Pregnancy Made Comfortable- With Yoga & Dietetics

About the Book This unique and must read book by Nishtha Saraswat is the only one of its kind that deals with pregnancy related problems with the help of unique combination of yoga and dietetics, two of the most relevant subjects in today's social context.

The effort has been put behind understanding various stages involved in pregnancy in a simple and easy to understand manner. The stress has been laid on providing practical solutions to the common problems faced by women before, during and after pregnancy. A combination of yogic exercises, meditation and special menu plans has been recommended keeping in mind the needs of Indian women.

The book has been divided into various sections for ease of reference. The extensive use of pictures, tables, illustrations and testimonials lends practicality to the book and makes it user-friendly. The book aims at becoming a complete reference manual during the journey from planning pregnancy to getting back in a healthy shape post pregnancy. Aspiring mothers will find this book indispensable in their daily lives.

Regular reference and usage of the book during pregnancy will ensure that pregnancy becomes a comfortable and pleasant experience for all women.

About the Author Nishtha Saraswat has been writing on the unique combination of Yoga and Health & Nutrition for quite some time now. Her articles on the subject have been published in reputed publications from time to time She is a Post Graduate in Home Science and has taught Food & Nutrition and Child psychology in various institutions. She started learning yoga at the tender age of 3 years under the tutelage of her Father, Padmashri' Bharat Bhushan, who is a world renowned Yoga Guru and the recipient of the first ever Padmashri' honour from the President of India for his contribution to the field of yoga.

She, along with her father, has conducted a number of national and international yoga camps organised by various government and non-government bodies for officials and masses as an exponent. She has won a number of awards on various forums for her achievement in yoga.

She has been associated with Mokshayatan International Yogashram as the head of nutrition and dietetics. She has been instrumental in providing relief to hundreds of patients especially women, through the unique combination of yoga and dietetics.

Foreword It is indeed a pleasant experience to write about this book by Nishtha Saraswat whom I witnessed from early childhood performing yoga on national and international platforms and growing into a well-shaped Yog-Sadhika. She earned depth of yoga in sanskaras inherited from her father, world renowned Yoga Guru Shri Bharat Bhushan, the founder of Mokshayatan International Yogashram at Saharanpur and first ever Padma Shri awardee by the President of India for his excellence and contribution to enrich the great Indian heritage of science of yoga Nishtha succeeded in giving a scientific vision and reason to yoga during her studies of MSc and she could see and suggest the practice of yoga suiting to particular requirements of the individuals.

Under modern lifestyle of comforts, maternity is growing tough and complicated day by day as women in modern society leave all exercises and even normal physical activities as soon as pregnancy is confirmed. Even newly wedded women are bound to face the consequences of such comforts in the form of frequent complications and caesarean deliveries. As a result, they lose right of healthy life after one or two deliveries and pregnancy becomes a threat to their life instead of joy of motherhood. Scientific observations now daim that exercises even during pregnancy do not disturb the motherhood but on the contrary help enjoying joy of health, easy pregnancy and balanced growth of baby in the womb followed by comfortable delivery. Readers will learn from this book that yoga is not merely a set of physical exercises but a lifestyle to heal and highlight the spirits of women even under challenging circumstances and the best way to help the baby grow physically. mentally, emotionally and even spiritually. Pregnancy is the time when a baby taking shape in the womb is directly governed by the physical, mental and emotional state of the mother. Indian rishi noticed the significance of this special period and made it a part of Sankar Vidhi to guide us for pre during and post-pregnancy preparations to grow a holy being who is going to descend on this earth in the form of a baby.

I have gone through the book and I feel that this book will fulfil the requirement not only of a pregnant lady under special circumstances but of newly shaping baby and the society at large. The author seems to have observed the gradual changes in women and the baby during pregnancy and has suggested special yoga programme most favourable to enjoy pregnancy with dos and don'ts and the diet discipline to bring perfect results of yoga practice during this period. I feel that this book will prove to be the best friend to a woman to help her during pregnancy and will become the need of every family as motherhood is the foundation stone of the family. My best wishes to this noble effort of the author and the publisher.

Preface There are few happier moments in a woman's life than successfully giving birth to a kicking and healthy baby Artaining motherhood transforms a woman forever and extracts out a persona wing dormant for years deep within her Preparing for pregnancy and living through those atk nine months, moment by moment, is an experience that a woman can never forget in her lifetime Degnancy, the stage of conceiving another life within, leading to the birth of the baby can be boudly classified into three periods pre, during and post pregnancy. Each period has its own gnificance, characteristics and complications. Various phases during pregnancy bring about a lot al changes in a woman's life at all levels, physical, mental, emotional and social. This book is an effort in the direction of understanding the process of pregnancy from all possible dimensions and providing an insight to the reader or should I say the user, which should help her in making the whole process of pregnancy more enjoyable and problem-free. The means to an casy, enjoyable and problem-free pregnancy has been provided through an amalgamation of the regular practice of the ancient Indian science of yoga and the modern yet relevant subject of 'Dietetics'. I can say this as I have been practising yoga since a tender age of three years under the guidance of my father, Yoga Guru Padma Shri Bharat Bhushan and have seen innumerable cases of pregnant women who have been benefited from the application of various modules of yoga and correct diet.

Readers can use this book as a reference during various stages of pregnancy and can find solutions to most of the problems that occur at all those stages. Amazingly, most of the problems associated with pregnancy can be cured with simple application of "Yoga and Diet. A proactive and regular application of the suggested yogic techniques and correct diet plan will help them enjoy their pregnancy in a wholesome manner. Pictures, illustrations and charts have been used in the book extensively to make it user-friendly practical and easy to understand.

The contents of the book are an outcome of my personal experience in the field of yoga as a demonstrator in my earlier years with my father and as an exponent and consultant later. Being a student and then a professor of the extremely relevant subject of Health and Nutrition has given me direction and courage to combine the benefits of Yoga and dietetics and present them to the reader for best usage. The contents have been further substantiated and augmented with information from various textbooks, journals and articles published in India and abroad in various media.

The effort has been to keep the book as simple and usable as possible. The best way to use the book is to live with it during all phases of pregnancy, even though various sections of the book are complete unto themselves. Even those who are planning for their pregnancy can benefit as the book begins with pre-pregnancy stage.

**Contents and Sample Pages**