Prenatal Yoga during Pregnancy

Pregnancy is truly a glorious time in a women’s life. You should take care of yourself to be happy and healthy. Pregnancy causes many changes in your body mentally and physically. These changes may make you feel excited, anxious and stressful at the same time. In order to minimise the stress caused to you mentally and physically, prenatal yoga can be really helpful.

What is Prenatal Yoga

Yoga which is done with some restrictions keeping the baby in mind to strengthen your body and making your body flexible for childbirth is called prenatal yoga.

Prenatal yoga can help you in relaxing as well as staying fit through out the pregnancy.

Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

1. Sleep Aid: Prenatal yoga helps the moms to have peaceful sleep which is the most common problem many moms suffer during their pregnancy. Body gets involved in workout which makes you little tired physically and breathing exercises help relaxing mentally, together they help you have sound sleep.

2. Flexibility & relief from cramps: During pregnancy as many face the problems of getting cramps in legs, back, abdomen and sometimes all over the body. This yoga helps your body to gain flexibility by doing some stretching postures. Your body becomes more flexible than ever before during pregnancy.

3. Breathing exercises: Some moms-to-be have problem breathing due to the protruding stomach. This prenatal yoga comprises of some breathing exercises like pranayama which will minimise the problems like shortness of breathing.

4. Preparing for Childbirth: By doing prenatal yoga during pregnancy, increases the strength of your body which in turn helps you during the labour. It helps you to relieve your stress and makes you feel relaxed and comfortable which is very important during childbirth.

5. Relieves Morning Sickness and Nausea: Pregnant women struggling with nausea can get help by doing prenatal yoga as it helps to elevate your energy levels.

You can also join some prenatal yoga classes, as these help first-time mothers to discuss their pregnancy problems and also they can get some suggestions from the experienced pregnant mothers. All this helps to create some diversion from headache and morning sickness.

Precautions to be taken before prenatal yoga

• Prenatal yoga must be done only after consulting your doctor and after taking their suggestions for do's and don’ts according to your medical condition during pregnancy.
•  If you have a risk of premature childbirth your doctor might not suggest for yoga and it is your duty to follow your doctor. 
• The prenatal yoga classes should be taken by a certified and well-trained instructor. 
• It would be better if you go through the demo class first to see the exercises and postures whether they are comfortable for you or not before joining the classes.

When is the right time to start prenatal yoga

Most of the pregnant women who are conceiving for the first time feel very happy and excited about their pregnancy. So out of excitement to be healthy and fit they show eagerness towards Prenatal yoga, which is good. You can start from the first trimester if you are willing to and if you have a healthy medical status

The prenatal yoga avoid any rigorous exercises considering the sensitivity of pregnancy. If the mother is healthy and interested in prenatal yoga she can join the classes.

But the case is not the same for all as every mother is different and her health condition is also different. For some, it might be better to start from day one and for others they might have to wait until second trimester depending on their health status.

It would be safe if you start practicing Prenatal yoga from the second trimester. In particular, the reason behind that is by second trimester most of the major organ development is completed for foetus and also chances of miscarriage reduces significantly.

Difference between regular yoga and prenatal yoga

Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yog' which means it is the coordination of the body with the mind. The origin of yoga is during the Indus valley civilization over thousands of years earlier.

Yoga involves practising asanas which are nothing but different types of postures and breathing exercises.

Yoga helps in achieving harmony with the mind and good health. It is practised to gain enough balance between mind, body and breathing. It is done to meditate our mind and feel relaxed.

Yoga is practised to overcome some of the health disorders like heart diseases, depression, anxiety and cancer. This is an affordable means of attaining great health physically, psychologically and spiritually.

Prenatal yoga is one of the forms of yoga designed for pregnant women to overcome various symptoms during pregnancy. Prenatal yoga is a boon for pregnant women.

It involves some isometrics in which muscles are being strengthened but doesn’t move much, they can be performed by sitting in one position without much moving. It also comprises of hip extension exercises which helps you to have an easy labour.

Prenatal yoga helps in keeping your body self-centred and balanced. We can attain equanimity by doing meditation.

Yoga exercises to avoid during Pregnancy

• In regular yoga there some forms of yoga-like ‘Bikram yoga' designed by Bikram Choudhary, it is also known as 'hot yoga'. It is performed under humid conditions which causes excessive sweating which is not safe for pregnant women. 
• There will be exercises which involve compressing of the tummy in regular yoga which is not preferred for pregnant women.
• The forward bending exercises which are a part of normal yoga are also not much suggested for pregnant women.
  
• There are exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles like twists and turns which are partly not safe for women who are carrying and should be avoided.
  
• The postures which involve complete lying on the floor and inverting your body are a part of normal yoga but for pregnant women, it would be better to avoid those forms of postures. They may lead to shortness in breathing.