Is pranayama breathing exercise safe for pregnant women?

Pranayama is a breathing technique in yoga that can bring a lot of health benefits. However, if a pregnant woman wants to do this exercise, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure the safety of both mother and baby.

You are a long-time yoga practitioner, during pregnancy, you still want to maintain your practice, especially practicing pranayama breathing exercises but do not know if this is safe?

You don’t know much about yoga but heard that pranayama breathing exercise is very good, so you want to try it to strengthen your health during pregnancy? If you are in one of the two situations above and do not know how to handle it, see the following shares of easyhealthylive.com to understand more about the effects of pranayama breathing exercises on pregnant women.

Eating well, exercising regularly and avoiding stress are the golden secrets to a healthy pregnancy. In fact, the problem of eating and exercising can be easily solved if you plan it properly.

However, in today’s busy, modern life, it is very difficult to reduce stress. To overcome, most obstetricians recommend that pregnant women practice yoga, especially pranayama breathing techniques.

Why should pregnant women practice pranayama breathing exercises during pregnancy?

The breath is the bridge between the body and the mind, in yoga, the breath is the foundation of the movements that you perform. Pranayama is a Sanskrit word that refers to breathing in yoga.

“Prana” means “breath” and “yama” means “control”. When combined, pranayama means breath control. Pranayama consists of techniques and exercises aimed at establishing in people a correct breathing habit – breathing slowly and deeply.

Pranayama breathing exercises will ensure an adequate supply of oxygen to all parts of the body. This is very important during pregnancy. Because this is the time when your baby’s life completely depends on receiving oxygen from you.

In addition, the balance between inhalation and exhalation is very good for the lungs and blood purification. Practicing prananyama breathing exercises more often during pregnancy, the stronger the mother’s body will be to be able to nourish the fetus in the best way.

Although pranayama breathing exercises during pregnancy are highly recommended, you should still consult your doctor

While practicing pranayama breathing exercises during pregnancy is highly recommended, it’s still best to consult your doctor. Only with the approval of your doctor should you do it under the guidance of a professional yoga teacher.

5 benefits of pranayama breathing exercise for pregnant women

Pregnant women who practice pranayama breathing exercises regularly will receive the following benefits:

• Increases oxygen flow in the body, while removing carbon dioxide, helping to detoxify internal organs.
• Promotes the body to release positive hormones, thereby limiting negative thoughts and bringing the mind back to a peaceful state.
• Raise the mother’s awareness of breathing control. This has been shown to aid in vaginal delivery.
• Increases blood circulation throughout the mother’s body.
• Enhances elimination of toxins from both mother and child.

The secret to helping pregnant women practice effective pranayama breathing exercises

Pranayama breathing exercises can bring many health benefits to pregnant women. However, to get quick results, you should try some of the following tips:

Practice under the guidance of a professional yoga teacher

Currently, on the internet there is a lot of information and videos on how to practice pranayama breathing exercises. However, these videos cannot replace the direct instruction of a teacher, especially when you are pregnant.

Because practicing directly with a teacher will help you make sure you are practicing correctly and will get the most benefits. In addition, when practicing with the teacher, they also give you detailed instructions on how to do it, show you good exercises and exercises to avoid during pregnancy.

Listen to your body

Every day, your body will have a different state, especially during pregnancy. At this point, you will feel this very clearly. That’s why it’s so important to listen to your body.

If you feel tired and dizzy, it is best to avoid exercising. Because otherwise, the exercise can adversely affect the health of you and your baby. In addition, during exercise, some breathing techniques can cause some reactions in the body. Therefore, if you feel discomfort, you should stop immediately.

Choose the right space

To be able to get the best benefits from pranayama, the most important thing is to choose a clean, airy, and uncluttered practice space. Avoid exercising in cluttered places or places

Time to exercise and eat

You should eat about 3-4 hours before exercise. In addition, the best time to practice pranayama breathing exercises during pregnancy is early in the morning. Because at this time both your body and mind will be very refreshed and excited. Not only that, this is also the time when the environment is clean and airy.

Early morning is the best time to practice pranayama breathing exercises in yoga

Use aids when performing poses

During exercise, you should use support tools to avoid excessive stress on the body. In addition, you should practice the postures according to the teacher’s instructions to avoid pain and injury.

Some notes pregnant women need to remember when practicing pranayama breathing exercises

• Avoid doing the breathing exercise kapalabharati pranayama (breath of fire) during pregnancy because this exercise has an impact on the abdomen, which will not be good for the baby.
• You should avoid holding your breath for long periods of time as this can cause stress and put pressure on your body.
• Avoid doing pranayama or any other exercise after meals.
• Avoid doing suryanaadi and bhastrika exercises because these exercises can increase body temperature, which is not good for pregnancy.
• Limit pranayama breathing exercises during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Every woman will have different characteristics, not only that, but every pregnancy will be different. So, before doing pranayama and pregnancy yoga, you must consult your obstetrician whether these exercises are safe or not. Or you can use the easyhealthylive.com application to find yourself a suitable yoga instructor to receive guidance and dedicated advice when practicing pranayama breathing as well as yoga exercises for pregnant women.

Reference source

Is Pranayama Safe During Pregnancy? https://www.momjunction.com/articles/pranayama-safe-pregnancy_0074131/ Accessed date: 5/5/2020