Daniela Knaan
UX/UI Designer at - AdobeIf we look at the physical aspect of strong legs it seems pretty clear: Your legs will have to support the weight of your growing belly, hence they have to be strong enough to carry the extra weight.
But there is so much more to it, and all of it is interesting and important.
The physical role of your legs
The legs, hips, and lower back build the foundation of our body. This foundation needs to be strong and stable to prevent pain, ailments, and deformation with changes to our bodies like pregnancy or growing age. Only then can we keep a good posture and protect our bodies.
With the growing weight of your belly in pregnancy you might feel the need to rest more, you might feel you cannot be as active as you were before, and simple tasks might tire you pretty fast. Because in almost everything you do, your legs have to carry you.
Other things play a role, too. For example the feeling of heaviness in your legs due to the larger blood volume and poor circulation or swollen legs.
Physical activity is the key. Through movement, you strengthen your legs, help your blood circulation, and may even relieve the swelling. And it can be as simple as walking, swimming, or yoga. No need to overexercise or take on weight training. Unless that`s what you are into!
Why your legs sometimes feel like jelly during pregnancy
You may have noticed that on some days your legs seem shaky. The simple reason is the hormone relaxin that prepares your body for birth by softening the ligaments and muscles. It is released in larger concentrations at the end of the first trimester and then again towards the end of pregnancy. This is why your legs may feel weak at certain times. But don`t worry, this is completely normal!
How you strengthen your legs
There are several ways to gain strength in your legs, and what you do depends on what you like. Walking is very effective and has various other health benefits. Especially if you walk outside, walking has a huge impact on your mental health and may prevent mood swings.
Swimming is another great way to strengthen not only your legs but your whole body! And in a really gentle way- because of buoyancy your joints do not have to support any weight.
Another gentle way would be prenatal Yoga. Offering poses with variations to almost anybody, practicing yoga is in my opinion the best way to strengthen and prepare body and mind for the challenges and changes of pregnancy and birth.
Great poses to strengthen your legs would for example be:
- Chair Pose
- Goddess Squat
- Warrior Pose 1,2,3
- Mountain Pose
- Tree Pose
What happens to the energetic body?
As I mentioned before the legs are part of the foundation of your body. And when we work on our legs, by practicing strengthening and stretching yoga poses, we also work automatically on the foundation of our energetic body- the root chakra.
Balancing the root chakra in our bodies gives us our basic needs as humans. Safety and stability, overcoming fear and anxiety. This foundation gets pretty shaky, especially in pregnancy, a time of many uncertainties, changes, and a future we cannot plan or imagine quite well.
The good news is, that we can work on this with grounding yoga poses like the ones I listed above, with conscious breathing, and by being in nature, especially being barefoot.
Those all help us root, or ground, connect better to ourselves, and our basic needs, observe, and allow ourselves to be present.
Enjoy this video!
Being active in birth
So we talked a lot about pregnancy and the extra weight that has to be supported in our daily lives. But what about birth? If you plan to have an active birth, Remember that we talk about hours of being in upright positions and walking around! You sure need your legs for this.
I recommend poses like the goddess squat or the warrior 2 for the early active stage of labor because they encourage your baby to descend and navigate the birth canal. I also recommend those poses be dynamic and not static at best combined with breath to make the most out of gravity and to cope better with the contractions. Those need strength in your legs, especially since you will feel really shaky due to adrenaline and other hormones released during labor.
A good way to relax in between would be a birthtub or the ball to sit on!
Final Words
Strong legs are important! I cannot emphasize this more. And it does not take the world to build up strength. Gentle practice, good healthy nutrition, and enjoying your movement will be sufficient to carry you through. Always remember- doing good things for your body will make you feel better and stronger ultimately. Even if it takes effort to drag yourself to do this (sometimes) do not ever move without enjoying and loving your fantastic body!
