BELLYDANCE FOR BIRTH HAS RECEIVED MANY REVIEWS AND SUPPORT NOW FROM VARIOUS SOURCES FROM ORGANISATIONS TO INDIVIDUALS TO BIRTH REVIEWERS - WE ARE PLEASED TO LIST SOME OF THESE HERE ON OUR REVIEWS PAGE -
THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO REVIEW MY RESOURCES AND HELPED SPREAD THE POSITIVE WORD FOR ALL WOMEN
IT IS MUCH APPRECIATED!
Contributions below from Dr Christiane Northrup MD - The Farm Midwives Tennesee - DR Debbie Mortimer - Molly Remer talkbirth - Doula Lesley Everest Canada -
Dr Jane Reffell Womens Doctor Byron Bay - dare to give birth naturally website - Tricia Mary Lee from Sacred Dance Guild (Aust) - Nadia from www.menstruation.com - Physiotherapist Janelle Angel-
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Christiane Northrup, MD
Yarmouth, Maine 04096
www.DrNorthrup.com
Dear Maha,
Your belly dance book and DVD are simply wonderful. I have mentioned them in the revised edition of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom,which will be released in June 2010. You have done the world a huge service with this work. And the production values on the DVD are outstanding!
Sincerely,
Christiane Northrup, MD
18th November 2009
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SUPPORT LETTER FROM 'THE FARM' MIDWIFERY CENTRE
TENNESSEE
Thank you to midwife Pamela Hunt for her wonderful support. Pamela received a complimentary copy of my book and DVD and will share them with their students, pregnant women and midwives..
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DR DEBBIE MORTIMER
BYRON SHIRE GP/DOCTOR
From a medical perspective, 'Dance of the Womb' DVD is a beautiful journey toward our expression of the feminine, which is lovingly expressed by Maha Al Musa as she dances her way through her own pregnancy and birth. Her joyous telling of this process enables women to regain what has been lost of our ancient heritage and find our inner nature and abilities. Watching then performing the gentle rhythmical movements shown by Maha can enhance muscle strength and flexibility, helping a woman to align her baby in her pelvis and encouraging pelvic muscle relaxation and blood flow. The active and passive components of the gentle dances help pelvic floor toning, which assists in the birthing process and reduces injury. As well, the confidence gained using these natural calming movements enhances self esteem and respect and love of our bodies as well as increased joy in birthing, our babies, and our femininity. Thankyou again for your enthusiasm and love Maha.
Dr Debbie Mortimer, Medical Practitioner, Mullumbimby NSW.
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April 3rd 2010
Maha Al Musa has created a remarkable treasure for the birth world-an easy-to-follow, beautifully presented, step-by-step instructional bellydancing DVD called Dance of the Womb. Maha's interest in Middle Eastern Dance was sparked by her Palestinian/Lebanese roots and she brings a lot of love and authenticity to her presentation of the dance techniques. Maha has also published a gorgeous companion book, Dance of the Womb (see previous review).
Dance of the Womb contains a 45-minute dance stretch warm-up. The exercises are comprehensive, gentle, and easy to follow. There are also six instructional dance technique chapters that cover specific beginning bellydance movements.
One of the special treats of this DVD is the included 50 minute video about Maha's own homebirth journey with her third child (at age 46!). It also contains interviews with several homebirth midwives. The still photographs and birth footage are beautiful and brought a tear to my eye several times! Another bonus feature is a seven minute guided relaxation exercise.
Dance of the Womb is a great introduction to the basic physical elements of prenatal belly dance and also to some the spiritual and rhythmic aspects of giving birth. The DVD is a gentle and nurturing experience for both pregnant women and the women who serve them.
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Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this DVD for review purposes
January 25, 2010
Some books simply feel good to hold in your hands. Dance of the Womb is one such book: it is beautiful, both in content and appearance. While priced a little higher than some birth books, I cannot emphasize enough what a high quality book it is--it is not a traditional trade paperback, it is of textbook quality and size. Hardbound with a lovely cover and endpapers, Dance of the Womb is packed with full color, detailed, step-by-step instructional photographs leading the reader through a "belly dance for birth" journey.
