Inner Health

With 10 years experience as a Hatha yoga teacher, a diploma in remedial massage and experience in meditation and somatic therapy, it’s easy to see Mark O’Brian is passionate about yoga and natural therapy. So much so that 10 years ago he gave up his career in advertising and founded Qi Yoga and Natural Therapies, going on to create the internationally recognized Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Diploma! With an unquenchable fascination with the human body and natural ways to help and heal it, Mark is Our Manly’s inner health guru!

Breeze through pregnancy naturally

Having your baby is not just a physical process. It’s often an emotional roller-coaster too. Your body goes berserk and you may experience many confusing (and often weird) side-effects commonly dismissed as “what you have to put up with for being pregnant.” Since it is wise to avoid many common drugs and medicines during pregnancy, this can leave some mums-to-be stuck with discomfort or even illness.

But there are many easy solutions to the common problems that arise which are safe, cheap and have worked for centuries.

Massage and Reflexology: Massage and reflexology (massage on the feet) are recognised as great ways to alleviate many pregnancy aches and pains like sore backs, swollen ankles, bloating, stiffness, fatigue and reducing fluid retention. It’s not only safe when practiced by qualified therapists, but deliciously relaxing. When you are hot-wiring a baby set of lungs or a brain, many mums think they deserve a massage break, and they are right! Pregnancy massages either lie you on a huge “doughnut” cushion so you can comfortably lie on your front without squashing your tum, or treat you on your side.

Pre-Natal Yoga: Most hospitals and birthing-centres recognise and encourage women (and their partners) to explore gentle pre-natal yoga to strengthen your back and hips, to prepare your body for delivery as well as to practice relaxation and breathing techniques that can make birth a more positive experience. You don’t have to be fit or flexible, and the earlier in your term you start, the more you will benefit. There are many reputable places on the Northern Beaches to enjoy pre-natal yoga.

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine: Traditional Chinese medicine believes that our physical, emotional and spiritual aspects are inseparable. So acupuncture can help to balance the emotions as well as ensure the physical processes are proceeding as smoothly and as healthily as possible. Acupuncture can help with morning sickness, exhaustion (emotional and physical), insomnia, fluid retention, sinus congestion, headaches, back pain and anxiety. In skilled hands acupuncture can also help turn breech, posterior and transverse presentations as well as assist with labour induction, retained placenta and breast feeding difficulties or mastitis.

Herbal Medicine: Naturopaths can also offer many safe remedies to keep you both healthy and happy as pregnancy develops. For instance morning sickness can often be helped by simple diet changes, or by taking supplements such as slippery elm. Naturopaths can also often assist with common pregnancy symptoms as well as help with problems like infertility.

As always, check that your practitioner is properly qualified and works from a reputable centre. Get a recommendation from friends or colleagues. And remember, if you experience weird symptoms (such as “lazy leg syndrome”) and all else has failed, there’s probably a safe natural way to make you feel better again.