Bellydance your Baby Out!

[Kalilah]

Hi,

Let me introduce myself. My name is Kalilah (stage name) and I am a "retired" midwife and now bellydancer. I took up bellydancing as a hobby and it occurred to me how much it had in common with the natural movements of labor and how it helps condition muscles after delivery as well. So I developed a program called "Hip Mamas" and am going to be teaching classes in Ann Arbor, MI starting in January.

Hip Mamas focus is on strengthening and toning the muscles that will be used most in birth. My secondary focus is to provide a warm & supportive place for pregnant/postpartum women.

Bellydancing has a bad rap as a sleazy dance, however, it's really beautifuland FUN! I'd encourage pregnant women and women of all shapes and sizes to consider taking a class to check it out. It's the only exercise I've been able commit to because all of the rest BORE ME TO DEATH!

I would encourage anyone who is looking for a great exercise to do during pregnancy to try bellydancing. You and your baby will love it!


K

[JesseMomme]

Lifted from the birthstory of my fourth baby:

I found myself pacing the house, leaning on the counter, and somehow I recalled that belly dancing originated as a labor dance. With the counter as a partner I danced my way through many contractions, moving my hips in a simple figure-eight motion. Yes, I can say this really did help.

[athansor]

Hi and welcome!
There are a number of bellydancers here, myself included. We've got a thread over in the find your tribe area (although it's a little slow right now..could sure use some new posts!)
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=260830

[Kalilah]

Jessemomme:

When I began taking bellydancing classes, I was struck at how similar the movements were to the movements of a laboring woman. Your description of your labor is really beautiful!

[CryPixie83]

Hmmm, I've been meaning to break out that bellydance for beginners dvd I got, maybe now is the perfect time. I wonder if there's a dvd specifically for pregnancy, anyone know?

[MamaChel]

I'm planning to dust of my DVDs soon too. Now that finals and the holidays are over, I should have a little more time.

Kalilah, you're pretty near me so I'll keep an eye out for your classes starting. While I can't do them, I do know several pregnant ladies in the area who may be interested.

[AccidentalHousewif]

CryPixie, this is the one I used (and liked very much):

http://www.visionarydance.com/Instru...html#pregnancy

[CryPixie83]

Originally Posted by AccidentalHousewif

CryPixie, this is the one I used (and liked very much):

http://www.visionarydance.com/Instru...html#pregnancy

I was right there, until I saw the price
$45 for VHS, DH says no way. I have my DVD though so we should be able to make that suffice

[sapphire_chan]

I've read that belly dancing was originally a dance done by female friends and family while a woman was in labor so she could focus and know what her body should be doing. By the time a woman had her own children, she would have danced for numerous other women thereby both stregthening her own body and giving her a wide variety of responses to observe.

ETA:
Interestingly, my aunt worked as a belly dancer in a nightclub (or something similar they did things like balancing bottles and swords on their heads) and continued to dance right up through 9 months of pregnancy.

[1stTimeMummytoLore]

i am planning to dance my baby out for as much of labor as possible this go around! DH gave me a beautiful hip scarf and a few CDs of music for Yuletide to use during labor. i've done this with a few doula clients and you wouldn't believe how quickly it can get a stubborn baby to descend through the pelvis!

[CryPixie83]

Originally Posted by 1stTimeMummytoLore

i am planning to dance my baby out for as much of labor as possible this go around! DH gave me a beautiful hip scarf and a few CDs of music for Yuletide to use during labor. i've done this with a few doula clients and you wouldn't believe how quickly it can get a stubborn baby to descend through the pelvis!

I wish I had known about that with dd, when my midwives were getting impatient because I had a 12 hour labor and abour 2-3 of it was pushing : (not that I believe that was a long labor, especially for a first time mother, but I could really feel their impatience and it was NOT helpful)

[mraven721]

I'm sure you know that you are not the only retired midwive in the greater area doing something similar! I took her class a few weeks ago and can't recommend belly dancing enough

[honeybee]

I've been taking bellydance classes for over 5 years. I love it! Bellydancing is wonderful exercise during pregnancy. Whenever I start having ligament stretching or other pelvic pains, bellydancing always helps work them out. I did not exactly "dance" my ds out of the womb, but I was definitely doing a lot of hip swaying during labor. I think the dancing had also conditioned my muscles... ds was my first and born just 5-6 hours after labor started (of course, my mom had quick labors, too, so some of that may be genetics!). My doula said if that's how bellydancing helps, she'd recommend it to all her clients!

[Mamapits]

I have seen the belly dancers thread before. I took belly dancing classes a few years before I became pregnant. I really love anything that has to do with belly dancing. I don't know why I am making excuses for not finding a class. I am thinking of getting pregnant again this year and I would really love to belly dance my way throught the pregnancy. Thank you for the thread, you have inspired me to follow a passion

[Kalilah]

I am hoping to start classes this Sunday and am looking for one or two more students in order to be able to teach this class. Please pass on my name to your friends!

Kalilah

[mraven721]

Where, when and how much? You can PM me I know there is a ICAN meeting in A2 this weekend, maybe I can make both??

[Fanny1460]

I started bellydancing some months ago thanks to the bellydancing thread! I love MDC because of these kind of inspiring threads
I hope it will help my labor. I'm pretty flexible too (ballet dancing 10 years and then yoga) so I hope it will contribute to a nice labor