Dance of the Womb is divided into several segments. The first section summarizes the benefits of belly dance and explores the physiology of birth. The next section walks the reader through a series of gentle warm-up exercises while the following sections progress through a variety of different specific belly dance movements. Nearing the conclusion of the text is a segment about labor movements with positions. Each section of the book is lavishly illustrated with very clear, easy to follow, step-by-step photographs.
The author's own journey through pregnancy, birth, and mothering is skillfully interwoven throughout the text as well as her own feminine passage into understanding herself as a complete woman. Interspersed with the photographs and belly dance instructions, is the exploration of the author's pregnancy and birth experiences, her relationship with her own mother and her parents' culture. The book contains her personal birth stories as well as perspectives on belly dance for birth from three midwives.
The author, Maha Al Musa lives in Australia. Her interest in Middle Eastern Dance was sparked by her Palestinian/Lebanese roots and birthplace as well as her pilgrimage to explore her heritage and reconnect with her long-separated mother. Maha has also developed a Dance of the Womb step-by-step instructional belly dancing DVD (sold separately, review to follow) that includes a video of her own homebirth journey with her third child. She is also developing a one day foundation course in "bellydancebirth" for birth professionals with a plan to go international in 2011.
Dance of the Womb is a great introduction to not just the basic physical elements of prenatal belly dance, but also to the spiritual aspects of giving birth and life as a woman. It is written with an intimate tone that makes the reader feel as if the author has reached out across the miles to form a direct, personal connection. This book feels like a rich treasure to hold and is a gentle, nurturing, encouraging, and enriching voyage for pregnant women or the people who serve them.
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What a treat I received in the mail today! Maha Al Musa, creator and teacher of BellydanceBirth, and author of Dance of the Womb, contacted me a few weeks ago, telling me she enjoyed reading my blog on "Control". She asked if she could possibly quote part of it in her classes. After chatting by email a few times, we realized we shared many of the same views about birth. She was so kind in sending me a copy of her dvd, Dance of the Womb. I had the pleasure of being able to take a couple of hours to sit and enjoy it in total.
I have always naturally gravitated towards belly dancing, embracing it as a magic we women can use to create with our sacred hips patterns that help us connect to our ancestral memories and process things in our lives. Maha uses this ancient art of belly dancing to help women create flexibility and strength in pregnancy,to provide a wonderful, effective tool to work through the intensity of labour contractions, and as a valuable way of facilitating easier dilation and birth.
It is a very thorough dvd, so either you can study it as if you were doing a workshop with Maha, following it all in one go, or by chapter, perhaps studying one chapter per day. If you choose to study it in spurts, definitely do the warm up exercises before each time, as they feel SO good!
Dance of the Womb is a JOY to follow. As you learn how to emulate with your hips the sacred patterns of the circle, the spiral, the figure eight, the "cervix dance" (which is subtle, but very powerful), the chest movements and dances of the hands and arms, you connect to a beautiful fluidity. There is one point where Maha, gloriously pregnant at the age of 46, demonstrates the wide hip circle while leaning against a chair. If you have witnessed birth, you will resonate with how universal this dance is, as so many women, if you leave them to their own devices, will feel their thought processes slow and their bodies release, naturally swaying their hips to the timeless rhythm that is Birth. While we cannot control our births, Maha helps us to tune into our innermost selves and use our bodies and breath to help manage the intensity of labour.
There was a small part of me which wished, for a little moment, that I could give birth again just to be able to consciously and joyfully bellydance throughout labour! That won't be happening any time soon, but I did actually receive a great benefit...my mid back, which has been bothering me for days, felt a lot better after doing the chest circles. As she freely caresses her pregnant belly with her hands and massages her baby with her dancing hips, Maha is a vision of fullness and beauty. But the movements come from such a natural, intuitive place, that she makes every woman feel like they can do it too, regardless of how much "technique" they are worried about lacking. Perfection is not important here..what is emphasized is feeling good while doing it..and it does feel good!
