Ask around the yoga world and you will get wildly differing opinions about whether or not to do plank pose. Some say this is the best way to maintain abdominal strength throughout pregnancy, while others say the pose will contribute to diastasis recti and should be avoided at all times. And still others will split the fence and say it is fine in the first trimester, but not afterwards. No wonder many moms (and yoga teachers) are left with confusion around this pose!

Once we come to the opening of that labor tunnel, and we feel ourselves going in, we want to go in without hesitation and begin working with whatever experience lies within it. And inside the tunnel is, well, like a tunnel. Meaning things may seem dark, maybe scary, it may seem lonely or claustrophobic, since after all we are in a tunnel. And here is where the final cornerstone to working with your labor comes into play. What is your magic labor thought?

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to solve the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together, and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen. Room for grief, room for relief, for suffering, for joy” -Pema Chodron

I know what you’re thinking. She means the Birth canal, right?

Nope!

While I could wax poetical about the different aspects, twists and turns, and unique properties of the pathway through the pelvic, not to mention a whole discussion of why we refer to this part of the body by a structure that involves high concrete walls (Um, not a good image here!) The tunnel I’m referring to is the mental one we all have to move into and through during the process of welcoming our babies. And how we engage with this mental space is the 3rd cornerstone in working with our labor.