Pregnancy a Mystical Expression
By Maria Rojas Munoz
Table of Contents!
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 3
Prenatal Development Stage a Mystical Expression………………………………………… 3
Prakruti/Constitution………………………………………………………………………… 5
The Three Vital Essences: Ojas, tejas, and prana………………………………………………5
How to avoid miscarriage……………………………………………………………………… 6
General practices for well being during pregnancy………………………………………… 7
Abhyanga, self-love care…………………………………………………………………………7
Meditation…………………………………………………………………………………………7
Pranayama…………………………………………………………………………………………8
Journaling………………………………………………………………………………………….10
1st month Pregnancy…………………………………………………………………………… 10
2nd month Pregnancy ………………………………………………………………………… 11
3rd month Pregnancy………………………………………………………………………….… 12
4th month Pregnancy……………………………………………………………………………..13
Image 1…………………………………………………………………………………….13
Image 2…………………………………………………………………………………….13
Image 3…………………………………………………………………………………….14
Image 4…………………………………………………………………………………….14
5th month Pregnancy……………………………………………………………………………..14
Image 5…………………………………………………………………………………….15
6th month Pregnancy……………………………………………………………………………..15
Image 6…………………………………………………………………………………….15
Image 7…………………………………………………………………………………….16
Image 8…………………………………………………………………………………….16
7th month Pregnancy……………………………………………………………………………..16
Image 9…………………………………………………………………………………….17
Image 10………………………………………………………………………………… 17
Image 11………………………………………………………………………………… 18
Image 12………………………………………………………………………………… 18
Image 13………………………………………………………………………………… 18
8th month Pregnancy……………………………………………………………………………..19
Image 14………………………………………………………………………………… ..19
9th month Pregnancy……………………………………………………………………………..20
References………………………………………………………………………………… ………21
Source Images………………………………………………………………………………… …. 22
“During pregnancy, as our bellies swell with life, we emulate Mother Shakti growing into plumpness, from the silver of her crescent moon into the roundness of her full moon”. Maya Tiwari
Introduction
Traditional societies have typically regarded pregnancy as a sacred period in a woman’s life. Outstanding ceremonies are observed in the Hindu tradition to celebrate the birth of a newborn soul. The mother is honored and treated with rites, prayers, mantras, medicinal remedies during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care.
According to the Vedic traditional rites, the rite of conception and the key stages of pregnancy and birth, are observed and sacred ceremonies are performed by the couple with the guidance of elders and the family priest with the intention of inviting a divine soul into physical birth. As the carrier of new life, the pregnant woman embodies the miracle of creation in her very being. Pregnancy and birth are sacred moments in a women’s life.
Creating a new life brings about many changes, both physical and emotional. This essay is an attempt to accompany women in this symphony of creation from the time of conception with a practical Ayurvedic approach on how to embrace pregnancy by consciously honoring and assisting the miraculous journey of giving life to life.
Prenatal Development Stage a Mystical Expression | When does consciousness enter the fetus?
Consciousness enters the ovum at the same time of conception , the fertilized ovum is a conscious living tissue. At the time of conception the soul’s past karma imparts all aspects of that past karma into the jivatman (individual soul) which is a tiny expression in the ocean of consciousness.
The soul enters the embryo, along with the eightfold material for creation: mind, intellect, ego, and the five pure elements: space, air, fire, water and earth which serve as forces that protect the development of the embryo. Air supports the continuos segmentation process, fire the digestive process, water the embryonic fluid, earth supplies stability and strength and space the freedom necessary for development. 3 When the sperm and the ovum unite, subtle dynamic space of consciousness appears. That space is called non-akashic, which is consciousness, pulsating and throbbing without breath. “In the fertilized ovum, jiva, the individual consciousness, is isolated from Brahma, the universal consciousness. Nādam (the soundless sound), bindu (pulsating consciousness), and kala (membranous structure) are all present in the zygote. It is not dead tissue growing in the womb”. 4 The vedic sages have described the physiological development of the fetus long before science explained chromosomes, they recognized that the human seed is more than than the DNA with the genetics of the parents, but that it contains within itself the traces of cosmic memory, its mystical replication into life revealing the entire universe. 5
Through the belly button the baby’ and the mother’s kundalini are united. In the development stage the kundalini Shakti, which is electromagnetic energy, is active in the brain of the fetus creating a state of bliss, samadhi. The womb is a most blissful state of unconsciousness. The fetus is conscious only in a blissful way, not conscious of life but only conscious subjectively in a passive state. At the moment of delivery the kundalini descends to the root -muladhara- chakra separating individual consciousness from higher consciousness, and when the first breath is taken, objective consciousness begins, the baby has forgotten the state of bliss and passes to a physical state. There is a respiratory center in the hypothalamus and the first breath at birth activates it, in the womb the fetus is breathing without air through the mother’s lungs. Ayurveda tries to explain this mystical expression in a spiritual way. The brahmā randhra (anterior fontanel) and the shiva randhra (the posterior fontanel) are functioning under the control of prāna and as long as it is pulsating within the brain, the lungs don’t need to open for air. The baby’s digestion also happens through mother’s digestion.
There is a memory center too, but for the fetus it contains only memories of past lives, and it provide a bed for the new center of memories to be formed, which will influence the nervous system (majja dhatu) 6.
Prakruti/Constitution
Prakruti is the fundamental principle of Āyurveda, it means nature or constitution, the Āyurvedic concept of prakruti, is the individual’s genetic makeup expressed in terms of a unique combination of three fundamental principles or doshas: vāta, pitta and kapha in a person. Prakruti is creation which means that every human being is a unique creation of the universe. “The creation of the universe and the creation of a fetus are the same”7 At the time of conception according to the predominant doshas present in the sperm and the ovum, prakruti is determined and this genetic makeup of the fetus is unlikely to change in the course of one’s lifetime. The ratio of vāta, pitta and kapha that create the prakruti of the fetus is influenced by the genetics, diet, lifestyle and emotions of the parents at the time of conception. “The constituents of the sperm and egg are: Ātman (the conscious principles, the soul); manas (mind), agni (the metabolic fire), Soma (bliss), the five elements, the 3 doshas ( vāta, pitta and kapha), ojas, tejas and prana and twenty gunas” 8 An Ayurvedic lifestyle begins with determining our unique constitution or prakruti. It is especially important for the future mother because Ayurveda can show how to follow specific guidelines for harmonizing her prakruti, enhancing the quality of life, raising consciousness to achieve good health for her and the growing baby and can teach her to choose proper nutrition bringing confident in the ability to give birth. 9
