Yoga For You And Your Baby

When you’re pregnant the world around you kind of changes for the good. There are like a million things that people will tell you on how to take care of your diet, your sleep, what all to do and what not! Here’s one more for the list, an important one though. Pre-natal yoga, something that has gained a lot of popularity for the right reasons. So, what makes prenatal yoga so good for you and your baby? Read on to find out.

While pregnancy comes with a lot of happy strings attached, only new moms or moms to be who are going through it can understand  that it has its  not-so-happy side too. But fret not, prenatal yoga is here to rescue you. The guidance and advice of your gynecologist and professional yoga master is recommended before you take up prenatal yoga sessions.

Breathing:

The breathing technique followed in prenatal yoga helps the mind and body to relax. For carrying women, this helps to overcome the challenging pain of labor and birth. Breathing also has an impact on the heart wherein it helps balance the blood pressure level which is beneficial to both, mom and baby. There are many cases of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH) that develop during the last trimester and this risk can be avoided by following regular breathing exercises through yoga. Breathing techniques to certain extent also help to reduce the discomfort of nausea and vomiting that are likely to occur in the first trimester.

General Wellbeing:

Prenatal yoga poses are beneficial because it helps open the pelvis and strengthen the upper legs. Besides, they also help to ease and prevent back pain, knee problems, uterine, and urinary tract infections. The various poses practiced during prenatal workouts also help to improve your body balance, blood circulation, and strengthen your joints. Yoga improves your flexibility, strength, stamina, and also tones your muscle. The meditation techniques followed thereafter calm and ease your tension.

Better Sleep:

Workouts need to kept light but not nill. Yoga is one of those few workouts that you could do during pregnency. It’s been proven time and again that doing yoga could help you sleep better. So, say bye to those sleepless nights and catch your quietus!

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Supportive environment:

Attending regular sessions of yoga at fitness centers is a great way to meet other women going through the same cycle of motherhood and thus help improve your social awareness. Being in a positive environment and surrounded by like-minded people will give an emotional boost and keep you motivated towards prenatal workouts. This gradually will help to subside the fear of labor and birth pain that is foreseen by many women.

Overall Happy Health for your baby too!

Yoga can also reduce the risk of intrauterine growth restriction, the condition that slows your baby’s growth in your womb. So your baby grows better and healthier. And then of course, yoga also reduces stress, headaches, lower back pain, and the nauseated feelings, making you a happy person and a happy mommy means a happy baby.   

Specific Suggested Asanas:

To list some of the beneficial yoga asanas here it goes: The Baddha Konasana or Cobbler’s pose, Pelvic tilt, squatting, side lying position, Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 pose, tree pose and others that you could possibly explore under the guidance of a yoga teacher.

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Safety guidelines:

We’ve discussed few important benefits of prenatal yoga above. However there are questions still unanswered in the post. These are “I’m a beginner to yoga, can I still do yoga now that I’m pregnant?” or “Can Yoga be practiced during the first trimester, which is supposed to be a very delicate and crucial stage of pregnancy?” Some of them are like, “Should I slow on workouts during the third trimester?” and many more lingering concerns like that. The ideal suggestion would be to hire a personal trainer at home  to make your prenatal yoga sessions more effective and safe or you also go in for a good fitness center that has a good reputation of teaching prenatal yoga workouts.

Just listen to your body and be your own spectator, if you feel any discomfort discontinue yoga or reach out for help immediately. Consult your gynecologist and seek further advice on your health and on continuing yoga. As a basic safety rule, avoid yoga poses that recommend lying on your back (after 16 weeks), holding your breath for too long, strenuous stretches, lying on tummy, back bends, and strong intense twists. Such yoga poses could potentially harm the blood circulation. Nevertheless, prenatal yoga has more merits than you can think of. Following the safety guidelines and advice of your yoga trainer will help you reap the benefits of this traditional science.