8 Benefits of Prenatal Yoga Plus Tips

As the health and fitness industry has evolved over the years many women have discovered the numerous benefits of staying healthier during a pregnancy — it makes recovery go more smoothly after giving birth. Because of this, there has been a strong push for things such as prenatal yoga in the last decade.

Yoga has well-publicized uses to help with stress release and also increase flexibility. Both are very useful as a woman moves closer towards her due date. But let’s look at what else is beneficial about it.

A Safe Way to Exercise

Prenatal yoga is very low impact and considered a safe way to exercise even into late pregnancy because of the gentle nature and slow movements. However, certain poses should not be performed. So don’t do this without a professional.

Increases Body and Mind Awareness

Prenatal yoga can help increase awareness in your own body by increasing the mind and muscle connection within the central nervous system. This increased awareness of ‘being in-tune’ becomes more helpful as the baby grows and things change inside your body.

Prenatal Yoga Keeps Things Loose

It helps with tension and muscle cramping. Many women end up becoming very uncomfortable during pregnancy due to tightness and
other discomforts. Regular yoga sessions can help keep everything looser.

It can also help with lower back pain which is very common. Mine killed during early pregnancy and then again during back labor.

Makes You Stronger for Birth

Yoga increases strength and muscle tone. Also, continued prenatal yoga will help increase strength as weight is gained from pregnancy. This, in turn, will make it easier to handle the rigors of the later stages of pregnancy as well as childbirth.

Teaches Ways to Relax

The breathing exercises are an excellent practice before birthing class. They teach ways to relax and relieve stress. A by-product of stress release is that your central systems such as circulation and digestive systems work more smoothly. Something a pregnant woman needs desperately.

Prenatal Yoga Can Improve Sleep

Prenatal yoga can help improve your sleep which is vital in the later stages. You need to sleep now because you won’t be sleeping for the next 18 years.

May Decrease Preterm Labor

Prenatal yoga can also help decrease the chances of preterm labor by keeping your stress levels down. It’s probably making you wonder why you weren’t doing yoga before, huh? We all could use less stress in our lives!

Gets Things Moving

Also, the exercise you receive from doing yoga can help with pregnancy constipation. I suffer from this always — pregnant or not.

Yoga Don’ts

Don’t start taking yoga after your pregnant without a trained instructor who specifically understands the limitations of a pregnant woman. I would suggest using Bidvine to find a local yoga teacher that specializes in prenatal yoga. With Bidvine, you get custom bids and can hire the perfect person for you.

Ideally, you would have started taking yoga prior to pregnancy, but some things are out of your control — I know.

Make sure you learn which prenatal yoga poses compress the abdomen and put your body in awkward or unsafe positions for the baby — so you can avoid them.

Yoga Do’s

Try and find a studio that teaches pregnancy specific classes. These will be slower and gentler and should also incorporate specific poses that will provide the most benefit.

Please remember to involve your partner. Prenatal yoga is a great way to help with bonding before and after pregnancy. Fathers to be can always use stress relief as well as additional flexibility and tone too.

Being as healthy as possible during pregnancy will pay off greatly during labor, recovery, and in the first few crazy months of parenting. Any advantage you can give yourself before the baby arrives is a great idea (trust me).

9/22/18 I’m dying. Well, I’ll rephrase — I feel like I am dying. Allergies are kicking my butt. I swear it almost feels like a cold but I KNOW it’s allergies 🙁