Yoga Flame, Yoga Fire

Namaste.

I won’t pretend to know what that means but I’ve always wanted to say it without sounding like a douche and what better time than after my first real yoga experience. I say real because that time where I had to do the Downward Facing Dog after losing a bet doesn’t count.

Yesterday, the husband and I attended a Prenatal Yoga Class conducted by COMO Shambhala as part of the Drypers Soon-To-Be Mother’s Day campaign. Even though Finn is our third baby, it was a first for us because the past two pregnancies, we went for a grand total of zero prenatal classes. Our birthing plan was relatively straightforward – get to the hospital and start screaming for an epidural. Bam, problem solved.

Instead of trying to breathe away the pain, I could lie back and enjoy HIMYM reruns painlessly until the baby was ready to come out.

This round, I’m contemplating holding off the epidural for as long as possible and hopefully go for a hardcore natural birth without any pain medication. It’s a long shot and I’m likely to cave and cry like a baby at the first signs of pain but I’m going to try the breathing thing to see if it works.

We showed up for the class not knowing what to expect. Our level of tolerance for New Agey stuff is notoriously low and watching someone do the Garudasana or Natarajasana makes me giggle involuntarily. Yes, ok, I’m 12. In fact, the only pose that makes me not laugh is the Savasana, also known as the corpse pose, of which I am an expert.

Thankfully, we didn’t have to do any of those advanced yoga moves. Most of the 2-hour class was spent on relaxation techniques and simple poses to help manage the pain. The general idea is to get off the bed and into positions that will help move the labor along, positions that included squatting, grabbing a wall, hugging a chair, that sort of thing.

My favorite one was lying on my side with a bolster while the husband massaged my feet. It was so good that I’m going to make him do it every night from now until I give birth.

Besides this prenatal yoga class, Drypers has also organized a series of 7 other complimentary classes for expectant moms, to help them get ready for pregnancy in as many different ways as possible. The classes range from cooking to scrapbooking to photography, and even a babies book club. There will be 2 more classes in May: a Massage class for Daddies and Interior Decoration for Babies’ Nurseries. Sign up via the Drypers Facebook page and parents will get a complimentary goodie bag when they attend.

This is part 1 of a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Drypers Singapore. All opinions and text are my own.