risk, my scoliosis, actually is a blessing in disguise. During my major spinal fusion, the surgeon inserted two steel rods to halt my scoliosis which would later protect me during my pregnancy, for I experienced *no* back pain. God had a plan! My steel rods would protect me and my baby well.
In retrospect, Sada served as an angel to direct me to the medical center I needed to be. And her classes were filled with life saving breathing techniques, yoga moves and wisdom. From Sada, I learned to keep my head and shoulders down and breathe. During my painful contractions, I remembered what I learned which help get me through the contractions. Sada also empowered the mammas in the class to think about the type of woman/mama they would like to be in life. I learned to focused on what I could change and the decisions I needed to make to have a successful pregnancy, birth and beyond!
My second instructor at Yoga West, Khefri proved to be a a sexy Pregnancy Goddess! Khefri created a warm and loving atmosphere which consisted of meditation and resting the first 15 minutes of class, wisdom sharing and aeronautical yoga moves. Khefri was very impressed that I was planning to have a water birth and she mentioned I was very confident in my vision of have a wonderful birth.
And the feeling was mutual. I was very impressed with Khefri as a woman, Goddess and yoga instructor. She is very into touch with her sexuality and power of experiencing life as a daughter of the she. Her yoga moves were very relaxing, productive and were even life saving. During my labor, I did the yoga move "hip swaying" which helped me to stay active and keep my heart rate up. My first piece of advice to all expectant moms includes staying active, move around and don't lay on your back (I will go into detail in another blog). During class we also learned about other cultures from a guest doula and from some of the mamas from various countries.
I didn't know being pregnant would expand my circle of influence and place me in a warm and loving yoga community. Yoga West is in the center of a Jewish community filled with uniqueness. I I learned of the myriad of resources in the LA birthing community, made connections with some of the other mamas and even attended a separate gathering.
I'm forever grateful to have step foot in Yoga West because it changed my pregnancy path as I walked towards my destiny! I remember saying a prayer about an hour before I attended my first class. As result, I reaped a mid-wife and educational team, quality health care for myself and my baby, a series of classes, gifts, heartwarming memories and close knit connections. If you're expecting or know someone who is, I encourage you to research yoga studios and take a class...it may turn out to be a wonderful experience for you as well. Check out the link for the preview video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEAtioTINi8
Be loving, be natural, be empowered!
Regena
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