Maha narrates the dvd and gives the instructions in a very soothing voice with her cute Australian accent and allows viewers ample time to play with the movements, allowing us to go more deeply into the hypnotic music that reflects her Middle Eastern roots. Her words are nourishing. They heal us of our doubts about our abilities to give birth. Our hips, bellies, and wombs, designed with perfection, can bring our babies down and out without much help from our minds. By practising Bellydance for Birth, you can get a glimpse of what that magical endorphin/oxytocin suffused labour trance feels like, which transports us to a place where anything, even bringing forth life, is possible.
Maha treats us at the end of the dvd to an interview with the two midwives who attended the homebirth of her baby girl, interspersed with images and video clips of her labouring and giving birth. What I appreciate about these clips is that it is clear there is no promise that Belly Dancing for Birth makes labour "easy" or "painless". Maha and the midwives do not shy away from discussing the reality of pain in childbirth, speaking of it as normal and life giving. We get to see Maha challenged by contractions, and using the Bellydance to help manage the intense energy of the contractions, and releasing tension through movement and breath. We see her allow herself to freely release emotions to help keep the progression of labour going smoothly, and even get to witness as one of her midwives bellydances close to her, as if to share some of the burden, in a beautiful display of purely feminine commiseration.
If you are pregnant and searching for a way to prepare for childbirth, creating space and fluidity in the body and mind is essential, through the practice of BellyDanceBirth and/or Prenatal Yoga. These tools are FAR more important than learning how to look at a clock to "diagnose" your labour progress. Learning how to let go of our big think-y brains and breathe, moan, and dance away our labour tensions are valuable lessons. If you are a professional who works with pregnant and birthing women, Maha Al Musa will be giving trainings in instruction on BellydanceBirth, the Al Musa method, in the near future. I am happy to report that Maha and I are discussing a potential workshop in Montreal next year. So please visit Maha at http://www.bellydanceforbirth.com/ to keep abreast of trainings and goings on.
Thanks, Maha!
Lesley
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Dear Maha
Thank you very much for addressing the Northern Rivers Female General Practitioner's Group on 10.8.2009.
Hearing about bellydancing and birthing was very informative and thoroughly enjoyable. We appreciated your demonstration and it was also good to have a go!
As GP's it increases our awareness about the possibilities that are available to women during childbirth. It also reminds us that being fit and relaxed doesn't have to be boring!
Thank you again for your time
Warm Regards
DR Jane Reffell
Womens Health and Wellbeing Centre
Banaglow
AUSTRALIA
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Belly Dance During Pregnancy --For Pregnancy Fitness and an Easier Birth
 Belly dance during pregnancy is a phenomenal way to get in touch with body changes during pregnancy and it is also great for labor pain management. Maha Al Musa's book, Dance of the Womb, shows you how to incorporate belly dance into your pregnancy and birth.
 Dance of the Womb, includes not only instruction for belly dance during pregnancy, but also an introduction to birth physiology. But, I think, the best thing about this book is that Maha shares her personal story and the strength she gains from her intimate connection to a community of women.
- Visually this book is a treat. The colors and the photographs are beautiful, rich, and evocative.
- The tone of the book is intimate and personal. I felt like I was having a conversation with Maha.
The book begins with summary of the benefits of belly dance during pregnancy and birth. It then moves on to a basic description of birth physiology.
- In addition to describing the role of the pelvis, uterus, cervix and the stages of labor, there is also quite a bit of discussion on the primal brain. Maha talks about how the primal brain is of vital importance in the birthing process.
- The instruction on belly dance during pregnancy begins with a simple warm-up. Maha then gives an introduction to hip circles, spirals, the figure 8, hand and arm movements, and chest isolations. These are the movements that are most easily performed for pregnancy fitness. These are the movements that provide the most help for labor pain management. They also seem to be the movements that come most intuitively and easily to women during labor.
The hip circle and the figure 8 help to rock and swivel the baby into an anterior position (baby's back facing your front), and into tucking/flexing its head in preparation for birth. These movements also help you to cope with the sensations of labor and help you ease into the rhythm of the contractions.
