Yoga for Pregnant Women
How Yoga for Pregnant Women helps
Yoga provides holistic health benefits for to-be-mothers:
- Yoga during pregnancy helps keep the body supple. They relieve tension around the cervix by opening up the pelvic region. This prepares to-be-mothers for labor and delivery.
- Yoga and pranayamas can train you to breathe deeply and relax consciously, helping you face the demands of labor and childbirth.
- Pregnancy Yoga helps alleviate the effect of common symptoms such as morning sickness, painful leg cramps, swollen ankles, and constipation.
- Yoga asanas also help pregnant women recover faster post-delivery.
Precautions for pregnant women while doing Yoga
- During the advanced stages of pregnancy, avoid yoga asanas that put pressure on the abdomen.
- For the first trimester of pregnancy, do standing yoga poses. This will help strengthen the legs and enhance circulation. It can even reduce leg cramps.
- During the second and third trimester, reduce the time spent holding asanas to prevent fatigue. Substitute with breathing exercises and meditation.
- Avoid practicing yoga from the 10th to the 14th week of pregnancy since these are crucial times.
- Avoid doing inversion poses.
- Listen to your body and do as much as you can without undue effort.
Yoga poses to avoid during pregnancy
- Naukasana (Boat Pose)
- Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)
- Ardha Matsyendrasana (Sitting Half Spinal Twist)
- Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
- Viparita Shalabhasana (Superman Pose)
- Halasana (Plow Pose)
It is advisable to consult a doctor before taking up any yoga schedule during pregnancy. Learn and practice yoga postures under the supervision of a trained yoga teacher.
Practicing Yoga helps develop the body and mind, yet is not a substitute for medicine. It is essential to learn and practice yoga under the supervision of a trained Yoga teacher. In case of any medical condition, practice yoga only after consulting your doctor and a Yoga teacher