Pregnancy and Aikido

When people ask me what exercise I do now that I'm pregnant, I watch (with mischievous delight) at the horror on their faces when I tell them I still do aikido.  With tones of shock and bewilderment they ask; "is that not dangerous?", "you mean... while you're pregnant?", "shouldn't you be taking it easy?", "maybe you should stop?" and other suchlike, rather insulting, questions.  Of course I'm not putting my unborn child in front of a tanto-wielding, 6 foot, 15 stone dan grade running at full pelt for a 7th form attack!  I have to forgive questions like that though.  They always come from those who have either never heard of aikido or don't truly understand what it is.

I'm 21 weeks pregnant and still go to class twice a week but some changes have had to be made:

My body

During pregnancy, the hormones in the body soften the ligaments to give way for baby coming into the world.  This means that stretches, twists and bends have a higher chance of resulting in injury.  I have had to slow down over the past few months to ensure that I don't overstretch or get myself into difficult positions.  From 16 weeks I have been advised not to lie on my back and so exercises like kokyu dosa should be avoided.  Having never been pregnant before, I have to take each day as it comes and only do what feels comfortable... I'm still trying to master getting in and out of the car!

Another thing that surprised me is my centre of gravity.  It's very easy to tip over as your tummy gets bigger, baby gets heavier and your centre of gravity shifts.  I'm having to really pay attention to my one point and wonder if it's still in the same place as it always was?  Something to ask sensei.

Breakfalls

The first thing I had to stop was the ukemis.  Even if I did gentle ones, they were making me dizzy.  The fact that I was still in the early stages of pregnancy meant that my husband and I weren't ready to tell the world and so not all Nages were aware of my condition.  I had to dodge a few over-the-tops (also known in my personal vocabulary as "splats") due to a fear of my little poppyseed, as it was at the time, letting go of life.  We told sensei straight away though.  It is one of the most memorable moments of my pregnancy so far!  The sheer joy in his face just lifted my spirits and he has been so supportive it's quite overwhelming.  He continues to push my husband to his limits to make him stronger in body and mind while allowing me to adapt in my own way to my changing body and abilities.  Therefore, sitting out of ukemi practise has not been a problem. 

I continued to do roll-to-stand all through my 1st trimester and about a month into my second.  Sensei would partner me with my husband during my 1st trimester so that we didn't have to tell the world our news straight away and Michael could control the force of his actions such as when we were doing shionages or kotegaeshi.

Warm-up

The warm-up involves a lot of stretching and the further in my pregnancy I go, the less I'm able to do.  Sensei's more than happy for me to do as much or as little as I can so I've adapted some of the moves to suit my condition.  I started yoga a few weeks ago and that has also helped me to adapt my stretches.  Each person is unique in their abilities even when they're not pregnant so I won't go into detail about this.  I do what I feel is comfortable and sit out if it's too much.

Uke

Michael and I throw atemis at each other all the time outside the dojo (which may not be the correct thing to do but it helps to develop our reactions!) and so I'm still blocking or moving away from an atemi if the situation calls for it but sensei and the other students have been very firm about not allowing me to uke a technique.  I have to say I was quite disappointed the first time sensei stopped me and I do still protest, albeit weakly because I know it's for my own safety and the survival of my baby.  As I get used to my changing balance and size, I can uke some of the time but nage can't finish the technique if it involves ukemi, roll-to-stand or immobilisation... which is pretty much all techniques!

It's hard though to watch the other students attack and defend as far as they can push themselves while I, and anyone who works with me, have to hone it back.  However, I'm determined to learn from the experience!  There's something to be said about doing a technique more softly.  Yes it does look as though you're doing nothing but, if you get it right, the effect is just as powerful.  This was very evident last week when I was uke for a blue belt student.  He did the technique exactly the same as he would have done if I wasn't pregnant except very softly.  The technique was still good and I would have had to breakfall if he hadn't stopped.  Sensei immediately pointed out that when blue-belt was doing the technique to me, it was like he was practicing with a feather and that he should try to implement that softness while working with the other students too.  This demonstrates that you don't have to be strong to make a technique work.  I felt quite proud of being part of this revelation and pleased that, despite having to hold back, I'm still able to take part in valuable lessons.  On reflection, I've naturally had to soften my own technique so as not to over-exert myself and it's good to know that I'm still learning something.  Ki is the key though!  A soft technique is nothing without Ki.

Other students

One thing I'm very conscious of is what I'm asking of the other students in the class.  It's a steep learning curve for me to find my way around the mat with a baby on board but, putting myself in my partner's position (1 of the 5 rules on the mat), I can imagine that it must be quite bewildering for them too.  How far do they push me?  What if something goes wrong?  More recently (as we were practising 6th form cuts with the bokken) I wondered how I would react if a weapon was accidentally set loose or if my partner accidentally punched me in a 7th form attack?  In my mind, it's my responsibility to protect myself and my baby.  I need to make the decision that a position is too dangerous for me to be in and inform sensei so that I can sit out (something that I haven't had to do yet).  Accidents do happen but I have observed the care and attention that the other students have paid me in class.  Some have been protective, others have cleverly responded to my body language and yet others have just outright asked me how I feel.  I don't force other students to work with me if they feel uncomfortable and I always watch for body language and facial expressions in case they're unsure of me.  I would never put myself in front of them if they wanted to attack full on.

We are all having to use courage, compassion, integrity, courtesy and discipline to get us through this learning curve and personally I think that has a beauty to it.  For me, it's a journey that we're all on together and it has brought me closer to my aikido peers.  I'd also like to think that my baby's personality and attitude is being shaped by our treatment of each other.

In a nutshell, always consult your midwife about exercise.  Chances are she will encourage you do continue your usual regime for as long as you feel comfortable but it's worth informing her of "unusual" exercise like Aikido.  Secondly, your sensei is one of the most important people in your life and if you can't tell him about your pregnancy as soon as you know then I would argue that you can't practise. Not only from a spiritual and emotional point of view, but for safety reasons your sensei really needs to know your condition.  Thirdly, do what you feel comfortable doing and no more.  Sensei will understand as will your fellow students and no one will think you weak for sitting out.  On the contrary, the female body is a true wonder that it can be making a baby AND practising aikido at the same time - there's nothing weak about it.

Each person's pregnancy is unique and so this is only my experience of practising aikido while pregnant.  Following a Google search on "pregnancy and aikido", I read some forum posts where the woman has stopped practising straight away while others had gone to class right through till they were 9 months.  This is why I take each day as it comes and will listen to my body to help me decide when enough's enough - if it's ever enough!