- Maha gives two wonderful mantras for women who desire a conscious birth, "Your body knows what to do in birth so allow it and trust it." and "Be prepared to assume responsibility in the birth of your baby."
- At the beginning of each section Maha relates a little bit more of her story, symbolically linking it to each belly dance movement. She shares her struggle to integrate her Middle Eastern roots with her Western upbringing. She searches to connect with her literal birth mother while focusing on connecting to her own femininity and the Mother within.
Maha finds integration and wholeness in the belly dance and in the community of women the surround and support her.A quote from Maha:
"...the fulfillment of a woman's sensual needs in Arab culture was created by the women themselves. By establishing a potent women's circle where we express our need for attention, love, praise, and nurturing for one another and our children, the relationships with our men--husbands and brothers--then become a much more balanced affair where a large part of a woman's need to be gratified is already taken care of. Women nurture and understand feminine desires and are able to freely express it!"
This aspect of the community of women in Middle Eastern culture (and in other traditional cultures around the world) is one of the things that most draws me to belly dance. It is a dance that is done not only by women, but for women in a circle of women. Belly dance is about women supporting, inspiring, strengthening, encouraging, and empowering each other.
- At the end of the book there are photos demonstrating how to use the belly dance movements for labor positions. Then follows a conversation with three midwives about how they view the benefits of belly dance during pregnancy and birth. Then Maha shares the birth stories of her two sons.
- The belly dance instruction is basic. If you are an advanced belly dancer or have already had some significant experience with belly dance during pregnancy, you may find that you are already familiar with these moves. However, I think this book is still worth picking up if just for Maha's personal story and the way it makes you feel empowered about pregnancy, birth, and simply being a woman.
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Review from Tricia Mary Lee : "Bellydance for Body and Soul" - Australian contact for "The Sacred Dance Guild" - 2.2.2010
My absolute joy in Maha's richly presented resources is in her powerful reclamation of bellydance as the "Dance of the Womb", the most Sacred Dance of all dances for women.
With clear instructions and demonstrations linking heart, mind, body and soul, Maha teaches from the depths of her Middle Eastern roots, making the dance simple and accessible to all women. Restoring what we call 'bellydance' to one of it's original ancient roles, as a rite of preparation and assistance for pregnancy and childbirth, elevates it from the popular entertainment value of shimmies and sparkles, to it's rightful place within the natural sacred cycle and well being of women's lives which spans from pre-menstruation to post menopause.
Gracefully and with cultural dignity Maha, who is a doula [ birth assistant] and dancer herself, also presents sound contemporary evidence which validates the techniques of this beautiful dance form for pregnancy and birthing today, be it at home or in hospital.The book and DVD are essential partners and themselves dance as jewels of wisdom for all women [ pregnant or not !!! ] who wish to embrace a deeper connection with their feminine bodies and souls.
Thank you Maha, the need for women to reclaim their natural feminine dancing power was never greater.!!
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"Maha's DVD is gentle, informative and awe inspiring. She captures
the mood of pregnancy - that lovely internal state of creating a new
being. The tone of the DVD is quiet, restful, almost meditative
encouraging you to take time for yourself to nurture you and connect
with baby. In this mad paced busy world - it is so refreshing to find
a philosophy that values the feminine state of pregnancy and gives
you permission to slow down and enjoy it. Having had 2 births a fair
time ago now, I can see that Bellydancebirth would have been an
amazingly useful tool for me to help me connect with myself and trust
my body to give birth without all the fear and negativity. It almost
makes me wish I was pregnant again - just so I can try her methods
myself! I highly recommend her book / DVD for every pregnant woman."
www.menstruation.com
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Maha's Bellydance for Birth DVD is a wholistic preparation for labour and birth.Timeless wisdom meets science.This sensuous, deep, feminine tradition blends relaxation, body awareness, fitness and self empowerment- important ingredients in facilitating healthy birth outcome. And its fun!
Janelle Angel
B App Sc ( Phty)
Post grad Cert Phty (Cont & Plv Flr rehab)
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