Interview with Martine Texier: “Experience birth in deep connection and harmony with your child!”

"During pregnancy and childbirth, all women are on a higher energetic level. My yoga exercises give them the ability to perceive their body better, to find access to the deeper meaning of natural forces and to accompany the baby step by step on its journey into life." The French yoga teacher Martine Texier , author of the guide "The Female Way" , has been supporting expectant mothers on the path to a natural and joyful birth for over three decades. Her exercises help to avoid discomfort during pregnancy, to help the child find the right position before birth and to consciously open the "doors" of the birth canal during delivery.

As a yogi, you have specialized in birth preparation and have been training midwives and yoga teachers for over 30 years. What motivated you to take this path?

Martine Texier: For me, life is sacred. That is why my greatest wish is to enable every child to be welcomed into this world with love by their parents.

I know of painful experiences in my family on both my mother's and father's side. That is why I happily chose the mission of accompanying couples during the "sacred expectation" of pregnancy and childbirth, during which they learn about the mystery of life. This has also helped me to bring light into the web of my family and to make peace with my ancestors.

During my first pregnancy, I had to have a Caesarean section because of my narrow pelvis. But because I have a good knowledge of anatomy and was already doing yoga at the time, I studied the pelvis and the joints in more detail. I developed exercises to stretch and open the pelvic girdle and to make the perineum more elastic. I did these exercises every day during the last months of my pregnancy. I was able to avoid a Caesarean section; my son was born at quarter past two in the morning - without an epidural, of course! I felt every phase of the birth and was able to accompany my baby on his way through the birth tunnel - all with the help of appropriate yoga exercises, movement, breathing, energy circulation... The "Yoga - maternité - naissance" [Yoga - motherhood - birth] method was also born that day!

The birth of my second child took place in a women's clinic in Grenoble. The head doctor of the maternity ward happened to be there. The next day he told me how impressed he was with my way of giving birth, given my history. He offered me a job on his ward so that I could tell everyone on the team about my yoga experience. It was a wonderful experience that lasted three years. In this environment, I was able to try out every yoga exercise in peace, because I always had the feedback of the young mothers I was accompanying. At the time, I was looking after around a hundred women a week in the courses at the women's clinic and in the courses I gave privately.

There is a questionable trend in obstetric medicine, away from a natural birth process and towards "birth surgery", the planned Caesarean section. Do you have the impression that society's attitude towards birth and motherhood has changed over the past few decades?

Martine Texier: In the almost forty years that I have been supporting expectant mothers, I have indeed witnessed a significant social development. Prevention is firmly in the hands of doctors. In France, women have to undergo numerous examinations. In this context, it is very difficult not to feel "sick" and not to be concerned about the results.

From the beginning of pregnancy, the woman experiences an expansion of consciousness and vibrates at a higher energetic level, as the pulse diagnostics of TCM prove. During the entire pregnancy, her consciousness opens up more and more, up to the extraordinary moment of birth, when she can experience such an expansion of consciousness that she is in harmony with her child and can accompany it step by step on its path to incarnation. And at the moment of birth, the crossing of the maternal pelvis, i.e. the birth canal, takes place.

The best way to accompany a pregnancy is to work towards this expansion of consciousness. Everything that causes fear, restricts and tenses a woman, distances her from her natural state and the natural process that pregnancy and birth represent. But mothers today are also different from mothers forty years ago. Fifteen years ago, I suspended my weekly yoga classes for pregnant women for two years to set up a training center. When I resumed the classes, I was shocked because the women now had a completely different feeling and the epidural had become much more normal.

I had to adapt my teaching to this development. I had given courses in Grenoble, a city in the middle of the mountains. The women in my courses were more athletic. To illustrate the idea of ​​initiation, I compared childbirth to climbing a mountain. All the women understood that it was about effort, that you had to go beyond yourself to reach a state of intoxication that you have at the top, just as giving birth is. Two years later, I came up with the same example - and no one understood what I was talking about. The young women replied: "I hate mountain hikes. It's so exhausting. And if giving birth is like that, then I'd rather have an epidural!" And this feeling was shared by the majority of the twenty or so women in this group. I realised that these women belonged to the "Internet" generation, for whom everything is at the click of a mouse. So I developed my teaching further and made it even more focused on the inner experience, which is understandable to every woman. I was looking for a method that would allow a woman to first get to know her own body. On the basis of these sensations, a woman can then access the deeper meaning behind the nature of the forces that are at work within her. And with yoga exercises, she has real help at hand.

For example, what is the purpose of contractions and their rhythm? Not to cause suffering, but to change consciousness, just as the rhythm of a drum puts you into a trance. This expansion of consciousness is accompanied by an increased vibration of energy that will change the very essence of the female body. Faced with the intensity of the contractions, the woman first experiences a state as if she were flowing, then her body becomes light, and finally there is no longer any awareness of physical limits. In this way, she can experience an expansion of consciousness. Thanks to the contractions and the letting go, the essence of the body passes through the five elements, earth, water, fire, air and space, one after the other. From the usual limitations of the body, there is a gradual change to an experience of space, of the infinite, of vastness. In this state of consciousness and with a body that is completely open, there is less resistance. This makes it easier for the baby to slide through the birth canal. Of course, I accompany the women on this path step by step. It is open to all women. Once they have recognized the deeper meaning of this approach, they also want to have this experience because they trust their feelings.

