Beautiful mother – Healthy baby thanks to yoga for pregnant women

Yoga for pregnant women is one of the best solutions for you to cope with the sudden changes of your body during pregnancy.

Pregnancy is a long journey with a lot of different emotions. At this stage, you will often suffer from insomnia, stress, uncomfortable mood accompanied by unpleasant aches and pains appearing all over the body.

However, do not worry, this situation will improve somewhat if you work hard to practice yoga for pregnant women. Let’s follow the sharing below of easyhealthylive.com to know some more benefits as well as basic movements of yoga for pregnant women.

Yoga for pregnant women – The secret of a healthy pregnancy

Yoga is a long-standing sport originating from India with a lot of exercises that are good for physical, mental and spiritual health. This discipline emphasizes breathing regulation and body balance with simple to complex movements, suitable for all ages with many different purposes.

Pregnancy yoga is yoga exercises specifically designed for pregnant women. Most of these yoga movements are quite simple and gentle, mainly emphasizing breathing regulation combined with the movement of muscles and joints to help pregnant women learn to relax and breathe deeply. In particular, these exercises are also a great method for you to deal with pain and discomfort during labor.

7 great benefits of yoga for pregnant women

Yoga for pregnant women not only helps pregnant women be healthy, physically and mentally relaxed, but also very beneficial for the development of the fetus:

1. Coping with body changes

Pregnancy is a time when a woman’s body changes rapidly both physically and mentally. At this time, practicing yoga will be an effective way to balance the changes in the body.

In particular, regular yoga practice also limits the risk of excess fat accumulation, especially in the lower body. These exercises also help you maintain an appropriate weight throughout your pregnancy. From there, you will not have to worry too much about losing weight after giving birth.

2. Increase the flexibility of the muscles

Pregnant women who practice yoga regularly will have a toned and flexible body, especially the pelvic muscles, hip muscles and abdominal muscles to prepare for the birth process. Not only that, the weight of the fetus will also gradually increase starting from the second trimester, the lower back will appear curved due to the increase in the size of the abdomen.

At this point, you will feel the tension in your back, lower back, and hips. Regular yoga practice helps joints and muscles be active, reducing back pain, back fatigue, shoulder pain during pregnancy.

3. Prepare for labor and delivery

“Having labor” is an obsession that most pregnant women face. And one of the great benefits of yoga for pregnant women is that it helps reduce pain so that labor goes smoothly.

When you practice yoga, you will learn how to regulate your breathing to stay calm, reduce stress and anxiety, so that your blood pressure and heart rate will always be stable. This is important for labor and delivery. If you know how to breathe, you will be able to hold your breath long enough to push and your baby will come out quickly after just a few pushes.

Besides, practicing yoga also helps the pelvic area to have elasticity. Therefore, when the due date comes, you will feel less pain when the pelvic area is open. From there, labor and delivery will take place quickly.

4. Increase the connection between you and your baby

The combination of physical activity and meditation in yoga can help pregnant women overcome depression during pregnancy and strengthen the bond between mother and baby. Besides, this activity also helps you get to know other pregnant women.

Regular meeting, exchange and confiding also helps you relieve some of the stress before giving birth. In particular, when you practice yoga, the baby in the belly is also moved. When the baby is born, the baby will be healthier and more agile.

Yoga for pregnant women is a great solution to help overcome uncomfortable pregnancy symptoms

5. Reduce the symptoms of pain and discomfort common in pregnancy

Yoga for pregnant women is a great remedy to improve uncomfortable symptoms for mothers such as relieving aches and pains, nausea, insomnia, headaches, shortness of breath and carpal tunnel syndrome. Practicing yoga will help stretch the muscles and become stronger.

Regular yoga practice helps to increase blood circulation in the mother’s body. Not only that, it also works to support the metabolism of nutrients and oxygen for the fetus through the placenta, thereby helping the fetus to develop comprehensively.

6. Bring a relaxed, joyful spirit

Erratic physiological changes are common in pregnant women due to sudden changes in the hormones progesterone and estrogen, among many other reasons. With an emphasis on rhythmic breathing and constant movement, yoga will help you adapt quickly to the physical demands of pregnancy.

As a result, the nervous system of the pregnant mother will be relaxed. When you feel relaxed, you can easily control your emotions during pregnancy and childbirth. Therefore, practicing yoga is a method to help balance physiology, control mind, emotions and brain effectively.

7. Minimize perineal complications

The perineal area is the most affected organ during pregnancy and delivery. After giving birth, the perineal area can be weakened, causing health problems such as urinary incontinence, constipation, uterine prolapse.

If you practice yoga regularly, pregnant women will avoid the above conditions, the perineal area will quickly heal and recover quickly.

Notes when practicing yoga for pregnant women that you need to remember

To get all the great benefits of yoga for pregnant women, you need to keep a few things in mind to avoid improper practice that affects health and the fetus:

1. Practice with your instructor if you are a “newbie”

If this is your first time practicing yoga, join an introductory class at a club or get a teacher to direct you to make sure you’re doing the right moves. Yoga exercises are considered safe and friendly.

