Antenatal Qigong

At 7 months pregnant, I am really loving my Qigong practice. The repetitive movements are really soothing and gentle on the body. Great for stress release, deepening breathing, conditioning and strengthening the body, easing my back out - the list goes on. And baby seems to love it too, he is really active afterwards, just as if he's doing his own version.
So which ones would I reccommnd? Well there's about 3,000+ Qigong and some are contraindicated, some are for martial purposes and some are for people with experience, so, obviously I'd reccommend finding a good teacher if you've never done it before.

Basic Conditioning Qigong
1. Waist Turning:
Seated in a chair to keep the pelvis stable, gently turn through the waist to the right and then relax to come back to facing front. Repeat on the left. Make sure that you keep the head facing with the chest and that you turn gently through the spine. It's great for freeing up the ribs and easing out any tension which can be increasing shortness of breath.

2. Four Directions Breathing:
This short set of 4 flowing movements can be repeated over and over again to loosen tense shoulders and centre mind and body. The key element to work on is keeping the shoulder blades down as if they are dropping down the back. To see my partner, Simon, performing them, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/taichiwisdom

Which baby carrier should I use for doing Tai Chi with my baby?

We are currently researching which sling/carrier to use for when bundle is small enough to be in a carrier while we do our tai chi practice. We found this blog which is really interesting and put us off buying a sling: http://babyslingsafety.blogspot.com/

What books are there on this stuff?

There are probably loads of books that I'm not aware of which are available. The books I've chosen are on the holistic end, as, after opening a book in Borders to find a whole fully-illustrrated page on problems, illnnesses and issues I decided I wanted a more positive approach. Here are the ones I've found, feel free to let me know about any others you come across.

Shiatsu for Midwives by Suzanne Yates with Tricia Anderson
This book has been a real find in terms of ideas, points to work with and avoid, little meditations and visualisations to reccomend or adapt. It also shows what level of support and help you and your newborn could receive from a trained practitioner.

Magical beginnings, enchanted lives: a holistic guide to pregnancy and childbirth by Deepak Chopra
Informative and calming with clear information and lots of suggestions how to connect more depely with yourself and your baby during this magical time. Quite aspirational, don't feel you have to achieve the ideal that is painted.

Eastern Body, Western Mind (revised) Anodea Judith
Working through the chakras as a psychological model has been a long term process of over a decade for me. This book, is the best explanation I have ever found. Particularly useful at the moment, it looks at the chakras as a model of child development, overlapping many systems to show their similarities. The section on the base chakra is especially relevant. A truly outstanding work and one I think I will be referring to for the next decade both for me and for bump.

And Finally...
The Descent of the Child: Human Evolution from a new perspective by Elaine Morgan
A play in the title of Darwin's famous book 'The Descent of Man' this book considers evolution from the perspective of conception, pregnancy and child development in the womb. A fascinating book which highlights how centred around the male body and theories of male authors much of evolution has been since Wallace and Darwin's great insight into natural selection. It is a great way to refocus on how important and valuable the role of motherhood is to human existence.