Womb Bloom. Alexandra Alma

healer in Mexico called don Bartolomeo doesn’t give consultations to women who haven’t yet given birth or at least those who haven’t found themselves a couple. He usually tells them: “First work through your sexuality, open up motherhood in yourself, and only then come to me with your questions. What spiritual growth can there be talk of if you have not yet gone through this?” Of course there is also another path of spiritual development; asceticism, monasticism and eternal virginity. But that’s another story.

      Week 3

      I felt like a 15-year-old who had just fallen in love. Walking down the road I could feel the freshness of the trees that had come to life after winter; the scent of the first budding leaves, the scent of first love, an explosion of life, a brand new wave. A bud was budding in my belly too. I felt that the processes inside me were taking place with explosive-like speed. I couldn’t keep still for a minute. A wave of energy. Drive. Adrenalin. Movement. I constantly longed for adventures, trips and journeys.

      Do we need to do physical exercise during pregnancy?

      We are liquid. That’s why we flow and are always in the flow. And the flow is movement. There’s a strange opinion that during pregnancy women need to move less, even that they shouldn’t move at all and lie all day in bed. Of course, lying down all day is ok if you have a good masseur at hand…

      What happens with the body when we stop moving? The energy inside us begins to stagnate just like water in a spring. When fresh water stops flowing through it the spring begins to get clogged up and a boggy environment forms around it. The same goes for the body – blocks and tense areas form. A feeling of discomfort arises.

      Movement, just like massage, stimulates stagnated energy in us and therefore gives us more vitality. Have you noticed that every movement is connected to the abdomen? This area is always engaged even in the simplest exercise, step, turn, bend and so on. Now the life maturing in your belly also moves with every movement you make. The life inside you feels these vibrations. It feels that we are alive and rejoices.

      I taught Replege classes and exercised every day right up to the day I gave birth. This enabled my joints to retain their elasticity and my muscles to remain toned. And it provided the maturing foetus within with oxygen, and good blood circulation. So if you feel like it, be active and exercise! It’s so natural. What kind of exercise and how much of it is up to you. If you do regular exercise during pregnancy you will be able to prepare your body for childbirth.

      Labour is a process which tests a woman’s stamina and really draws on her resources. I myself was in labour for 24 hours… but more about that later. Regular physical exercise develops the qualities needed during labour; we learn how to breathe deeply and correctly into our bellies and to keep going when that very moment comes.

      My main recommendation is not to do anything abruptly and not to exhaust yourself. Now everything needs to be done calmly and smoothly, with one movement flowing into the other. Movements into joy. If you weren’t exercising before your pregnancy then it’s not a good idea to jump headlong into strenuous exercise now. Start slowly, step by step, and focus mainly on breathing, stretching and walking. It was pregnancy that taught me how to breathe and move properly. I started breathing deeply and carried out every movement with focus and a deep breaths in and out.

      Quality, not quantity is key. And the secret of quality lies in breathing. Before pregnancy I did lots of repetitive exercise. I would repeat a set of movements 100 – 200 times, but my breathing was shallow. During pregnancy I only did 20 – 40 repetitions but my breathing was slow and deep, and I attained better results. No more frenetic and hot blooded movements. Everything become very meditative, dance-like, relaxed, and every muscle was paid attention to.

      If you don’t have the energy or are not in the mood for squats or press ups, stretch instead. Stretching is very beneficial and pleasant. Stretch slowly breathing out. This will take the pressure off your back when your belly gets big.

      I’m not going to give techniques for squats or strengthening your glutes. I’ll give you something slightly different – the ancient Water Dance which will replace boring repetitions.

      Water Dance

      Water Dance

      The Water Dance is made up of specific dance movements created especially for women by ancient civilizations. They imitate the movement of water. The ancients were very precise in differentiating between male and female movements; men’s and women’s bodies are constructed differently and therefore need different exercises. The same can’t be said for the present where women take up weight lifting just like men.

      What happens with a violin when you start playing it like a drum?

      The body is an instrument, and if you were given a women’s body then you need to treat it in a female manner. There are special women’s techniques for this. There is not as much information about them as there is about predominantly male techniques: yoga, karate, aikido.

      And what about our female path?…

      The ancients noticed that woman was very close to the element of Water. They observed water and learned from it; learned its movements, how it changed, how rings formed on its surface, how waves formed in the ocean and how rivers split into separate streams.

      When I first saw this dance I fell in love with it. It is so beautiful, feminine and flowing. It doesn’t put as much pressure on the body press ups or squats yet the effect is even more striking. This dance gives you the freedom to be creative. There are no strict rules. Each woman ends up creating her own personal dance. If you don’t want to exhaust yourselves with daily training sessions but want to look fit and beautiful during and after your pregnancy, as every woman does, the Water Dance will be just the thing for you.

      Why dance?

      Dances pulse through our veins from birth, as do songs. We all know how to sing and dance from birth. Only later these natural abilities are often blocked in us, particularly in boys. We are taught to be embarrassed and even ashamed of them.

      Dance is one of the best ways to get rid of tension. We have all been created from the dance of Love – the rhythm of two bodies.

      Dance is spontaneity and space for creativity. Monotonous movements quickly become boring. According to scientific studies, people who dance live the longest. And most importantly of all, it is dance that gives us the feeling of connection with our baby; inside us the baby is constantly living Life’s dance. So switch the music on and dance with your baby inside you.

      I really liked dancing with my belly during pregnancy. I would put my right hand on my stomach, my left hand on my heart area and spin to the rhythm of two heartbeats. Two hearts beat under my palms. This way I would send love from my heart to my baby’s heart through my hands. And I would receive the same in return.

      Introduction to the dance

      In this dance you will draw circles, spirals, infinity signs and vertical and horizontal figures of eight at different angles with your hands, legs, hips, shoulders and feet. You will learn how to do these movements while spinning round and round. Here you can swim in the ocean of your fantasy without end and experiment with your body, listening to what it suggests and what your baby, who will be dancing in unison with you, suggests…

      I will describe the main principle behind each movement.

      If you touch water’s surface, rings will begin to form on it. This image applies to the first hip movement we do. Begin by doing the hip rotations at low amplitude, and with every rotation the circles get larger and larger until they reach their maximum radius. Then do the opposite —decrease the radius until you come back to the starting point.

      Continue the hip rotations and start turning around your axis. Take it slowly at first so that your head doesn’t start spinning. Now imagine that you are a chamomile flower. Your body is the flower’s centre, and your hips trace its petals with circular movements. Each movement starts