Treat yourself

Those who’ve been there know: nine months of pregnancy can be the most stressful time of your life. We all envisage long walks in the park, listening to classical tunes, admiring the works of the old masters – all these wonderful things to fill your baby with calmness, beauty and grace. Well, instead, most of us work till the last day, run around getting the nursery ready, get crazy with shopping for items the new-born must have, and end up exhausted, stressed and confused. Clearly, not the best state to meet your baby!
A couple of yoga sessions per week are sometimes not enough to out-balance the toll this takes on our bodies and minds (let alone the challenges of a growing life inside you!). That’s where a ‘bump’ retreat comes in: above and beyond the daily yoga practice and meditation, it welcomes mums with healthy cuisine, total relaxation and pampering, inspiring natural surroundings and coaching sessions. All this helps a mum-to be to reconnect with her baby, recharge her batteries and get mentally and physically prepared ahead of the most wonderful (yet most difficult) day of her life.
In an ideal world, we would like to whisk our mums off for a couple of months, or at least couple of weeks, before baby arrives in order to properly enjoy what is most likely to be the last ‘me’ time for a long time ahead. If disappearing for that long is not an option, a weekend retreat could make a magical difference.

It gives the future mum time to just ‘be’. Pregnancy-specific yoga classes, visualisation exercises, sound baths and guided walks are all great options to deepen the unique connection with the baby. It will give the mum-to-be calmness of mind and essential tools to keep calm at labour.
It also provides mums with professional advice and support. There is enough time for group and personal coaching, time to ask prenatal professionals any questions and reflect on answers with other mums-to-be. There is always something new and exciting in the field. Did you know, for instance, that specific food consumed while pregnant could increase your baby’s IQ?
But what’s more important after a bump retreat is the feeling of confidence that there is no right or wrong way in pregnancy or motherhood. Connected with your core and equipped with greater knowledge and understanding, you will leave strong, excited and ready to meet your baby. (Oh, and you will also feel blissfully relaxed as well as meet new friends in the same boat as you.) Bump retreats, or ‘bump-cations’ can help to set you up for a healthy and happy motherhood.

Maria Kondrashova is founder of Pommama pregnancy and postnatal yoga company in London.  Pommama is launching bump retreats this fall. Check online for dates: pommamayoga.com