Health experts recommend pregnant women to be active and eat healthy foods. Eating healthy is easy, but staying active when pregnant can be pretty challenging. Fortunately, there are low-impact exercises suited for pregnant women, particularly 6 yoga poses. Pregnancy is a challenging yet wonderful time for women. While women enjoy motherhood, it is also a time for aches and pains. Mothers experience body aches to places that never hurt before. Even if mothers are experiencing aches and tiredness, it’s all the more important to exercise and stretch. Exercise and stretching will help relieve aches and pains and prepare your body for labor. Why not have both of these benefits in one package through prenatal yoga poses?
What Is Prenatal Yoga?
Prenatal yoga is another form of yoga particularly designed for pregnant women. Yoga is an ancient practice intended to create harmony between physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being. It is achieved through breathing techniques, relaxation, physical postures, and meditation. Prenatal yoga helps you achieve all of these aspects and improve your physical and psychological health. If you didn’t experience yoga before your pregnancy, consult your doctor about it. However, for the most part, prenatal yoga is safe for the uninitiated, but make sure to start slow first.
Why You May Want To Try Prenatal Yoga
Exercise is good for both the mother and the baby, and doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Prenatal yoga is a low-impact exercise routine, and it won’t take a toll on your body. Prenatal yoga helps mothers improve their sleep, moods, increases strength and flexibility, and decrease backaches and pains. More benefits of yoga include improving blood flow, reducing stress and anxiety, and being beneficial for your labor experience. If you are interested in trying yoga poses while pregnant, here are some yoga poses you should try.
6 Yoga Poses For Pregnant Women
Pregnant women can do some yoga poses as an exercise, provided they are modified for pregnancy. Focus on doing yoga poses that build strength and release tension. Target the back and the hips. Pregnant women should avoid yoga poses that do intense backbends, forward bends, and twists, strong or forceful abdominal, contractions, and inversions. Any bouncing, hopping, and jumping is also generally not recommended. Avoid hot yoga poses too. Here are some 6 yoga poses for pregnant women.
Balancing Table Pose
Balancing table poses work out your core muscles without contracting them, and it’s ideal for pregnancy and postpartum. Here’s how to do it:
- Align your wrists under your shoulders
- Align the knees under the hips. By now, both your knees and hands are all on the floor.
- You can use a yoga mat or an additional soft towel to practice on a hard surface.
- Curl your toes towards the floor for extra stability.
- Start the yoga pose by raising your right arm like you are reaching out. Next, raise your left leg upwards behind you.
- Hold the pose for at least three to five breaths and then switch. Now, use the left arm and raise the right leg.
- After three to five breaths, alternate; keep alternating as often as you need.
Seated Wide-Angle Forward Bend
This pose stretches your muscles and increases the flexibility of your lower back, hips, and legs. It also strengthens your lower back, pelvis, and spine.
Here’s how you can do it:
- Find a comfortable spot with enough space to accommodate your legs stretching side to side. Sit on a cushion, yoga mat, or a blanket to make yourself comfortable.
- Stretch your legs side to side, as far as you can, forming a wide V shape.
- Reach out your arms over your head.
- Bend your hips when you fold, and be gentle with your back.
- Next, you can either do two things. One, you can stretch out and place your hands in front of your, or two, you can hold your toes when you stretch. It’s up to you.
- Hold the position for a minute.
Cat/Cow Pose
This pose focuses on your spine and back muscles, allowing your belly to hang, which eases aches and tension.
Here’s how you can do it:
- Place your hands under your shoulders and place your knees under the hips towards the floor. You should now be in all fours.
- Inhale, but at the same time, arch your spine upward, lower the belly, and look upwards.
- Lower your chin like you are looking down when you exhale, and arch the spine downward.
- Continue this rhythm as you inhale and exhale for a minute.
Crescent Lunge
The crescent lunge yoga pose should be an excellent remedy if you feel tight around your hips. Flexible and robust hips help support your body during labor.
Here is how you can make a crescent lunge:
- Start on all fours and place your right knees between the hands.
- Bend your knees that it forms a 90-degree angle centered on your ankle,
- Stretch your left leg and straighten it.
- Raise your upper torso and raise both of your arms and hands above your head.
- Alternate and repeat.
Chair Pose
Chair pose strengthens the legs and hips, making it great support, preparing the body for labor. It also helps develop the arms and back.
Here’s how you can do a chair pose:
- Stand firmly on a yoga mat with your feet around a shoulder’s width apart.
- Inhale and raise your arms above your hand and the palms facing each other.
- Next, start exhaling and bend your knees, sending the hips back a bit.
- Hold for several breaths and repeat as often as you want.
Child’s Pose
The child’s pose relaxes and stretches your shoulders, chest, and lower back. It also increases the flexibility of your thighs, hips, and spine.
Here’s how you can do a child’s pose:
- Start on all fours position.
- Contact the toes to each other and spread your knees wide.
- Lower your hips until you feel your heels.
- Lower your torso and reach your arms in front of you.
- Hold the pose for a minute.
Bottom Line of 6 Yoga Poses
Pregnancy is a challenging and delicate process, but with the help of prenatal yoga poses, you can make it easier for yourself. If you require more assistance in your yoga poses when pregnant, feel free to reach out to InBalance Yoga & Wellness.
Get in touch with us and experience more beneficial yoga poses for you and the baby. You can contact us via phone at 801-691-1090 or through email at [email protected]
