The 7 spiritual pillars of pregnancy

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                                                             Daily Jaap
                                                                     

The repetition of certain mantras whether counted on fingers (karmala) or on any beads viz. rudraksh, pearl, tulsi etc. should be done daily. This not only evokes positivity in one’s entire mind and body but also gives some discipline to one’s mind and life.

 It could be any mantra that one follows. If one has no mantra one can simply chant the name of one’s favourite deity concentrating on the positive aspects of that entity all along.

This helps imbibe those positive qualities of that deity in one’s life and helps calm one’s spirit.

One can also chant simple beej mantras that belong to the 7 chakras of our body.

This will help awaken and open up the chakras in a simple, gradual and harmless manner.

This practice helps the foetus experience peace of mind, body and soul and thus should definitely be done by the pregnant woman. 

The 7 spiritual pillars of pregnancy

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Morning and Evening Pujas

This is something that almost all of us follow at our homes. It could be as simple as lighting a diya and incense to doing a full-fledged puja or a simple recitation of some chaalisa or mantra etc. and watering the tulsi plant. This is most preferably done during early mornings or whenever one is free during the day time as per one’s convenience. The earlier it is done the better because it gives a positive and divine start to the day.

The same ritual in the evening is done followed by lighting of dhooman, guguugl etc. and tinkling of bell followed by a small bhajan or just simply showing of diya and incense in the entire house and the tulsi plant.

Many people even light a tiny ghee diya in the kitchen to rectify minor vaastu defects in the house. This should   be done at sunset but then depends on when one gets the time to do it. But people who stay at home should positively do it at the time of sunset because that’s the time when the atmosphere emits maximum amount of negative energy.

Whatever it is, it just brings discipline in our lives and peace and calm in the mind and the house.

It always evokes a positive feeling in the house and thus should be done so the baby and mother are surrounded by positive vibes.

light a diya

The 7 spiritual pillars of pregnancy

The day I learnt about my pregnancy I set out looking for proactive ways to make it a successful one. And, to make a baby that’s as humane as possible I needed to know as to what could be the best spiritual practices that a mother-to-be can follow during this phase so that the baby comes out with a rich spiritual heritage that’s instilled in its soul since the time of its conception.

After googling for days on end and not getting a satisfactory answer to my quest I set out to introspect and make a spiritual routine of my own based on my own experiences of spiritual activities at home and outside. That’s when I zeroed down on the seven essential spiritual practices for a pregnant woman. These could be used as is or just as guidelines where you can make your own spiritual routine and stick to it during the entire phase of pregnancy so that your baby comes out as a spiritually rich human.

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Meditation

One must certainly practice some sort of meditation. It could be any of the various techniques that one has learnt from any Guru or any other spiritually enlightened being.

 There are various kriyas to learn from viz. the Sanatan Kriya propagated by Yogi Ashwini of Dhyan Foundation; Sudarshan Kriya of Sri Sri Ravishankar;Iinner Engineering programme of Jaggi Vasudev and countless others.

I have personally been doing Sanatan Kriya for the last 3 yrs so I naturally stuck to it. People who have followed other kriyas as well are of the view that this is the easier kriya to be done as it involves no visualizations or other complex thought process. It clears your chakras and pranas and help you connect to your Guru which could either be Yogi Ashwini himself, to most of us, or any other guru that you have been following. It really helps you calm down. 
To know more about this kriya you may visit http://www.dhyanfoundation.com/.

In case you do not wish to follow any of the kriyas the best way to mediate could be to just sit comfortably and calmly in any position and concentrate on your agya chakra. You may visualize any deity/flower/mantra etc. of your choice or just simply concentrate on the various qualities of various deities that you wish your kid to come laden with.

However, every meditation should start, like every other spiritual activity, with a salutation to Guru and Ganesh. If you do not have a Guru you can think of Shiva- the aadi guru- as your guru. And, one must end the same by blessing one’s guru and the entire creation and your baby. And finally end with a shanti paath. The principle here is that you get what you give hence when you bless everything around you attract blessings from them naturally.

After meditation do no instantly go about your own business. Let the calm soak in. Just lie down or sit silently on the same spot for some time, then rub your palms together and place them on your closed eyes. You may then, with a gentle smile open your eyes and look at the centre of your palms. Give a loving stroke your tummy and you are ready to face the world.

Meditation has an amazingly pacifying and calming effect on you entire being and you’ll see for yourself how calm it makes you to the challenges of this phase. You’ll feel emotionally stable and would be able to ignore the tantrums of other people.

One must surely do this for the sake of one’s baby and oneself.

Ganesh Vandana

Shaanti Paath

Blessing the entire Creation

Prepare Before You Bear

Part-I 
Prepare Your Body

Pregnancy, they say, is the happiest time of a woman’s life. Giving birth to a baby indeed gives completeness to one’s life however, if one treads this path unprepared it can be equally, challenging, taxing and devastating for both the mother and the baby. This is what experience speaks.

So, here are a few checklists that one must consider before even planning this important and delightful phase of one’s life.

And, just like before going for a vacation both the husband and the wife plan the journey and prepare an itinerary here too both must plan it together for this sure is a team game.

Of course, if one of the partners is unwilling to support the other it can be an uphill task. More for a woman than the man.

The woman would find it hard to travel this path alone and the husband would miss one of the best parts of his life if he doesn't co-operate with his wife or care for her during this time.

Hence, one must consider a few suggestions before gong the family way.

Prepare Your Body

We humans are composed of three essential stuff namely- body, mind and soul. When considering pregnancy body forms a very essential part since the baby will be born in and from the body itself. It then automatically becomes important to prepare one’s body for this crucial journey.

