Top 5 Benefits Of Prenatal Yoga

Pregnancy is a wonderful phase. The excitement of welcoming a little one in your world and its preparations occupy this time. For the carrying mother it is also a time when she has to be in the best of her health in order to nourish her baby in the womb.

Along with consuming a balanced and nutritious diet, she must be physically fit as well as active. Light exercises and Yoga especially meant for pregnant women is recommended. All yogic postures are not suitable for carrying mothers particularly the aggressive and difficult ones that may strain the abdominal and pelvic muscles.

Pranayama, Vakrasana, Utkatasana and  Bhadrasana are some of the postures that can provide a lot of benefit during the pregnancy and also in delivering a healthy child. Amongst the benefits, lets discuss the most important ones.

Benefits Of Prenatal Yoga

Flexibility

Labour is a difficult time. However, the state of your body in terms of its muscle  and pelvic flexibility can influence the time taken and difficulty during labour to a large extent. The flexibility can determine how smooth the labour will proceed. There are postures in yoga that encourage muscle flexibility. Utkatasana which imitates a chair,  involves squatting and helps opening of pelvic and hips. The Badhakonasana or the butterfly pose is also great for pelvic flexibility.

Relieves Stress

Pregnancy is coupled with anxiety about the future in terms of labour. There are many women who suffer from fluctuating blood pressure . Yoga contains postures like Pranayama, shavasana and Vajrasana that involve meditation.

Vajrasana can be difficult in advance stages of pregnancy but in the first trimester it would be easy to do. The meditation can help relieve the stress, calm the nerves and make you feel  generally happy. It is known to be very effective in bringing hypertension in control.

Blood Circulation

Most of the yoga postures stimulate and regulate healthy blood circulation in the body. But all of them are not suitable during pregnancy. Pranayam, shavasana, vajrasana and Utakatasana improve the circulation through the body and are considered safe for pregnant women.

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Back Support

Growing baby puts a lot pressure on the back. With advancement in pregnancy, increase in the baby weight as well as growing belly constantly puts pressure on the back. That is why it is important to stretch and exercise the back muscles and spine to relieve the pressure. You can modify the positions according to the requirement of the pregnancy.

Lie on your back and prop your legs on the wall. Another position and more preferable during the last trimester is modified dog position. Stand straight facing a wall and place your hands on it. Now start bending from the hips until your upper body is horizontal to the ground. The wall support will help the stretch without putting undue pressure on the back or abdomen.

Breathing Techniques

During labour breathing becomes a very crucial part of delivering the baby. Inhalation and exhalation at the right time and deep breathing not only helps in relieving the pain but also provides the baby and the mother with much needed oxygen supply. All the asana mentioned earlier that have been found suitable for pregnant ladies involve breathing techniques. Deep breathing plays a very important role in yoga. In fact breathing aspect of yoga is as important as the physical one.