Yoga for Pregnant People

Should you do Yoga while you are pregnant?  Absolutely. Pregnancy Yoga is a great way to prepare yourself for birth. This physical regimen, which includes a lot of breathing rituals helps ground you both physically and psychologically so that you have a less stressful birth.  It can help calm you so you have a peaceful and happy pregnancy. Yoga can also help with such symptoms of pregnancy as sore feet, aching back, morning sickness and shortness of breath. Also yoga is a known cure for anxiety so it may help any nervousness that you might be experiencing about giving birth.   There are special yoga programs for pregnant women and these are called prenatal Yoga. You can probably find announcements for when this type of Yoga is taught at your local YWMCA.  These classes are deliberately designed to be gentle for you. Prenatal yoga is considered to be generally harmless but when you are pregnant you should first consult with your doctor. Your pre natal yoga instructor will also be able to tell you quite a bit about the specific risks that come with doing yoga while pregnant but your doctor is the ultimate expert when it comes to informing you about the health of your baby and your body. The main issue when it comes to yoga for expectant mothers is that is a risk for babies that are not in the right position in the womb by the third trimester. In that situation it is wiser not to practice prenatal yoga. Consulting with your physician should reveal whether or not your baby is in the proper position in your womb or not. Most doctors however will perceive prenatal  yoga as being a safe and healthy way to prepare your muscles for giving birth. Many of these ancient yoga postures have been specifically developed throughout the ages to strengthen the back and stomach muscles of the mother. As pregnancy yoga also helps the mother strengthen and align her spine she will suffer less from the backaches that develop as the result of extra pregnancy body weight and having to carry a child. The mental and meditative components of doing yoga might also allay the anxiety and pain associated with labor. Yoga also significantly increases one's stamina and patience in general which is a good thing while lying in a hospital waiting to give birth.  Another physical benefit is improved circulation to the entire body (including the umbilical cord!), which helps keeps the baby healthy. There are also many social benefits to joining a prenatal yoga group. It offers you a chance to socialize with other mothers to be and develop a support group.  Also the fact that every single other person working out is as round as you means that you don't have to be embarrassed about your body in the same way as you might be working out in a fashion conscious gym.  In a nutshell, joining a prenatal class is a great way to bond with other mothers and make friends!

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Pomegranates Like Kids!

If you want to get your kid to eat something healthy and something that he or she might even perceive as being candy then try giving them pomegranate pips. These are the shiny juicy seeds of the pomegranate fruit and some kids really love them. If your kids don't like them then it is probably because of the sometimes sour or nutty taste that the pip's hard center might have. However for the most part you should be able fool your kid into thinking that a pomegranate is some kind of candy partly because it is so shiny and red.

A word to the wise – it is probably best to shell your own seeds out of freshly bought fruit no matter how time consuming you find this to be as the prepackaged pips that you can sometimes get taste really sour and fermented.  I wish I had a tip for saving you time when it comes to shelling pomegranates but it is one of those complicated fruits that is labor intensive no matter what you do. One good thing about a pomegranate is that peeling and shelling one can actually be a great activity for an older child, especially a fatter one that needs to learn how to not eat mindlessly in front of the television.  Getting pomegranates out of their shell does take some effort and concentration that encourages the overweight child to focus on the food and be more mindful of what is being consumed. 

Why should you feed your kid pomegranates in the first place? They have a ton of Vitamin C and anthocyns that can help protect your child's vision. Anthocyns, which give the pomegranate its blue red color can also help prevent your child from free radicals in the form of pollution, too much sunshine, carcinogens (from that barbecued hamburger) and tobacco smoke. They are also very good for a child's gums. 

If you can't get your child to eat the pips of a pomegranate then try giving them the juice. Most kids love the juice and you can get all kinds of generic brands of it now that is made from pure fruit without having to invest in that expensive POM stuff. You can also try sneaking into other foods. Pomegranate juice is a great addition to a salad dressing that is made with vinegar, oil, red wine and shallots.  You can also make pomegranate jelly using ordinary gelatin or you can add the juice or pips to strawberry or grape jello. Almost no kid can resist this especially if you have a little shot of whipped cream on the top. 

Pomegranate syrup, the stuff that bars use in cocktails, actually tastes really nice on pancakes so that may be one way of sneaking those anthocyns into your child's diet.  A good combo is pancakes heaped with bananas that is then drooled with a mixture of pomegranate and maple syrup that has been slightly warmed on the stove before serving. 

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