Before planning to conceive both the parents must prepare their body since it’s the elements from both that will compose the baby.

For a man the task is not all that heavy since he just needs to follow a good, lifestyle and consume good quality nutritive diet before planning fatherhood. One must also consider de-addiction and maintaining a healthy thought pattern for the same reason. Since it’s the semen that helps fertlise an ovum it’s extremely necessary that he follow a good lifestyle to have a good quality semen which will then go on to prepare a healthy, happy and intelligent baby.

However, the task is more important for a woman since she is the one who’ll have to carry the baby inside her for the 9 crucial months.

In order to have a healthy and happy pregnancy a woman must consider quite a few guidelines to prepare one’s body.

Besides, everything else there are a few very important parts of the body that needs to be taken care of.

One must first and foremost undergo complete detoxification of the body so that the baby gets a healthy environment to get placed in and grow. This could be done in any ayurvedic clinic or at home, if one is tight on budget. (In one of the following posts I’ll write a detailed instruction for this or you may google the same and find out about at home panchkarma treatment.)

Another important aspect is detoxification and strengthening of the uterus, for obvious reasons.

Back is another portion of the body which needs t be strengthened since the heavy tummy is going to place the maximum stress on this part of the body. (Another post on asanas that will help you back shall follow soon.). Do not attempt pregnancy if you have a weak back or are suffering from sciatica or slip disc. it's gong to be catastrophic.

And, last but not the least, one must take special care of the oral hygiene and strengthen one’s teeth and gums before pregnancy as during the pregnancy gums become esp. susceptible to various infections and as there increases the supply of blood to the mouth region which results in spongy gums that would bleed a lot. One may take calcium and vit. C supplements in consultation with a dentist who should be visited soon. 

Well, if you thought this is not important then just consider the fact that both ayurved and modern medical science is of the view that bleeding gums might cause premature delivery of the baby. Also, one might permanently loose one’s teeth if not taken care of during pregnancy. Hence this is a very important consideration.

Things to take special care of:

1.       The other important aspects that one must consider before getting pregnant is following  a good lifestyle, daily routine and  habits and taking a nutritious diet and important supplements to enhance one’s blood and bone life.

2.       Follow a healthy daily routine, lifestyle and diet habit. Don’t ever, ever, ever miss your breakfast as this part of the daily meal not just supplies energy to your body but it also boosts your chances of conceiving and helps you against developing lifestyle imbalances like acidity and gas. Have fixed times for meals and sleep. Do not slouch while walking or sitting. Get into the habit of early to bed and early to rise. Eat lots of fruits and green veggies. If possible go organic. Take a spoonful of your favourite oil daily- either with lukewarm water or just on its own. Start including dry fruits, salads, sprouts, juice and milk in your daily diet.

3.       Take your daily dose of Vitamin C that’ll help build your immunity thus saving you against falling sick or catching cold both of which could be disastrous in the initial days of pregnancy. Take your calcium supplements to build your bones. Take your iron supplements so you are not anaemic. You’ll need a lot of blood to make a baby. Take your folic acid, it helps you get pregnant soon and will help build a strong spine and brain for the baby. One must take supplements to replenish the body with important nutrients. Take ample sunlight because Vit. D is important for pregnancy and only sun can help you with this.

4.       Start giving your body a daily abhyang with any oil of your choice. The best oil for Indian climate is sesame for vaat body; coconut for pitt body and mustard for kaph body. When in doubt use sesame, it’s the best for all in India.

5.       Do not miss your daily exercise, pranayam and asanas. Asanas for lower back and lower abdomen. Pranayam will help you sail through when the baby starts getting heavy and women get breathless. Take your daily walk.

6.       Do your daily spiritual practices so the soul inhabiting your body will be composed of it from a very early stage.

7.       Visit your gynae along with your husband and take all the necessary pre- pregnancy test to determine the fitness of the body for pregnancy.

8.       Stop loading your body with various chemicals that are loaded in your cosmetics, food and other daily use products viz. toothpaste, house cleaners, hand-wash, sanitizers etc. most of these are really not needed and the ones needed can be switched to organic. You’ll get ample organic products online right from food to cosmetics and house cleaners etc. go for them, you’ll thank yourself later for these little changes.

9.       Get rid of alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and other stuff.

10.   Stop interacting with many people during periods and start watching your behavior and thought pattern during those 3-5 days. Be a saint, meaning don't let your emotions take over your senses. Don’t take head bath during those days it weakens your uterus.

If one prepares one’s body well for the pregnancy then the first three months, which is a pain for most women, can surely be made comfortable and delightful devoid of any nausea and morning sickness etc.

Also, one can avoid the various aches and pains in various parts of the body which happens as the pregnancy progresses and the tummy starts getting heavier.

These guidelines may or may not be as important for people between 20- 30 years of age but it surely can be a savior for people beyond the age group of 30 when the chances of having babies with physical and mental disabilities increase. These guidelines will then help people steer clear of giving birth to such babies. Better follow guidelines than take a risk.

There be many people who'll be ready to ridicule your efforts. You’ll hear a lot many people from earlier generations or yours that they never made such fuss of pregnancy nor did they take so many food and medicines but don’t be bogged down by such stupid comments.

Remember that earlier people had better food in their plates and they had a much peaceful life and still not every soul we see around represents the best of human species.

During the days when people did follow certain customs of child birth our country was full of sages and people of exemplary quality and as we started losing our rich traditional rituals we got reduced to the present state of restlessness.

So, if one wishes to give birth to a true human and not just another animal in the garb of human then one must proactively participate in the entire process of child birth.