However, if you move incorrectly, you and your baby can still be in danger. Therefore, pregnant women should start practicing with an instructor to minimize injury and get the most benefit from yoga.

Practice with your instructor to make sure you’re performing the movements correctly

2. Create the most comfortable feeling when practicing

When practicing, you need to choose comfortable clothes, use props such as pillows, cushions, and chairs to keep your balance. In addition, excessive sweating can also cause rapid dehydration. Therefore, you need to monitor the amount of sweat released to replenish water in time for the body. This is a basic note for everyone when practicing sports in general and yoga in particular.

In particular, only practice when you are sure that you are comfortable. Listen to your body, if you feel uncomfortable or tired, rest and stop exercising. If the cause is that you feel uncomfortable with a certain position, talk to your instructor to correct it.

3. Avoid inappropriate postures

Avoid positions that are not suitable for pregnant women. During pregnancy, there are some exercises that put pressure on the back and abdomen, causing the body to stretch too much, negatively affecting the development of the baby. Here are the exercises that you should avoid:

• Bow Pose
• Cobra pose
• Shoulder standing pose
• Grasshopper Pose
• Front bend position
• Dancer Pose
• Plow pose
• Camel Pose

4. Notes in the gym

• When in the gym, you should stay close to the door to make it easier to get out. Morning sickness can last all day and appear at any time.
• Avoid very hot gyms as extreme heat can adversely affect fetal development. Pregnancy increases metabolism and blood circulation. Therefore, you will feel hot more easily than the average person.
• If you feel too hot, go outside for some fresh air. Bring a hand fan to cool down when needed.

5. Pay attention to the breath

Breathing is one of the most important parts of both yoga and childbirth. Knowing how to breathe properly will not only help you manage stress, but it will also increase the flow of oxygen in your lungs, calm your body, and help your mind relax.

In addition, you also need to perform breathing exercises for pregnant women regularly every week. Always remember to warm up 5 minutes before starting and return to normal after exercise by gently stretching the muscles or doing additional relaxation exercises.

5 basic yoga poses that pregnant women should try now

Here are some basic yoga poses for pregnant women that easyhealthylive.com has collected:

1. Mountain Pose

This is a fairly simple pose, suitable for you to warm up and start.

Doing:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, placing your feet so that your thumbs are parallel to each other facing straight ahead.
• Knees slightly bent, shoulders back slightly.
• Clasp your hands in front of your chest and then close your eyes and take a deep breath (Inhale through your nose and then out through your mouth, breathe slowly and deeply).

When practicing this movement, keep your shoulders comfortable to avoid too much load on your back.

2. Tree Pose

Practicing this pose regularly will help pregnant women feel more balanced with their growing belly.

Doing:

• Clasp your hands in front of your chest or place your palms on your waist.
• Bend right knee and place right foot on left thigh.
• If this move is too difficult, put your feet on your calves, focus on one point and keep your balance. Or you can get support by leaning against the wall.

3. Warrior Pose 2

This pose is great for your legs and helps open up your hips. However, if you find it uncomfortable to practice yoga in the last 3 months of pregnancy, stop and change positions.

Doing:

• Spread your arms wide to the sides, parallel to the shoulders, note that the two right arms are parallel to each other.
• One leg is bent to form a 90 degree angle, the other leg is extended.
• Hold this position for 20 seconds and then turn to switch sides

4. Bridge Pose

This classic yoga pose will help strengthen the hip muscles. If you still feel comfortable lying on your back, you can continue to do this position.

Doing:

• Lie on your back, keeping your legs apart so that when you lift your feet up, your heels will be closer to your hips than usual.
• Place your palm face down on the floor. Inhale and raise your hips, exhale and press on your legs for balance. Look straight.
• Hold the pose for about 20 seconds then slowly lower yourself down with a long, full breath.

5. Triangle Pose

This pose helps to strengthen the flexibility of the whole body.

Doing:

• Spread your legs wide, perform breathing.
• When inhaling, lift one hand above the shoulder, lower the shoulder and back, the other hand resting on the knee bent 90 degrees.
• Exhale and release, then rotate your hips and repeat.
• Try to rotate your hips and keep your breath deep and slow.

Through the above sharing of easyhealthylive.com, hope you have somewhat understood more about the benefits as well as the notes when practicing yoga during pregnancy. Remember that practicing yoga during pregnancy is still the most important thing to do correctly. Therefore, the role of the instructor is extremely important. If you do not have time to attend yoga classes at the club, find yourself a private instructor that is most suitable.

Reference source

7 Yoga Poses to Kill Pain During Your Pregnancy (and 4 Poses to Avoid) https://brightside.me/inspiration-family-and-kids/yoga-poses-to-do-and-to-avoid-for-a- perfect-pregnancy-warning-you-might-get-addicted-to-yoga-552610/ Accessed date: 20/01/2019

Safe Prenatal Yoga Tips for Each Trimester https://yogainternational.com/article/view/safe-prenatal-yoga-tips-for-each-trimester Accessed: January 20, 2019

7 Amazing Benefits of Prenatal Yoga https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/fitness/prenatal-yoga-benefits/ Accessed date: January 20, 2019