Introduction
A key for a healthy and happy pregnancy is prenatal yoga. Prenatal yoga not only helps for physical state of the body but also for emotional state. It is very important to stay calm and fit during the nine months of pregnancy. Prenatal yoga helps in preparing the body for labor and supporting baby’s health as well. Lots of hormonal changes and mood swings takes place in the body during pregnancy. Yoga helps in easing those discomforts. Nowadays, people take childbirth classes that prepares the pregnant couple for delivery. It also helps pregnant women recover faster post delivery.
Prenatal yoga endorses various activities like stretching, focused breathing, mental centering etc. It is safe for pregnant ladies and babies. A typical prenatal class involves breathing, gentle stretching, postures and relaxation. There are various benefits of yoga for pregnant ladies.
For more on other most popular types of yoga and their benefits, head here.
Table of Content
- Supports changing body
- Tones muscles
- Prepares for labor and delivery
- Builds connection with the baby
- Provides relief from common pregnancy problems
- Helps in making pregnancy healthier
- Encourages to make friends with likeminded moms
- Conclusion
- References
1. Supports changing body
During pregnancy, the body changes in an accelerated pace. Prenatal yoga helps in adjusting the body and balancing those changes. It is designed in such a way that whatever changes happen in a body, it supports by helping women to stay healthy. It helps in stretching the muscles of pregnant ladies and strengthens their lower bodies so that the process of supporting a growing belly becomes easy. In this way, pre natal yoga plays a very important role in supporting the changing body.
2. Tones muscles
Prenatal yoga helps in toning muscles like hips, pelvic floor and abdominal core muscles so that it could prepare for birthing process. It is very important that the muscle tone is maintained during pregnancy. Certain yoga poses like backbends helps in minimizing the aches and pains and also helps in bringing the body back to a toned condition after delivery.
3. Prepares for labor and delivery
Pregnant ladies should be confident enough to trust their bodies and make it ready for labor pain and delivery. Usually pregnant ladies experience ‘fear tension pain cycle’ in which they tighten up their bodies. Anxiety and nervousness are the main causes of this problem. Pre natal yoga encourages deep and mindful breathing that helps in body loosening and relaxation. It also gives hope to pregnant ladies to experience childbirth without pain and medication. Hence with the help of pre natal yoga they prepare themselves for labor and delivery.
4. Builds connection with the baby
It is necessary for pregnant ladies to take out some time from their busy schedules and do pre- natal yoga at least once a week. This would increase the bond with the growing baby. The body will respond differently to yoga poses as the pregnancy progresses. Breathing deeply while doing poses plays an important role in making the mind calmer and building connection with the baby.
5. Provides Relief from common pregnancy problems
There are many discomforts found during pregnancy like lower back pain, nausea, headaches, shortness of breath, insomnia etc. Prenatal yoga helps in providing relief to these discomforts. Yoga helps in stretching and toning the muscles which is excellent for blood circulation.
Yoga promotes deep breathing which is beneficial for the mother and baby as it takes the much- needed oxygen. Mindfulness yoga which comprises of physical poses with meditation practices helps in bringing relief from anxiety and depression faced by pregnant women. In this way, prenatal yoga helps in both physical and emotional health and provide relief from common pregnancy problems.
6. Helps in making pregnancy healthier
There is a saying that ‘if the mommy is healthy, the baby is healthy’. Many studies have been conducted on health of pregnant ladies who practice yoga regularly compared to ladies who don’t. It was found out that ladies who practiced yoga seem to be much healthier and happier compared to others.
Also one of the main results which were found out through this was pregnant ladies who practiced yoga had high chances of having normal delivery and their chances of having pre term labor or baby with low birth rate also were quite less.
7. Encourages to make friends with likeminded moms
Pre natal yoga encourages in joining a community in which pregnant women needs to connect with other expectant moms. During pregnancy, expectant mothers would want to connect with people going through the same phase as they are, for gaining support and trust. Their lifestyle certainly changes after forming connections as they bond over the similar issues whether it is physical health related or mental health related like depression, nervousness, anxiety etc. This kind of sharing the journey with others helps in calming and relaxing the body.
Conclusion
These are the seven benefits of pre natal yoga. The stress of being a parent can be overcome by yoga as it helps the mind to experience calmness and the body to acquire relaxation. It helps in improving the sleep and reduces stress and anxiety. And it also increases strength and flexibility in the body and helps in enduring the muscles needed for childbirth. It is quite beneficial as it helps in decreasing the lower back pain, headaches, morning sickness and shortness of breath.
Through pre-natal yoga, bonding and meeting the other expectant mothers helps in overcoming depression and stress. It prepares body for a normal delivery rather than a c-section and decreases the chance of a pre-term labor or using of medication during labor pain.
Due to all these benefits, all expected mothers should engage in pre natal yoga at least once a week but under proper guidance and after getting permission from the healthcare provider. Also, it is important to stay cool and hydrated during the yoga and not overdo it. Meditation in yoga helps in breathing exercises and managing the pain of contractions.
For and article on The 5 Best Mudras for Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum, head here.
References:
https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/fitness/prenatal-yoga-benefits/
https://buddhabellybirth.com/single-post/2016/05/18/why-prenatal-yoga
https://www.theyogaexperience.com/prenatal-yoga-at-tye/
Shanti Arunkumar, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
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