Her book "The Female Way" aims to help expectant mothers to consciously open their inner "doors" and literally swing along with the rhythm of birth. What contribution do the yoga exercises described contribute to this? And do women benefit from regular yoga practice even at the beginning of their pregnancy?

Martine Texier: Life in general is all about appearances, and our bodies are neglected. Giving birth without being aware of our bodies puts women in a state of passivity. They cannot act, they cannot help open the various "doors" to let the baby through. This leads to anxiety, which in turn leads to tension and the doors closing without us noticing.

Yoga is a way of interiorizing. Yoga allows you to feel your body from the inside, thanks to the sensations that are gradually awakened with regular practice. During pregnancy, the woman will explore her pelvis - the pelvis and the pelvis - through the correct yoga postures, she will discover the joints in the pelvis, front and back, and stretch them so that on the day of delivery, the spaces will gradually open up as the baby progresses. This careful yoga practice allows the woman to be an active participant in her labor and to have the "tools" to hand to always act appropriately as labor progresses. Labor and birth are not easy to endure, the woman can face everything that is coming her way. And she can accompany her baby with goodwill along the path. The baby, for its part, does not have to face the birth alone, the mother's presence is reassuring, as is the father's, provided he allows it.

A woman who begins these yoga exercises at the beginning of her pregnancy will be more aware of her body on the day of delivery. This will allow her to regain her strength more quickly after the birth if she continues the exercises.

A woman's body changes with the onset of pregnancy. This can lead to pain in the back, joints and pelvis... Regular yoga from the beginning of pregnancy makes it possible to gradually release tension in the body.

For example: The baby grows, which is why the woman's center of gravity shifts forward. This can lead to a hollow back and the associated pain. However, the woman can learn to position her pelvis by straightening the coccyx so that her baby is carried more internally. This reduces the curvature in the lumbar region and the pain quickly disappears.

Is “The Female Way” aimed at all pregnant women? Or does it require special prior knowledge or a particular openness?

Martine Texier: This book is aimed at all pregnant women. The exercises can be carried out by any woman. They are a complete preparation for a fulfilling pregnancy and a natural birth. Understanding the birth process gives women the courage to deal with the intensity of the contractions and to cope with them. They can test the tools that yoga provides, such as "wave breathing" or the mantra "Om", and they can visualize their effectiveness.

By experiencing a natural birth, the woman also opens herself to another dimension, namely the mystery of life, the perception of the spiritual dimension of life. She may not be aware of this during pregnancy, but only has the experience on the day of birth. Reading this book will then help her to put into words what she has experienced deep within herself. Thanks to the opening of consciousness, the mother is born as a new woman along with the child.

In your book you speak of an “initiation,” of the acceptance of the pregnant woman into the “community of mothers.” What role does this special connection play in the life of the modern woman and mother?

Martine Texier: In truth, we are not isolated, we are part of the universe and the community of all people. Mothers have always given birth naturally, across all cultures. By joining the lineage of mothers, their wisdom and their knowledge, women learn that they are not alone and that the energy of all can help them in their own childbirth and the birth of their child. This means connecting with the "universal mother", all love and goodness. She vibrates in every woman to be awakened in her too. All this represents a real initiation for women.

Pregnancy is not an illness, we often hear. But what advice do you give to expectant mothers who still feel sick and weak and who lack strength and energy even in the “feel-good phase” of the second trimester?

Martine Texier: I advise them to stop running and to turn inwards. Close their eyes and breathe slowly and regularly. In a few minutes, calm will gradually set in. These waves of calm should spread like a perfume inside them and envelop the baby in their peace and serenity. The baby is really in their centre, the only important experience in pregnancy is to turn inwards. You stop "doing" and simply discover "being". Share this being in its gentleness with the baby. And repeat this process every day to connect with the deep being in a gentle, peaceful, serene and enlightened way. This connection with yourself frees you from stress and tension, the energy flows again. You can also connect with nature, the trees, the sun, the birds, the flowers... feel the calm, the peace, the beauty of the nature around you. Absorb the power of the present, strengthen yourself and the baby with each exhalation. Continue with this breathing to taste the energy, the prana.

Then practice the “connection with infinity”: while standing, feel your feet firmly connected to the earth, opening up to the spaces in front, behind, right and left, and then connecting with infinity above your own head. Exhale slowly, and as you inhale, raise your arms to the sides, accompanying a great wave of energy that rises from the earth to the immensity of the sky. Then immerse yourself completely in infinity, which is also known as pure consciousness. As you exhale, your arms guide a wave of “pure energy” that comes from above, over and through your body and down to the earth. Play through this connection several times to fill up with powerful energy that will then spread throughout your body. In this way, the woman connects with the cosmic source of life, which is eternal and never runs dry. In this way, she also finds her way back to strength and joy in life, so that she can then be boundless love for her child, which also applies to the father.

Book tip:
Martine Texier: The feminine path. Powerful rituals and exercises for pregnancy and birth. German first edition. Mankau Verlag 2018, paperback, 13.5 x 21.5 cm, 302 pages, 15.95 euros (D) / 16.40 euros (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-481-6.

Link recommendations:
More information about the book "The Female Way"
To the reading sample in PDF format
More about the author Martine Texier