Ayurveda in the first 40 days postpartum -video

“These days mothers have no time. That’s why we want those forty days—not as a punishment. We are asking that for those forty days the mother and child be together so that creativity and values can be established. From the 120th day in the womb to those forty days from birth, the entire character and values of the child are built” –Yogi Bhajan

After giving birth, your psychophysiology is as delicate as your baby’s, and you are in a special six-week window of healing that requires a significant amount of love and support. The yogic and Ayurvedic systems believe that the first forty to forty-two days after birth equals the next three to forty years of the mother’s health, depending on how she spends her time postpartum. The choices a mother makes in regards to support and rejuvenation after her birth are potent and can ultimately affect her health for the rest of her life. The Western medical system and society in general brushes off the significance of this period, which is detrimental to the mother and the baby. It takes time to heal, for the organs to go back into place, and for the energetic system of the female to stabilize. If you take care of yourself well within this period, you will recover in around three to five months. If you do not, you may suffer from exhaustion relapse that can takes years to recover from emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Ayurveda is a system of alternative medicine originating in India that aims to balance the body through dietary, lifestyle, and herbal treatments. In this holistic belief system, after childbirth, the woman is in a state of “Vata” because the empty space left in her abdomen causes an excess amount of the air element in her body and an imbalance to her system. The signs and symptoms of this state include nervousness, anxiety, fear, constipation, dislike of cold, excess thinking or worry, dry skin, and a spacey feeling. Just about every mother I have ever worked with or met can admit to feeling some, if not all, of these symptoms postpartum. To decrease the Vata state, women need a steady routine, warmth, serenity, and nourishment through food and love.

Learn more in the video below!

Here is a video explaining how to use Ayurveda in the postpartum period and the benefits of this practice.