The Warrior 2 pose got me through 10 hours of epidural-free labor with my first son. It is only one of the simple yoga postures that help with the right breathing techniques during contractions. I came across pregnancy yoga in my third trimester. Quite late, but it was then that I started searching the internet for a way to manage childbirth. I had never practiced yoga before by then but had been physically active all my life. I fell in love immediately after the first session, and I never stopped again.
On this Page
- Workout during pregnancy
- Prenatal Yoga
- The benefits of pregnancy yoga
- Interesting facts
- The ultimate best yoga flows for 2nd and 3rd trimesters on Youtube
- Prepare your body for childbirth
General workout during pregnancy
Exercise is recommended during pregnancy for a variety of reasons, including:
- Maintaining overall health: Regular exercise can help to maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, lower blood pressure, and improve cardiovascular health.
- Reducing pregnancy discomfort: Exercise can help to reduce common pregnancy discomforts such as back pain, constipation, and fatigue.
- Preparing for childbirth: Exercise can help to improve endurance and strength, which can be beneficial during labor and delivery.
- Improving mood and reducing stress: Exercise has been shown to improve mood and reduce stress, which can be particularly important during pregnancy when hormonal changes can lead to mood swings.
- Promoting healthy fetal development: Research has suggested that regular exercise during pregnancy may promote healthy fetal growth and development.
It’s important to note that not all types of exercise are safe during pregnancy, and it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider before beginning any exercise program. They can help you determine which types of exercise are safe for you based on your individual health status and pregnancy.
What if I am not used to exercising?
Even for those who have not been working out before pregnancy, it is possible to get and stay fit.
Walking or swimming, for example, are great light exercises everybody can do. Swimming is highly recommended for pregnant women because the water carries all of our weight while training nearly all our muscles.
Another great way to exercise during pregnancy is Prenatal yoga! Yoga gives you the complete package including all the physical and mental benefits of exercise and a great way to find body and mind connection in this challenging journey.
What is Prenatal Yoga?
Prenatal Yoga is a form of yoga that is safe for pregnant women and contains only poses and movements that cannot cause any harm to our baby or us.
In my prenatal Yoga classes, I teach simple poses that strengthen and stretch the whole body to prevent for example back pain or pelvic girdle pain. I also teach breathing exercises that have huge benefits on mom-to-be and unborn babies and of course relaxation and visualization.
What are the benefits?
- Increase in flexibility, strength, and duration of muscles needed for childbirth
- Improved sleep
- Reduced stress
- Decreased lower back pain
- Decreased nausea
- Decreased headaches
- Reduced risk of preterm labor
- Better mind and body connection
- Shorter labor
- More positive birth experiences
Interesting facts
A study on two groups of women showed the yoga-practicing group had a significantly lower rate of c-sections or induced birth, a shorter first stage of labor, and better pain toleration.
Even postpartum, the said group turned out to be all over more comfortable.
Another study showed increased maternal comfort during labor and a few hours postpartum as well as shorter all-over labor.
What if I never practiced yoga before?
The great thing is, there are sessions for any stage from beginner to advanced, and for every trimester of pregnancy.
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However, it is important to consult a physician before starting just to make sure everything is okay, and to ever only do postures or movements we are comfortable with.
How and where can I practice?
The best solution is to join a group, this way we can get to know other pregnant women in our surroundings. If that`s not an option there are great sessions on Youtube or we order one of the many great DVDs online. This way we can work out at home whenever we find time in our busy schedules.
How does yoga help me with active labor?
- Practicing yoga strengthens our muscles and helps us get endurance to work ourselves through labor.
- In Pregnancy yoga routines we learn postures that we can actually practice during labor to cope with pain, breath, and help get dilated faster.
- It helps to learn to connect to our body, and feelings, and understand the new experiences and changes our body is going through.
- It gives us the ability to mentally cope with labor and childbirth in a positive way.
My favorite Yoga flows for second and third-trimester
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44fYnoSLL3c – Third-trimester yoga
Prepare your Body for Natural Childbirth
If you are thinking about having a natural birth without pain medication, it is very important to get physically and mentally ready for it.
This means first, that you have to be physically in a good shape so you can work yourself through hours of labor. Pregnancy Yoga trains your body to strengthen the right muscles and keeps you strong and lean.
Second, you have to be mentally strong so you don’t lose yourself in the mind-blowing pain of contractions. Yoga teaches you to accept the contractions as your help, not as your enemy, and prevents you from blocking them instead of working with them.
Related:
References:
Prenatal Yoga: What you need to know
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-yoga/art-20047193https://www.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112825/1/9789241507363_eng.pdf – 569k